Spurs @ Suns Monday game thread 1-20-20

[1Sun]

Cam was out with an injury, but yeah, Ty Jerome should be getting run.

Except Ty Jerome is incapable of defending and ball handling at the NBA level. His lack of athleticism has rendered him the guard equivalent of Adam Morrison...

 

[1Sun]

Bull. Dragon is balling out in the g-league. Owens is just a guy in the g-league.

I am just looking for someone, anyone, who MIGHT contribute at power forward. We already know that Saric can't.

 

[Yuma]

And last year's team had the same three really good-to-great players, one solid guy in T.J. Warren instead of Rubio, and a bunch of misfit toys. And people really think James Jones has done a good job rebuilding this roster???

With what he inherited, I think he did what he could. We were hamstring by the cap. I agree no doubt we are a good 4-5 quality peices from really being a real playoff squad.

 

[Hoop Head]

Couple things:

This team is not good enough to only show up for like 15 minutes a game.

I love Bridges, but he isn’t an offensive threat. Last game was great, but that’s gonna be an outlier for him. Situational defender. Should expect more from a Top-10 pick.

No depth anywhere. Again, there are only three really good-to-great players on this team (Booker, Ayton and Oubre) one solid guy (Rubio) and a bunch of misfit toys. This team needs a veteran scorer on the bench.

I think Ayton has proven enough in the past four games that he’s going to be an extremely good player in this league. Since returning from the ankle, he’s checked almost every box off that his doubters created: improved significantly on defense, getting to the line consistently, far more aggressive, and playing with a purpose. This is all while not shooting threes yet.

I don't care that he's 64 years old, I think the Suns should have brought back Crawford for another year. They wouldn't need him to play PG off the bench like he did for the majority of last season. Even with him playing as more of a facilitator than he had in at least a decade, he showed he could still get buckets and provide a dozen or so points off the bench when called upon. He wasn't the type to complain about minutes or touches either. He was the model veteran addition for a very young team last year and could have actually helped them take a larger step forward this year but he's stuck in Washington and waiting for his phone to ring.

Maybe if they clear a roster spot in a trade they can give him a call to help make a push. I'd prefer they added someone younger in a trade but at the same time, I think they are better off trading for size and signing a guard, if one becomes available, to replace whoever is sent out.

I'd rather see J-Crossover than Ty Jerome or Okobo at this point. The time to do something like that would have been before Owens got the 2nd Two-Way deal. They could have waived Okobo and signed him back on a Two-Way deal while opening a spot on the main roster. Perhaps they can send 2 guys out in a trade for 1 return, so they don't end up with any dead money on the cap sheet next year.

 

[1Sun]

Apparently Monty made the call to go for the win on that last play.

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I have no problem with going for the win, but surely Monty could have drawn up a better play than having Booker taking the ball 1 on 5 right into the teeth of their perimeter defense...

 

[1Sun]

Like many, I had problems with the Cam Johnson pick. The chronic hip injury bothered me, but what pisses me off is that his ceiling is limited and it was completely obvious on draft night. A lottery pick should at least have some potential to be an above average starter, not a sharp-shooting sixth man. I’d be elated if he were a Dennis Scott type of player right now, but James Jones has to take chances if we’re to be a legit playoff contender.

More than that, he has to be smart enough to see obvious deficiencies in players that will hurt their game, and likely their team, at the NBA level...

 

[Sunstroke]

Other than the -22 in 20 minutes with no other player on the team anywhere near as bad. Having Saric on the court is like playing 4 on 5, especially on defense.

Saric played the fewest minutes of any starter and was basically foul fodder in his lackluster 20 minutes.
Who would you have started? You don't seem to like anybody on the roster and I would agree that this roster is definitely lacking.

 

[Mainstreet]

Bull. Dragon is balling out in the g-league. Owens is just a guy in the g-league.

Suns were going to lose that two-way contract if they didn't fill it. It doesn't mean they can't make other moves. I agree about Bender.

 

[Proximo]

I am just looking for someone, anyone, who MIGHT contribute at power forward. We already know that Saric can't.

The guy you are looking for is not on the roster.

saric is the best we’ve got. I am far more frustrated wit our backup point guards than I am Dario.

 

[1Sun]

With what he inherited, I think he did what he could. We were hamstring by the cap. I agree no doubt we are a good 4-5 quality peices from really being a real playoff squad.

With the #6 pick in the draft, a future first round pick and a whole host of cap space, you would think Jones could have obtained more than one piece for a team that needed several (with that one piece being so obvious my dog could have filled it)...

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Saric played the fewest minutes of any starter and was basically foul fodder in his lackluster 20 minutes.
Who would you have started? You don't seem to like anybody on the roster and I would agree that this roster is definitely lacking.

They need to start that lineup that made the run in the 4th (Rubio, Booker, Bridges, Oubre and Ayton).

That is by far their best lineup and they should use it to try and get out to a good start while also using it to close out both halves.

 

[1Sun]

Saric played the fewest minutes of any starter and was basically foul fodder in his lackluster 20 minutes.
Who would you have started? You don't seem to like anybody on the roster and I would agree that this roster is definitely lacking.

I would have started the obvious line-up that several other fans have been pushing: Rubio, Booker, Oubre, Bridges and Ayton.

 

[Proximo]

Suns were going to lose that two-way contract if they didn't fill it. It doesn't mean they can't make other moves. I agree about Bender.

I know this sounds crazy but I would try to trade for bender.

not sure what Milwaukee would want but I think he is ready to play in the nba.

 

[1Sun]

They need to start that lineup that made the run in the 4th (Rubio, Booker, Bridges, Oubre and Ayton).

That is by far their best lineup and they should use it to try and get out to a good start while also using it to close out both halves.

Yup, and despite success after success with it, they inexplicably still refuse to start it...

 

[Mainstreet]

They need to start that lineup that made the run in the 4th (Rubio, Booker, Bridges, Oubre and Ayton).

That is by far their best lineup and they should use it to try and get out to a good start while also using to close out both halves.

It's frustrating for sure. Most of the posters on the forum see it. So should the Suns coach.

 

[1Sun]

I know this sounds crazy but I would try to trade for bender.

not sure what Milwaukee would want but I think he is ready to play in the nba.

Well, he can't possibly be worse than Saric...but I am sick of soft, unathletic guys who should be playing in Europe rather than the NBA. Let's get some toughness and athleticism for a change.

 

[Mainstreet]

I know this sounds crazy but I would try to trade for bender.

not sure what Milwaukee would want but I think he is ready to play in the nba.

Suns don't have much to trade. They traded away their next two second round picks.

 

[SunnyBaller]

I know this sounds crazy but I would try to trade for bender.

not sure what Milwaukee would want but I think he is ready to play in the nba.

It definitely sounds crazy, dont fall into the trap , he's not good, sun's fans suffered enough watching him on the court definitely don't want to see round two of that

 

[Yuma]

I would have started the obvious line-up that several other fans have been pushing: Rubio, Booker, Oubre, Bridges and Ayton.

Looking back at the guys selected after the fifth pick, the only one I would take in hindsight is Jaxson Hayes. I would just go twin towers with two centers playing the game.

 

[Proximo]

It's frustrating for sure. Most of the posters on the forum see it. So should the Suns coach.

for the life of me I do not understand the people on this boards fascination with starting.

we have nothing on the bench, we have to keep somebody who can possibly make an impact there.

 

[1Sun]

Suns don't have much to trade. They traded away their next two second round picks.

Who did they get for those two second rounders? I thought all they gave up was the future Milwaukee pick.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

It's frustrating for sure. Most of the posters on the forum see it. So should the Suns coach.

To be fair maybe the reason that lineup is so potent at the end of games is because the other team's starts slowing down and it is a very athletic lineup.

That being said he should at least try it. I mean Boston starts a PF at C and a C at PF and not only are they a very good team, but are also a very good defense. No reason why that lineup couldn't be used to start games IMO.

 

[1Sun]

for the life of me I do not understand the people on this boards fascination with starting.

we have nothing on the bench, we have to keep somebody who can possibly make an impact there.

Bridges is not the guy for that. His game depends on confidence and getting into a rhythm. If you have to pick one of those guys to make an impact on the bench, the obvious choice is Oubre. Instant energy. Likes to be ball dominant and run iso plays. Can score in bunches but is disruptive in that respect when combined with Booker and Ayton.

 

[Mainstreet]

Looking back at the guys selected after the fifth pick, the only one I would take in hindsight is Jaxson Hayes. I would just go twin towers with two centers playing the game.

Jaxson Hayes and Brandon Clarke were huge misses.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

for the life of me I do not understand the people on this boards fascination with starting.

we have nothing on the bench, we have to keep somebody who can possibly make an impact there.

The start of the game can set a tone for the entire game. If we find a starting lineup that consistently gets the team out to good starts on offense while not letting the other team get hot on their end we can have less games that get away from us like the game tonight.

They can always start phasing guys in and out from the halfway point of the 1st to 2nd and 3rd to 4th. That would give that lineup about 6 minutes per quarter on the floor together and we might win quite a few more games.