Game 57: Suns (17-39) vs Lakers (19-37)

[carey]

EVERY SUN SCORED!

[GetYourPHX]

Well that was easily the most fun game of the year.

[ATTL]

Wish this didn't impact the tank so much but I'm sure this felt nice for the suns players heading into the break.

Get jones more playing time.

[Qwigglez]

So... are we a playoff team if we play the Lakers every game?

[Blackification]

Wish this didn't impact the tank so much but I'm sure this felt nice for the suns players heading into the break.

Get jones more playing time.

it would be a good way to summarize Len's time here if this his last game before a trade. Fouls out in a 36 point blowout

[MrMiyagi]

This game and post-game interview with Bledsoe is why I want to keep.

[LukasBMW]

They said that the previous record win over the Lakers was 34 points. Today, we set the new slaughter record at 35 points!

Great win before the allstar break...but now we have to start losing on purpose.

[Qwigglez]

I want to keep Bledsoe because he's still improving his game and he looked way more focused this year than in years past. He's playing confident and I think we should give him a fair shot. We don't know how Fultz/Ball are going to look in the NBA. I thought everyone was preaching for Ingram to be the next Durant. Dude looks like a complete scrub!

[darealjuice]

Len might have had a decent game if he didn't somehow turn the ball over 6 times and foul out. Fun game though, I'll never say no to whipping the Lakers ass. DJJ getting his first 3 in-game dunks was pretty cool too, now time to bring home the dunk contest.

[ATTL]

Just did the math, if we play jones 15 mpg he will give us 30 points and 10rpg.

[alldayeveryday]

Read on Twitter

[LukasBMW]

Centurylink has a new review on yelp:

CenturyLink sponsors a contest that runs during the first time out at Phoenix Suns games. This contest sums up Century Link perfectly. Cheap and Impossible. Casino Arizona pays out $77,777 for anyone who can hit a halfcourt shot. Centurylink pays out a whopping $5,000 to anyone who hits a free throw, 3 point shot, and half court shot in 30 seconds. Seriously???? 9 out of 10 PRO basketball players couldn't hit a free throw, 3 point shot, AND a half court shot in 30 seconds. The average Joe stands no chance of completing this task. And if they do...the prize is a lousy $5k? You suck CenturyLink! Cheapskates!

[nevetsov]

^ not to mention, you only get one chance at the halfcourt shot once you get there, too. So if you take it at the 20 second mark, your game ends there.

You basically have to hit two extra shots for a chance to win $72,777 less!

[Saberestar]

Len fouls out in a blow out. This guy....

He can not stablish himself in a deep position even when he is defended by 6'2 players.

Sometimes it is ridiculous, he does not have any strength in his legs.

[Saberestar]

Well that was easily the most fun game of the year.

[Zelaznyrules]

Len fouls out in a blow out. This guy....

He can not stablish himself in a deep position even when he is defended by 6'2 players.

Sometimes it is ridiculous, he does not have any strength in his legs.

I thought Len played a pretty good game. He couldn't buy a call from the refs, mostly because they were done giving the Suns any positive attention by the time Len picked up 3 of his fouls. And considering he only played 22 minutes, his stats look pretty good too except for the 6 turnovers (15 and 9 plus 2 assists and 2 blocks) . Plus a few of those turnovers were tied to the foul calls.

On the play where he picked up his 5th, Randle should have been called for a foul on the knock-away as there was plenty of contact, instead Len picks up the foul despite there being much less contact in his quest to recover that ball. And that 4th quarter moving screen call was weak too, it was made because they guy ended up tripping over Len's feet as Alex cut to the hoop. He still needs to get stronger, and play stronger but he does a lot of good out there that seems to be ignored here for some reason.

[Saberestar]

Len fouls out in a blow out. This guy....

He can not stablish himself in a deep position even when he is defended by 6'2 players.

Sometimes it is ridiculous, he does not have any strength in his legs.

I thought Len played a pretty good game. He couldn't buy a call from the refs, mostly because they were done giving the Suns any positive attention by the time Len picked up 3 of his fouls. And considering he only played 22 minutes, his stats look pretty good too except for the 6 turnovers (15 and 9 plus 2 assists and 2 blocks) . Plus a few of those turnovers were tied to the foul calls.

On the play where he picked up his 5th, Randle should have been called for a foul on the knock-away as there was plenty of contact, instead Len picks up the foul despite there being much less contact in his quest to recover that ball. And that 4th quarter moving screen call was weak too, it was made because they guy ended up tripping over Len's feet as Alex cut to the hoop. He still needs to get stronger, and play stronger but he does a lot of good out there that seems to be ignored here for some reason.

Yeah, he played a decent game, but that does not change that he lacks strength to stablish himself in a good position on both sides of the court. That is a big problem for a 7'1 player because he does not have the opportunity to play big... he is moved around too easy.

That is one of the reasons why he makes so many fouls too.

[Zelaznyrules]

He can not stablish himself in a deep position even when he is defended by 6'2 players.

Sometimes it is ridiculous, he does not have any strength in his legs.

I thought Len played a pretty good game. He couldn't buy a call from the refs, mostly because they were done giving the Suns any positive attention by the time Len picked up 3 of his fouls. And considering he only played 22 minutes, his stats look pretty good too except for the 6 turnovers (15 and 9 plus 2 assists and 2 blocks) . Plus a few of those turnovers were tied to the foul calls.

On the play where he picked up his 5th, Randle should have been called for a foul on the knock-away as there was plenty of contact, instead Len picks up the foul despite there being much less contact in his quest to recover that ball. And that 4th quarter moving screen call was weak too, it was made because they guy ended up tripping over Len's feet as Alex cut to the hoop. He still needs to get stronger, and play stronger but he does a lot of good out there that seems to be ignored here for some reason.

Yeah, he played a decent game, but that does not change that he lacks strength to stablish himself in a good position on both sides of the court. That is a big problem for a 7'1 player because he does not have the opportunity to play big... he is moved around too easy.

That is one of the reasons why he makes so many fouls too.

Yeah but that's true about a lot of big guys, especially early in their careers. Just look at Chandler back in his Chicago days. Len holds his position far better than Frye ever did and at least as well as Gortat did when he was here. His fouling is a real issue but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and let him start fouling out so he can learn to play through them.

He's frustrating because he shows so much promise at times and then it all seems to go away for awhile. And it doesn't help that players like Jokic go from nowhere to star seemingly overnight but this idea that Len is a waste is just wrong IMO. He's going to be a solid player somewhere. If he doesn't get regular stating minutes the second half of this season, he will likely go elsewhere and I think we'll end up regretting letting him walk.

[Saberestar]

I thought Len played a pretty good game. He couldn't buy a call from the refs, mostly because they were done giving the Suns any positive attention by the time Len picked up 3 of his fouls. And considering he only played 22 minutes, his stats look pretty good too except for the 6 turnovers (15 and 9 plus 2 assists and 2 blocks) . Plus a few of those turnovers were tied to the foul calls.

On the play where he picked up his 5th, Randle should have been called for a foul on the knock-away as there was plenty of contact, instead Len picks up the foul despite there being much less contact in his quest to recover that ball. And that 4th quarter moving screen call was weak too, it was made because they guy ended up tripping over Len's feet as Alex cut to the hoop. He still needs to get stronger, and play stronger but he does a lot of good out there that seems to be ignored here for some reason.

Yeah, he played a decent game, but that does not change that he lacks strength to stablish himself in a good position on both sides of the court. That is a big problem for a 7'1 player because he does not have the opportunity to play big... he is moved around too easy.

That is one of the reasons why he makes so many fouls too.

Yeah but that's true about a lot of big guys, especially early in their careers. Just look at Chandler back in his Chicago days. Len holds his position far better than Frye ever did and at least as well as Gortat did when he was here. His fouling is a real issue but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and let him start fouling out so he can learn to play through them.

Those two players have other weapons that make them really good players that Len does not have. That is the problem. Len just has his size.

Frye is a terrific shooter. He can play smaller than his size, but does not matter because he can make three or four consecutives triples any given night...he is a floor spacer and defensively he is smart and is vocal (ala Dudley).

Gortat is one of the fastest and more coordinated big man in the league. He can fly going to the rim after a pick.
Can you imagine Len moving himself to the rim in a pick and roll like Gortat? No way.

And regarding Chandler, he is was really good in his fourth season in the league. Len looks like a rookie, but he is not.

[Zelaznyrules]

Yeah, he played a decent game, but that does not change that he lacks strength to stablish himself in a good position on both sides of the court. That is a big problem for a 7'1 player because he does not have the opportunity to play big... he is moved around too easy.

That is one of the reasons why he makes so many fouls too.

Yeah but that's true about a lot of big guys, especially early in their careers. Just look at Chandler back in his Chicago days. Len holds his position far better than Frye ever did and at least as well as Gortat did when he was here. His fouling is a real issue but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and let him start fouling out so he can learn to play through them.

Those two players have other weapons that make them really good players that Len does not have. That is the problem. Len just has his size.

Frye is a terrific shooter. He can play smaller than his size, but does not matter because he can make three or four consecutives triples any given night...he is a floor spacer and defensively he is smart and is vocal (ala Dudley).

Gortat is one of the fastest and more coordinated big man in the league. He can fly going to the rim after a pick.
Can you imagine Len moving himself to the rim in a pick and roll like Gortat? No way.

And you're talking about a couple of guys that were finished products, Len is still learning. And Len does a lot of things better than either of those two guys. Don't get me wrong, I was a staunch supporter of Frye and always insisted we'd erred in letting him go but Len, as a center, has a much better future IMO. He can't match Channing as a stretch 4 but that's not what we're asking from him.