Game 27: Phoenix Suns (11-15) @ LA Clippers (20-8)

[WeekapaugGroove]

Suns are really feeling the loss of Aaron Nelson. It’s one injury after another.

Once Booker gets back (hopefully within a couple of weeks), it’s gonna be Rubio or Bridges with the way this season is going.

Props to the team for staying in the game in the 1st half against an elite team like the Clippers. That itself is a major accomplishment imo.

Aaron Nelson sucked for his last few years. We had tons of injuries all the time, and now the Pelicans do whether it be Zion, Favors, Ball, etc.

How many of the Suns injuries the past few years were legit? I was always under the impression that the Suns exaggerated minor injuries so they can sit guys out to tank properly.

Favors and Ball have been long injury prone before they even got to Aaron Nelson. Zion’s is surprising but not unexpected as many had concerns if his knees can hold up to his weight.

There were far more legit injuries than people think. Some vets got shut down late season but for the most part guys were really hurt. Hell last season the suns foolishly kept bringing booker back too soon from the hamstring issue and he rehurt it like 2-3 times.

Injuries happen and many of them are completely out of a trainers control.

A legit gripe with the suns and injuries is how completely non-transparent they are. Like this recent booker injury where reporters ask and they say he's fine then he doesn't play for two weeks.

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[sunsbg]

Ayton protects the ball well and throws great passes. The one from the 3pt line to Rubio where he missed an open shot under the basket, but also many more in this and the Kings games to initiate the fast-breaks after a rebound. I hope he's used more as a distributor. Also feeling much more confident the team can run an efficient offense around him than Booker, hope it's a balanced offense though going forward.

[Crives]

If I remember correctly I think I saw the first hard screen from Ayton last night.. hopefully Baynes is rubbing off.

[King4Day]

Because they gave up a high lottery pick to get him.

Looking at who we would/could have drafted, Culver, Coby, etc, I'm not sure we didn't make the right call.

There was an article about how those drafted after 10 or something like that have been doing better (outside of Morant) than those after. But there are lots of others behind him like Clarke and Washington playing better. But Cam is doing well.

And I don't want it to sound like I don't think Culver or White won't be better than Jackson but I don't think either would be helping us right now.

Anytime Cam shoots it, I feel good. Hopefully his injury isn't serious.

[lilfishi22]

Suns are really feeling the loss of Aaron Nelson. It’s one injury after another.

Once Booker gets back (hopefully within a couple of weeks), it’s gonna be Rubio or Bridges with the way this season is going.

Props to the team for staying in the game in the 1st half against an elite team like the Clippers. That itself is a major accomplishment imo.

I was actually thinking about that last night, and trying to remember for purposes of comparison if our nagging injuries this season are so far on pace to be worse than last season's to date. Also, completely agree with us missing Aaron Nelson too. I remember back in the day, When we set the standard with our renowned training staff. It's mind boggling how far our franchise has fallen.

To be fair I don't think he's been all that great during the McD era. He did great work that was well ahead of his peers in terms of the science he employed but that reputation was built largely off of keeping Nash, Amare, Hill, Shaq and those era of teams relatively healthy considering their age. But I don't think his reputation under McD was as well deserved and honestly, when he left for the Pels, I didn't think it was a huge loss.

Now if it was a decade and a bit ago when we had to keep those Nash team's health and we lost Aaron, that would be a huge blow. I don't want to toot Earl Watson's horn but I do wonder if his comments about kids coming into the NBA with more miles than ever is a big part in Aaron's declining ability to keep guys like Booker, Bledsoe, Knight and the likes healthy for the most part.

For clarity, I'm not trashing Aaron Nelson because he's still a great trainer and he was invaluable to us during our heyday, I just think he's probably riding a little on his reputation more so than recent work

[Ghost of Kleine]

Suns are really feeling the loss of Aaron Nelson. It’s one injury after another.

Once Booker gets back (hopefully within a couple of weeks), it’s gonna be Rubio or Bridges with the way this season is going.

Props to the team for staying in the game in the 1st half against an elite team like the Clippers. That itself is a major accomplishment imo.

I was actually thinking about that last night, and trying to remember for purposes of comparison if our nagging injuries this season are so far on pace to be worse than last season's to date. Also, completely agree with us missing Aaron Nelson too. I remember back in the day, When we set the standard with our renowned training staff. It's mind boggling how far our franchise has fallen.

To be fair I don't think he's been all that great during the McD era. He did great work that was well ahead of his peers in terms of the science he employed but that reputation was built largely off of keeping Nash, Amare, Hill, Shaq and those era of teams relatively healthy considering their age. But I don't think his reputation under McD was as well deserved and honestly, when he left for the Pels, I didn't think it was a huge loss.

Now if it was a decade and a bit ago when we had to keep those Nash team's health and we lost Aaron, that would be a huge blow. I don't want to toot Earl Watson's horn but I do wonder if his comments about kids coming into the NBA with more miles than ever is a big part in Aaron's declining ability to keep guys like Booker, Bledsoe, Knight and the likes healthy for the most part.

For clarity, I'm not trashing Aaron Nelson because he's still a great trainer and he was invaluable to us during our heyday, I just think he's probably riding a little on his reputation more so than recent work

You may very well be right man. I guess I'm just reminiscing about the good old days, When the Phoenix suns franchise were viewed as the pinnacle of health and sports physiology. It's truly sad to think that we've fallen so far. And what's worse is the lack of transparency and communication with regards to shared information for injured players, etc.

Being so cryptic is not conducive to fostering empathy and support for the franchise when you shut the fanbase out of important situations and decisions. It sure would be nice to have the suns hire at a top notch training staff, So we might possibly experience less issues with respect to player injuries.

[RiRuHoops]

Its also holding guys accountable. I dont feel like MOnty is doing it to be honest. It cant happen that Oubre continues to hijack posessions that predictably end in a turnover / offensive foul and fastbreak on our basket. It cant happen that Booker takes poesessions off on D. Our backup PG's rather score against tough defense than move the ball. Stupid iso plays that kill the flow of the offense. Where does Monty step in and say "if you continue this you will get time on the bench to think it over"?

Who’s he gonna send Oubre to the bench for? If Booker and Cam aren’t playing, theres no better alternate for Monty to use.

We have to live and die by Oubre because he’s our most skilled perimeter scorer while both those guys are out. We don’t have the luxury of a team like the Clippers having 3 elite perimeter scoring talents like Kawhi, George, and Lou all on the same team.

Clearly he's talking about it in general as he mentioned Booker. And yes, Monty is SOFT.

[bwgood77]

Suns are really feeling the loss of Aaron Nelson. It’s one injury after another.

Once Booker gets back (hopefully within a couple of weeks), it’s gonna be Rubio or Bridges with the way this season is going.

Props to the team for staying in the game in the 1st half against an elite team like the Clippers. That itself is a major accomplishment imo.

Aaron Nelson sucked for his last few years. We had tons of injuries all the time, and now the Pelicans do whether it be Zion, Favors, Ball, etc.

How many of the Suns injuries the past few years were legit? I was always under the impression that the Suns exaggerated minor injuries so they can sit guys out to tank properly.

Favors and Ball have been long injury prone before they even got to Aaron Nelson. Zion’s is surprising but not unexpected as many had concerns if his knees can hold up to his weight.

I think most were legit. They sat Bledsoe and Chandler but last year they just sucked. They would never just sit Booker and pretend he had an injury. We just didn't have any good players...G league level PGs and PFs along with 4 rookies, Booker, Ayton, part a year of TJ and part a year of Oubre...small part with Tyler.

[bwgood77]

Ayton protects the ball well and throws great passes. The one from the 3pt line to Rubio where he missed an open shot under the basket, but also many more in this and the Kings games to initiate the fast-breaks after a rebound. I hope he's used more as a distributor. Also feeling much more confident the team can run an efficient offense around him than Booker, hope it's a balanced offense though going forward.

He really is a good passer. That was one thing I noticed with Bam this year and obviously Jokic has crazy passes but that's a great skill. Sometimes I'm sure some wish he would just take a high % shot if he has it, but if he doesn't feel it and feels a pass to an open guy will get an open shot, it's probably the right move.

[bwgood77]

Looking at who we would/could have drafted, Culver, Coby, etc, I'm not sure we didn't make the right call.

There was an article about how those drafted after 10 or something like that have been doing better (outside of Morant) than those after. But there are lots of others behind him like Clarke and Washington playing better. But Cam is doing well.

And I don't want it to sound like I don't think Culver or White won't be better than Jackson but I don't think either would be helping us right now.

Anytime Cam shoots it, I feel good. Hopefully his injury isn't serious.

Oh yeah, Cam is a nice weapon. Culver has never been a good shooter which was the one thing I didn't like about him (finished well from 2 but not from 3 or FT line)....but had the same thoughts about Fox and Jackson....of course of those we end up with Jackson...though I will say I had him above Fox, but below Isaac.

Another guy drafted late or undrafted that would probably be helping us a lot is Kendrick Nunn. Wouldn't have to play Carter, Okobo and Jerome all at the same time. That guy really seems legit.

[Ghost of Kleine]

There was an article about how those drafted after 10 or something like that have been doing better (outside of Morant) than those after. But there are lots of others behind him like Clarke and Washington playing better. But Cam is doing well.

And I don't want it to sound like I don't think Culver or White won't be better than Jackson but I don't think either would be helping us right now.

Anytime Cam shoots it, I feel good. Hopefully his injury isn't serious.

Oh yeah, Cam is a nice weapon. Culver has never been a good shooter which was the one thing I didn't like about him (finished well from 2 but not from 3 or FT line)....but had the same thoughts about Fox and Jackson....of course of those we end up with Jackson...though I will say I had him above Fox, but below Isaac.

Another guy drafted late or undrafted that would probably be helping us a lot is Kendrick Nunn. Wouldn't have to play Carter, Okobo and Jerome all at the same time. That guy really seems legit.

Yeah, Nunn would be really solid for the backup point guard position. I actually had a trade for us to get him not long ago ***( based upon listed rumors of Miami desiring to add Aldridge and Murray). It was a three team trade with Miami and San Antonio. Wherein we sent Dario/ Johnson's expiring/ Jevon Carter and a future lottery protected first to San Antonio, Then San Antonio sent Aldridge and Murray to Miami, and we got back - Nunn, Robinson and Leonard. Although they might be really high on all three of them, Even over potentially getting Aldridge and Murray.

Out of curiosity, What would you be willing to offer for Nunn in terms of value?

[spanishninja]

Ayton protects the ball well and throws great passes. The one from the 3pt line to Rubio where he missed an open shot under the basket, but also many more in this and the Kings games to initiate the fast-breaks after a rebound. I hope he's used more as a distributor. Also feeling much more confident the team can run an efficient offense around him than Booker, hope it's a balanced offense though going forward.

He really is a good passer. That was one thing I noticed with Bam this year and obviously Jokic has crazy passes but that's a great skill. Sometimes I'm sure some wish he would just take a high % shot if he has it, but if he doesn't feel it and feels a pass to an open guy will get an open shot, it's probably the right move.

and the other thing is that big man passers are always a plus because they can see over defenses in a way that guards can't. so many of our passes last night were not even close to being safe, because the Clippers are so long and can intercept them.

[SunsRback4Good]

^^^^^ That makes perfect sense. Just by having players such as AD, Sabonis, Vucevic, Jokic and even Ayton is vital to team success. It feels like having a pg inside of a centers body if that makes sense. The center not only can score and reb but dish out 3-6 assists on any given night.

[bwgood77]

^^^^^ That makes perfect sense. Just by having players such as AD, Sabonis, Vucevic, Jokic and even Ayton is vital to team success. It feels like having a pg inside of a centers body if that makes sense. The center not only can score and reb but dish out 3-6 assists on any given night.

Any guy who is great at backing down near the basket and scoring at or near the rim should have the ability to pass to an open guy because they likely will be double teamed. Barkley was good at this despite his small size (in height).

[oddity]

Especially because teams bring the double instantly if you're a scoring threat or have a mismatch. Finding an open man on the wing is honestly one of the best outcomes from a post up, and I'm surprised teams don't go "inside-out" like this anymore