Pelicans @ Suns Friday game thread 2-25-2022

[DJ Tabooh]

Mikal.....gotta be more aggressive. Booker needs help and you get 7 shots up in 39 minutes. Come on man....

I don’t think Mikal really got a ton of opportunities. Most of the open threes were for Shamet and Cam. He had that nasty dunk and he hit that 3 but he didn’t have many opportunities. I’ll give him a reprieve since he’s been so good. Sunday is gonna be tough. Utah isn’t an easy puzzle and Donovan is feeling a groove. I hope Book doesn’t make it a one on one duel. DA has to be better on the boards.

 

[Cheesebeef]

For comparison in regard to rebounding:

Valanciunas with 18 points and 17 rebounds

Ayton with 20 points and 5 rebounds.

Ayton has to step up on D and be the leader on that side of the court or we gonna leak like a sieve.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Devin Booker wants to get better at handling the blitz.

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In those situations it’s all on book. We know the forwards will be ready to shoot or drive. Book has to recognize where the double is coming from and who that leaves open. That means paying a LOT of attention about who is guarding whom all the time on the court.

 

[1tinsoldier]

the last time the suns looked this bad was before we got Rubio (i.e. a real pg). yesterday i said Book should be our 2nd or 3rd option at point, but now i'd rather Payne and Holiday get all those minutes.

We're best when someone else advances the ball and Booker is the decoy -- that leads to someone else getting open. the defense has to work to prevent Booker from getting open and then work on doubling at the last second once he gets it (rather than setting their defense as he advances the ball). Booker is best at getting his assists, anyway, when he passes out of a play that develops rather than developing a play from the start of the possession.

if it wasn't for Ayton improving on getting his own shot it would have been a back to back bust from our much heralded center position.

it's not Booker's fault. he's not a point guard, and he shouldn't be asked to do that. with the shortage, i would have said let Shamet advance the ball, but on top of his continued bad shooting he made some bad decisions as well tonight. maybe Cam Johnson would have sufficed. he's a good ball handler who can drive if the defense doesn't stick to him.

 

[Finito]

This was the first time I’ve seen the Suns just look tired. Everybody was a step slow tonight

 

[DJ Tabooh]

This was the first time I’ve seen the Suns just look tired. Everybody was a step slow tonight

Yeah I thought we’d make a run but we couldn’t get 50-50 balls and enough stops. I also think that we had some chances from 3 that we just didn’t hit. I don’t think Book played a terrible game but there’s gonna be some growing pains. Crazy thing is if Cam and Bridges had played the way they have the last few weeks, that game is entirely different. I’d like to see our shot distribution be more balanced.

 

[Mainstreet]

Ayton has to step up on D and be the leader on that side of the court or we gonna leak like a sieve.

The Suns strength inside with Ayton and McGee looked weak against Valanciunas and company. Actually they were bullied.

Pelicans bothered the Suns all night with their length.

 

[Mainstreet]

In those situations it’s all on book. We know the forwards will be ready to shoot or drive. Book has to recognize where the double is coming from and who that leaves open. That means paying a LOT of attention about who is guarding whom all the time on the court.

The Suns and Devin Booker are still adjusting to him being the primary point guard. I hope not to see a lot of it except in certain situations.

Devin looked tired after playing the previous night plus he was bringing the ball up the court on too many occasions as well. I agree he needs to be aware of the blitz and double teams but being a point guard and offensive juggernaut was a bridge too far. No one was helping him out either.

 

[Dr. Jones]

A huge problem for the Suns was being out rebounded and sending the Pelicans to the free throw line 41 times.

The Suns actually had more assists than the Pelicans although they turned it over 4 more times.

Its been said before but this is one of the two ways that we lose games. The other is poor three point shooting.

 

[Dr. Jones]

How long is Payne supposed to be out?

I think he or Holliday will start once all of their injuries are behind us.

 

[Mainstreet]

Its been said before but this is one of the two ways that we lose games. The other is poor three point shooting.

The Hawks and Heat beat the Suns with excellent three point shooting but the Pelicans didn't do much from 3-point range either. Getting beaten this badly on the boards by the Pelicans is an embarrassment.

Also the Suns couldn't figure out the the Pelicans pick and roll. The defensive effort was simply not there.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This looks encouraging. Cam Payne shooting without a brace on right hand and he is using it.

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Payne is a lefty, right? Man, we need him back on the court freaking bad.

 

[Dr. Jones]

The Hawks and Heat beat the Suns with excellent three point shooting but the Pelicans didn't do much from 3-point range either. Getting beaten this badly on the boards by the Pelicans is an embarrassment.

Also the Suns couldn't figure out the the Pelicans pick and roll. The defensive effort was simply not there.

Hawks: We shot 9-32 from 3pt land as a whole. Book, Mikal & Paul went 4-20 from deep. Hawks were 20-40 from deep and we still only lost by 9.

Heat: We shot 14-34 from 3pt land as a whole. Cam & Jae were 3-13 from deep. Heat were 22-44 from deep and we got rolled by 23.

Last night reminded me of the Bucks series (especially games 3 & 4). And old tapes of Ayton vs. Embiid. They beat us by 15 at the stripe and the scoreboard. A listless effort for sure.

 

[Mainstreet]

Payne is a lefty, right? Man, we need him back on the court freaking bad.

Exactly. He is looking good shooting the ball with both hands.

 

[Mainstreet]

Hawks: We shot 9-32 from 3pt land as a whole. Book, Mikal & Paul went 4-20 from deep. Hawks were 20-40 from deep and we still only lost by 9.

Heat: We shot 14-34 from 3pt land as a whole. Cam & Jae were 3-13 from deep. Heat were 22-44 from deep and we got rolled by 23.

Last night reminded me of the Bucks series (especially games 3 & 4). And old tapes of Ayton vs. Embiid. They beat us by 15 at the stripe and the scoreboard. A listless effort for sure.

I was only pointing out in the losses to the Hawks and Heat both teams shot .500 from 3-point range. They were crazy hot.

Mostly I was thinking about this season but it's a good point about the Finals last season.

 

[Mainstreet]

@Dr. Jones

It's a concern of mine the Suns don't have a better passing game without a point guard. C.J. McCollum ran the Pelicans with ease but they passed well even without him.

The Warriors are not point guard reliant team either in regard to their passing game.

 

[Covert Rain]

The team is so much thinner at guard without CP3 that they can’t afford for someone like Holiday to be out. I watched the game on delay but once I heard Holiday was out? I said uh oh. I was right. Payton playing 14 minutes with that production is a huge problem.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

The team is so much thinner at guard without CP3 that they can’t afford for someone like Holiday to be out. I watched the game on delay but once I heard Holiday was out? I said uh oh. I was right. Payton playing 14 minutes with that production is a huge problem.

Well that is because they have 3 injured PGs. If CP3 was the only one injured we wouldn't look thin at all at PG.

 

[Mainstreet]

The team is so much thinner at guard without CP3 that they can’t afford for someone like Holiday to be out. I watched the game on delay but once I heard Holiday was out? I said uh oh. I was right. Payton playing 14 minutes with that production is a huge problem.

Suns really need to add a point guard to replace Payton. IMO, there are much better ones available. Suns may be waiting for more buyouts.

 

[overseascardfan]

Suns really need to add a point guard to replace Payton. IMO, there are much better ones available. Suns may be waiting for more buyouts.

I don't think they buyout market will include a significant PG and even if someone like Wall or Schroeder become available PHX will be competing with other playoff teams for their services. We pretty much have to hope we stay healthy the rest of the way otherwise the rest of the season including the playoffs will be a lot more challenging.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't think they buyout market will include a significant PG and even if someone like Wall or Schroeder become available PHX will be competing with other playoff teams for their services. We pretty much have to hope we stay healthy the rest of the way otherwise the rest of the season including the playoffs will be a lot more challenging.

I'm not looking for high end point guards although I would gladly take one.

A guard like Augustin, Wananmaker or Satoranský (going to the Wizards) would help the Suns even on a 10-day contract.

Mostly I'm looking for a guard that will buy some time for the Suns point guards to get healthy. If the Suns find a replacement for Payton so much the better.

 

[overseascardfan]

I'm not looking for high end point guards although I would gladly take one.

A guard like Augustin, Wananmaker or Satoranský (going to the Wizards) would help the Suns even on a 10-day contract.

Mostly I'm looking for a guard that will buy some time for the Suns point guards to get healthy. If the Suns find a replacement for Payton so much the better.

The problem is getting guys to come here. Satoransky just went back to WAS. There aren't a lot of guys trying to come here it seems to sit on bench when they can get minutes elsewhere.

 

[Mainstreet]

The problem is getting guys to come here. Satoransky just went back to WAS. There aren't a lot of guys trying to come here it seems to sit on bench when they can get minutes elsewhere.

Players often do looks towards the future and if they can get playing time. However, some players want to go to a championship contender for a chance at a ring or an opportunity to get a contract for next season.

I suspect the Suns will not re-sign Payton for next season so there is an opportunity right there although I hope the Suns keep Holiday.

There is always a a tier of minimum contract type players or buyout players that don't want to play for a bad team.

 

[95pro]

@Dr. Jones

It's a concern of mine the Suns don't have a better passing game without a point guard. C.J. McCollum ran the Pelicans with ease but they passed well even without him.

The Warriors are not point guard reliant team either in regard to their passing game.

A product of cp3 having the ball a lot. Now that he’s out it tough for anyone to replicate that amount of ball-time cp3 gets.

 

[Finito]

We don’t need to add anybody we just need to get healthy. Paul, Payne and Holiday were out that’s our top 3 point guards.

Booker cannot play point. He just can’t.

This was only our second loss in like 6 weeks