Game Day (Preseason): Pistons (1-1) @ Suns (2-0), Fri 10/11/24

[Superbone]

Time: 7:00 pm AZ (7:00 pm PT/10:00 pm ET)
Place: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
TV: AZ Family 3TV/NBALP

The reenergized Suns welcome the Detroit Pistons to their home Friday night. Always tougher to beat a team two games in a row. Nurkic and Allen remain out but that hasn't slowed down the Suns thus far. They've played a deep roster and most everybody has been contributing. Even the 2nd and 3rd strings seem to be following new head coach Bud's lead.

https://www.nba.com/gamenotes/pistons.pdf
https://www.nba.com/gamenotes/suns.pdf

Go Suns!!!

Dis • cuss

[Mori Chu]

I bet Book plays better tonight without the distraction of trying to show off for his Michigan home crowd and friends/family. I just want to see lots of minutes for Oso and Dunn, and some lovely assists for Tyus. Is that too much to ask?

[bajanguy008]

Looking forward to some more entertainment.
Basically everyone is doing their thing except a couple

I'm a little surprised by Plumlee. Guess I haven't been watching him because the last image I have of him was being very aggressive and a pain in our ass on the offensive glass in Suns v Clips playoffs a couple seasons back. I don't know if he's a vet just taking it easy but he's almost seemed a tad casual (soft ) with his finishes and rim protection but to be continued

Enjoyed Bol Bol growth last season but not sure where the minutes gonna come consistently which is a little bit of a bummer

[TOO]

Looking forward to some more entertainment.
Basically everyone is doing their thing except a couple

I'm a little surprised by Plumlee. Guess I haven't been watching him because the last image I have of him was being very aggressive and a pain in our ass on the offensive glass in Suns v Clips playoffs a couple seasons back. I don't know if he's a vet just taking it easy but he's almost seemed a tad casual (soft ) with his finishes and rim protection but to be continued

Enjoyed Bol Bol growth last season but not sure where the minutes gonna come consistently which is a little bit of a bummer

Clippers fans were having a good laugh at the Suns fans who were so excited by the Plumlee addition, he blows a lot of layups and forces some things he shouldn't.

[ShelC]

My first guess was Oso but a smaller lineup with KD at the 5 would be fun.

[ShelC]

No Book tonight

[Wally_West]

Cade abusing Royce.

[In2ition]

Giving up 40 pts to the Pistons on the 1st quarter is not exactly ideal.

[TOO]

Suns looking real disinterested.

[Wally_West]

Giving up 40 pts to the Pistons on the 1st quarter is not exactly ideal.

Yeah, not ideal but it’s preseason haha

Beal is cooking early

[Wally_West]

Can’t stop shit. Jeez lol

[AmareIsGod]

Entertaining game. A bit scrappy.

[In2ition]

I liked that O'Neale wasn't going to give up the ball vs Holland.

[In2ition]

Can't hit 3s, can't hit free throws, can't stop Detroit. Bad combination. Harris looks good with Detroit. Him and THJ will help Detroit quite a bit this season, imo.

[Mori Chu]

Hmm, well, at least Beal and Plumlee had a good first half. Oso had 3 assists, too.

[Wally_West]

It’s Preseason, baby!!!

[Superbone]

I liked that O'Neale wasn't going to give up the ball vs Holland.

Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the night. Can't win 'em all, I guess. Suns struggled from start to finish. Had one decent run near the end of the third quarter and that was it. Suns couldn't stop the Pistons to save their lives. Lots to review in the film room. Didn't I say at the top of the thread it's hard to beat a team two games in a row?

[ShelC]

Postgame videos and highlights

Spoiler: show/hide

[ShelC]

Bad game, bad showing. Granted, we were without Book, Nurk and Allen but this is the kind of game that's worrying. Too many 3s that weren't falling (11-47), no juice on defense, hurt by their bigger wings and athleticism, no reliable offense to fallback on. Feels like everything is a screen/DHO for a 3, not a lot of dribble penetration to the basket or PnR opportunities. We used to be surgical in the halfcourt under Monty with CP, now it's live by the 3 or die by the 3. Book will help some in the halfcourt obviously but we won't have any kind of PnR option because Nurk/Oso/Plumlee can't roll or pop for a shot.

Our rookies' weaknesses were exposed more in this game. Oso needs to be pushed to be more physical and play with force, especially on the boards. He tends to watch and float when a shot goes up instead of making contact with a big and boxing out. He HAS to be a threat around the rim on rolls or dives to the basket. The perimeter passing and screening is nice but we're 4on5 when he's out there.

Dunn had more trouble with Cade and especially Tobias Harris this game. He was 1-6 from the field but hit a 3 and got into the lane for a foul and FTs. In the open court and off closeouts he's got very solid handles but doesn't have much ability to finish - tighter handles than Mikal but nowhere near the finishing ability. Hopefully that's something he can work on and learn from being in the gym with Book and KD.

Beal got his offense going, KD was OK but also sloppy with the ball early on. We got hammered on the boards, 51-39 and giving up 13 ORs.

[Mori Chu]

I'm in Tucson visiting my parents, so I saw only about half of this game. Seemed like they were trying to make a comeback in the 3rd but they could never get it much closer than 10-12 points. We were missing a lot of firepower without Book and Grayson. And it totally felt like one of those half-hearted preseason games where nobody is trying their hardest. But I'm okay with that. I agree with Shel's comment about the lazy offense. It seemed like last year our lazy offense was just Book or KD going 1-on-1 and ending up in a contested mid-range jumper, and this year maybe the lazy version of our offense is a single pass or hand-off followed by somebody launching a 3, which is only marginally better. Tyus helps us a lot but doesn't just magically fix our offensive flow all by himself.

I honestly didn't remember that Tobias Harris was on the Pistons, but he seemed like a legit star tonight. Overall in the parts I watched, it felt like we were too small to hang with them. I do think that is going to be a bit of a problem for us this season as the league seems to be getting bigger and longer all around; we are lacking a bit in size and strength.

Oh well, on to the next.