Game 57: Phoenix Suns (40-16) @ Milwaukee Bucks (35-21) l Monday l 5:00pm l BSAZ

[lilfishi22]

Wasn’t the foul called on Jrue? That kind of slapping motion is going to get called MOST of the time, especially on the perimeter., especially if the ref actually heard the slap. Yeah, if the roles were reversed I would be angry about it. But it looks like he was fouls. Y both Jrie and PJ

The official foul call was on Tucker. It was an iffy call because I don't think that female ref who made that call on the side line had a great view of the actual contact so in that case, it was kind of a superstar call in the sense that Booker got the benefit of the doubt there. Yes, there was contact from PJ so the correct call was made and I expect that to be reflected in the Last 2 Minute Report but I'm doubtful that the ref got a good look at the contact.

the thing is if nobody called the foul, it couldn't be reviewed and Milwaukee would have gotten away with a foul. Because a whistle was blown, they DID get to review it and the foul was confirmed.

Q5 00:00.0 Foul: Shooting P.J. Tucker Devin Booker CC Video
Comment: Tucker (MIL) makes elbow to elbow contact with Booker (PHX) during his shooting motion and the contact affects his jump shot attempt.

And they made the right call. I'm not contesting that it should've been a no-call but while I think Book got the benefit of the doubt there (refs generally don't want to make that call in a crucial moment and clear line of sight to the foul was not great) I was more critical of the shot selection.

After sleeping on it, maybe I was being too critical of Book and not giving enough credit to an elite defender like Holiday who likely tried to force Booker right and into the help defense of Tucker which is the right strategy rather than being on an island with single coverage on a great scorer like Book.

[King4Day]

When hearing Royce Young during the post game presser, I had a feeling an article was coming.
If we can beat the 76ers? I know we say it a lot, but if we win that game, I believe it will be the loudest win of the season for us. You'll start to hear fans say the Suns might be real title contenders.
Of course we'll still have those saying we won't come out of the west. And maybe we won't. But the recognition is growing.

It's hard to claim statement wins, particularly in this weird 72-game season, but for a team like the Suns, each win over a contending peer serves as a certain kind of validation. The abrupt jump from bubble Cinderella to an apparent title contender leaves doubters aplenty. There's always an air of "the Suns are a nice story, but ..." around them.

"I knew this about our team but, how do I say it?" Williams said. "It's just good to see it play out in front of everybody else."

Toward the end of his media availability Monday, Paul was asked about Ayton's solid defensive effort on Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and while praising the young center, Paul mentioned the unique game plan the Suns had to deploy for Antetokounmpo. But there was a casual line he added, maybe subconsciously, maybe coincidentally, or maybe, intentionally.

"These games right here, we're in the West, they're in the East," Paul said casually. "The only time we could see them again is in the Finals."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31293325/chris-paul-phoenix-suns-serve-notice-legit-nba-playoff-contenders

Depends on if Simmons and Harris play. They didn't play against the Warriors. It would be a great win but I wouldn't call any win against us great if we were missing two of Paul/Booker/Ayton....

I think they will. I believe Philly has us lined up and didn't care about the Warriors game. They want to see what they're made of against us, and vice versa.

[King4Day]

The official foul call was on Tucker. It was an iffy call because I don't think that female ref who made that call on the side line had a great view of the actual contact so in that case, it was kind of a superstar call in the sense that Booker got the benefit of the doubt there. Yes, there was contact from PJ so the correct call was made and I expect that to be reflected in the Last 2 Minute Report but I'm doubtful that the ref got a good look at the contact.

the thing is if nobody called the foul, it couldn't be reviewed and Milwaukee would have gotten away with a foul. Because a whistle was blown, they DID get to review it and the foul was confirmed.

Q5 00:00.0 Foul: Shooting P.J. Tucker Devin Booker CC Video
Comment: Tucker (MIL) makes elbow to elbow contact with Booker (PHX) during his shooting motion and the contact affects his jump shot attempt.

And they made the right call. I'm not contesting that it should've been a no-call but while I think Book got the benefit of the doubt there (refs generally don't want to make that call in a crucial moment and clear line of sight to the foul was not great) I was more critical of the shot selection.

After sleeping on it, maybe I was being too critical of Book and not giving enough credit to an elite defender like Holiday who likely tried to force Booker right and into the help defense of Tucker which is the right strategy rather than being on an island with single coverage on a great scorer like Book.

The problem was, from what I recall, Holiday wasn't on Booker until I think Paul allowed him to switch. Then Bridges tried switching to get Holiday off him but he didn't take and that led to what we saw. I'd rather have seen them keep the space as they had it and just let Booker go to work. if he gets doubled, swing it and hope for the best.

[lilfishi22]

the thing is if nobody called the foul, it couldn't be reviewed and Milwaukee would have gotten away with a foul. Because a whistle was blown, they DID get to review it and the foul was confirmed.

Q5 00:00.0 Foul: Shooting P.J. Tucker Devin Booker CC Video
Comment: Tucker (MIL) makes elbow to elbow contact with Booker (PHX) during his shooting motion and the contact affects his jump shot attempt.

And they made the right call. I'm not contesting that it should've been a no-call but while I think Book got the benefit of the doubt there (refs generally don't want to make that call in a crucial moment and clear line of sight to the foul was not great) I was more critical of the shot selection.

After sleeping on it, maybe I was being too critical of Book and not giving enough credit to an elite defender like Holiday who likely tried to force Booker right and into the help defense of Tucker which is the right strategy rather than being on an island with single coverage on a great scorer like Book.

The problem was, from what I recall, Holiday wasn't on Booker until I think Paul allowed him to switch. Then Bridges tried switching to get Holiday off him but he didn't take and that led to what we saw. I'd rather have seen them keep the space as they had it and just let Booker go to work. if he gets doubled, swing it and hope for the best.

It was Middleton on Booker at first then Mikal came over for the screen and that's when the switch to Holiday occurred. It was at that point when Suns tried to get Divencenzo on Booker but Holiday stuck. I don't think it mattered who Bucks had on Booker since both Middleton and Holiday are great defenders. Crowder should've moved but at that point in time, I think there wasn't anywhere to go. If Crowder had vacated that corner, he would've been in the lane for a drive and I'm not sure anyone knew what kind of shot Booker was trying to get.

[Saberestar]

Have we ever had any word on what's going on with DA's shoulder? I can remember several times this season where his arm looks limp and he's messing around with his shoulder, only for him to come back fine minutes later. He played the last minute or so of regulation with one arm last night, but seemed fine when we got to OT.

Big win last night. Great bounce back win after a disgusting showing against the Spurs. I'd love to see us take it to Philly tomorrow.

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