Raptors @ Suns Monday game thread 1-30-2023

Chris_Sanders

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Cam smashed in the face and they give the ball to the Raptors. That's a bit much.
 
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Mainstreet

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Final:

Suns 114 - Raptors 106
 
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Mainstreet

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Now we will see if James Jones and Masai Ujiri worked out a trade when they walked out together through the tunnel.
 

DJ Tabooh

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It may have taken Bridges some time to find his place with all these injuries. However, can anybody say he hasn’t stepped it up? This isn’t a 2 or 3 game streak. This is now been going on for nearly a month. Holy crap!
It’s all a matter of confidence. Mikal is capable at times, but he often drifts in games and doesn’t always stand out. If we had Book, CP3 and DA doing what they’re capable of, it wouldn’t matter. But I just want him to be aggressive.

Shots are gonna come and go. But he needs to show a willingness to not disappear and just trust himself. He’s a really good player and borderline all-star when he plays like he did tonight.
 

Cheesebeef

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It may have taken Bridges some time to find his place with all these injuries. However, can anybody say he hasn’t stepped it up? This isn’t a 2 or 3 game streak. This is now been going on for nearly a month. Holy crap!
I’ll be happy as a clam with my mouth closed shut like one too if he keeps this up.
 
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clyde2tw

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Coach's substituion plan worked well this game. Both Lees had more confidence to shoot the ball, Okogie drove more instead of shooting and missing 3s. Monty paid attention there, which is effective.
 

Covert Rain

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I’ll be happy as a clam with my mouth closed shut like one too if he keeps this up.
I am happy now. I expect that when Book comes back there will be a ton less balls to go around. Especially, if CP3 stays aggressive.
 

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Fun game, one of Monty's better coached ones in recent memory.

Outside of that run Toronto had at the start of the 3rd, we made a lot of good adjustments and the timeouts and substitutions were well done.
 

Finito

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It’s all a matter of confidence. Mikal is capable at times, but he often drifts in games and doesn’t always stand out. If we had Book, CP3 and DA doing what they’re capable of, it wouldn’t matter. But I just want him to be aggressive.

Shots are gonna come and go. But he needs to show a willingness to not disappear and just trust himself. He’s a really good player and borderline all-star when he plays like he did tonight.

Yeah last night was a perfect example of Bridges. 23 points at half times and finishes the game with 29 points.

Completely disappeared in the second half, but it’s Bridges so Suns Twitter and Reddit are filled with Bridges is a legit option talk. Literally 2 baskets in the second half of a close game.

I feel like I’m going crazy
 

AzStevenCal

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Yeah last night was a perfect example of Bridges. 23 points at half times and finishes the game with 29 points.

Completely disappeared in the second half, but it’s Bridges so Suns Twitter and Reddit are filled with Bridges is a legit option talk. Literally 2 baskets in the second half of a close game.

I feel like I’m going crazy
Why is it that the a few of the most outspoken Mikal critics are also the biggest Ayton supporters? Why is it when DA goes for 21 points all in the first quarter, it's the team's fault that he doesn't score again but with Bridges it's because he completely disappeared? Never mind that he had a couple of crucial late game baskets that helped stop Toronto's momentum and put us back up by 3.

Bridges isn't a "legit option" if by that you mean the kind of scorer that can be counted on to carry the offense when the defense decides to take him out of the scoring. To shut Booker down you usually need to have a strong defender on him with 2 or 3 help defenders hovering. To shut Bridges down, all you need is a strong defender with maybe one help defender hovering. To shut Ayton down, all you need to do is wait and he'll shut himself down.
 

Dback Jon

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Yeah last night was a perfect example of Bridges. 23 points at half times and finishes the game with 29 points.

Completely disappeared in the second half, but it’s Bridges so Suns Twitter and Reddit are filled with Bridges is a legit option talk. Literally 2 baskets in the second half of a close game.

I feel like I’m going crazy
If Bridges had 6 points in the first half, but 23 in the second, what is the narrative?
 

Covert Rain

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Yeah last night was a perfect example of Bridges. 23 points at half times and finishes the game with 29 points.

Completely disappeared in the second half, but it’s Bridges so Suns Twitter and Reddit are filled with Bridges is a legit option talk. Literally 2 baskets in the second half of a close game.

I feel like I’m going crazy
You are going crazy because basketball is a game of runs and adjustments. At the end of the night, I don't care where someone's points came from or when. If they dropped 30 points they dropped 30 points. Those 30 points would be critical to the win. Teams start doubling or switching their best defensive players when someone is hot. We have seen them do it to CP3, Book etc. However, Ayton is a tad different. Many teams simply don't have anybody that can match up with Ayton or his size. We see it all the time. Ayton missing wide open jumpers left and right isn't someone shutting Ayton down.

The only time it's frustrating for me is when someone puts up huge points, the game comes down to a basket and that person misses a wide-open shot. THAT can be frustrating, but chances are without that persons 30 you wouldn't be in the game anyway. Some people lack overall perspective and are in what did you do for me in the last-minute mode.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Yeah last night was a perfect example of Bridges. 23 points at half times and finishes the game with 29 points.

Completely disappeared in the second half, but it’s Bridges so Suns Twitter and Reddit are filled with Bridges is a legit option talk. Literally 2 baskets in the second half of a close game.

I feel like I’m going crazy
I was pretty shocked how few he shot in the second half considering he was all bottoms in the first.
 

Cheesebeef

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Why is it that the a few of the most outspoken Mikal critics are also the biggest Ayton supporters? Why is it when DA goes for 21 points all in the first quarter, it's the team's fault that he doesn't score again but with Bridges it's because he completely disappeared? Never mind that he had a couple of crucial late game baskets that helped stop Toronto's momentum and put us back up by 3.

Bridges isn't a "legit option" if by that you mean the kind of scorer that can be counted on to carry the offense when the defense decides to take him out of the scoring. To shut Booker down you usually need to have a strong defender on him with 2 or 3 help defenders hovering. To shut Bridges down, all you need is a strong defender with maybe one help defender hovering. To shut Ayton down, all you need to do is wait and he'll shut himself down.
As an outspoken critic of both, I find it very bizarre that some don’t see the similar issues in both players games.
 
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