Game 28: Phoenix Suns (11-16) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (13-14) - 8:00 PM ET

[Ghost of Kleine]

I think ideally Saric comes off the bench so he can help run the 2nd unit, and Kaminsky gets no minutes.

Or Ideally, we can trade Kaminsky and/or Saric for different Big men that actually have athleticism ,coordination, and at least a modicum of speed. I get that they were brought here for their shooting skillset, And that's fine. But that really only works IF they're capable of hitting their shots consistently. And since they're not, And really offer nothing else in the way of actual defense or athleticism at all, They become a liability for us. One that gets easily exploited by opposing teams.

Both Saric and Kaminsky understand that they don't have the strength, speed, or athleticism to reasonably guard ANYONE on this level, So they offer next to no effort whatsoever in the way of defensive resistance. And as a result, The rest of the team then doesn't buy in and commit to their defensive roles either. Thusly creating layup drills, wide open paths to the rim, And non existent perimeter defense. I'm sorry, And truly wish that Jones's gimmick( plan) of having Saric and Kaminsky be able to operate in a "Channing Frye" capacity isn't working. But as many people have already stated on here, Saric and Kaminsky just aren't starters. They neither have the skillset, nor the actual NBA athleticism and speed to stop anyone defensively. They'd probably be pretty decent for us, IF they were able to hit the outside shot consistently, But unfortunately, They can't.

So how do we fix this defensive breakdown ? In two parts:

1- We acquire highly athletic big men with a defensive skillset that play with intensity, Whom also play physical. Players with a modicum of a mean streak or reputation for tough play, and non stop motors. Those types of players, Such as the Beverleys', Tucker's, Harrell's, etc. Will hold their teammates accountable defensively, Or at the very least, Lead by example. Once the rest of the team sees that the big men ( last line of defense) actually play defense and will stop the opposition from getting easy high percentage shots at the rim, Then they'll but in to also playing tough defense and spreading it out to the perimeter. Just as really poor defense and a lack of effort is contagious, So is playing with tenacity and defensive effort. That's where we begin, Either by moving Kaminsky and Saric to a minimal ( low pressure role) or trading them for actual NBA level athletes who play hard and contribute consistently. We have some tough choices to make.

2- Monty! He's a super nice guy, And is very nurturing. But he just isn't a good fundamentally effective coach. In the beginning, I thought that his easygoing , Forgiving nature might actually work with this team, And I thought that he'd possibly be a good motivator. But that just isn't the case. Much like Earl Watson and Hornacek, The passive, easygoing, " I'm your friend " gimmick just isn't working. He's just not holding his players accountable. Also, his rotations and team fundamentals are just really poor and confusing for a coach that has had an offseason, preseason, training camp, and now 25 games to figure things out. He needs to be somewhat tough, and hold his players accountable. And I'm just not sure that he's the coach that we need for this young team, As he just doesn't seem to have that strong demeanor that commands or ellicits respect from the players. Now hopefully he can make the adjustments and prove he was the right choice. But for now, I'm not seeing it yet. I really hope that he can prove me wrong.

With respect to that, The players that we should be targeting around the deadline using our few assets that we currently have ( Tyler Johnson's expiring contract and one of Kaminsky or Saric. Or both) and a future first, etc. Are:

- Mason Plumlee( Denver).
- PJ Tucker ( Houston).
- Montrezl Harrell ( Clippers). *** Also Patrick Patterson, and perhaps maybe even Kabengele??
- Thaddeus Young ( Bulls).
- Taj Gibson ( New York).
- Justice Winslow/ James Johnson/ and or Kendrick Nunn ( Miami). And last but not least,
- Dennis Schroeder ( Oklahoma). ***IF Oklahoma becomes sellers at or around the February trade deadline??? In the meantime, wr have roughly a little over a month to evaluate things and determine the best course of action for our team.

[Dual]

On defense the lack of effort is infuriating, but I think Monty's system dont work, as I said during the game, why the corner guy tends to help if there is a penetration if there are already two players there? That breaks all the defense.
Also Ricky does team defense, if he gets screened he expect the big to cover the play which amazingly didnt happen, they all shoot alone.
Is really frustrating, also Booker effort on defense yesterday was really bad.
Is like if all bad habits are coming alive again.
About the vocal thing, Ricky is trying in game and outside the court, but he is alone right now.
Even Baynes is looking like hot trash right now.
Just so frustrating, I dont understand why they dont have sense of urgency, it all starts with the defense.
Monty is doing a poor job.
Btw I like Saric but he is not a 4 in the modern NBA, his lack of lateral speed is a concern on defense.
He did a dunk yesterday, what I must say, was my best moment watching the game.

[Saberestar]

Running the court and scoring in transition is more about our personnel. Just give us a PF like Shawn Marion on this roster and we would run a lot more.

Enter Oubre as a 4. He's a good rebounder and somewhat of a Marion-level athlete. Bridges is athletic as well. Then you have Ayton at C, who should fit well in a fast-paced offense. Rubio, obviously. Saric's passing, which is nowhere to be found with the starters may be useful with the reserves.

We can try that, but I think Oubre and Bridges are too thin to play PF night in and night out.

Just look at their legs... they can be moved around easily and that's a big problem at that position.

[Ghost of Kleine]

On defense the lack of effort is infuriating, but I think Monty's system dont work, as I said during the game, why the corner guy tends to help if there is a penetration if there are already two players there? That breaks all the defense.
Also Ricky does team defense, if he gets screened he expect the big to cover the play which amazingly didnt happen, they all shoot alone.
Is really frustrating, also Booker effort on defense yesterday was really bad.
Is like if all bad habits are coming alive again.
About the vocal thing, Ricky is trying in game and outside the court, but he is alone right now.
Even Baynes is looking like hot trash right now.
Just so frustrating, I dont understand why they dont have sense of urgency, it all starts with the defense.
Monty is doing a poor job.
Btw I like Saric but he is not a 4 in the modern NBA, his lack of lateral speed is a concern on defense.
He did a dunk yesterday, what I must say, was my best moment watching the game.

I for my part, Have no issues at all with Rubio, And honestly think that he's doing a great job trying to lead this team. But he obviously can't do it alone. And you made two extremely relevant points.

1- we don't have any big men that can/ will cover the perimeter players defensively. So once they get beat on the perimeter, It's almost a certainty that they'll ( opposing team) will score. To his credit, Rubio is doing the best he can. But it's the rest of the team that lacks motivation and effort.

2- Monty's schemes and defensive methods are just really poor and ineffective. He absolutely needs to make proper adjustments, both in game and in practice in order to get his players as a team HABITUALLY showing and employing the proper defensive strategies. He has to get tough **(If he can?) And hold his players accountable.

Lastly, I bash Saric a lot for his offensive inconsistencies and general complete lack of athleticism and foot speed. But I do at least like his effort defensively. Having said that, He shouldn't be a starter. He's a 2nd , possibly 3rd string big man ( floor spacer) off the bench in todays NBA, As he's just too slow and unathletic to really keep up or provide even reasonable defense. Also Kaminsky should never, ever be starting under any circumstances. Other than the occasional streaky shooting game, He is just too much of a liability with his afwul coordination and lousy athleticism.

I mean how many times can a freaking 7 footer blow a dunk? And yesterday a breakaway dunk of all things! Not to mention open layups as well. Kaminsky needs to be traded right away, Whilst at his highest possible value, likely for a 2nd rounder as part of a larger trade for a contributing player hopefully. We have a month to decide what to do.

[darealjuice]

Defensive scheme isn’t the reason that no one on this team can defend their man one on one lol

[PharmD]

Baynes hasn't been the same guy since the calf strain and it really hurts. I would start Diallo until Ayton comes back. Frank Kaminsky-starting center is too painful.

I think Dario was very good. His defense looks great to me but he's very much a below-the-rim defender.

[sunsbg]

Running the court and scoring in transition is more about our personnel. Just give us a PF like Shawn Marion on this roster and we would run a lot more.

Enter Oubre as a 4. He's a good rebounder and somewhat of a Marion-level athlete. Bridges is athletic as well. Then you have Ayton at C, who should fit well in a fast-paced offense. Rubio, obviously. Saric's passing, which is nowhere to be found with the starters may be useful with the reserves.

We can try that, but I think Oubre and Bridges are too thin to play PF night in and night out.

Just look at their legs... they can be moved around easily and that's a big problem at that position.

Yeah, play it in stretches, but there are certainly players on the team that will look good in fast paced offense. Add Booker to above list - it's a full lineup that can run.

[Blonde]

The best scorer on the team had the same amount of FGAs as Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric. That should be an alarming feature of our offense but people are mostly ignoring it.

[Dual]

The best scorer on the team had the same amount of FGAs as Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric. That should be an alarming feature of our offense but people are mostly ignoring it.

Yesterday our problem was the defense tbh, we had a 41 points 3rd quarter that meant nothing because the opposing team scored 44.

[handsome salary]

The best scorer on the team had the same amount of FGAs as Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric. That should be an alarming feature of our offense but people are mostly ignoring it.

Yesterday our problem was the defense tbh, we had a 41 points 3rd quarter that meant nothing because the opposing team scored 44.

That's because Booker was on the floor. Booker's Defensive RTG puts him at player 385 out of 467. Ty Jerome has a worse rating and Baynes, Dario and Oubre are all above 320 on the worst list. The team is terrible defensively.

Booker has always sucked at defense and he ain't changing. When the extension kicks him we got Andrew Wiggins 2.0.

[bwgood77]

The best scorer on the team had the same amount of FGAs as Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric. That should be an alarming feature of our offense but people are mostly ignoring it.

I agree except Booker was coming off of injury on his wrist or whatever so may have been taking it easy. At least Rubio shot really well and Saric shot better than Booker. Oubre was 3-10 though so that hurt. But defense is the bigger problem.

[LesGrossman]

Defensive scheme isn’t the reason that no one on this team can defend their man one on one lol

Thats just wrong. Pay attention to the communication that you can even hear through TV. Guys position themselves in a certain way, guiding their guy in a certain direction. That is very different from not being able to defend 1 on 1 - its rather that the concept is not to even attempt it. Only on iso's you can hear "on your own" and they defend straight up, otherwise they try a more sophisticated thing like icing or doubling at the baseline, just that it doesnt work because the big helper often doesnt really understand when and where he should provide the help.

[LesGrossman]

The best scorer on the team had the same amount of FGAs as Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric. That should be an alarming feature of our offense but people are mostly ignoring it.

You mean that hobbled booker should continue to jack up and miss shots just because, and RIcky who was shooting exceptionally well should have stopped? Expecting which result, exactly?

[sunsbg]

The best scorer on the team had the same amount of FGAs as Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric. That should be an alarming feature of our offense but people are mostly ignoring it.

Yesterday our problem was the defense tbh, we had a 41 points 3rd quarter that meant nothing because the opposing team scored 44.

That's because Booker was on the floor. Booker's Defensive RTG puts him at player 385 out of 467. Ty Jerome has a worse rating and Baynes, Dario and Oubre are all above 320 on the worst list. The team is terrible defensively.

Booker has always sucked at defense and he ain't changing. When the extension kicks him we got Andrew Wiggins 2.0.

In that 3rd qtr it was more about Gallinari going crazy against Saric/Baynes and Paul/Schroeder taking over with Booker already on the bench. Don't put the blame on Booker alone like that, this season he's at least trying on D.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Running the court and scoring in transition is more about our personnel. Just give us a PF like Shawn Marion on this roster and we would run a lot more.

Enter Oubre as a 4. He's a good rebounder and somewhat of a Marion-level athlete. Bridges is athletic as well. Then you have Ayton at C, who should fit well in a fast-paced offense. Rubio, obviously. Saric's passing, which is nowhere to be found with the starters may be useful with the reserves.

If we're looking for a Marion type of player with the same type of incredible athleticism and double/ double production, Check out Tyler Bey in the 2020 draft. Currently ranked in the late first to early 2nd round. He's an ELITE rebounder, and defender. And is averaging around 41% on his threes, With a 74 .2 defensive rating. And an 111.3 offensive rating.
http://www.tankathon.com/players/tyler-bey.