Phx-Suns.Net

Split T wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:48 pm

pickle wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:13 pm

Would Thad have really helped us get the championship? The way the refs called fouls for Giannis, unless we had the Giannis Stopper Blake Griffin, minor NBA names with slightly bigger bodies (Thad is 6'8 but I think slightly less bulky than Jae) probably wasn't going to cut it. I actually am quite high on McGee. He may not be a super duper player anymore, but his mere presence will give DA the confidence to be aggressive.

I like Thad Young and he's a very credible passer. He doesn't have a tremendous face up / break it down type game, at least from the few Bulls games I watched last year. He's more of a high post facilitator in the Bogut mode and very similar to Saric if you take out the athleticism and 3 point shooting. The Bulls announcers called him Thagic (for Magic) throughout the games I watched, and he was averaging a high number of assists from the bench in 25-28 mpg.

One name I'm interested in is Kyle Anderson / Slomo. His age and contract should be a better fit for our group and I'd be more willing to include that second rounder in that case, though he's also not known as a bulky defender.

1st paragraph: Ya I really think we do win. Our biggest problem was we had literally no one behind Ayton. We were forced to play Ayton like 42 to 45 minutes a game and he wore down. I’m not saying Thad would’ve been a Giannis stopper, but he would have been a hell of a lot better than Frank. At the very least he would have allowed us to let Ayton rest another 5-7 minutes a game. Even with Giannis on the bench we couldn’t survive without Ayton. We could have if we had Thad.

No Thad isn’t much bigger than our other wings, but he’s taller than Jae and stronger than Cam or Mikal. He’s 6’8 235 and he’s a very good defensive player.

2nd Paragraph: There are some Saric similarities…but am I mistaken or are you calling Saric the better athlete? I think you’ve got that backwards. But yes, Thad doesn’t have the same 3 point shot as Saric.

3rd Paragraph: I do really like Kyle Anderson and think he’d be a great fit. Though I’d trust Thad more on defense. Kyle would be a wonderful offensive fit at the 4 and is a smart, good defender, but he doesn’t give us the ability to go small. He can’t be a small ball 5. Though with McGee that might not be needed so much.

pickle wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:27 am

I meant that he’s more athletic than Saric, so take that out and their game style is actually kind of similar.

Really don’t think Thad would’ve done any more than Crowder did. Don’t think those two inches made a difference in the finals.

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:45 am

I guess he played, 45, 42, 39, 39, 36, and 24 minutes. So I did exaggerate a bit. Still the main point was we couldn’t survive with him off the court. Though I guess that mostly shows up in just a couple games as well. Game 3 we were -6 in his 24 minutes and -14 in his 24 minutes on the bench. The one that hurt is game 5. We were -10 in the 3 minutes he sat and lost by 4.

Indy wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:03 am

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:45 am

I guess he played, 45, 42, 39, 39, 36, and 24 minutes. So I did exaggerate a bit. Still the main point was we couldn’t survive with him off the court. Though I guess that mostly shows up in just a couple games as well. Game 3 we were -6 in his 24 minutes and -14 in his 24 minutes on the bench. The one that hurt is game 5. We were -10 in the 3 minutes he sat and lost by 4.

It still hasn't hit me that we lost 4 straight games in the NBA finals. I still haven't read the game 6 thread.

Indy wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:03 am

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:45 am

I guess he played, 45, 42, 39, 39, 36, and 24 minutes. So I did exaggerate a bit. Still the main point was we couldn’t survive with him off the court. Though I guess that mostly shows up in just a couple games as well. Game 3 we were -6 in his 24 minutes and -14 in his 24 minutes on the bench. The one that hurt is game 5. We were -10 in the 3 minutes he sat and lost by 4.

It still hasn't hit me that we lost 4 straight games in the NBA finals. I still haven't read the game 6 thread.

LazarusLong wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:31 am

Indy wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:03 am

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:45 am

I guess he played, 45, 42, 39, 39, 36, and 24 minutes. So I did exaggerate a bit. Still the main point was we couldn’t survive with him off the court. Though I guess that mostly shows up in just a couple games as well. Game 3 we were -6 in his 24 minutes and -14 in his 24 minutes on the bench. The one that hurt is game 5. We were -10 in the 3 minutes he sat and lost by 4.

It still hasn't hit me that we lost 4 straight games in the NBA finals. I still haven't read the game 6 thread.

Agree, Indy.
Winning the first two only to go down in flames the last four was a deep gut punch.

The Bobster wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:39 am

LazarusLong wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:31 am

Indy wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:03 am

Split T wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:45 am

I guess he played, 45, 42, 39, 39, 36, and 24 minutes. So I did exaggerate a bit. Still the main point was we couldn’t survive with him off the court. Though I guess that mostly shows up in just a couple games as well. Game 3 we were -6 in his 24 minutes and -14 in his 24 minutes on the bench. The one that hurt is game 5. We were -10 in the 3 minutes he sat and lost by 4.

It still hasn't hit me that we lost 4 straight games in the NBA finals. I still haven't read the game 6 thread.

Agree, Indy.
Winning the first two only to go down in flames the last four was a deep gut punch.

Milwaukee did a great job of taking advantage of mismatches and the Suns just didn't have any big bodies that they could use to solve those mismatches. Some of us spent the whole year saying they needed to address the backup center spot - and it reared up and bit them in the ass. There was just nobody to help Ayton guard the basket or anyone who could slow down Giannis even a little.

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:32 pm

We're never going to have a more favorable break of luck in all the playoff series than we just had this past year. Every round there was some major injury or surprise that worked in our favor. It will be extremely difficult to get all the way back again. The fact that the Nuggets and Clippers will have major injuries most or all of the year gives me some hope, but we'll still have to go through teams like the Lakers and Jazz in the West, and the Nets or Bucks if we are lucky enough to make it to the Finals.

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 6:35 pm

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:32 pm

We're never going to have a more favorable break of luck in all the playoff series than we just had this past year. Every round there was some major injury or surprise that worked in our favor. It will be extremely difficult to get all the way back again. The fact that the Nuggets and Clippers will have major injuries most or all of the year gives me some hope, but we'll still have to go through teams like the Lakers and Jazz in the West, and the Nets or Bucks if we are lucky enough to make it to the Finals.

Until the last one. Giannis was supposedly hurt in the previous round but came out and played the best basketball of his career and showed no worse for the wear. We lost our back up center after 3 minutes of playtime and it turns out both Paul and Book were playing hurt.

SunsRIt wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 6:13 pm

Ayton ranked 35th best player in the league by ESPN.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/322 ... 1-22-50-26

Spoiler: show/hide

No. 35: Deandre Ayton


Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Phoenix Suns | C
2020 NBArank: No. 52

Swing skill: With Chris Paul assisting, Ayton established himself as one of the best centers in the game while helping the Suns reach the Finals last season -- with both players proving potent in the pick-and-roll. At just 23, Ayton is ultra-efficient (shooting a career-best 62.6% from the field last season) and a force on both ends (with a career-high 39 double-doubles last season). Ayton could land a max rookie extension, but he may need to shoulder a higher load and establish himself more if the 36-year-old Paul starts to play fewer minutes. -- Holmes

Why he rose 17 spots: Ayton has been an almost nightly double-double for his whole career, but he made major strides as a defender in his third season. Ayton finished 11th in the NBA in DRPM as one of the highest impact defenders and anchor for the Suns' top-10 defense. -- Snellings