Nets @ Suns Thursday game thread 1-19-2023

[Yuma]

As frustrating as Bridges has been to watch at times this year, he has actually been really good the last 5 games:

21.2 Points
4.8 Rebounds
6.2 Assists
1.2 Steals

IMO, people expected him to be something he is not. He simply isn't a "go to" type player. Having said that? He is playing really well the past 5 games and it would rank him among the best in the league at his position.

Coming out of college he was known to be a great defender and was projected to struggle to get an NBA jumper. I think he's developed way beyond how he was scouted. It's like we expect him to be Michael Jordan with elite defense and top of the league scoring thrown in to boot! Just admire where this guy came from with his game in his time here! Way different dude than day 1 Bridges! Night and day different!

 

[Cheesebeef]

Coming out of college he was known to be a great defender and was projected to struggle to get an NBA jumper. I think he's developed way beyond how he was scouted. It's like we expect him to be Michael Jordan with elite defense and top of the league scoring thrown in to boot! Just admire where this guy came from with his game in his time here! Way different dude than day 1 Bridges! Night and day different!

No one expected anything like that crap. Jesus, these discussions are so annoying when people project specious arguments into them time after time after time.

 

[Yuma]

No one expected anything like that crap. Jesus, these discussions are so annoying when people project specious arguments into them time after time after time.

No. It gets tiring to see how "As frustrating as Bridges has been...." The narrative has to get much more appreciative. You know the one thing we have been missing from a lot of Suns players? Availability. This guy is a gamer. That alone has made him not frustrating to watch for me. The guy IS playing no matter what he is overcoming to get onto the court that night. That needs to be appreciated in his narrative.

 

[Chaplin]

No. It gets tiring to see how "As frustrating as Bridges has been...." The narrative has to get much more appreciative. You know the one thing we have been missing from a lot of Suns players? Availability. This guy is a gamer. That alone has made him not frustrating to watch for me. The guy IS playing no matter what he is overcoming to get onto the court that night. That needs to be appreciated in his narrative.

The issue is that he is expected to be Pascal Siakam but is more like Jae Crowder as far as effectiveness than we'd like to admit.

Now, he has been pretty good for the past 5 games and I thought he was excellent vs Kyrie until the 4th quarter last night, but only Suns fans expect him to take up the slack when a superstar goes out and he simply doesn't have the chops to do it. He's a good complimentary player, but, especially this year, his defense doesn't make up for the fact that offensively he just doesn't seem to have the ability to stay consistent.

Cheese's point was that nobody expected him to be a top scorer in the league. But his defense should be better this year and I don't think it's a stretch to hope that he could pick up the slack when guys are out. Great role player, but he's not a savior by any means.

 

[Yuma]

The issue is that he is expected to be Pascal Siakam but is more like Jae Crowder as far as effectiveness than we'd like to admit.

Now, he has been pretty good for the past 5 games and I thought he was excellent vs Kyrie until the 4th quarter last night, but only Suns fans expect him to take up the slack when a superstar goes out and he simply doesn't have the chops to do it. He's a good complimentary player, but, especially this year, his defense doesn't make up for the fact that offensively he just doesn't seem to have the ability to stay consistent.

Cheese's point was that nobody expected him to be a top scorer in the league. But his defense should be better this year and I don't think it's a stretch to hope that he could pick up the slack when guys are out. Great role player, but he's not a savior by any means.

That's the whole point! Why do we expect him to be a savior? Unreal expectations. Sheesh.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

No. It gets tiring to see how "As frustrating as Bridges has been...." The narrative has to get much more appreciative. You know the one thing we have been missing from a lot of Suns players? Availability. This guy is a gamer. That alone has made him not frustrating to watch for me. The guy IS playing no matter what he is overcoming to get onto the court that night. That needs to be appreciated in his narrative.

Tbh, while I love Mikal’s toughness and availability, long term I wish we could load manage him. The streak is cool but honestly…you don’t get extra credit for playing every game. Especially as he ages, since he’s not overly quick, I wonder how his game will continue to evolve.

I think Mikal, like DA has all-star potential. They each have similar issues: lack of confidence and inability to create their own shot consistently. They go hand in hand. Cam Johnson came up big last night. I think he has the potential to be a number 2 option (barring injury). He’s much more confident putting the ball on the floor and he’s a deadeye shooter.

Once we get healthy, I’m curious to see how this team grows. Last year we rolled through the regular season after the finals loss. This year…we need to learn how to win again. I say that because Dallas took our heart in game 7.

I truly think we’re the only team in the West that can beat GS. I know GS hasn’t hit their stride but we matchup well with them. Halfway through the season, let’s get a winning streak going and get healthy. We’ll be in the mix for home court, even if we don’t get the 1 seed.

 

[Covert Rain]

Coming out of college he was known to be a great defender and was projected to struggle to get an NBA jumper. I think he's developed way beyond how he was scouted. It's like we expect him to be Michael Jordan with elite defense and top of the league scoring thrown in to boot! Just admire where this guy came from with his game in his time here! Way different dude than day 1 Bridges! Night and day different!

Who expects him to be Jordan? That is taking what I said a little far. When I am talking about frustration, I am talking about his defense that fell off for a bit there. I never expected him to all of the sudden be a go to guy with all these injuries. Just like I didn't expect Booker early on to blossom into a PG. I feel like he is getting back on track. We don't go to the finals or get the best record last year without Bridges. PERIOD.

 

[Weenus O'Baggins]

What I expect from Bridges is to knock down wide open jumpers at a pretty efficient rate.

His efg % is nearly identical to his rookie year and he is 10% lower than he was 2 years ago

 

[Cheesebeef]

That's the whole point! Why do we expect him to be a savior? Unreal expectations. Sheesh.

NO ONE EXPECTS HIM TO BE A SAVIOR.

Jesus Christ. Such idiotic projection makes it pointless to try and have rational discussion with some people here.

 

[95pro]

Surprised no one bashed on TJ.

He was my favorite player during that era because he was the only nba player we really had. Too bad he couldn’t get those injuries under control, just bizarre all those injuries. One has to wonder if they were mental.

I think his contract and Simmons are up this year?

 

[Yuma]

NO ONE EXPECTS HIM TO BE A SAVIOR.

Jesus Christ. Such idiotic projection makes it pointless to try and have rational discussion with some people here.

Then don't say certain things. We can only go by what you say. Words like Savior have symbolic meaning.

 

[Yuma]

Surprised no one bashed on TJ.

He was my favorite player during that era because he was the only nba player we really had. Too bad he couldn’t get those injuries under control, just bizarre all those injuries. One has to wonder if they were mental.

I think his contract and Simmons are up this year?

My son and I used to note that almost every game he played for the Suns he got hit in the head. I have never seen a guy who gets hit in the head so much playing basketball. He really got hit by other players guarding him pretty hard and at weird angles. We used to marvel he wasn't injured more!