Game 23: Cleveland Cavaliers (10-14) @ Phoenix Suns (13-9), Monday, Feb 8, 7:00 PM

[phnart]

This might have been my favorite Ayton game. He showed he was not intimidated by Drummond and Allen and had moments of showing complete ownership. I'm hopeful that he's starting to get it and realize what he is capable of.

Kaminsky has been shockingly good even on D. I don't know what's up with the broadcast crew. They missed Galloway's steal and the Kaminsky/McGee incident. Did we ever get what happened there? Javale reacted like there was a comment about his sister or something.

I missed that incident...when was it? Frank has been playing well and staying within himself. I was enjoying the chemistry he was building on the bench crew, but he fits nicely with the starters it seems. Monty is going to have to get better with his rotations as he's got a deep bench when everyone gets healthy.

[Bogyo]

Moore having a good (better) couple games lately is good. I guess he had to get his sea legs under him.

So... I feel like I'm 4/4 with my b1tching
1st it was Ayton, 2nd it was Book and his TO's, 3rd CP's old man play, 4th it was Moore not getting enough playing time despite him being an OK player, and Carter's O being dumpster firey. All of them solved sooner than later.

Now kids, tell me what do you want me to b1tch about next? I've actually started a bit earlier about the Smith over Jones thing, let me know if you need anything else done.

Is it too much of a jump to complain about the lack of NBA titles in Phoenix?

Been complaining about that since the 90s... Hopefully that will be solved sooner than later too

[bwgood77]

Moore having a good (better) couple games lately is good. I guess he had to get his sea legs under him.

So... I feel like I'm 4/4 with my b1tching
1st it was Ayton, 2nd it was Book and his TO's, 3rd CP's old man play, 4th it was Moore not getting enough playing time despite him being an OK player, and Carter's O being dumpster firey. All of them solved sooner than later.

Now kids, tell me what do you want me to b1tch about next? I've actually started a bit earlier about the Smith over Jones thing, let me know if you need anything else done.

Smith over Jones of course, but mainly Saric coming back..which makes that point moot. Then Crowder. But Payne important too especially if Paul out for an extended time. It's nice to have Nader too.

Paul most important though.

[bigfoot]

Kaminsky has been shockingly good even on D. I don't know what's up with the broadcast crew. They missed Galloway's steal and the Kaminsky/McGee incident. Did we ever get what happened there? Javale reacted like there was a comment about his sister or something.

I think Frank told Javale that he was even softer than Ayton. That would get his panties in a bunch.

[Bogyo]

Moore having a good (better) couple games lately is good. I guess he had to get his sea legs under him.

So... I feel like I'm 4/4 with my b1tching
1st it was Ayton, 2nd it was Book and his TO's, 3rd CP's old man play, 4th it was Moore not getting enough playing time despite him being an OK player, and Carter's O being dumpster firey. All of them solved sooner than later.

Now kids, tell me what do you want me to b1tch about next? I've actually started a bit earlier about the Smith over Jones thing, let me know if you need anything else done.

Smith over Jones of course, but mainly Saric coming back..which makes that point moot. Then Crowder. But Payne important too especially if Paul out for an extended time. It's nice to have Nader too.

Paul most important though.

I think I have a better chance with the championship thing than with convincing JJ to treat us (you know, the fans) with some respect and let us know about the extent of our players injuries, and giving us a timeline on their return. You know we just get the mushroom treatment from him.

[Barkley6]

Moore having a good (better) couple games lately is good. I guess he had to get his sea legs under him.

So... I feel like I'm 4/4 with my b1tching
1st it was Ayton, 2nd it was Book and his TO's, 3rd CP's old man play, 4th it was Moore not getting enough playing time despite him being an OK player, and Carter's O being dumpster firey. All of them solved sooner than later.

Now kids, tell me what do you want me to b1tch about next? I've actually started a bit earlier about the Smith over Jones thing, let me know if you need anything else done.

Smith over Jones of course, but mainly Saric coming back..which makes that point moot. Then Crowder. But Payne important too especially if Paul out for an extended time. It's nice to have Nader too.

Paul most important though.

I think I have a better chance with the championship thing than with convincing JJ to treat us (you know, the fans) with some respect and let us know about the extent of our players injuries, and giving us a timeline on their return. You know we just get the mushroom treatment from him.

It is frustrating to not know when our guys are coming back, but I also think there is a bit of a competitive edge to not announcing a timeline for their return because it makes teams struggle to create their game plan.

So, in a game like last night, if the Cavs game plan for Chris Paul, but then get Point Book or Moore at the 1, it kind of throws off their rhythm. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but that would be my guess as to why we don't get those updates.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Suns have been annoyingly vague with injuries for like a decade. Like I get you don't want to set timelines and then if they are missed people get antsy but a little more transparency would be nice.

Suns aren't alone in this, lots of franchises across all sports are tight lipped with injuries.

Payne is the one I'm a little concerned with, it's never a good sign when a guy comes back then isn't right and has to be shut down again.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[suns12345]

Moore having a good (better) couple games lately is good. I guess he had to get his sea legs under him.

So... I feel like I'm 4/4 with my b1tching
1st it was Ayton, 2nd it was Book and his TO's, 3rd CP's old man play, 4th it was Moore not getting enough playing time despite him being an OK player, and Carter's O being dumpster firey. All of them solved sooner than later.

Now kids, tell me what do you want me to b1tch about next? I've actually started a bit earlier about the Smith over Jones thing, let me know if you need anything else done.

Smith over Jones of course, but mainly Saric coming back..which makes that point moot. Then Crowder. But Payne important too especially if Paul out for an extended time. It's nice to have Nader too.

Paul most important though.

When Saric is back, assuming Crowder goes back to starting, do both Frank and Saric get minutes?

[lilfishi22]

Suns could easily be like...19-4 right now if some things went their way in close losses. Should have won both those Denver games.

I think the Pistons, Wizards, Pelicans and Grizzlies (missing JJJ and Valaciunas) losses were the ones we should’ve had. Losses to bad teams happen but if we at least split those 4 and then won one of the Denver games from the b2b (the one in which Murray hit that crazy 3 to send to OT) then we’d be at 17-6 which would give us the #3 spot in the West and some cushion from Spurs/Blazers/Kings.

On the one hand, we're definitely better than our record show but on the other, we're about where I expected us to be as we dealt with changing line ups and most importantly, the slow meshing of Booker and CP3. What I'm saying is that, on paper, we shouldn't have lost to those teams you've listed but these kinds of losses show a team that's not quite there yet in terms of familiarity and playing as a unit. These losses happen to good teams, bad teams and in particular team that hasn't gelled yet. I would say at most of those losses were because we didn't have clutch time execution down pat while the remaining were because we just didn't bring it. None of them were due to a lack of skill and talent.

In the latest Timeline Podcast, the guys made is good point that we're in it for the long haul, not 1st of half of the season success. When we want to be playing well is in the 2nd half and hopefully going into the playoffs. 14-9, 19-4, 17-6, nobody with a long term focus is really thinking too much about it. If we were 11-14 like the Mavericks, I think there's a little more to worry about but this is a weird season where the record is a lot more variable because of Covid impacts and more so this season than ever, team record less of a barometer for how good team actually.

[suns12345]

Suns could easily be like...19-4 right now if some things went their way in close losses. Should have won both those Denver games.

I think the Pistons, Wizards, Pelicans and Grizzlies (missing JJJ and Valaciunas) losses were the ones we should’ve had. Losses to bad teams happen but if we at least split those 4 and then won one of the Denver games from the b2b (the one in which Murray hit that crazy 3 to send to OT) then we’d be at 17-6 which would give us the #3 spot in the West and some cushion from Spurs/Blazers/Kings.

On the one hand, we're definitely better than our record show but on the other, we're about where I expected us to be as we dealt with changing line ups and most importantly, the slow meshing of Booker and CP3. What I'm saying is that, on paper, we shouldn't have lost to those teams you've listed but these kinds of losses show a team that's not quite there yet in terms of familiarity and playing as a unit. These losses happen to good teams, bad teams and in particular team that hasn't gelled yet. I would say at most of those losses were because we didn't have clutch time execution down pat while the remaining were because we just didn't bring it. None of them were due to a lack of skill and talent.

In the latest Timeline Podcast, the guys made is good point that we're in it for the long haul, not 1st of half of the season success. When we want to be playing well is in the 2nd half and hopefully going into the playoffs. 14-9, 19-4, 17-6, nobody with a long term focus is really thinking too much about it. If we were 11-14 like the Mavericks, I think there's a little more to worry about but this is a weird season where the record is a lot more variable because of Covid impacts and more so this season than ever, team record less of a barometer for how good team actually.

Great post. At the moment im just pleased we're still in the playoff hunt and not needing to dig ourselves out of a big hole.

Now we can look to build towards something good in the second half of the season, with less stress of being behind the 8-ball

[lilfishi22]

Good ugly win considering all the guys we’re missing.

We need an explanation as to why Jalen Smith doesn’t get minutes even against teams that have so many bigs while we’re without Saric.

Smith doesn't play because he is not good. Any time he comes in he starts launching 3's like it's the All Star game lmao

Neither is Damian Jones (who’s played 32 mins total in our last 4 games).

And having Cam Johnson try and defend bigs is not a good strategy. He gets scored on easily or fouls and then worn out from banging inside so it effects his game offensively.

I think Smith should get some minutes to show if he can at least handle it and help us defensively.

Agreed. Smith needs burn. Right now I don't think he's strong enough to score much near the basket (where we would ideally like him to score) and that's why he's taking 3's which isn't some new skill but something he's been able to do since college. I don't really have any issues with that approach since it's a positive no matter if he's working on interior scoring or 3pt scoring - just no midrange shots

[SunsRback4Good]

Smith doesn't play because he is not good. Any time he comes in he starts launching 3's like it's the All Star game lmao

Neither is Damian Jones (who’s played 32 mins total in our last 4 games).

And having Cam Johnson try and defend bigs is not a good strategy. He gets scored on easily or fouls and then worn out from banging inside so it effects his game offensively.

I think Smith should get some minutes to show if he can at least handle it and help us defensively.

Agreed. Smith needs burn. Right now I don't think he's strong enough to score much near the basket (where we would ideally like him to score) and that's why he's taking 3's which isn't some new skill but something he's been able to do since college. I don't really have any issues with that approach since it's a positive no matter if he's working on interior scoring or 3pt scoring - just no midrange shots

He's no Jerami Grant that's for sure. Not sure on what his ceiling is but he hasn't impressed one Suns fan so far. Maybe needs to play 3-4 years to show a glimmer of hope.

[bwgood77]

Moore having a good (better) couple games lately is good. I guess he had to get his sea legs under him.

So... I feel like I'm 4/4 with my b1tching
1st it was Ayton, 2nd it was Book and his TO's, 3rd CP's old man play, 4th it was Moore not getting enough playing time despite him being an OK player, and Carter's O being dumpster firey. All of them solved sooner than later.

Now kids, tell me what do you want me to b1tch about next? I've actually started a bit earlier about the Smith over Jones thing, let me know if you need anything else done.

Smith over Jones of course, but mainly Saric coming back..which makes that point moot. Then Crowder. But Payne important too especially if Paul out for an extended time. It's nice to have Nader too.

Paul most important though.

When Saric is back, assuming Crowder goes back to starting, do both Frank and Saric get minutes?

Yes, considering Monty doesn't always stagger Paul and Book, I imagine we will have a second lineup something like Payne/Moore/Cam/Frank/Saric

But he won't play nearly as much. There will probably always be a starter in with the bench...if not Paul or Book, probably Bridges. But they may ease Saric in and they may wait until his ankle is 100% as opposed to maybe 90% or something they may usually do since Frank is playing well.

[phx#7]

Neither is Damian Jones (who’s played 32 mins total in our last 4 games).

And having Cam Johnson try and defend bigs is not a good strategy. He gets scored on easily or fouls and then worn out from banging inside so it effects his game offensively.

I think Smith should get some minutes to show if he can at least handle it and help us defensively.

Agreed. Smith needs burn. Right now I don't think he's strong enough to score much near the basket (where we would ideally like him to score) and that's why he's taking 3's which isn't some new skill but something he's been able to do since college. I don't really have any issues with that approach since it's a positive no matter if he's working on interior scoring or 3pt scoring - just no midrange shots

He's no Jerami Grant that's for sure. Not sure on what his ceiling is but he hasn't impressed one Suns fan so far. Maybe needs to play 3-4 years to show a glimmer of hope.

That's an odd comparison. He certainly not what Grant is now in his 7th season but Grant was pretty unremarkable his first 3 years in the league. As a 20 year old rookie he was actually pretty similar productionwise to what Smith has shown so far, only with more playing time.

[Revived]

Neither is Damian Jones (who’s played 32 mins total in our last 4 games).

And having Cam Johnson try and defend bigs is not a good strategy. He gets scored on easily or fouls and then worn out from banging inside so it effects his game offensively.

I think Smith should get some minutes to show if he can at least handle it and help us defensively.

Agreed. Smith needs burn. Right now I don't think he's strong enough to score much near the basket (where we would ideally like him to score) and that's why he's taking 3's which isn't some new skill but something he's been able to do since college. I don't really have any issues with that approach since it's a positive no matter if he's working on interior scoring or 3pt scoring - just no midrange shots

He's no Jerami Grant that's for sure. Not sure on what his ceiling is but he hasn't impressed one Suns fan so far. Maybe needs to play 3-4 years to show a glimmer of hope.

He hasn't really had the opportunity to impress us to be honest. Plus he was always a bit of a project player (kinda why he wasn't necessarily a consensus top 10 choice).

His defense and rim protection from college should translate well to the pros and that's why we need most right now. If he can play alongside Ayton even in spot minutes then that helps us big time.

[Barkley6]

Agreed. Smith needs burn. Right now I don't think he's strong enough to score much near the basket (where we would ideally like him to score) and that's why he's taking 3's which isn't some new skill but something he's been able to do since college. I don't really have any issues with that approach since it's a positive no matter if he's working on interior scoring or 3pt scoring - just no midrange shots

He's no Jerami Grant that's for sure. Not sure on what his ceiling is but he hasn't impressed one Suns fan so far. Maybe needs to play 3-4 years to show a glimmer of hope.

He hasn't really had the opportunity to impress us to be honest. Plus he was always a bit of a project player (kinda why he wasn't necessarily a consensus top 10 choice).

His defense and rim protection from college should translate well to the pros and that's why we need most right now. If he can play alongside Ayton even in spot minutes then that helps us big time.

I think it's fine to slow cook him a little. Sure, I'd like to see him get SOME burn, but when we already can go 12-13 deep, it's less necessary for him to get on the floor.

I think he's probably having some struggles adjusting, as is normal for a rookie, particularly one who didn't have summer league, or much pre-season time. Another thing to remember is that he got drafted, moved to a new city and then training camp almost immediately started, whereas in a normal year. That's TOUGH on a young guy. Additionally, because of the strict COVID protocols, he probably hasn't been able to see his friends or family much. It's not like he can have a tough day at practice and then go out and grab dinner with his friends or family to relax and unwind.

I think Smith has to get a pass on this season, and any rookie really. Yes, obviously some are performing admirably, but I don't think its fair to expect that from anyone this year.