2021-22 Season Discussion and Speculation

[Bogyo]

If we are a true contender we should be able to get by this 36-46 Pelicans team even without Book.
If not, then we are not as good as we thought. It won't be easy, but it should be doable in 6-7 games, especially Book can come back for game 6-7.
Also - is there a specialist for hamstrings? Book should look for everyone around the world, I don't want his career to KJ.

[King4Day]

If Crowder's struggles continue next game, I fully expect Craig to start for him the following game. He's quicker and a better defender.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Usually I feel like guys will be out longer but for some reason I don't feel like Book will be out long. Whether it lingers is a different question. I think he might actually even want to play Friday but won't, and hopefully we win that so he doesn't feel he needs to play Sunday. We really don't want to go down 3-1, though I don't think we would even with Book out. If we can go up 3-1 with him out, and he can even sit game 5, great.

I really, really strongly prefer that Book not play until the second round. Maybe we bring him back for a game 6 or 7 and let him sit a game in the second round.

Last thing this franchise needs is for Booker to suffer a major injury. We need to do everything short of throwing our playoff run to give Book the time he needs to heal.

[RunDogGun]

If Crowder's struggles continue next game, I fully expect Craig to start for him the following game. He's quicker and a better defender.

I honestly don't. I expect Monty to keep going with Crowder and lose the first round. Hopefully Monty proves me wrong.

[bwgood77]

Usually I feel like guys will be out longer but for some reason I don't feel like Book will be out long. Whether it lingers is a different question. I think he might actually even want to play Friday but won't, and hopefully we win that so he doesn't feel he needs to play Sunday. We really don't want to go down 3-1, though I don't think we would even with Book out. If we can go up 3-1 with him out, and he can even sit game 5, great.

I really, really strongly prefer that Book not play until the second round. Maybe we bring him back for a game 6 or 7 and let him sit a game in the second round.

Last thing this franchise needs is for Booker to suffer a major injury. We need to do everything short of throwing our playoff run to give Book the time he needs to heal.

Me too, unless otherwise we wouldn't get to a second round. However, it mainly comes down to how he is feeling and if they feel there is further risk to injury.

There probably is, but I figure game 3 if we can win we are good for him to at least sit out another one. If we are down and risk going down 3-1, it will have been 5 days, whereas normally it is a 7-10 day wait. Originally they said tightness so perhaps it isn't as bad, though of course he has had these hamstring problems.

Of course if he is still hampered he could hurt more than help.

The main thing is we just need our guards/wings to start hitting some outside shots so our offense still works.

[bwgood77]

If Crowder's struggles continue next game, I fully expect Craig to start for him the following game. He's quicker and a better defender.

I honestly don't. I expect Monty to keep going with Crowder and lose the first round. Hopefully Monty proves me wrong.

I don't either, especially since Cam is likely starting. Craig isn't a guy who gets a lot of minutes.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Usually I feel like guys will be out longer but for some reason I don't feel like Book will be out long. Whether it lingers is a different question. I think he might actually even want to play Friday but won't, and hopefully we win that so he doesn't feel he needs to play Sunday. We really don't want to go down 3-1, though I don't think we would even with Book out. If we can go up 3-1 with him out, and he can even sit game 5, great.

I really, really strongly prefer that Book not play until the second round. Maybe we bring him back for a game 6 or 7 and let him sit a game in the second round.

Last thing this franchise needs is for Booker to suffer a major injury. We need to do everything short of throwing our playoff run to give Book the time he needs to heal.

Me too, unless otherwise we wouldn't get to a second round. However, it mainly comes down to how he is feeling and if they feel there is further risk to injury.

There probably is, but I figure game 3 if we can win we are good for him to at least sit out another one. If we are down and risk going down 3-1, it will have been 5 days, whereas normally it is a 7-10 day wait. Originally they said tightness so perhaps it isn't as bad, though of course he has had these hamstring problems.

Of course if he is still hampered he could hurt more than help.

The main thing is we just need our guards/wings to start hitting some outside shots so our offense still works.

My worry is that if he doesn't fully heal, the hamstring situation will deteriorate throughout the playoffs, and we simply have no chance in rounds 3 or 4 without a healthy Book.

It looks like the Jazz/Mavs could go to 7, so if we can win in 6 without Book, he'd get a solid rest.

[bwgood77]

I really, really strongly prefer that Book not play until the second round. Maybe we bring him back for a game 6 or 7 and let him sit a game in the second round.

Last thing this franchise needs is for Booker to suffer a major injury. We need to do everything short of throwing our playoff run to give Book the time he needs to heal.

Me too, unless otherwise we wouldn't get to a second round. However, it mainly comes down to how he is feeling and if they feel there is further risk to injury.

There probably is, but I figure game 3 if we can win we are good for him to at least sit out another one. If we are down and risk going down 3-1, it will have been 5 days, whereas normally it is a 7-10 day wait. Originally they said tightness so perhaps it isn't as bad, though of course he has had these hamstring problems.

Of course if he is still hampered he could hurt more than help.

The main thing is we just need our guards/wings to start hitting some outside shots so our offense still works.

My worry is that if he doesn't fully heal, the hamstring situation will deteriorate throughout the playoffs, and we simply have no chance in rounds 3 or 4 without a healthy Book.

It looks like the Jazz/Mavs could go to 7, so if we can win in 6 without Book, he'd get a solid rest.

Well if Jazz/Mavs go 7, we could go 7 too and he should get the same rest. Yeah, obviously I don't want it worse. Hamstring injuries if they are not lingering, usually just happen. I imagine they will see how he feels.

If he feels fine on Sunday or Tuesday, I don't see him sitting out another game just to do so. It's possible if we are up 2-1 or especially 3-1, but competitors like Paul and Book (or anyone on our team really) are unlikely to sit out games if they feel good to go in the playoffs. We can't assume we can just win games without them.

I think what hurt more in game 2 though was the fact that it was almost all Book in the first half, so no one was particularly warmed up on offense when he went down, so they had to pick up slack immediately, and Book usually plays the entire 3rd like he does the first I think, or the vast portion of it, and is usually is the go to guy in that quarter while others take care of more in the 2nd and 4th, at least until the end of the 4th. But he was really cooking in the 2nd too so others hadn't taken too many shots or hit many that they did take.

[phnart]

More than Crowder finding his shot or Cam Payne playing confidently or Cam Johnson hitting some big 3's or even the rebounding (or lack thereof), I just want the Suns to start playing like a team that wants to win rather than one trying not to lose.

[bwgood77]

More than Crowder finding his shot or Cam Payne playing confidently or Cam Johnson hitting some big 3's or even the rebounding (or lack thereof), I just want the Suns to start playing like a team that wants to win rather than one trying not to lose.

I agree they need to play like they want to win, but if those shots go in, or at least at an avg or slighly below avg rate, we would be fine, or even if the Pelicans are on fire.

But as to your point, we will always have games where our offense is not clicking so we need to make sure we can stay in the game with our defense and hustle.

But with Cam going on 8 games without having much for 3 pt shooting outside of game 1 where he went 1/2 and looked good from closer range, and Jae going on 6 games without the shooting, it's a problem. Luckily we've been able to withstand Payne not playing particularly well (or bad) this season overall, but with Book out, he needs to step up as well.

As for everyone talking about Crowder dribbling and his offense, etc, his role is to take open 3s and give us his defense and hustle like he did last game with his rebounds, blocks and steals. He obviously sucked on offense though. I don't think it destroys his confidence though. Which I think is a good thing because his shot will come around. I don't feel maintaining confidence in your shot makes you a chucker, especially when taking those 3s is his role, and why people pass it out to him when he is open.

I know some want him to drive if his shot is not going down, and others say he can't dribble and shouldn't. He really just needs to keep taking his shot. Eventually they should start falling. I don't think it's an option to just not play him. Craig may look better at times and in his brief minutes, but you don't want him playing 25+ mpg.

[spanishninja]

Looks like Shannon and Skip have written us out already

Watch on YouTube

[AtheJ415]

If Crowder's struggles continue next game, I fully expect Craig to start for him the following game. He's quicker and a better defender.

I honestly don't. I expect Monty to keep going with Crowder and lose the first round. Hopefully Monty proves me wrong.

I don't either, especially since Cam is likely starting. Craig isn't a guy who gets a lot of minutes.

I haven't looked up the specific stats, but I feel like Ingram plays more confidently when he sees Craig on him. I don't mind Torey in the lineup though because it's a small sample size, but I really think if they still have Hayes out there you go big with a 2nd center or you go small with Shamet. Playing Craig is similar to Crowder in that it doesn't necessarily punish them for Hayes if the shot isn't falling and I don't know that Craig will hold up on the boards when inevitably switched onto Jonas or just originally on Hayes

[bwgood77]

I honestly don't. I expect Monty to keep going with Crowder and lose the first round. Hopefully Monty proves me wrong.

I don't either, especially since Cam is likely starting. Craig isn't a guy who gets a lot of minutes.

I haven't looked up the specific stats, but I feel like Ingram plays more confidently when he sees Craig on him. I don't mind Torey in the lineup though because it's a small sample size, but I really think if they still have Hayes out there you go big with a 2nd center or you go small with Shamet. Playing Craig is similar to Crowder in that it doesn't necessarily punish them for Hayes if the shot isn't falling and I don't know that Craig will hold up on the boards when inevitably switched onto Jonas or just originally on Hayes

I would probably start Biyombo. Cam probably makes more sense than Crowder too but I don't think we'd insert two new people at once in the starting lineup.

Crowder could possibly bother Ingram more though. Don't know. Not sure how they matched up with Hayes. It must have been mostly Crowder on Hayes and Bridges on Ingram. Maybe do Crowder on Ingram and Bridges on CJ mostly. We switch so much anyway.

I wouldn't mind putting Ayton mostly on Ingram. No one else has quite the length to deter his shots. He would probably alter more shots than anyone else. Then you have Biyombo battling JV, and you stick Crowder on Hayes.

OR, just put McGee in there to start with Ayton with his energy.

Maybe somehow the 2nd unit plays better with Biyombo in there. Regardless, I think we need to try two bigs and just knock out their rebounding advantage.

At least then if we have more bad shooting nights, we rebound. It's not like 2 bigs hurts us when they play two, especially since Ayton has some range.

Heck, maybe Ayton should try a couple more 3s just to see if someone can hit them. Draw JV or whoever out away from the basket and they the other C could crash the offensive boards.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Read on Twitter

?t=vGzV2n-NaAF67EBboNSNHQ&s=19

Like I was saying yesterday I wouldn't expect him back for this series. You just can't rush a hamstring.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[RunDogGun]

I honestly don't. I expect Monty to keep going with Crowder and lose the first round. Hopefully Monty proves me wrong.

I don't either, especially since Cam is likely starting. Craig isn't a guy who gets a lot of minutes.

I haven't looked up the specific stats, but I feel like Ingram plays more confidently when he sees Craig on him. I don't mind Torey in the lineup though because it's a small sample size, but I really think if they still have Hayes out there you go big with a 2nd center or you go small with Shamet. Playing Craig is similar to Crowder in that it doesn't necessarily punish them for Hayes if the shot isn't falling and I don't know that Craig will hold up on the boards when inevitably switched onto Jonas or just originally on Hayes

I didn't get that vibe about BI feeling more confident. From what I saw, Craig really got out on him. I think we had Booker on Hayes, so Craig should be fine if that was the switch. Plus Craig did a better job when switched to CJ than Crowder. Shamet would be even worse than Craig defensively and in no way improves our defense on anyone nor the rebounding woes. We don't know about Craig's shot, since he only has taken one, but he didn't miss a shot when he started for two games, and he rebounded great those two games. Maybe he responds well to the challenge, maybe it was a two game fluke. At this point, what would it hurt? It can't be any worse than Crowder's first game, right?

[Revived]

Read on Twitter

?t=vGzV2n-NaAF67EBboNSNHQ&s=19

Like I was saying yesterday I wouldn't expect him back for this series. You just can't rush a hamstring.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Oh wow. I wonder what changed. Before it was just a “mild strain” that they were saying he can potentially come back from this series itself. Now it’s 2-3 weeks?

[TeamTragic]

Read on Twitter

?t=vGzV2n-NaAF67EBboNSNHQ&s=19

Like I was saying yesterday I wouldn't expect him back for this series. You just can't rush a hamstring.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Oh wow. I wonder what changed. Before it was just a “mild strain” that they were saying he can potentially come back from this series itself. Now it’s 2-3 weeks?

Not much different than his last hamstring injury. Booker came back stronger with that extra rest.

[lilfishi22]

Read on Twitter

?t=vGzV2n-NaAF67EBboNSNHQ&s=19

Like I was saying yesterday I wouldn't expect him back for this series. You just can't rush a hamstring.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Oh wow. I wonder what changed. Before it was just a “mild strain” that they were saying he can potentially come back from this series itself. Now it’s 2-3 weeks?

Wasn't unexpected. Initial prognosis was stiffness then a mild strain but they have since had a longer look/scans on the hammy and probably looked a little worse than initially thought. 2-3 weeks would take us into well into the 2nd round and possibly the WCF should we make it that far.

[lilfishi22]

Woj reported a 2-3 week recovery timeline but "officially" there is no timeline as per Monty. Given how tight-lipped and ultra-conservative Suns front office timetables for returns are (if given at all), we could see Booker back earlier but who knows. Take it how you will

Read on Twitter

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

?t=vGzV2n-NaAF67EBboNSNHQ&s=19

Like I was saying yesterday I wouldn't expect him back for this series. You just can't rush a hamstring.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Oh wow. I wonder what changed. Before it was just a “mild strain” that they were saying he can potentially come back from this series itself. Now it’s 2-3 weeks?

Wasn't unexpected. Initial prognosis was stiffness then a mild strain but they have since had a longer look/scans on the hammy and probably looked a little worse than initially thought. 2-3 weeks would take us into well into the 2nd round and possibly the WCF should we make it that far.

So our scheme/ dynamic now needs to obviously put much greater emphasis on utilizing Ayton in the paint, Go big ( actually use Biyombo alongside of Ayton to shore up the rebounding disparity. And have Biyombo help body up Valuncias in order to allow Ayton to dominate the boards more. Johnson, Shamet, Payne, Crowder really need to really step up and earn their contracts! Craig needs to be guarding Ingram as much as possible with secondary(double team help) coming from Bridges to minimize his dribbling/ penetration/ mobility. Monty Williams needs to also step up and make in-game adjustments and actually utilize timeouts to stop the opposing team's momentum rather than just sitting on the sidelines with an (IBS) constipated and nervous look on his face. It's time he steps up and shows that he deserves the COTY recognition. Keep the team focused and engaged throughout the entire game. I don't understand how it can be so difficult considering the situation and our very small window to win a title with Paul. And clearly this being our best opportunity to actually win it all. Above all, We desperately need Ayton to play like a beast rather than a bi*** No more soft azz play! I mean you'd think that our players have something to prove after coming so close in the finals last season. Also with all of the constant disrespect from the league. Ultimately, it's up to us to prove we're legitimate contenders! I still think that we'll pull this out. But our team will have to find their heart and tenacity. And our coach will actually have to show he's worthy of being in the upper tier of coaches by being able to keep the team engaged. emphasizing basic basketball fundamentals such as team rebounding and boxing out!!! and possibly even exploiting mismatches situationally as needed. Lastly, He needs to understand that there are no awards given to the team with the most remaining timeouts at the end of a game. So use them accordingly to break momentum or as needed to get/ keep the team engaged!