Game 25: Boston Celtics (13-13) @ Phoenix Suns (20-4) l Friday l 8:00pm l ESPN

[MrMiyagi]

McGee with a crazy good game. I wonder how many 20/15 games he has had? I know not many. Ayton should be back Monday because I don't think McGee can play too many more minutes than that...it was his season high and had only gone over 20 a few times. Part of the reason he can maintain such high energy. Very encouraging to see if Ayton(or McGee) misses a game though Smith isn't too bad of a backup..at least tonight he wasn't.

I'd like to see Jalen get more minutes. I think his defense should be fairly consistent, but he needs more confidence on offense.

[Jdiddy701]

Crazy to me how the Suns can slide Ayton, McGee or Frank at the center position, and still look the same. McGee is one cool dude to root for. I always respect players that give it their all every time. You can really tell he really loves to play basketball. What a solid signing from James Jones. I hope the Suns aren’t like all previous teams that’s let McGee go. I think he’s found a home.


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[Bogyo]

So why exactley did we drop Smith like he was hot garbage? As stated in other threads we lack rebounding (shot blocking?) and an athletic, mobile, physical big who can get switched onto some wings and has a chance of keeping up with them. During summer league, pre-season and now it seems he could have been that. Or at least we could have showcased him like one and he could have been a trade piece by now - but we killed that with that move...
I guess hinding and putting in the last pieces into a puzzle is sometimes harder than the first step.

[Qwigglez]

Smith looked decent in this game but I wouldn't put too much into it. He's an afterthought for the Celtics and they certainly didn't scout him to be as energetic as he was. Offensively they left him wide open for 3's, and he hit 1/6.

He had a good PnR with CP3 in the 2nd quarter because the Celtics gambled mostly Schroeder's fault for not covering the role man as Robert Williams I think made the correct call to pick up CP3. Landry Shamet was on the strong side and had Al Horford guarding him, had he sagged down to cover Smith, then CP3 certainly hits Shamet for a wide open 3. I think Horford was banking on Smith to possibly just pop for the open 3, but Smith made the correct read to roll to the rim.

Watch on YouTube

I remember Smith getting a play for him where he was on the wing/block and he tried to back someone down only to get the ball knocked away from him for a split second and then Smith passed the ball out to maybe Payne and we missed a three. Offensively Smith is long way away from doing anything more than being a role player, and I think he is fine playing with someone like CP3, maybe even Booker. But he doesn't offer much offensively when he is in with guys like Payne, and the offense is almost 4 on 5 in these situations. Defensively though I think he is up to par and didn't have many defensive lapses that I noticed, definitely needs more confidence in himself.

[PittsburghSuns]

Another impressive W for the boys. This team is special.

[Saberestar]

Boring games. We are too good, there is no competitive basketball in our games...you know that we are gonna win lol.

[Saberestar]

So why exactley did we drop Smith like he was hot garbage? As stated in other threads we lack rebounding (shot blocking?) and an athletic, mobile, physical big who can get switched onto some wings and has a chance of keeping up with them. During summer league, pre-season and now it seems he could have been that. Or at least we could have showcased him like one and he could have been a trade piece by now - but we killed that with that move...
I guess hinding and putting in the last pieces into a puzzle is sometimes harder than the first step.

I didn't see anything special from Jalen Smith in this game. He was wide open on offense and on defense/rebounding he was OK...but we have Ayton, Crowder, Saric, Kaminsky and McGee at his position PF/C. I expect them all back next season.

No need to guarantee him $5M or something like that for next season, you are seeing how good McGee is playing for us and how great was Baynes for us too. Both exactly at $5M contract.

[Iceman36]

Boring games. We are too good, there is no competitive basketball in our games...you know that we are gonna win lol.

I had the same impression tonight. But these are dangerous thoughts, especially for the team self.

[sunsbg]

Jones most likely drafted Smith based on his 37% from 3 in college to be the stretch PF next to DA. Him not looking good from 3 is probably the main reason for not picking his option. Otherwise he looks OK in other areas. Very unlikely he turns into anything more than a role player, but if he works on his shooting he'll stick in the league.

[Mulhollanddrive]

He's a Center, hopefully another team sees him as a Noel type with some value.

[SunsRback4Good]

Great game! I watched the whole game without posting felt good not looking at the game thread and watching the game. Suns led from start to finish therefore there was no need to compain.

Tatum started off hot hitting his first 4 shots afterwards he shot 6 for 21. Bridges continues to impressive me with his tight defense, he's an ultimate defensive stopper that no all star wants to deal with. As for Cam he finally found his shot this year unlike last one and proving he should get minutes during clutch time.

Overall, great win as suns led from start to finish and never looked back. Without Ayton and Booker I wasn't expecting a beat down to a .500 team but like always Phoenix continues to surprise me.

[NapoleonII]

Jones most likely drafted Smith based on his 37% from 3 in college to be the stretch PF next to DA. Him not looking good from 3 is probably the main reason for not picking his option. Otherwise he looks OK in other areas. Very unlikely he turns into anything more than a role player, but if he works on his shooting he'll stick in the league.

Bingo.

He checks a lot of boxes, but with Ayton/McGee and (at times, Frank) holding down the 5 spot, we don't need him. If a 4 can't shoot threes in our system, he's out.

But I liked some of his minutes tonight, good decisions here, some nice catches and blocks, rebounds. It's rough, man, we have messed with his development because we went from young team making the playoffs with some vets to let's get a **** ring before the world ends.

But this development has been nice. I could see him taking all of Frank's minutes in the matchups where McGee isn't working, maybe vs the Clippers, Bucks. Stix, at the least, is some good fouls and physical play on Giannis and a few blocks.

[bwgood77]

Jones most likely drafted Smith based on his 37% from 3 in college to be the stretch PF next to DA. Him not looking good from 3 is probably the main reason for not picking his option. Otherwise he looks OK in other areas. Very unlikely he turns into anything more than a role player, but if he works on his shooting he'll stick in the league.

Bingo.

He checks a lot of boxes, but with Ayton/McGee and (at times, Frank) holding down the 5 spot, we don't need him. If a 4 can't shoot threes in our system, he's out.

But I liked some of his minutes tonight, good decisions here, some nice catches and blocks, rebounds. It's rough, man, we have messed with his development because we went from young team making the playoffs with some vets to let's get a **** ring before the world ends.

But this development has been nice. I could see him taking all of Frank's minutes in the matchups where McGee isn't working, maybe vs the Clippers, Bucks. Stix, at the least, is some good fouls and physical play on Giannis and a few blocks.

We do need depth at C in case of Ayton or McGee injury with Saric and Frank out. No guarantee we keep McGee next year either.

Hopefully we can re-sign Smith on the cheap.

He looked a bit similar to McGee inside with easy dunks due to not being a defensive focus at all on offense. McGee is obviously more active an experienced and a better rebounder.

9 boards and 2 blocks in 22 minutes is pretty impressive for his first real game. He was 3-8 but was 1-6 from 3 so 2-2 otherwise.

In summer league it was the opposite..he was decent from 3 but bad from 2 but also played with a horrible group yet still made 1st team leading the summer league in rebounding.

He is a solid rebounder, looks like a good shot blocker, better on D than I thought, and can finish on offense inside if open. If he just improves enough from 3 to be a threat and be respected, he is definitely playable against anyone.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Jones most likely drafted Smith based on his 37% from 3 in college to be the stretch PF next to DA. Him not looking good from 3 is probably the main reason for not picking his option. Otherwise he looks OK in other areas. Very unlikely he turns into anything more than a role player, but if he works on his shooting he'll stick in the league.

Bingo.

He checks a lot of boxes, but with Ayton/McGee and (at times, Frank) holding down the 5 spot, we don't need him. If a 4 can't shoot threes in our system, he's out.

But I liked some of his minutes tonight, good decisions here, some nice catches and blocks, rebounds. It's rough, man, we have messed with his development because we went from young team making the playoffs with some vets to let's get a **** ring before the world ends.

But this development has been nice. I could see him taking all of Frank's minutes in the matchups where McGee isn't working, maybe vs the Clippers, Bucks. Stix, at the least, is some good fouls and physical play on Giannis and a few blocks.

We do need depth at C in case of Ayton or McGee injury with Saric and Frank out. No guarantee we keep McGee next year either.

Hopefully we can re-sign Smith on the cheap.

He looked a bit similar to McGee inside with easy dunks due to not being a defensive focus at all on offense. McGee is obviously more active an experienced and a better rebounder.

9 boards and 2 blocks in 22 minutes is pretty impressive for his first real game. He was 3-8 but was 1-6 from 3 so 2-2 otherwise.

In summer league it was the opposite..he was decent from 3 but bad from 3 but also played with a horrible group yet still made 1st team leading the summer league in rebounding.

He is a solid rebounder, looks like a good shot blocker, better on D than I thought, and can finish on offense inside if open. If he just improves enough from 3 to be a threat and be respected, he is definitely playable against anyone.

It would be silly to not resign McGee with how good he's been for us as a backup. We seriously need his length and experience at the 5 behind Ayton. We've had enough contractual concessions to make things happen honestly wherein ( if he's willing to resign for 5 million), his salary shouldn't make that much difference.

Resigning Smith would of course be optimal, As I still believe in his upside and trajectory ( IF we can just get him more" in game " minutes to acclimate to the speed of the game and find his rythym and confidence. Not picking up his option, along with not giving him actual legitimate playing time since drafting him of course had to be a blow to his confidence somewhat. But it appears he's working through it! He's still a bit too slight to realistically play outside the 5 with the exception of some small ball lineups. But in time he should beef up enough. I think on the right diet and training regimen, He can maybe get up to around 245lbs or so without losing much mobility.

It's a bit of a double edged sword that he's getting more minutes and progressing better now after us not picking up his option. I think that with a crappy/ really shallow upcoming free agency, There will be more teams willing to take a chance on him than before with any measurable improvement. And IF other offers do materialize ad a result of further development and improvements, I can't realistically see why he'd consider less to resign with the same team that didn't pick up his option?? Hopefully as you said, We can resign him for less. I just happen to think there'll be a few options from lottery teams needing size and willing to take a flyer on him for his upside and any noticable improvements made. What can we offer him vs, other teams again man?

[King4Day]

McGee is a really intelligent talker

https://youtu.be/RiOT5Nl9tOM?t=1157

[bwgood77]

It's really too bad he's a Raiders fan.

[irish22022]

It's really too bad he's a Raiders fan.

It's worse than that. He became one when they moved to Las Vegas, presumably. Unless he just chose them randomly.

I agree with all your Jalen Smith points. I think that was you up above mentioning he's a pretty bad offensive liability. I'd guess if we want him for 3.5 mil we'll get him for 3.5 mill.

[SunsRback4Good]

It's really too bad he's a Raiders fan.

I'll no longer root for him cause if you don't cheer for the Cardinals or Chargers then you really should rethink on your life choices.