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Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 11:16 am
by Superbone
How Devin Booker fuels surging Phoenix Suns with unselfishness and ‘hockey assists’
By Doug Haller
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/696265 ... ed_article
(A quick dive into hockey assists: Although the stat has been around hockey forever, it seems to have seeped into basketball culture around 2000. Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade once said his college coach at Marquette, Tom Crean, valued them more than regular assists. In 2007, Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said the NBA needed to adopt the hockey assist as an official stat because it promoted ball movement. By then, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was instructing his staff to chart hockey assists.
(Spurs star Tim Duncan summed up the hockey assist in 2014, as only he can. “It’s just about making the right decision at the right time,” he said. “And it’s not always about making the right decision that gets the shot, but the right decision that makes the play happen.”
(Around the same time, the NBA introduced “secondary assists,” which is similar to the hockey assist. Last season, Booker led the league along with Golden State’s Stephen Curry with 1.4 per game. This season, his 1.4 ranks third behind Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Denver’s Jamal Murray, both at 1.5. OK, back to Sunday night’s win.)
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 12:16 pm
by Mori Chu
Jordan Ott is the clear cut favorite for Coach of the Year with what he’s done with this squad.
I think the Pistons and OKC and Celtics and a few other teams will have a strong case for CotY, too. Only if the Suns miraculously got, like, 3rd in the West would we have a chance at it IMO. But Ott has been spectacular. I really doubted him due to the Michigan connections, but he has been absolutely exceptional for us.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 1:05 pm
by The Bobster
Mori Chu wrote: ↑Mon Jan 12, 2026 12:16 pm
Jordan Ott is the clear cut favorite for Coach of the Year with what he’s done with this squad.
I think the Pistons and OKC and Celtics and a few other teams will have a strong case for CotY, too. Only if the Suns miraculously got, like, 3rd in the West would we have a chance at it IMO. But Ott has been spectacular. I really doubted him due to the Michigan connections, but he has been absolutely exceptional for us.
If the Suns win 50 games he'll certainly have support for the award, but Detroit is on a pace to win around 60 and Bickerstaff would be deserving as much as Ott. Also, Mitch Johnson has the Spurs on pace to win about 55, which is further along than most people though they'd be at this point.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 1:07 pm
by ShelC
COY can be a kiss of death for coaches so he may not want to win it.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 1:57 pm
by O_Gardino
Splitter in Portland will get some votes, too.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 3:07 pm
by Superbone
ShelC wrote: ↑Mon Jan 12, 2026 1:07 pm
COY can be a kiss of death for coaches so he may not want to win it.
Good point. You can even win a championship, get COY, and be out the next year. I hope Ott is here for a long, long time a la MacLeod (14) and Fitzsimmons (8).
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 3:11 pm
by Superbone
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 3:22 pm
by ShelC
We saw what a difference just having Nick Richards made last year in terms of verticality and rim pressure so having Williams now is a pick-your-poison for defenses.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 4:46 pm
by Superbone
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 4:47 pm
by Superbone
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 5:46 pm
by iLLmatic
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:12 am
by wpmiller42
Gillespie is going to benefit a huge amount coming off the bench and not being a bigger part of the scouting report.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:17 am
by Kryptonic
wpmiller42 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:12 am
Gillespie is going to benefit a huge amount coming off the bench and not being a bigger part of the scouting report.
just having depth alone is such a breath of fresh air this season... so nice to have options and to see a coach actually developing his players and utilizing them in games.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 10:24 am
by Superbone
Kryptonic wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:17 am
wpmiller42 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:12 am
Gillespie is going to benefit a huge amount coming off the bench and not being a bigger part of the scouting report.
just having depth alone is such a breath of fresh air this season... so nice to have options and to see a coach actually developing his players and utilizing them in games.
Exactly, it feels like most of the roster, 1-11, can contribute well. Everybody but NHD and Man Man (for the moment).
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 11:08 am
by Split T
I fear man man might be a bust…he’s at least a very long ways away from producing.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 12:46 pm
by Bucktastic365
wpmiller42 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:12 am
Gillespie is going to benefit a huge amount coming off the bench and not being a bigger part of the scouting report.
That 2nd unit is going to be AMAZING.
I'm psyched to watch them play
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 1:17 pm
by Mori Chu
Split T wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 11:08 am
I fear man man might be a bust…he’s at least a very long ways away from producing.
He's going to be a multi-year project. My hope is that he can contribute more in a year or two. Unfortunate, but, we already have two other centers playing well (Williams and Oso) so I think we can give him the time he needs to develop. I think our coaching staff is good at developing big men so I have faith that they are doing what they can to work on Man Man and not just letting him languish.
Meanwhile Fleming looks like he is almost ready to break out and become a guy who demands rotation minutes, which is awesome. I had high hopes for Koby Brea but he may be a ways away / may not be a rotation NBA player, not sure yet. Fine with parking him in the G-League for an extended period to see what he can develop into.
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 4:37 pm
by Split T
I just wish we had Derik Queen, Cedric Coward, or that juicy 2026 unprotected Pels pick right now
Re: Suns News: Week 12 (1/5 - 1/11)
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2026 5:30 am
by ShelC
CMB's looked good too, I wasn't sold on him but he'd probably fit in real well with this group in terms of style of play and filling a position of need.
