Phx-Suns.Net

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 11:07 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 10:11 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 10:01 pm

I did not expect Nurk to come through there…if they catch it facing away from the rim or inside the 3, you have to foul immediately.

Nurk with 4 clutch FTs in OT. The whole team clutched up from the FT line in OT.

Nice of him to help seal the win, but glad I finally get to get rid of the Nurkic avatar.

You’re a good sport and like the new one

Just like last season - ugly, discouraging win but we'll take it. Seemed like all the good stuff we were doing in the preseason went out the window and we were reverting right back to the iso BS and TOs. KD and Book had 11 TOs between them while our PGs had 10 assists and no TOs. Bud has to figure a way to get thru to those guys to play thru the PGs, and stop running offense that allows KD and Book to dribble more than a few seconds. Keep them off the ball running off screens to catch and shoot, or create mismatches for postups where they can turn and shoot.

I thought we really struggled with their physicality and couldn't shake loose or create space. They switched a lot which hurt the PnR and DHOs, got into passing lanes, sent multiple guys at Book and KD when they went off the dribble and our guys couldn't find the open man later in the game. We did play more physical as the game went on which was good to see, but that's not going to be our calling card and we can't have Book fouling out when the refs decide to call a handcheck foul in the 4th. We also need to figure something out defensively because watching Jones get hunted by Harden on switches gave me flashbacks to Luka hunting CP and DA in the playoffs. Send a hard double and make sure guys are rotating when he gives it up. Maybe that'll come with more games as guys get more comfortable and communicate with each other.

Even with all that, KD and Beal hit some big shots late. Beal had a very good game, the PGs looked good, Oso gave us good minutes. The bench unit looked a more in sync offensively than the starters so that's something to build on. Dunn gave Harden some trouble defensively but also had trouble with fouls that limited him. Harden's a tough cover tho because he's so crafty so it was probably a good learning experience. Good to see Bud adjusting with different lineups and going small with KD at the 5 when needed. KD can't played 40+ minutes all the time tho so we have to get Dunn in there or use Oso as PF some more.

It was the first game of the season so the excuses are built in - it's early, the Clips always give us trouble, they were playing in a new arena, we're still adjusting to each other, etc. But seeing the same issues as last year pop up is cause for concern for me and we can't just ignore them because we squeaked out a win and had a slightly better 4th qtr and OT than we used to last year. Bud's gotta cut the ISO stuff out now, early and keep the offense flowing.

Postgame Quotes and Videos

Very glad to win that one. I was kinda grumpy during the game, because I thought Durant and Booker's weaknesses really affected the whole team.

After sleeping on it, I do feel better about the game. It was a sloppy game, for sure, and I bet Clipps fans are even more frustrated with their team. I think Bud will be able to coach the Suns into better offense. It was encouraging to see some lineup creativity, and solid play from Oso and the new point guards. Dunn will be better in the next game, and our point guards will remember how to shoot.

The sloppy play by KD is going to continue to haunt us

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2024 7:38 am

The sloppy play by KD is going to continue to haunt us

If he wasn't so great, it wouldn't be so infuriating... but if he can clean that stuff up, we're in for a great season.

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 9:36 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 9:34 pm

I think that’s just off Tyus

I take it back…this just one of those where Harden by a micro fraction still was touching the ball…I’ll take it, but I don’t like that rule

This review reminded me a lot of the last 30 seconds or so of the Valley 'oop game. I hate this rule, but karma is a bitch, Clippers!

JeremyG wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 11:07 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 10:11 pm

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 10:01 pm

I did not expect Nurk to come through there…if they catch it facing away from the rim or inside the 3, you have to foul immediately.

Nurk with 4 clutch FTs in OT. The whole team clutched up from the FT line in OT.

Nice of him to help seal the win, but glad I finally get to get rid of the Nurkic avatar.

Perfect replacement!

TOO wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 11:31 pm

82-0 still on the table.

I like your thinking.

Some random comments... some of which has already been said but I just watched the game on replay so I want to get this off my chest.

• Clippers are always allowed to play very physically and we are not good at dealing with physicality.
• Clippers are quickly becoming my second most hated team.
• I want to root for Terance Mann, but he's such a punk. I still remember him almost breaking CP3's wrist in the playoffs in 21 and protesting like he was being wronged, and his reaction to obvious fouls today reminded me of that right away. Punk.
• I'm not as bothered by Nurk's play as some were during the game. That one turnover wasn't great, but he was holding the ball because the Clips were allowed to maul our perimeter players and he had trouble getting the ball to them cleanly. I think our guys (stars in particular) have got to learn to exaggerate their contact a bit more to force the refs to make calls. I'm not a fan of foul baiting, but this type of pushing the boundaries of what's considered a foul has also got to stop.
• I'm also quite okay with Nurk taking those threes. I think this is part of Bud's system, that anybody who gets significant time on the floor who is a remotely capable 3 point shooter has to make the defense respect them. If after a few games we prove that Nurk can't even hit 33%, then I agree we need to change tactics, but for now, gotta take them to find out if he can hit them with some semblance of consistency.
• Beal played a great game. He was aggressive on both offense and defense. Love to see it.
• Happy to see both rookies contributing. I will be rooting for them both to really grow over the season. Wasn't too bothered with the shots they took either. The one mid-range pullup from Dunn was out of panic, but this is the best time to learn.
• KD's turnovers are frustrating, but the refs are also allowing them to really manhandle him, and I'm guessing at this age he's more susceptible to those types of defensive tactics. Agree with most here that he should initiate less and play in actions more.
• Not thrilled that we had to play him as the lone big again. His late game defense on Harden was quite impressive though.
• Tim Legler may be a good NBA analyst, but a foul is a foul is a foul, please call the game fairly. And also please talk a bit less. The color guy should not be filling over 40% of the air time. Sometimes it's okay to not say anything.

Overall I'm thrilled with this game. We showed a lot of resilience and I think we'll get much better rhythm as the team coalesces over time.

djy2j wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 23, 2024 9:44 pm

Please show Steve Ballmer 30+ times. That's what America wants...

It's unfortunate that showing him acting up kind of diminishes this spectacular arena. In some ways it's endearing, but it only goes so far. It's not infinitely endearing.

KD's shot near the end reminded me of his game winner from last season. Similar location and shot. I think it was against the Bulls.

Also, loved how the team didn't panic, unlike .net other than WW, after going down 9 in the fourth. Great to see that resiliency.

It's just frustrating that a team that lost Paul George and doesn't have Kawhi played us as tough as they did with our Big 3 healthy. I'll give the Clips credit for their grit and they have a lot of JYD types but their second best player was Zubac. They shouldn't be giving us as much trouble as they did. I think we need cleaner, more consistent offense late in games where we execute instead of the "playing random" stuff. That's what leads to ISOs and TOs.

I was also good with Nurk's offense. Again, he missed the preseason so the chemistry was off on the DHOs and screens, hopefully that gets cleaned up. And his 3pt looks were good, they just need to go down. I also wonder if Monte might be an option to close some games. I think he's got better size to match up defensively and a bit better offense to play off the Big 3.

ShelC wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2024 9:46 am

It's just frustrating that a team that lost Paul George and doesn't have Kawhi played us as tough as they did with our Big 3 healthy. I'll give the Clips credit for their grit and they have a lot of JYD types but their second best player was Zubac. They shouldn't be giving us as much trouble as they did. I think we need cleaner, more consistent offense late in games where we execute instead of the "playing random" stuff. That's what leads to ISOs and TOs.

I was also good with Nurk's offense. Again, he missed the preseason so the chemistry was off on the DHOs and screens, hopefully that gets cleaned up. And his 3pt looks were good, they just need to go down. I also wonder if Monte might be an option to close some games. I think he's got better size to match up defensively and a bit better offense to play off the Big 3.

I thought that the Clippers did a great job of playing a very physical game, in which the refs were totally fine with. It reminded me of the 90's Knicks teams with Van Gundy as coach, and low and behold, he's on the Clippers bench. They were allowed to grab, hold, push and trip the Suns all over the floor. I'm just glad that the Suns kept their composure and came out of this mud wrestling match with the win. Credit to them for turning it into something we haven't seen since the early 2000's. It was probably one of the only ways they were going to be able to win.

I was very impressed with Ighodaro last night. Very aggressive. Played great defense. Credited with one block but I swore he had 2 or 3. Great on the glass as well.

Yes Suns fam

That was indeed a super stressful one to start the season. Again the KD stuff but I saw this tweet and it's so interesting based on how the game played out.



EJ started OT by saying we gonna need Brad to step up (honestly as a Beal fan who wants things to work) I was annoyed because he literally wasn't given any chances since a solid 1st half.
Then EJ said something very interesting
"A great player like KD alot of the time isn't going to totally say go ahead (take over), I'm tired... You gotta sense it and take it"

And that's the dynamic here
I said something similar last season, Book n Beal, the rest of the team plus the coaches believes in KD greatness and it seems we always go the Hey, we have one of the greatest scorers of all time. Let's just give him the ball.
Tyus new kid on the block, I counted 7 straight possessions where he passed to KD when he came over half court and just cleared out to the weakside. Again, he's not gonna wave off KD and say Nah let me initiate

So to see KD tell Beal he was incredible is basically him saying Yeah I needed you down the stretch. But crazy part is I think if Tyus (Bud) kept calling KD number that Brad would still be just standing in the corner watching

So it's cool it worked out that way, Brad getting the inbound at the top a couple times and deciding man I'm gonna take this but we really need more movement
That was eerily similar to last year's halfcourt struggles

AmareIsGod wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2024 10:30 am

I was very impressed with Ighodaro last night. Very aggressive. Played great defense. Credited with one block but I swore he had 2 or 3. Great on the glass as well.

Plus, he's just so composed for a rookie. He doesn't rush things.

Oso was great for his first game as a second round pick. He really really needs to bulk up through the season and next offseason if he wants to be playable against opposing 5s like Jokic, Embiid, Zubac, Davis, etc etc etc

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2024 4:06 pm

Oso was great for his first game as a second round pick. He really really needs to bulk up through the season and next offseason if he wants to be playable against opposing 5s like Jokic, Embiid, Zubac, Davis, etc etc etc

He seems built like a more athletic and muscular Channing Frye.

AmareIsGod wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2024 4:26 pm

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2024 4:06 pm

Oso was great for his first game as a second round pick. He really really needs to bulk up through the season and next offseason if he wants to be playable against opposing 5s like Jokic, Embiid, Zubac, Davis, etc etc etc

He seems built like a more athletic and muscular Channing Frye.

Oso is 6'11 235
Channing was 7' 255