Nets @ Suns 11-12-16

[Mainstreet]

The Nets play at the Suns tonight with a 7 p.m. Arizona start time. Tyson remains absent.

Here are the starting lineups.

Projected starting lineups

C: Alex Len … Brook Lopez

PF: Marquese Chriss ... Trevor Booker

SF: T.J. Warren … Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

SG: Devin Booker …. Bojan Bogdanovic

PG: Eric Bledsoe … Sean Kilpatrick

Key Nets reserves: Justin Hamilton, Joe Harris, Randy Foye, Luis Scola, Yogi Ferrell.

Key Nets injuries: Jeremy Lin (left hamstring strain), Caris LeVert (foot rehabilitation), Isaiah Whitehead (concussion) and Chris McCullough (D-League assignment) are out.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...w-nba-phoenix-suns-vs-brooklyn-nets/93722384/

 

[leclerc]

Yogi Ferrell. What a great name. Come on Yogi! Get the rebound!

 

[devilalum]

Yogi Ferrell. What a great name. Come on Yogi! Get the rebound!

Suns better just make sure he doesn't steal any of their picnic baskets.

from phone

 

[JCSunsfan]

Len vs Lopez should be interesting to watch since some Suns fans want Lopez.

 

[devilalum]

Why is Casey Jacobson on the pre game? He never brings any unique insight to the braodcast. He doesn't have any game cred. The guy played for about 15 minutes. There's got to be an actual former player out there somwhere yhat could sit next to TC and say something interesting every once in a while.

from phone

 

[Finito]

I like Casey.


Ugh Knight strikes again

 

[95pro]

Suns getting a little too 3 happy. Had chances to take the lead, but poor shot selection while they're in the bonus. stupid stupid

 

[95pro]

Is it just me or does Booker get beat a lot off the dribble or screens easily.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns could have used a shooter tonight at the guard position. I wished the Suns had played Ulis more as he effects the game in so many ways. The Suns needed a boost tonight.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Suns could have used a shooter tonight at the guard position. I wished the Suns had played Ulis more as he effects the game in so many ways. The Suns needed a boost tonight.

Isn't that what Jenkins is supposed to be? I know a lot of people here talk about Williams deserving playing time for various reasons but I think Jenkins deserves some minutes just to see what we have in him. He's supposed to be a quality shooter, if nothing else.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Good to see Ulis get some burn. That's ... about the only positive from this game. Nobody could buy a bucket and they were taking way too many 3s. Booker still off. Not sure what's up there.

 

[hcsilla]

Isn't that what Jenkins is supposed to be? I know a lot of people here talk about Williams deserving playing time for various reasons but I think Jenkins deserves some minutes just to see what we have in him.

We already know what we have in him: a borderline NBA player.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think the Suns made a grave mistake not even interviewing Kenny Atkinson or Luke Walton and just blindly handing the reigns to Watson.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think the Suns made a grave mistake not even interviewing Kenny Atkinson or Luke Walton and just blindly handing the reigns to Watson.

Why do you think that? Walton was hired quickly by the Lakers, before the Finals were even done last season. Both the Nets and Lakers are doing a little better than people thought they would but we're only 10 games into the season. What did you expect to happen by this point that isn't? All of the players who returned this season wanted Watson to stay on as coach. He's a new head coach, he's still learning on the job.

The Suns aren't playing that poorly as a whole but they do have a few players that aren't contributing at levels they were expected to, mainly Knight & Booker. It's not for lack of effort but neither player is playing well this year. Chriss has taken the starting PF spot and TJ has shined as the starting SF, Bledsoe has been playing well at PG also. Our bench has been inconsistent but for a team as young as we are and with a rookie head coach, I really don't know what people were expecting. If we were 7-3 instead of 3-7 people would be mad we're not tanking for another season and winning pointless games.

 

[leclerc]

Great to see Chriss in the starting lineup and Bender getting minutes in the first half.

For my next complaint I want to reduce Knight's and Barbosa's playing time and put Ulis in there. I think he would make our second unit much better. More energy, smarter play, more pressure on the other team.

 

[sunsfan88]

Why do you think that? Walton was hired quickly by the Lakers, before the Finals were even done last season. Both the Nets and Lakers are doing a little better than people thought they would but we're only 10 games into the season. What did you expect to happen by this point that isn't? All of the players who returned this season wanted Watson to stay on as coach. He's a new head coach, he's still learning on the job.

The Suns aren't playing that poorly as a whole but they do have a few players that aren't contributing at levels they were expected to, mainly Knight & Booker. It's not for lack of effort but neither player is playing well this year. Chriss has taken the starting PF spot and TJ has shined as the starting SF, Bledsoe has been playing well at PG also. Our bench has been inconsistent but for a team as young as we are and with a rookie head coach, I really don't know what people were expecting. If we were 7-3 instead of 3-7 people would be mad we're not tanking for another season and winning pointless games.

The Suns look confused out there. They look like a bunch of players who just signed yesterday...I'm interested to know what happened during training camp...I'm guessing there was yoga and more philosophical stuff than there was actual basketball.

I don't see a system in place. Nobody knows what their doing, it's playground basketball.

It's not a coincidence that the Suns get into huge deficits in almost every game even against teams that have far less talent than the Suns like Lakers, Nets (who were missing their best player in Lin) and make it to close at the end.

I'm fine with losing if there's a system that's being implemented (like Lakers & Hawks) and if Bender, Chriss and Ulis are all seeing at least 20 mins a game each.

 

[95pro]

I'm not sure why people are liking the way Bledsoe run the show. He waits to pick up the dribble to save the shot-clock time, only to dribble it down to 8 seconds and pass it off to let someone figure out what to do with it as time expires.

In Bledsoe's defense I'm not sure if that's by design or what.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think Bledsoe has been deferring on the playmaking end to Booker by design, Booker showed to be a capable distributor during the 2nd half of last season when Knight & Bledsoe were both out. I believe the front office and Watson both believe Booker is the future franchise star so they're trying to rush his development some by having Bledsoe defer to him some offensively. As a shooting guard it's not uncommon for the offense to flow through him but he's been awful this year. His shot has been off and his confidence seems lost. I know "turf toe" was an issue to start the year but he still doesn't seem to be that comfortable out there. Our top 2 offensive players and future, Booker and Warren, didn't play much at all last year so everyone building chemistry with each other isn't that surprising.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think Bledsoe has been deferring on the playmaking end to Booker by design, Booker showed to be a capable distributor during the 2nd half of last season when Knight & Bledsoe were both out. I believe the front office and Watson both believe Booker is the future franchise star so they're trying to rush his development some by having Bledsoe defer to him some offensively. As a shooting guard it's not uncommon for the offense to flow through him but he's been awful this year. His shot has been off and his confidence seems lost. I know "turf toe" was an issue to start the year but he still doesn't seem to be that comfortable out there. Our top 2 offensive players and future, Booker and Warren, didn't play much at all last year so everyone building chemistry with each other isn't that surprising.

Watson mentioned prior to last night's game that Booker was struggling again because of his turf toe. If you watch him play it's easy to see that he can't cut like he's used to and he isn't elevating on his shot as normal. As much as it's hurting his shot, it's even more evident in his defense.

 

[Mainstreet]

Isn't that what Jenkins is supposed to be? I know a lot of people here talk about Williams deserving playing time for various reasons but I think Jenkins deserves some minutes just to see what we have in him. He's supposed to be a quality shooter, if nothing else.

I see Jenkins as an insurance policy if he Suns lose a SG to injury or trade. His shooting stats are not overly impressive.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jenkijo01.html

 

[Mainstreet]

Watson mentioned prior to last night's game that Booker was struggling again because of his turf toe. If you watch him play it's easy to see that he can't cut like he's used to and he isn't elevating on his shot as normal. As much as it's hurting his shot, it's even more evident in his defense.

I understand turf toe can take a long time to heal. Maybe the Suns should sit him until he heals completely. Hopefully the Suns will consider this.

Booker was tentative last night. I think he passed out of two potential layups.

It can take a long time for turf toe to heal completely, and athletes should expect to take a break from field sports for at least three weeks while the joint capsule heals. Athletes who return too soon or play through pain are often sidelined even longer in the future.

https://www.verywell.com/what-is-turf-toe-3120323

 

[sunsfan88]

Watson mentioned prior to last night's game that Booker was struggling again because of his turf toe. If you watch him play it's easy to see that he can't cut like he's used to and he isn't elevating on his shot as normal. As much as it's hurting his shot, it's even more evident in his defense.

He wasn't a very good defender even before the turf toe.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He wasn't a very good defender even before the turf toe.

I think you need to actually watch every Suns game to see this. On the nights that he's able to move laterally without serious toe pain, he's played much better defense than he did last season. It's almost impossible to miss this fact. But he's been among the worst in the league on the other nights and that's also been impossible to miss. He's no Klay Thompson but when healthy he's not even close to the liability he was last season. I just don't understand why we're not sitting him until he gets healthy.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think you need to actually watch every Suns game to see this. On the nights that he's able to move laterally without serious toe pain, he's played much better defense than he did last season. It's almost impossible to miss this fact. But he's been among the worst in the league on the other nights and that's also been impossible to miss. He's no Klay Thompson but when healthy he's not even close to the liability he was last season. I just don't understand why we're not sitting him until he gets healthy.

I'm not saying he's as bad as he was last season, he's better but he's still awful on that end. He's probably at about a James Harden type level defense now after being even worse last season.

Agreed that they should sit him till he's healthy.

 

[AzStevenCal]

From a Paul Coro article at azcentral sports prior to the loss to the Nets:

Watson said Booker still has been bothered by the turf toe that sidelined him for a game on Oct. 31...

“The toe injury lingers,” Watson said. “He never makes excuses.