Preseason Game 5: Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns

[carey]

Sucks I was never able to get a good stream.

ilemi had a good one but it shut down at half time for some reason. That's unusual for their site.

[DRK]

Chriss gets off the ground so quick

[bwgood77]

Hope you guys don't give up on Bender so fast. He's going to be a really good player. The Booker-Bender-Chriss core has me excited. If we could just move Len, TJ, and a couple picks for Cousins (still only 26 years old) ... I'd be so thrilled.

Yeah, Bender has some serious skills. Chriss is looking great scoring and a better rebounder than I expected, and Bender is great at a lot of things, just not as flashy. But a big lanky guy is never going to get as much attention as a really athletic jumper and finisher. Both are looking far better than I thought they would this fast.

[kennydorglas]

It's nice to have good rookies

[carey]

Yay, Ulis didn't brick *these* crunch time FTs at least.

[SideSwipe]

Bender with the best +/- of the night by a decent margin.... His best game by far. Still LOTS to work on....

[carey]

Good win with 2/5 of our starters out. This is odd though...

[Jdiddy701]

I really like Ulis. He's going to be a very decent backup PG for us for years to come. He plays so smart and makes the right pass. McD has done a great job.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[carey]

Bender 11 & 7. Chriss 15 & 6. Ulis 14, 2 & 2. Bledsoe 17 points on 7 FGAs.

Me likey.

[letsgosuns]

Ulis is ready to be the back up point guard right now. I also think Chriss will be a starter much sooner than later, and Warren will be the one pushed out of the lineup. A Bledsoe, Booker, Dudley, Chriss, and Chandler lineup is more traditional and I like the potential of it better. Then the bench unit looks pretty strong with Ulis, Barbosa, Warren, Bender, and Len with Williams and Goodwin at the end of it. I left out Knight because I think his role on this team is pointless and he needs to be traded immediately for the best draft pick or picks you can get. 70 million dollars for a guy on the bench is ridiculous. Not to mention his play is embarrassing too.

[darealjuice]

I'm really impressed with how Chriss is progressing so far, I have really high hopes for him. You can tell that he's trying to work on the little things like boxing out when the shot goes up and keeping his hands straight up on defense in the post instead of swiping for blocks. He still makes mistakes every now and then, but I think his game is a lot further along than most people would have pegged it to be at this point. In my dream scenario, Chriss can advance to the point where Dudley thinks he needs to be the starter and resigns himself to the bench mob like he did in Milwaukee.

Bender looks good as well, he got called for a couple of ticky tack fouls on drives when he got switched on guards but I felt like he was hanging with them well and played solid defense. His shot gets flatter as the game progresses and he gets tired, but once his body matures and he gets stronger I think we'll see more consistency from him. I'd like to see more of him in a playmaking role, but you can see the game is still moving a little faster on the court than it is in his head right now, so I understand us bringing him along a little slower. I don't think his skill level is below Chriss right now, but Chriss is a lot more athletic and can compensate for the skill differential with his quicker first step and bounciness.

Ulis looks great running the offense, but he's definitely physically outmatched on the defensive end, and that's going to keep him from getting consistent minutes this year. Once he packs on some more muscle he'll be a lot better of an all around player, because his size disadvantage is the only thing stopping him from being a really good defender with how scrappy and aware he is on the court. I'm really excited to see him develop, I like his game on offense and his aggressiveness on defense a lot.

[Kerrsed]

Ulis is ready to be the back up point guard right now. I also think Chriss will be a starter much sooner than later, and Warren will be the one pushed out of the lineup. A Bledsoe, Booker, Dudley, Chriss, and Chandler lineup is more traditional and I like the potential of it better. Then the bench unit looks pretty strong with Ulis, Barbosa, Warren, Bender, and Len with Williams and Goodwin at the end of it. I left out Knight because I think his role on this team is pointless and he needs to be traded immediately for the best draft pick or picks you can get. 70 million dollars for a guy on the bench is ridiculous. Not to mention his play is embarrassing too.

I disagree. Ulis might look ready....in a preseason game.....against 3rd teir no name (which is exactly who he was playing against), but he has a long way to go before he should be considered a full time back-up. Chriss will be a stud. I think he has shown some flashes already, but to man the starting PF spot, he HAS TO add close to 15lbs of muscle at least. He will get pushed around alot at his current weight. And when it comes to Knight, his role isnt pointless. We need scoring coming off the bench, and if Knight knows how to do anything, its score the ball. But i do agree he needs a change of sceanery, as i dont think he is as OK with being a 6th man as the team is trying so desperately hard to make it seem, and there are other options of scoring PG/SG 6th men out there that can do the same exact thing as Knight, but at half the price. His contract isnt bad, not even close, but im sure there is a team out there that could use him in a better role for that price than we can (Im looking at you Philly!).

[Jdiddy701]

Over/Under, Drysdale calls Chriss, Markieff Chriss - 8 times this season.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[letsgosuns]

This is what I will say about Chriss. I cannot believe that the Kings had the opportunity to draft him and they chose to trade the pick to the Suns. What the hell were they thinking? I guess it is not a surprise that every player wants to get away from that organization. Seriously, Chris and Cousins could have been a great looking frontcourt for them. I guess they thought differently.

[fatlever]

I've got my rookie dynasty draft tomorrow morning. Picking 5th. I'm hoping to land either Chriss or Bender. Which guy do you think has the higher fantasy upside? Chriss seems to playing great in preseason, but will Bender be the better player in 3-4 years?

I'm looking forward to watching a lot of Suns games this year. You guys have to be pretty excited about this young group.

As for Knight, I think he'd actually be a good fit for the Hornets, backup up Kemba and playing the role Lin played last year. But his salary would be a steep price for a backup combo. Not sure Hornets have anything Suns would want anyway - at least nothing Hornets would want to give up for Knight. But he does seem pointless on this team right now.

[Jdiddy701]

This is what I will say about Chriss. I cannot believe that the Kings had the opportunity to draft him and they chose to trade the pick to the Suns. What the hell were they thinking? I guess it is not a surprise that every player wants to get away from that organization. Seriously, Chris and Cousins could have been a great looking frontcourt for them. I guess they thought differently.

And he's from Sacramento! When the report came out the Kings traded him to Phoenix, I went nuts. The original report was for Bledsoe and I was still okay with it. So happy we got him.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[Kerrsed]

I've got my rookie dynasty draft tomorrow morning. Picking 5th. I'm hoping to land either Chriss or Bender. Which guy do you think has the higher fantasy upside? Chriss seems to playing great in preseason, but will Bender be the better player in 3-4 years?

I'm looking forward to watching a lot of Suns games this year. You guys have to be pretty excited about this young group.

As for Knight, I think he'd actually be a good fit for the Hornets, backup up Kemba and playing the role Lin played last year. But his salary would be a steep price for a backup combo. Not sure Hornets have anything Suns would want anyway - at least nothing Hornets would want to give up for Knight. But he does seem pointless on this team right now.

Its tough to say. By all reports, Bender is supposed to have the more all-around-game and has been talked about as possibly being the player in the 2016 draft with the highest upside (rivaling Simmons), but i think its going to take some time and we plan on bringing him along slowly. Chriss is just a plain freak athlete and is starting to look like Amare 2.0 right away. I think Chriss will be playing more minutes than Bender for the next year or so, and might get a leg up on him.

[Thespianoid]

I've got my rookie dynasty draft tomorrow morning. Picking 5th. I'm hoping to land either Chriss or Bender. Which guy do you think has the higher fantasy upside? Chriss seems to playing great in preseason, but will Bender be the better player in 3-4 years?

I'm looking forward to watching a lot of Suns games this year. You guys have to be pretty excited about this young group.

As for Knight, I think he'd actually be a good fit for the Hornets, backup up Kemba and playing the role Lin played last year. But his salary would be a steep price for a backup combo. Not sure Hornets have anything Suns would want anyway - at least nothing Hornets would want to give up for Knight. But he does seem pointless on this team right now.

Its tough to say. By all reports, Bender is supposed to have the more all-around-game and has been talked about as possibly being the player in the 2016 draft with the highest upside (rivaling Simmons), but i think its going to take some time and we plan on bringing him along slowly. Chriss is just a plain freak athlete and is starting to look like Amare 2.0 right away. I think Chriss will be playing more minutes than Bender for the next year or so, and might get a leg up on him.

I want to say Bender will be more analytically valuable to a team, but Chriss will always have the better boxscore/fantasy value. Plus with the slow approach the Suns are taking with Bender, with Chriss guaranteed to play more minutes and get more touches, I'd say the fantasy pick should be Chriss.

[bwgood77]

I've got my rookie dynasty draft tomorrow morning. Picking 5th. I'm hoping to land either Chriss or Bender. Which guy do you think has the higher fantasy upside? Chriss seems to playing great in preseason, but will Bender be the better player in 3-4 years?

I'm looking forward to watching a lot of Suns games this year. You guys have to be pretty excited about this young group.

As for Knight, I think he'd actually be a good fit for the Hornets, backup up Kemba and playing the role Lin played last year. But his salary would be a steep price for a backup combo. Not sure Hornets have anything Suns would want anyway - at least nothing Hornets would want to give up for Knight. But he does seem pointless on this team right now.

Its tough to say. By all reports, Bender is supposed to have the more all-around-game and has been talked about as possibly being the player in the 2016 draft with the highest upside (rivaling Simmons), but i think its going to take some time and we plan on bringing him along slowly. Chriss is just a plain freak athlete and is starting to look like Amare 2.0 right away. I think Chriss will be playing more minutes than Bender for the next year or so, and might get a leg up on him.

I want to say Bender will be more analytically valuable to a team, but Chriss will always have the better boxscore/fantasy value. Plus with the slow approach the Suns are taking with Bender, with Chriss guaranteed to play more minutes and get more touches, I'd say the fantasy pick should be Chriss.

To add, fatlever, you might want to watch how our dynasty draft goes, which is going on right now, and people here will obviously likely be higher on both (Chriss for sure right now) than fans of other teams. We have 16 teams and our in the 5th round and neither has been taken yet.

Dynasty drafts our strange. Though I guess considering it is a dynasty draft and since they go on for years, this is probably not your initial dynasty draft, so you will need to check just when the rookies are going relatively speaking. You never know if you have someone looking at the preseason thread on the general board with Chriss highlights in it that will take him early. Bender would probably be a great late pick.

Chriss will have the higher FG% by far because of being mostly a finisher/inside guy and more boards, and Bender will likely shoot more 3s, and get more steals and assists, but his FG% could be fairly bad in his rookie year. Bender will end up with more blocks though, even though he plays defense for now primarily on the perimeter. He disrupts shots often with his length on people shooting from deep and can do it inside as well. Chriss will get blocks too inside with his athleticism. Chriss surprisingly rebounding well after being one of the worst rebounders in history in college, so when the regular season starts, I don't know what to expect in that regard.

Edit: I hadn't seen Chriss' game tonight as I couldn't get a feed, but looking at the box score, maybe the steals and blocks both favor him, at least for now. And he just got drafted, and everyone else said they wanted him.

[Kerrsed]

Its tough to say. By all reports, Bender is supposed to have the more all-around-game and has been talked about as possibly being the player in the 2016 draft with the highest upside (rivaling Simmons), but i think its going to take some time and we plan on bringing him along slowly. Chriss is just a plain freak athlete and is starting to look like Amare 2.0 right away. I think Chriss will be playing more minutes than Bender for the next year or so, and might get a leg up on him.

I want to say Bender will be more analytically valuable to a team, but Chriss will always have the better boxscore/fantasy value. Plus with the slow approach the Suns are taking with Bender, with Chriss guaranteed to play more minutes and get more touches, I'd say the fantasy pick should be Chriss.

To add, fatlever, you might want to watch how our dynasty draft goes, which is going on right now, and people here will obviously likely be higher on both (Chriss for sure right now) than fans of other teams. We have 16 teams and our in the 5th round and neither has been taken yet.

You might want to check out that thread yourself, lmao.