Pelicans @ Suns Tuesday game thread 12-29-2020

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Booker missing open shots is just fine, especially if he’s playing so well on defense. It’s the old adage that you only need one guy to knock down the shot, but you need all five guys playing perfectly to play good defense. Our team is loaded with shooters, to boot.

 

[SirStefan32]

What a great game! Now that was a proper butt-kicking I've been wanting to see! Bridges and Ayton played some of the best defense I've ever seen, Paul was shredding the defense like a boss, and I continue to be impressed with Cam.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

I have zero concerns about Book... With the addition of CP3, Book has totally deferred to Paul and is trying to fit into a flow that is largely dictated by Paul when he’s on the court. That’s natural and is expected. Meanwhile, the team is winning and improving with each passing game!
Book will continue to gain comfort and confidence when on the court with CP3. The great news is Book no longer needs to be a super hero on a nightly basis - as was clearly illustrated last night! That said, I can’t even imagine what this team will be doing once Book gets totally comfy!

My biggest concern right now is what we have as a backup to Ayton.
Deandre is proving that even when he isn’t scoring, he is impacting the game.
But when he’s on the bench, just how big of a risk do we take and how much do we let teams back into the game, or worse, extend a lead they might already have??
We don’t have a viable #2 Center...
Not sure how this might hold this team back going forward, but I’m very concerned about it.

Saric played back-up C and matched up with Steve Adams and we absolutely torched them. We have a back-up 5.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

What a great game! Now that was a proper butt-kicking I've been wanting to see! Bridges and Ayton played some of the best defense I've ever seen, Paul was shredding the defense like a boss, and I continue to be impressed with Cam.

you will need to specify

 

[82CardsGrad]

Saric played back-up C and matched up with Steve Adams and we absolutely torched them. We have a back-up 5.

Yea... I just don’t see Saric as a legit 5. He’s tough and willing to play hard defense, but on a consistent basis I just don’t believe he would be a reliable 5.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Yea... I just don’t see Saric as a legit 5. He’s tough and willing to play hard defense, but on a consistent basis I just don’t believe he would be a reliable 5.

Need to see more, but he banged with Steve Adams and buried the man, I’m not super worried he will get outworked. He was elite in the bubble. He’s starting to give me Cam Payne “he’s actually really good” vibes.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Need to see more, but he banged with Steve Adams and buried the man, I’m not super worried he will get outworked. He was elite in the bubble. He’s starting to give me Cam Payne “he’s actually really good” vibes.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Saric is “really good!” Just not as a consistent backup 5... but who knows, maybe he and Monty will prove me wrong...

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Don’t get me wrong, I think Saric is “really good!” Just not as a consistent backup 5... but who knows, maybe he and Monty will prove me wrong...

If Payne and CamJ play this well, then Saric will succeed almost by default.

 

[Chaplin]

Don’t get me wrong, I think Saric is “really good!” Just not as a consistent backup 5... but who knows, maybe he and Monty will prove me wrong...

Backup 5 has worked for him—it worked last night and it worked throughout the entire bubble. That’s 9 games so far that he’s been consistently good at the position. He’ll have a bad game or two, but every player has that.

He’s already proven you wrong. How many game’s does he need for you to be satisfied?

 

[Mainstreet]

Can’t wait for Utah game. Bridges on Mitchell and Booker on O’Neal please!

Payne-Clarkson
Johnson-Ingles
Saric-Favors

so many intriguing matchups!

I never look forward to playing Utah. We thrashed them in Utah last season but that's a rarity. They always seem to play well against the Suns.

 

[Mainstreet]

Defense initiating the offense is often the best kind.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[JCSunsfan]

Ok. Great game, but there was a point when the Pels quit. There have been a LOT of really lopsided games in the league this year. It seems teams are willing to flush a game more quickly and live to fight another day.

I am excited for the win but don’t want to read too much into the blow out.

now winning 10 of 11 games. That is encouraging.

 

[Mainstreet]

Saric thinks the Suns are made for the playoffs. I know it's early but I like to hear it.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

I never look forward to playing Utah. We thrashed them in Utah last season but that's a rarity. They always seem to play well against the Suns.

They’re usually a very good team: 9th, 4th, 4th, 5th, and 10th in SRS the last five years. And they have a big HC advantage playing at altitude. They probably would have beat Denver in the Playoffs last year if they had Bojan.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Ok. Great game, but there was a point when the Pels quit. There have been a LOT of really lopsided games in the league this year. It seems teams are willing to flush a game more quickly and live to fight another day.

Yep, they quit in the 3rd Q. We missed TONS of open threes, but we were still killing them in the 2nd Q (like Sac in the 4th the game before).

 

[Mainstreet]

Ok. Great game, but there was a point when the Pels quit. There have been a LOT of really lopsided games in the league this year. It seems teams are willing to flush a game more quickly and live to fight another day.

I am excited for the win but don’t want to read too much into the blow out.

now winning 10 of 11 games. That is encouraging.

As you point out there have been a lopsided games this season including lopsided losses by good teams.

I'm not totally sure what to make of it but it does appear some teams are willing to give up on games early almost like they want to preserve assets or energy for the next game. With a deep bench I see the Suns less likely to do this.

It also could indicate some teams are in better game shape than other teams. I got the feeling last night the Pelicans knew they couldn't keep up the pace. We used to see opponents do this when the Suns were in the prime of playing SSOL.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Don’t get me wrong, I think Saric is “really good!” Just not as a consistent backup 5... but who knows, maybe he and Monty will prove me wrong...

There will be teams that Saric will match up poorly against but the matchup problem will work in our favor against most opponents. I think we have a great backup 5, what we need is a solid 3rd string center that can handle the heavy banging on the occasional nights we need that.

 

[Mainstreet]

I have zero concerns about Book... With the addition of CP3, Book has totally deferred to Paul and is trying to fit into a flow that is largely dictated by Paul when he’s on the court. That’s natural and is expected. Meanwhile, the team is winning and improving with each passing game!
Book will continue to gain comfort and confidence when on the court with CP3. The great news is Book no longer needs to be a super hero on a nightly basis - as was clearly illustrated last night! That said, I can’t even imagine what this team will be doing once Book gets totally comfy!

My biggest concern right now is what we have as a backup to Ayton.
Deandre is proving that even when he isn’t scoring, he is impacting the game.
But when he’s on the bench, just how big of a risk do we take and how much do we let teams back into the game, or worse, extend a lead they might already have??
We don’t have a viable #2 Center...
Not sure how this might hold this team back going forward, but I’m very concerned about it.

Taking nothing away from these two players but Damian Jones and Frank Kaminsky are not it. The playoffs is where this deficiency will show the most.

As AzStevenCal indicates, on most nights Saric and perhaps Jalen Smith will suffice.

 

[Chaplin]

Ok. Great game, but there was a point when the Pels quit. There have been a LOT of really lopsided games in the league this year. It seems teams are willing to flush a game more quickly and live to fight another day.

I am excited for the win but don’t want to read too much into the blow out.

now winning 10 of 11 games. That is encouraging.

Doesn't matter. The Pelicans quit on the game because we were putting a beatdown on them.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Doesn't matter. The Pelicans quit on the game because we were putting a beatdown on them.

This is my thought exactly. Them quitting may have caused the lead to balloon up to 40 points, but I don't think they had quit before we were already starting to run away from them anyways.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I am sorry I missed this while watching Wonder Woman 84 last night.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Doesn't matter. The Pelicans quit on the game because we were putting a beatdown on them.

Yep...god forbid there is an ounce of positivity on this board.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yep...god forbid there is an ounce of positivity on this board.

Seems an over the top comment considering this thread and the who is your favorite player thread are 90-100% positive.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Seems an over the top comment considering this thread and the who is your favorite player thread are 90-100% positive.

Borg.

 

[Chaplin]

Borg.

Call me stupid, but I've seen you post that before. I'm just trying to understand the significance.

I mean, is it referring to a hive mind or something like that?