Suns @ Lakers Thursday game thread, 10-26-2023

[elindholm]

Do you think we'll even see KD, Booker and Beal in the lineup together for 20 games? I have serious doubts about it.

In an earlier thread, another poster (I can't remember who) set the over/under at 19.5, and I took the under.

 

[GatorAZ]

Do you think we'll even see KD, Booker and Beal in the lineup together for 20 games? I have serious doubts about it.

The regular season is going to be frustrating but it is what it is. Book is always nicked up, Beal couldn’t make it thru the preseason and a layup line is capable of taking down KD. My guess is they’re just like the 21’ Nets. Unbelievable when they’re all playing but never playing together.

 

[Proximo]

In an earlier thread, another poster (I can't remember who) set the over/under at 19.5, and I took the under.

Oh come on.

That is just being overly negative.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Oh come on.

That is just being overly negative.

How many games did Booker, KD and Paul play together last year? Or just Booker and KD?

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

How many games did Booker, KD and Paul play together last year? Or just Booker and KD?

KD wasn't on the team to start the season last year...

 

[Cheesebeef]

The regular season is going to be frustrating but it is what it is. Book is always nicked up, Beal couldn’t make it thru the preseason and a layup line is capable of taking down KD. My guess is they’re just like the 21’ Nets. Unbelievable when they’re all playing but never playing together.

Thinking this is gonna be true. It’s why I chuckled to myself when I was seeing predictions of 60 wins and the like.

But it’s easier to conceptualize in the off-season that there will be a lot of guys in and out of the lineup with this Big 3. Reality of watching it in season, especially right up front as the season begins, is a little tougher than I expected.

 

[Cheesebeef]

KD wasn't on the team to start the season last year...

I think that’s his point. Even though KD was only on the team a short time, that “big 3” played together a total of 13 times out of a possible 32 games.

And you can slot in Beal for CP3 because one is just as injury prone as the other… if not more so with Beal.

My guess is all together, a better over under is 30 games, but 20 games is what the Nets got their first year so I wouldn’t begrudge anyone calling for around that number.

It’s just a big three held together by pins and needles. That’s the reality of the situation.

 

[TJ]

In an earlier thread, another poster (I can't remember who) set the over/under at 19.5, and I took the under.

That was me and it sounds like I was being too optimistic at the time

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I think that’s his point. Even though KD was only on the team a short time, that “big 3” played together a total of 13 times out of a possible 32 games.

And you can slot in Beal for CP3 because one is just as injury prone as the other… if not more so with Beal.

My guess is all together, a better over under is 30 games, but 20 games is what the Nets got their first year. It’s just a big three held together by pins and needles. That’s the reality of the situation.

And 13 out of 32 equates to well over 19 out of 82.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Man so disappointed in everyone not KD. Great first half. Then no one showed to help down the stretch. Big disappointment in gordon and Allen thus far in young season.

 

[95pro]

I’d still like to see one or the other on the court at a time between Allen and Gordon. They have different skill sets but have the same role.

For this game we definitely needed to dig deeper with Metu or KBD.

And jeebus get KD out earlier in the first. Another long minute game for him. He looked a lot better this game.

Eubanks didn’t get any burn late in the game?

Some questionable decisions that hopefully will not lead to a season long pattern.

It’s one thing for Vogel to talk up player’s positively, but another when he glues them to the bench.

 

[Cheesebeef]

And 13 out of 32 equates to well over 19 out of 82.

Sure… it comes out to a whopping 33 out of 82 games together. Which would still be awful, just not catastrophically as bad as 19.5 game. But even if you extrapolate out an Over/under of 33 games together, that number kinda ignores the unfortunate fact that Beal AND Booker can’t even START the season healthy, AND Beal is somehow more prone to injury than CP3 was last year.

It’s just not out of the realm of possibilities as much as that 19.5 number looks on first blush.

 

[95pro]

Oh and I was driving while my passenger was watching the 4th quarter. I said watch we are ahead and the refs will start calling fouls on the suns. Sure enough we went into foul mode and they caught up. Some were questionable. And AD flop and then there was one where he drew a foul on someone standing there arms straight up and ball goes into arms. I knew it was over with about 5 minutes to go.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Oh and I was driving while my passenger was watching the 4th quarter. I said watch we are ahead and the refs will start calling fouls on the suns. Sure enough we went into foul mode and they caught up. Some were questionable. And AD flop and then there was one where he drew a foul on someone standing there arms straight up and ball goes into arms. I knew it was over with about 5 minutes to go.

We didn’t come close to losing that game because of the refs. We lost because we couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the edge of the Santa Monica Pier in the entire 4th Q.

 

[Hoop Head]

Oh and I was driving while my passenger was watching the 4th quarter. I said watch we are ahead and the refs will start calling fouls on the suns. Sure enough we went into foul mode and they caught up. Some were questionable. And AD flop and then there was one where he drew a foul on someone standing there arms straight up and ball goes into arms. I knew it was over with about 5 minutes to go.

The officiating was good until the 4th. They allowed a lot of contact on both sides. Then in the 4th, like you said, the whistles came out. That didn't cause the team to implode like it did but it didn't help.

I don't know why Eubanks didn't see more time in the 4th. The Lakers had Wood, AD, and LeBron out there together and we had KD as our only frontcourt player. That didn't make sense. Watanabe should see less minutes. Like others have said either Metu or KBD should have seen some time in the second half. I get not putting in a cold body in the 4th quarter but one or both should have been on the floor after the half since that's when things slowed down and the Lakers size advantage started turning the game.

 

[Covert Rain]

I watched it on delay. KD was a beast. He looked like he ran out of gas at one point though. In addition, he really had zero help. The offense became so predictable without Brook or Beal. It was just give it to KD and let him work. There was some good. Goodwin might be my favorite new Sun if he keeps playing with that kind of energy.

 

[Phrazbit]

Gordon had a terrible game... but at least he kept shooting, which is more than I can say for Allen.

Allen was awful, again.

Goodwin (who I really like) played well at first, got a little too cozy and then got way too trigger happy.

Okogie played another solid game.

We saw the flip side of the Nurk coin... he is a foul machine and cannot stay infront of mobile bigs.

KD played a great 2nd and 3rd quarter, 4th he either ran out of gas or tried to do waaaaaay too much. I think it was more that he just got cold. I know he is a superstar but 15-20 foot fadeaway 2 point shots are bad shots no matter who takes them.

Overall, they played a great game for 3 quarters, then they looked like a bunch of guys who have hardly played a minute together, which is the case. Terrible, slow offense, where no one knew where to move, where to cut, where to pass... when we were not settling for a terrible shot early in the clock we were turning the ball over or getting 24 second violations.

Vogel's teams have never been offensively efficient, I really hope he entrusts Young to develop an offense that can function without relying on a superstar going ham.

 

[Germz249]

I think I need to go back in my cave.. that 4th quarter made me sick to my stomach..

 

[SeattleCardinal]

To be fair two of our best bench players were forced to start for Book and Beal. It will be hard to tell just how good the bench is until this team is healthy.

Kinda worrisome that we are already having "until this team is healthy" discussions, two games into the season.

 

[overseascardfan]

Kinda worrisome that we are already having "until this team is healthy" discussions, two games into the season.

Charles Barkley joked on Tuesday that Beal is load managing at Game 1.

 

[Dr. Jones]

A winnable in-division game lost. Sucks

 

[Mainstreet]

This is another way to look at the game.

Lebron had to play every minute of the fourth quarter to beat a team without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

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[95pro]

What I didn’t like was the Lakers were allowed to play illegal defense most of the game. AD dropped back guarding no one, and imo I felt like it wasn’t a true zone.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think I need to go back in my cave.. that 4th quarter made me sick to my stomach..

Maybe time to have a meeting at the waffle house.

 

[Superbone]

Holy crap KD is good.

I thought he was washed?