Suns @ Celtics 12-19-18

[Chris_Sanders]

MANY posters. Not just a random one or two.

I will admit I had to swallow some opinions during this because I REALLY want Igor to succeed and it's easy to lose that in the moment

 

[Mainstreet]

MANY posters. Not just a random one or two.

Almost needed a fly swatter. LOL

 

[Hoop Head]

Wizards getting spanked by the Rockets. Ariza is 1-8 from the field. See you on Saturday, bitch!

I want to like this more than once. The Washington Ariza's are 0-2 now.

I wish we could say we took the season series from the Celtics but that first game helped build confidence for our youngsters. I think that was a key loss for the Suns where they realized they could beat anyone but had to play for 48 minutes. This makes up for that loss, especially since we came out a little sluggish and Boston was on their A game. We had to fight for that lead and kept it.

I saw a lot of people talking about Booker slowing things down for us was bad and while it was, can you think of any games where he's had to slow things for us to kill the clock for a win? He hasn't had to do that much, if at all, as a Sun. He might have done it as a rookie but even then it might have been a game or two. He'll get things together. I'm glad Igor didn't pull anyone at the end because we needed to play all 48 regardless of the score. The Celtics coming back by like 11 in 3 minutes in the last game sucked. I didn't want to experience that again.

 

[Mainstreet]

I do think the Celtics defense deserves some credit for wearing Booker down.

 

[JCSunsfan]

MANY posters. Not just a random one or two.

Well. Not me. I have been defending him . . . faintly.

 

[Suns_fan69]

My hope/wish is that the Suns end up with more wins than Washington at the end of the year. It's not out of the realm of possibility, and would be a giant F U to Ariza.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I do think the Celtics defense deserves some credit for wearing Booker down.

I can't remember ever seeing him look that exhausted. He was either under the weather or they wore him down. Maybe both?

 

[sdscard4]

I can't believe there were posters here calling for Igor's job.

I am one and still believe he's the wrong fit for this team.....but I will say he is starting to stick to a rotation and getting the ball down low and getting a rythem. So for that I'm happy esp with a 4 game win streak....I think JJ turning it on has had a huge impact along with Melton. Oubre for TA was a great addition. Just 10 days ago the team was depressing and unwatchable....last 5 days my God what a turn around!

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well. Not me. I have been defending him . . . faintly.

Yeah, I was supportive a time or two but I mostly avoided the conversation. Not copping out but I think it's almost impossible to know whether a coach is good or bad with such a small sample and such a flawed roster.

 

[Mainstreet]

I can't remember ever seeing him look that exhausted. He was either under the weather or they wore him down. Maybe both?

Could be both. I know you mentioned it earlier as well. My guess is the Celtics keyed on him.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah, I was supportive a time or two but I mostly avoided the conversation. Not copping out but I think it's almost impossible to know whether a coach is good or bad with such a small sample and such a flawed roster.

For me it was like let's give Igor a chance. The Suns were winning as well. That language thing was garbage.

 

[BC867]

Suns just beat a quality team with 3 quality PGs.


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The Celtics were without their starting Center and their backup Center left the game with a broken bone.

It is wonderful that Ayton took advantage of it. With a quarter of the season behind him, he is progressing.

Especially with those offensive rebounds.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Obviously it's early, but I really like what I've seen from Oubre. Nice smart cuts to the basket, good post entry passes, great defense (didn't he pick Kyrie's pocket? No small feat), timely shots. I love the fact we have 3 very defensive minded guys in JJ, Bridges and Oubre. 2 of the 3 should be on the court at all times IMO, even if that means TJ to the bench.

 

[sdscard4]

Obviously it's early, but I really like what I've seen from Oubre. Nice smart cuts to the basket, good post entry passes, great defense (didn't he pick Kyrie's pocket? No small feat), timely shots. I love the fact we have 3 very defensive minded guys in JJ, Bridges and Oubre. 2 of the 3 should be on the court at all times IMO, even if that means TJ to the bench.

Oh no ....no way you benching TJ. Dude is probably our best all around player at this moment.

 

[95pro]

Great game, watched it late due to accidents on the 51 and i17.

Wow those two are lengthy, Oubre and Bridges. Those two plus Jackson make for some quick close outs, lots of deflections, and recovering from back cuts.

I feel bad for warren, i'm sure some here bashed him for his 1st half choices but he continually gets buckets. He never gets the calls until he finally picked up an and1.

The celtics center, Williams i think, really gave holmes problems as well as any alley-oop attempt.

I think Booker, physically/athletically is the odd man out with Ayton, Bridges, Jackson and Oubre. He was really slow and bad at initiating the offense when it was time for point-Book. Maybe he needs more experience on closing out these 4th quarters as it's all new to him and the squad.

Overall the suns were aggressive and got some calls going their way. Big shot by Oubre near the end.

 

[Folster]

My hope/wish is that the Suns end up with more wins than Washington at the end of the year. It's not out of the realm of possibility, and would be a giant F U to Ariza.

I wouldn't be surprised if he is moved again prior to the deadline.

 

[BC867]

Oh no ....no way you benching TJ. Dude is probably our best all around player at this moment.

I hope that whether the Suns stress offense or defense at any point of any game is based on the need, rather than proclamations between games.

And that Igor is growing with the roster in that regard.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Oh no ....no way you benching TJ. Dude is probably our best all around player at this moment.

Yeah, I hear ya, and i'm not fully convinced it's the right idea either, but Oubre's defense vs 4s would be better, and TJ's offense would be more reliable with that second unit.

Edit: meant defense when talking about Oubre

 

[Folster]

The Celtics were without their starting Center and their backup Center left the game with a broken bone.

It is wonderful that Ayton took advantage of it. With a quarter of the season behind him, he is progressing.

Especially with those offensive rebounds.

I don't recall anyone feeling sorry for us when Booker and Warren were out.

 

[1tinsoldier]

I can't believe there were posters here calling for Igor's job.

you know, i just got done complimenting Igor for the first time and you have to go and ruin it

believe it. if after 32 games this was the first time Igor did something that was noticeably positive
i'm absolutely still calling for Igor's job!

i can't be satisfied that he's learning. he should have already learned a lot
after 17 years as an assistant and some head coaching experience overseas.
i should have had some better things to say already

honestly, i expected the Suns to be a much better defensive team this year
and was baffled by their lack of energy

the best part of seeing the Suns progress this season under Igor
IS THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH FURTHER THEY WILL GET UNDER A REAL COACH NEXT SEASON

 

[BC867]

I don't recall anyone feeling sorry for us when Booker and Warren were out.

I didn't mean it that way. I sincerely hope that Ayton uses this upturn as a confidence builder, rather than thinking he has arrived, which I have had full confidence that he will.

 

[Mainstreet]

Obviously it's early, but I really like what I've seen from Oubre. Nice smart cuts to the basket, good post entry passes, great defense (didn't he pick Kyrie's pocket? No small feat), timely shots. I love the fact we have 3 very defensive minded guys in JJ, Bridges and Oubre. 2 of the 3 should be on the court at all times IMO, even if that means TJ to the bench.

I almost couldn't contain myself about Oubre. It was probably apparent. As I viewed it, he sparked the Suns defense.

It helped that Oubre was not the slightest bit intimidated by the Celtics. I think this carried over to the rest of the team. Everyone upped their defense. It was contagious. The Suns gained a bit of a swagger tonight and it wasn't from their offense.

 

[Evil Ash]

I didn't mean it that way. I sincerely hope that Ayton uses this upturn as a confidence builder, rather than thinking he has arrived, which I have had full confidence that he will.

Ayton, for whatever reason, seems to be more conservative when playing a team for the 1st time. He plays aggressively every time after (ie tonight the 2nd time facing the Celtics)

 

[AzStevenCal]

I feel bad for warren, i'm sure some here bashed him for his 1st half choices but he continually gets buckets. He never gets the calls until he finally picked up an and1.

Not in the first half he didn't. He made horrible decisions, shot very poorly and was almost invisible the first half. He turned it around and played pretty well in the second half - just the reverse of Devin's game.

 

[Folster]

you know, i just got done complimenting Igor for the first time and you have to go and ruin it

believe it. if after 32 games this was the first time Igor did something that was noticeably positive
i'm absolutely still calling for Igor's job!

i can't be satisfied that he's learning. he should have already learned a lot
after 17 years as an assistant and some head coaching experience overseas.
i should have had some better things to say already

honestly, i expected the Suns to be a much better defensive team this year
and was baffled by their lack of energy

the best part of seeing the Suns progress this season under Igor
IS THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH FURTHER THEY WILL GET UNDER A REAL COACH NEXT SEASON

Igor is a damn good coach, the best coach since Gentry in my opinion. I've been impressed with his patience and his calm demeanor during extremely frustrating times.

He has been very patient with our young guys who had been making tons of mistakes and not putting forth the required effort. He also had to deal with two stretches without Booker and 1 stretch without Booker and Warren.

If he's guilty of anything, it's been asking too much too soon from the young team. I think the offensive scheme and defensive rotations were more than the team could process, but it seems to be bearing fruit now.

He currently has the Suns playing there best defense since... Forever.

It sucks, but I think things had to get worse before they got better and that was magnified with Booker and Warren missing time.