Game Day: Hawks (19-18) @ Suns (16-19), Thurs 1/9/24

[ShelC]

Low basketball IQ taking over at the end of this game. Playing not to lose, trying to drain clock and turning it over or taking bad shots late in the clock.

[TOO]

Then you have that, Book shies away from the easy match up against Trae. Smh

[Wally_West]

Grayson has had a great game but he can’t finish them. He had that huge lay up but multiple terrible passes and missed assignments made the last two minutes closer than it should’ve been

[Split T]

So we won one

[AmareIsGod]

Turning point, folks!

[JJ Slim]

Not a perfect game but it's a win. There are lots of good things that can be built on. Still just one win. Keep it going!!

[The Bobster]

They got a little wobbly there at the end, but a win is a win!

[specialsauce]

I just miss CP3. These players are just so stupid

[djy2j]

Every game looks like it's the first time these guys have played together. Sigh.

[Split T]

I thought they looked kinda good tonight. Atlanta hit a bunch of 3s in the 1st half and couldn’t keep it up. The defense wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. Offense looked quite good..was nice to not see Nurk…just need to teach Booker how to shoot a 3 again.

[Superbone]

I wouldn't call myself an expert prognosticator, but this kind of feels to me like a game where we are going to get absolutely blown out. Morale is low; we just had a rough loss; Beal and Nurk don't like their roles on the team; KD seems to be checking out; Book has struggled almost all season; some nagging injuries. And on the other side, ATL is a team that can score in bunches and also has some muscle and some lockdown defenders like Dyson and can probably thwart our shitty iso offense. I could imagine Trey going off and just burying us with a bunch of dagger 3s.

Hawks by 20; I'll call it now.

Yeah, you're a regular Nostradumbass.

[Superbone]

Has Nurk played at all?

I didn't realize until the 4th quarter that he had not played.

[Cap]

I think in my new CBA I'll limit all contracts to one year. No more getting your payday and coasting.

[Superbone]

I think in my new CBA I'll limit all contracts to one year. No more getting your payday and coasting.

OK, even I know that's unreasonable. The players union has to sign off on these too.

[Cap]

I think in my new CBA I'll limit all contracts to one year. No more getting your payday and coasting.

OK, even I know that's unreasonable.

Come on, it would limit the ability of Ish to Ish. Between having three overpaid coasters and the franchise being as Ished as Ished can be, that provision is looking pretty appealing to me as a Suns fan right now.

[Kryptonic]

I think in my new CBA I'll limit all contracts to one year. No more getting your payday and coasting.

And have them play off metrics and effort. For every negative stat, it’s a pay deduction. I’d love for athletes to have to be set to real world standards of job expectations. Also allow a team to cut ties asap without penalty when a player pulls an Ayton.

[Kryptonic]

I think in my new CBA I'll limit all contracts to one year. No more getting your payday and coasting.

OK, even I know that's unreasonable.

Come on, it would limit the ability of Ish to Ish. Between having three overpaid coasters and the franchise being as Ished as Ished can be, that provision is looking pretty appealing to me as a Suns fan right now.

When we selling shirts of ish on the shirt saying “ish happened” and marching in front of the footprint center?

[ShelC]

Postgame Quotes and Videos

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[ShelC]

Maybe it was the Hawks defense but things just clicked a lot more offensively for us. Book looked like Book getting to his spots and taking his middys, KD took what the defense gave him and played off others. Beal to his credit is playing hard and getting back to his game offensively off the bench. Grayson was in a good flow too and not being forced to do too much off the dribble so he was just able to to catch and shoot. Even tho Dunn is on the floor with the starters, the spacing seemed better because Book, Beal and KD weren't getting in each other's way. And like Book said, they were all able to look for their usual offense without worrying about the other getting shots. Maybe this is the formula but again, it needs to be tested against a better defense.

The last 5 minutes were trouble tho as we tightened up, played too slow trying to drain clock and almost gave up our lead. Bud needs to keep a point guard out there even if it means Beal sitting. We need to run offense and protect the basketball.

The rookies bring the vibes. Dunn and Oso are the difference makers in the rotation. They play with bounce, hustle and play within themselves. They allow the stars be the stars and give us the athleticism we need out there. I think they could even look to be more aggressive on offense but that will come with more playing time. Oso's ability to roll or make plays off the dribble is a huge help and I think Book benefits the most. Oso's screening gets Book to his midrange spots for his usual jumpers which then leads to better shots for Allen and KD.

The defense is what it is. The Hawks were hitting a ton of 3s and with Oso and Plumlee we're still undersized up front. This game was a step in the right direction tho if the lineup change was the actual catalyst. Obviously need to see the effort and execution going forward.

[LazarusLong]

Has Nurk played at all?

I didn't realize until the 4th quarter that he had not played.

Not that he was missed...