The Starting 5

[Chaplin]

Of the guys who will see the court, Beal will be the worst defender, he's been a pretty lousy defender his entire career. Gordon is just about average, Payne has actually been pretty solid on that end.

Payne gets too much hate here. His problem is his shooting, he is a wildly inconsistent shooter and when his shot isn't falling he goes for those crazy layups. As a facilitator he is really really good and as a defender he's solid.

Haven’t agreed with you a lot since the trade deadline but we definitely agree on Cam.

 

[Hoop Head]

Bol Bol had worse advanced stats than Bazley when it comes to offensive efficiency. If we wanted to take a chance on a long young player then we would have kept Bazley, who has shown so much more defensive potential than Bol. If you know anything about LEBRON ratings then Bol Bol was in the bottom 30 of the entire NBA when it comes to Offensive LEBRON ratings. He did lead the league most of the year but I guess he dug himself our of that hole just slightly.

Offensive LEBRON is measured by a players production over 100 offensive possessions. So his numbers are fools gold, if even that since he only averaged 9 ppg on a terrible team that afforded him many opportunities and cast him aside for nothing at seasons end.

If anyone wants to learn more about LEBRON stats, here's a link. It's like a more advanced PER or another system like RAPTOR.

LEBRON Introduction - Basketball Index

LEBRON: The man, the myth, the metric? See the LEBRON data itself here or explore our free interactive application here! Want to listen to an explanation? Check out our pod with Ben Taylor discussing LEBRON here...

www.bball-index.com

 

[JCSunsfan]

Bol Bol had worse advanced stats than Bazley when it comes to offensive efficiency. If we wanted to take a chance on a long young player then we would have kept Bazley, who has shown so much more defensive potential than Bol. If you know anything about LEBRON ratings then Bol Bol was in the bottom 30 of the entire NBA when it comes to Offensive LEBRON ratings. He did lead the league most of the year but I guess he dug himself our of that hole just slightly.

Offensive LEBRON is measured by a players production over 100 offensive possessions. So his numbers are fools gold, if even that since he only averaged 9 ppg on a terrible team that afforded him many opportunities and cast him aside for nothing at seasons end.

If anyone wants to learn more about LEBRON stats, here's a link. It's like a more advanced PER or another system like RAPTOR.

LEBRON Introduction - Basketball Index

LEBRON: The man, the myth, the metric? See the LEBRON data itself here or explore our free interactive application here! Want to listen to an explanation? Check out our pod with Ben Taylor discussing LEBRON here...

www.bball-index.com

What intrigues about Bol is when you watch him. He has the skills of a shooting guard at 7-2. Great handle, good shot out to the three point line, even scores well on a variety of mid range shots. He covers ground so quickly with those long legs and he blocks shots.

It is what I see when I watch him that intrigues me.

 

[Raindog]

A 4 that can't shoot, can't set screens, can't play offensive inside, can't defend on the outside and his a really ugly assist to turnover ratio.

He's probably better a better option than Todd but that isn't saying much. I don't think he'd sniff the court here.

He would only be brought in to fill out the back of the bench, for the present. But I think the hope would be that he could be turned into something better long term, since the Suns obviously need to find developable young talent from somewhere other than the draft. Bol was a very highly rated prospect coming out of high school and has some unique attributes, so I can see where there would be some interest.

 

[Mainstreet]

As I understand it, Bol Bol is to sign with the 76ers.

https://www.si.com/nba/magic/news/orlando-magic-mo-bamba-signs-philadelphia-76ers-los-angeles-la-lakers-nba-free-agency-tracker

 

[JCSunsfan]

As I understand it, Bol Bol is to sign with the 76ers.

https://www.si.com/nba/magic/news/orlando-magic-mo-bamba-signs-philadelphia-76ers-los-angeles-la-lakers-nba-free-agency-tracker

Um. That Bamba. Bol and Bamba are two different players.

 

[Mainstreet]

Um. That Bamba. Bol and Bamba are two different players.

That was a mix-up on my part and resolved on another thread.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

What intrigues about Bol is when you watch him. He has the skills of a shooting guard at 7-2. Great handle, good shot out to the three point line, even scores well on a variety of mid range shots. He covers ground so quickly with those long legs and he blocks shots.

It is what I see when I watch him that intrigues me.

Agree. He’s far from a finished product, but the raw pieces are there. If they’re ever refined he could be an excellent role player.

 

[Krangodnzr]

If only Josh Jackson would have gave Boston a chance.. we may have ended up with Tatum.

Boston was is/was a smart basketball team. Tatum was always the better player.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Suns need to find a practice body for Ayton. Bol Bol's not it.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Suns need to find a practice body for Ayton. Bol Bol's not it.

They already have that guy in Eubanks. Watch that guy play and you know he goes hard in practice.

 

[Yuma]

They already have that guy in Eubanks. Watch that guy play and you know he goes hard in practice.

He goes hard in games, too! I noticed him in games we played. I just didn't realize his shot blocks per game were so high. It's like we got Landale and Bizzy combined in one guy.

 

[Hoop Head]

They already have that guy in Eubanks. Watch that guy play and you know he goes hard in practice.

Going to need more than just Eubanks. Ayton will miss around 15-20 games, at least. Who is the backup when Eubanks starts? We desperately need a 3rd Center. Metu is a small ball C but that won't cut it against bigger teams.

 

[gimpy]

Jemison?

 

[Proximo]

Going to need more than just Eubanks. Ayton will miss around 15-20 games, at least. Who is the backup when Eubanks starts? We desperately need a 3rd Center. Metu is a small ball C but that won't cut it against bigger teams.

I'm really not worried about having another center in the regular season, it's just the playoffs that matter - however it's hard to see how we can get one at the deadline either with almost zero trade assets.

 

[Yuma]

TBH, I didn't see most of the moves we made coming. I have new found respect for the Ishbia version of the Suns front office.

 

[sinsay]

PG Beal/Booker/Gordon/Goodwin/S.Lee
SG Booker/Beal/Gordan/D.Lee
SF KD/Diop/Wat/Josh
PF Bol/KD/Diop/Eubanks
C Ayton/Eubanks/Bol/

 

[GatorAZ]

Starters (traditional positions don’t matter):

Ball-handlers: Book & Beal
3&D: Bates-Diop
Versatile Big: KD
Rebound/rim-protection: DA

 

[Hoop Head]

Starting 5 - Booker, Beal, KD, KBD, Ayton

Rotation - Gordon, Yuta, Eubanks

9th & 10th Man - Goodwin, Okogie, Camara, Metu,

Garbage Time - Bol, Ish, Lee


I think we'll see the 10th man in the rotation vary based on matchups. Not just in terms of size but quality of opponents. We'll see Goodwin and Camara more vs bad teams where the production they provide is needed less. Josh and Metu are a bit more seasoned and will be more reliable if we need to give someone a little bit more rest.

 

[Phrazbit]

Starting 5 - Booker, Beal, KD, KBD, Ayton

Rotation - Gordon, Yuta, Eubanks

9th & 10th Man - Goodwin, Okogie, Camara, Metu,

Garbage Time - Bol, Ish, Lee


I think we'll see the 10th man in the rotation vary based on matchups. Not just in terms of size but quality of opponents. We'll see Goodwin and Camara more vs bad teams where the production they provide is needed less. Josh and Metu are a bit more seasoned and will be more reliable if we need to give someone a little bit more rest.

Agreed. I think/hope that Vogel will use his bench situationally. Ride hot hands and exploit matchup problems.

However, I think Goodwin is likely to be featured quite a bit, they don't trade Payne unless they trust Goodwin, and I think Okogie and Diop will each get more wing minutes than Yuta. We're going to primarily want defense out of our wing guys and they both have a big advantage over Yuta. Yuta is going to be 29 at the start of the season and I really doubt he's suddenly going to make a huge leap. I think Yuta is more like the forward version of Damion Lee. If he is making his shots, he will get minutes, if he's not he sits.

If Okogie can settle in at a remotely respectable three point percentage (34+%) and cut back on the hero ball, I think he will get a lot of playing time, maybe even start. Big if though, he was streaky last year, if he comes out the gate shooting 20% from the outside he may find himself in the dog house.

I am really glad we got Okogie back. He is a fantastic defender, he just needs to get less bad on offense and he will have a long career. And less bad can simply involve, sticking to his strengths. Shooting where he is good a shooting from and not trying to be a hero.

And I will say it again, anyone who thinks Bol is a starter needs to watch more of his tape and look up literally any of his stats. He's, at best, a project.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Starting 5 - Booker, Beal, KD, KBD, Ayton

Rotation - Gordon, Yuta, Eubanks

9th & 10th Man - Goodwin, Okogie, Camara, Metu,

Garbage Time - Bol, Ish, Lee


I think we'll see the 10th man in the rotation vary based on matchups. Not just in terms of size but quality of opponents. We'll see Goodwin and Camara more vs bad teams where the production they provide is needed less. Josh and Metu are a bit more seasoned and will be more reliable if we need to give someone a little bit more rest.

Agree with this except I would switch Bol and Metu. Camara has a chance to work up a level.

 

[Yuma]

The problem now is minutes. We have to get guys minutes to keep them engaged over the course of a season. We have a lot of guys who came here to work on their next contracts. That's a lot of pressure from them on the coaching staff to be seen. I think Vogel will spread out minutes a lot. We may see different substitution patterns during the year that may seem crazy.

 

[95pro]

Agree with this except I would switch Bol and Metu. Camara has a chance to work up a level.

Metu is so much more than Bol Bol

 

[Yuma]

Metu is so much more than Bol Bol

I think some of us just are not familiar with Metu's game. I read good reports online and highlights. Bol Bol because of his size has some spectacular highlights.

 

[95pro]

I think some of us just are not familiar with Metu's game. I read good reports online and highlights. Bol Bol because of his size has some spectacular highlights.

Metu's highlights are higher than Bol's imo