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[MartinToVaught]

uh oh

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Still better than the 23-year performance of Glenn Rivers. Granted, that bar is so low, it's touching the floor.

[Kelphus]

I have no animosity toward Suns or CP3, so I take no joy in their implosion, shocking as it was.

On the other hand, I detest Doncic. He is a horrible whiner, reminds me of how Carl Malone also never committed a foul. He is a flopper, should be nominated for a SAG award. Yes, a great outside shooter and very physical (which makes his flopping even more successful). Can't stand him, he is a terrible role model for young athletes. Go Warriors!

[og15]

imagine suns stretch cp3 and he signs with us for the min

the dream

Why, so he can do this in closeout games for us and Kawhi gets all the blame for it (just like Blake used to)? No thanks.

I wish we could find a way to get Brunson. He'd fit this team like a glove. Definitely not happening, though.

There would have to be a massive injury or other problem with the team if we added a guy like Paul and he was being relied upon as a primary facilitator and top scorer like Phoenix did.

37 year old Paul was neutralized by the Mavs loading up on Booker, put bigger guys on Paul and send a second defender on pick and rolls. They said beat us Bridges, Ayton and Crowder with shooting or playmaking, and those guys simply were not capable of doing that.

If a player like Paul is on the Clippers and you double him on every pick and roll with Kawhi and George next to him, you must be really stupid as a coach. If a player like Paul is on the Clippers and you move your bigger wings to defend him and put your weaker / smaller wing defender on either Leonard or George, again, I'm not sure why you would have the HC job.

Of course Clippers would be a different situation.

Also have to warn because this happens every season to those who don't get the cap. I don't believe the Clippers are in position to make a sign and trade deal cap wise which means there's simply no possible way to get Brunson. Don't get yourselves up for dissappointment then get mad at the FO for not making moves they aren't capable of making.

[MartinToVaught]

I don't like this one bit:

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This reeks of the Lakers pulling their usual corrupt under-the-table BS to steal our coach.

[Dynamix]

Lakers had their shot at Lue and blew it. Why would he ever want to go there in the foreseeable future? It's not like they could outbid Ballmer or anything. It would be more likely for LeBron to try and jump ship after another season with Russ, if the rumors about keeping him are true.

[esqtvd]

That game ... wow. Not the most embarrassing game I ever saw. But probably the most embarrassing first 30 minutes. Ffs, the Suns had 34 points midway through the third quarter. It wasn't like Dallas was doing anything amazing. They has 75 points, which is ... fine, but not out of the ordinary. They shot about 46% from the field and 385 from three in that time which is ... again, good, but not amazing. We're hearing a lot about their defense, which was fine--but the fact is that the Suns didn't show up. Totally and completely, as a team, they did not show up. Huge embarrassment.

What surprised me was they made no attempts to adjust or play better. They looked like they didn't care. It's interesting to me, at least, because all of the remaining teams have showed some resilience in the season and playoffs. Phoenix never had to. When they did, they folded up like a wet tortilla. I don't see the Heat, for instance, doing that. Not a great team, but always ready and always determined.

Pat Bev bringing the smack

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[esqtvd]

the blame game is ON

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[MartinToVaught]

Lakers had their shot at Lue and blew it. Why would he ever want to go there in the foreseeable future? It's not like they could outbid Ballmer or anything. It would be more likely for LeBron to try and jump ship after another season with Russ, if the rumors about keeping him are true.

I'm not saying they'd be successful, I'm just saying it reeks of Laker BS. However, you do make a good point that it could be LeBron setting the stage to go back to his favorite coach.

[og15]

the blame game is ON

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I was surprised that Monty from game 3-6 did not at least once try to go small and go with Paul/Booker/Bridges/Crowder/Johnson for extended periods, especially with Dallas playing Powell 8-12 mpg. Ayton was struggling a lot defensively and at least if you had tried that earlier, you're not scared to do it in game 7.

It's tough as coaches though because he won 64 games doing what he did, so changing it can be frightening, but Dallas had the same game plan from game 3-7 and Phoenix was basically either hoping Dallas' shooting cooled down or that they themselves would snap out of it on offense while doing the same thing, which probably wouldn't happen.

The Dallas game 7 plan was the same, double Book, pressure CP to wear him down and send second defender on the pick and roll. It was the same dare for the other three guys to beat them, and Phoenix let it happen. The ball kept being taken out of their guards hands and being forced to the other guys, and they didn't have a plan of attack to counter. But the same thing had worked all through the season, so Monty was playing that angle, but in the playoffs, maybe it does work in game 8, 9 and 10 but you don't get to play those games.

[Dynamix]

Bev crossed the line several times, and I really wish he didn't drag PG's name into his beef with CP3, but the Grayson Allen segment was pure gold. Dude has legit comedic chops and managed to keep SAS in check for most of the show.

[og15]

Bev crossed the line several times, and I really wish he didn't drag PG's name into his beef with CP3, but the Grayson Allen segment was pure gold. Dude has legit comedic chops and managed to keep SAS in check for most of the show.

ESPN brought Beverley in for the algorithm, they knew he would say some stuff that makes him look more dumb than whomever he's commenting about because he won't know where to draw the line from commentary to personal attack. Matt Barnes came for him after, another nice algorithm boost to them. We're all clicking all over their stuff today, ESPN wins

[nickhx2]

i agree, he's crossing the line with cp3 so i really wonder what went on between the two behind the scenes

but that clip was pretty funny. grayson allen is the worst

[MartinToVaught]

Nothing he said about CP3 is dumb, it's the harsh truth that CP3 never had to hear until now. He's not feared or respected, other teams take special pleasure in punking him whenever they can because of his antics. We should know, we lived through it as Clipper fans for years.

[esqtvd]

i agree, he's crossing the line with cp3 so i really wonder what went on between the two behind the scenes

but that clip was pretty funny. grayson allen is the worst

lmao

it all depends on whose ox is being gored

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[og15]

Nothing he said about CP3 is dumb, it's the harsh truth that CP3 never had to hear until now. He's not feared or respected, other teams take special pleasure in punking him whenever they can because of his antics. We should know, we lived through it as Clipper fans for years.

Read what I said again, I said Beverley will say things that make HIM look dumb more so than who he's talking about.

Players hear this stuff on the court all the time. Here's the problem with Bev, it's not saying that Paul was bad in the series, it's not saying that Suns were not feared. It's boldly proclaiming about how you don't prepare for a guy much because he's not feared only after another team beat that guys team, when the guy at 36 years old dropped 40+ on your team the previous playoffs to close out the series with Beverley on the court doing nothing to stop him.

Beverley was getting cooked by a smaller player and got so mad he went and pushed a guy from behind like he was a toddler in a tantrum. Then you tell everyone, "well I don't go to bed early preparing for him", and the response is, well maybe you should have. That's why as soon as he says more he starts making himself look dumb. You got cooked, and you want to come out telling everyone "he ain't ish" when you looked helpless defending the same guy just a season ago well past his prime.

Listen to what Beverley says, because he knows what he's saying. He specifies Paul in Phoenix for a reason, Paul has been 35-37 years old as a Sun. No one stayed up all night preparing for any of the great PG's at those ages because they are way past their prime. No one was staying up all night thinking about guarding even a bigger guard like 37 year old Reggie Miller either. If you stay up all night wondering how to guard a 36 year old 6'0 PG, then you must really struggle on defense.

Beverley then said Paul gets calls other guys don't get because he's the President of the NBAPA and on State Farm Commercials. That's the reason? The more Beverley keeps talking, the more likely he is to say something that makes himself look dumb.

[nickhx2]

basically beverley is your average poster on the GB

[TrueLAfan]

Bev is Bev. There's a reason why he's one of the first people hit up after a series ends--even if it's not his series.

Anyway, I'm also down with Monty Williams not responding fast enough--but this also highlights something the Suns were 100% right about. They didn't give Ayton the max extension, and he was upset. A couple of people have pointed out--rightly--that Dallas is small anyway and went smaller against Phoenix. If you have a superstar big, those are the matchups you live for. Ayton was a 17-10 guy this year on 12 shots per game. Monty should have (at least tried) feeding him the ball a ton. Ayton should have been able to dominate the inside, draw fouls, score a ton, rebound--everything. That small ball lineup for Dallas creates mismatches that benefit teams that go big too--unless the bigs don't take advantage. 14 and 8 in the last six games doesn't cut it--and it looks Monty knew. 3 FTA a game? Gimme a break.

Woj just said "Ayton is going to get a max deal from someone" and talks about sign-and-trades. Whoever gives Ayton a big deal will be making a mistake, IMO. If Phoenix could pick up a lesser but better player for their roster and a draft pick, they'd make out like bandits.

[MartinToVaught]

Thank God our pick didn't move up. I've been scared since the Pelicans game that we were going to get kicked in the nuts again.

[nickhx2]

what's kinda nuts is how much i thought ayton abused our small ball lineups last year. being ultra efficient made him the anti-gobert and kinda wrecked our best tactic. that he doesn't seem like a reliable option now kinda boggles my mind

[og15]

basically beverley is your average poster on the GB

Lol, basically.

I mean Beverley said he's like Giannis on defense except 6'0 tall. That's why the more he says, the more it's like wait, now you are just making yourself look dumb.

Luka hunted him and took him out of our rotation last season in the playoffs, DNP-CD type of out of the rotation, that's why it's odd to hear him call someone else out for not being able to guard Luka when he was equally as bad or worse. When you wait until guys are over the hill to start talking a big game, it's like, well...

Bev is actually a good teammate, but I said it when he was here, his problem is that he doesn't know when to draw the line, and that's also in games where he'll get stupid techs or do unnecessary things to erase the good things he does. It might get him an ESPN gig in the future though, he can certainly get you clicks, so whether deliberate or not, he's smart in that sense.