Suns @ Trail Blazers Thursday game thread 3-11-2021

[jagu]

Nader is such an asset on this team.

 

[Phrazbit]

Even at my most optimistic I wouldn't have thought we'd be playing like this. Just an amazing, well rounded, well coached team.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Monty realized saric was giving us a better chance to win.

Not a coincidence that when ayton doesn't play much in the 2nd half... we usually win.

 

[Mainstreet]

Payne with a nice game off bench with 13 points, 6 assists and a steal.

 

[jagu]

The Suns are 2 GB behind the Jazz in the L column right now. Is this real or am I in the Inception?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

We are on a pace to win 50 games . . . in a 72 game season.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Very early in the game he did twice, but really hasn’t since.

He's talked to the refs several times but I haven't really seen him go over the top or go into whine mode.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns outscored Trail Blazers 37-27 in the 4th quarter.

 

[Chaplin]

He's talked to the refs several times but I haven't really seen him go over the top or go into whine mode.

I’ve seen it a lot more from Lillard and of course Melo.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Suns outscored Trail Bazers 37-27 in the 4th quarter.

Fourth quarter is becoming Suns time. I wonder what our average margin is in the 4th.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I’ve seen it a lot more from Lillard and of course Melo.

For sure. Dario seemed frustrated that he wasn’t getting calls.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Dario is such a luxury to have; his overall play was the difference today. Scoring, getting easy shots for others and playing solid enough defense to not be a liability.

 

[Mainstreet]

Fourth quarter is becoming Suns time. I wonder what our average margin is in the 4th.

The Suns are sort of like a boxer exchanging punches and feeling out the opponent in the early quarters before putting them away in the 4th. It's becoming a noticeable quality.

 

[Chaplin]

For sure. Dario seemed frustrated that he wasn’t getting calls.

Dario is always like that.

 

[Phrazbit]

Fourth quarter is becoming Suns time. I wonder what our average margin is in the 4th.

I was pondering the same, we've been burying teams in the 4th. With the notable exception of the Nets game... man... that one still stings, our lead in that one got too big too early, we just fell asleep.

 

[Chaplin]

The Suns are sort of like a boxer exchanging punches and feeling out the opponent in the early quarters before putting them away in the 4th. It's becoming a noticeable quality.

That’s a good analogy.

 

[Finito]

Not a coincidence that when ayton doesn't play much in the 2nd half... we usually win.

yeah we kinda usually win no matter who is playing in case you haven’t noticed.

that was just a dumb statement with no truth behind it

 

[AzStevenCal]

We are no longer the really young team that couldn't close out games. And it looks good for the future when you consider that Kaminsky, Nader, Saric, Payne, Carter, Booker, Bridges, Johnson, Ayton and Smith are all 27 or younger.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Fourth quarter is becoming Suns time. I wonder what our average margin is in the 4th.

This is the best I could find. Shows us having the 3rd best 4th quarter margin in the league.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/average-4th-quarter-margin

 

[Raze]

Fourth quarter is becoming Suns time. I wonder what our average margin is in the 4th.

I think this says we're 3rd at +1.7.
And 2nd best on the road by a lot at +4.1.
The last 3 games we are +8.

We are a legit 4th quarter team.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/average-4th-quarter-margin

Edit: Missed it by that much.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

This is the best I could find. Shows us having the 3rd best 4th quarter margin in the league.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/average-4th-quarter-margin

Thank you for posting. That’s what I was seeking. I’ll bet it’s considerably better after the 8-8 start.

one thing I found interesting is our change from last year to this in fourth quarter margin. While not the largest swing, it’s pretty considerable. Equally as interesting is the opposite swing OKC took. Paul is incredibly an enormous difference maker. ENORMOUS.

 

[elindholm]

Great decision to bench Ayton for the last 18 or so minutes. He was simply awful in the third quarter, very slow both mentally and physically. Both Saric and Crowder made an immediate difference when they came in in the third.

 

[Dr dumas]

This team is not flashy, bit seems to be able to grind out games. I’m loving what I’m seeing from this team and I now expect nothing short of a deep playoff run.

 

[JCSunsfan]

This is almost shocking and it is the reason that Ayton did not play in the 4th.

From the NBa.com power rankings article.

The Suns have outscored their opponents by 23.5 points per 100 possessions with Dario Saric on the floor. That’s the highest on-court NetRtg mark among 304 players that have averaged at least 15 minutes per game. The 96.8 points per 100 possessions the Suns have allowed with Saric on the floor is the lowest on-court DefRtg mark among that same group.

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-12

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

From the NBa.com power rankings article.

The Suns have outscored their opponents by 23.5 points per 100 possessions with Dario Saric on the floor. That’s the highest on-court NetRtg mark among 304 players that have averaged at least 15 minutes per game. The 96.8 points per 100 possessions the Suns have allowed with Saric on the floor is the lowest on-court DefRtg mark among that same group.

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-12

That’s insane. Dario for MVP!

 

[jagu]

Great decision to bench Ayton for the last 18 or so minutes. He was simply awful in the third quarter, very slow both mentally and physically. Both Saric and Crowder made an immediate difference when they came in in the third.

It's amazing how the mental hurdle can make the difference between a good player and a superstar. He has superstar ability but zero IQ or drive to become great.

 

[95pro]

Ayton has sat the ending of a few games this year. Motor and mentality just aren’t there.