Re: Game Day: Hornets (16-15) @ Suns (23-5), Sunday 12/19/21
Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:43 am
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The playoffs are really the only time it will matter and I imagine we’d just shorten the rotation and only play Payne, Shamet, and whoever of CP3/Book is healthy. So I’m not super concerned as I don’t really see a scenario where we will need to count on Payton in the playoffs. Only if we lose 2 of our 4 guards.Mori Chu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:40 amThis was a great game, one of our true blowouts where we could rest the important players a lot in the 4th. Loved to see the balanced scoring with 9 (!) guys in double-figures. I'm concerned about Elfrid Payton, though. As others have mentioned, he was horrible. And this was a game where everybody was getting open looks and easy shots. If we lose even one rotation guard such as Book or CP3, suddenly we're in a position where we need to give Payton real minutes. And he's been completely terrible for us this year. I do think Coach is doing the right thing by giving him minutes, because when you need him you don't want him to be completely cold and out of practice. But I hope it is building a comfort that will make him play better later in the season, because right now he's a disaster.
Mark West and Andrew Lang were a good defensive tandem, but I think Ayton and McGee have them beat for all-around skills.AmareIsGod wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:37 amWho's the best Suns backup big man we've ever had? Does McGee belong in that conversation? He's arguably putting up the same numbers as Ayton coming off the bench for us and there isn't a single drop off when Ayton gets a breather.
That's awesome but why did Book skip the line?
Honestly some of are best have been recent. McGee, Baynes, Holmes. Channing Frye would be the best imo, if you count his 09-10 season where he was 50/50 starter/bench.AmareIsGod wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 9:37 amWho's the best Suns backup big man we've ever had? Does McGee belong in that conversation? He's arguably putting up the same numbers as Ayton coming off the bench for us and there isn't a single drop off when Ayton gets a breather.
Thanks Bone.Superbone wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 5:30 amI can answer that. It’s very simple. When he was on the floor, the Suns outscored the Hornets by 7 net points. But that doesn’t mean he contributed to that. He actually brought it down from a higher number because almost every time he touched the ball, he turned it over. If you look at the Suns roster, every player had a positive +/- except for those who played in garbage time. The opposite is true for the Hornets roster. Every player has a net negative except the one guy at the end of the bench. This is all true because the Suns dominated from start to finish other than a few garbage time minutes.
So Payton had a +7 because of his teammates on the floor at the time and in spite of his horrible play. It would have been a higher number if he had contributed anything during his time. But he had a reverse Midas touch last night.
I agree that the end-of-the-bench guards like Payton won't play in the playoffs. But I want them to be better so we can get some rest during the season for the players who DO matter, so that they'll be healthy and rested for the playoffs.Split T wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:52 amThe playoffs are really the only time it will matter and I imagine we’d just shorten the rotation and only play Payne, Shamet, and whoever of CP3/Book is healthy. So I’m not super concerned as I don’t really see a scenario where we will need to count on Payton in the playoffs. Only if we lose 2 of our 4 guards.Mori Chu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:40 amThis was a great game, one of our true blowouts where we could rest the important players a lot in the 4th. Loved to see the balanced scoring with 9 (!) guys in double-figures. I'm concerned about Elfrid Payton, though. As others have mentioned, he was horrible. And this was a game where everybody was getting open looks and easy shots. If we lose even one rotation guard such as Book or CP3, suddenly we're in a position where we need to give Payton real minutes. And he's been completely terrible for us this year. I do think Coach is doing the right thing by giving him minutes, because when you need him you don't want him to be completely cold and out of practice. But I hope it is building a comfort that will make him play better later in the season, because right now he's a disaster.
I realized he did it, but not nearly as early as he actually did. He walked away before Cam caught it, and had his hand up signaling "3" before Cam even shot it.
That's hilarious. Payne starts running to the other end too but at least he turned back and looked as he did.