Game 45: Indiana Pacers (17-29) @ Phoenix Suns (35-9) l Saturday l 7:00pm l BSAZ

[garrick]

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Not sure if this is good news or not, does it mean they didn't detect any fractures?

[SunsRback4Good]

Can we just release Nader and Frank now? We need guys that can suit up.

Sadly, Nader is not going anywhere. I truly believe Chris Paul has some kinda secret crush for Nader which is why both were traded here from OKC. If it wasn't for Paul, Nader would have been gone by trade deadline last season.

[RunDogGun]

I was praying the whole 4th Q for Monty to wave the flag and finally bench Booker but like always I was disappointed. We know what Popovich would do in that situation meanwhile Monty is having a joyous time leaving Booker in when he cannot score a single bucket. Could be reason why Pacers came back within 6 after being down by 17+.

And what was up with Book passing up a wide open Johnson, to be forced to dump it to Biz, who was behind the back board. Biz had to force it. I get it that Johnson wasn't shoot great either, but that was so wide open. Book was making bad choices after bad shots.

Exactly, besides his atrocities shooting his decision making was lacking too. It felt like Suns were playing 4 against 5 the entire game because Booker was nothing but a ghost on the court. Pretty hilarious after he wins player of the week he comes out with a stinker shooting near 12%. Oh well, just glad we managed to beat the same team who won against Lakers & Warriors on the road.

I like Book a lot, but at some point the coaching staff needs to do something. There needs to be games where the whole starting lineup gets solid touches and good open shots. When a player takes a ton of shots right away, and is missing many of those, an adjustment needs to happen. If you remember the Nash days, each guy would get shots early. We would try and get Bell going, or there was solid pick and rolls. I don't want Book to try and be Kobe. I want solid team wins, where our best shooters are taking even amount of shots. That way when we get to the playoffs, all players are playing for each other.

[Ghost of Kleine]

And we don't want to trade to get Torrey Craig back why exactly???

I wonder if the Pacers would outright trade Craig for Smith at this point?

I see it as a win win for both teams.

Probably not. Smith being a FA at the end of the season means he could walk for nothing.

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Yeah that's true. But Indiana is also not competing now and will be looking tank. Especially with all three of Brogdon, Sabonis and Turner out for extended time. Trading for Smith would give them more size upfront for now, not affect their tank, and clear Craig's 5 million next season off their books!

[RunDogGun]

Can we just release Nader and Frank now? We need guys that can suit up.

Sadly, Nader is not going anywhere. I truly believe Chris Paul has some kinda secret crush for Nader which is why both were traded here from OKC. If it wasn't for Paul, Nader would have been gone by trade deadline last season.

We can't afford to keep non rotation players who can't suit up.

[RunDogGun]

Is Tyreke off suspension yet?

[RunDogGun]

CP3 had an incredible game 18 points, 16 assists, 4 steals, 4 rebounds. He did have 4 turnovers, but zero fouls.

[RunDogGun]

Biz had an incredible game 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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[Ghost of Kleine]

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[RunDogGun]

Well tonight Shamet shot 50% and 2/3 from three, so at least it wasn't the normal brick.

[Ghost of Kleine]

With Both Payne and Crowder going down for an undisclosed amount of time, Now would really be the time to look to try and pick up Schroder as a temporary replacement. AND Covington as a temporary replacement for Crowder. Now I'm not sure how long wrist injuries usually require for rehabilitation? But better safe than sorry. I'd also prefer a Gordon trade as everyones' aware for a variety of reasons. But IF that's unlikely, Then Schroder and Covington would be a huge get, With plenty of time for them to gel and build chemistry together whenever Payne and Crowder might return!
Once Crowder and Payne return ( full roster).
Paul/ Book/ Bridges/ Crowder/ Ayton.
Payne/ Shamet/ Covington/ Johnson/ Mcgee.
Payton/ Schroder/ Nader/ Kaminsky Biyonbo.
That's super solid depth. So for this to happen:
Schroder Trade
Smith/ 2nd for Schroder.
Schroder will fill the gap for Payne whilst out, until he returns.
**(I would add another 2nd for Sam Hauser to be included as he's a cheaper Mcdermott/ Bogdanovic). And he can fill the other two way with more shooting in the frontcourt.

Covington Trade
Saric/ Smith/ 1st (lotto protected) / 2nd.
Cam will fill Crowders' slot until he returns. And Covington will slot in at the backup 3 position whilst Crowder is out.
While Payne and Crowder are out ( Temporary roster).
Paul/ Book/ Bridges/ Cam/ Ayton.
Schroder/ Shamet/Nader/ Covington/ Mcgee.
Payton/ Schroder/ Nader/ Kaminsky /Biyombo?

[RunDogGun]

I don't see us making either of those deals. I think we drop Elf in as the backup point, using Shamet as another to handle the ball some times with Elf, and Smith gets the back up minutes behind Johnson. Johnson's minutes get bumped up to 30+, with maybe a few minutes of twin towers in Ayton and Biz when Ayton returns. Most likely add a 10 day contract to someone, and some mins for Ish at the pf.

[RunDogGun]

I also like the turnaround of rebounding from our centers. The other game they had a total of 8 rebounds. Tonight they had a total of 25.11 of those were on the offensive end. They really crashed the boards. Granted, there were a ton of rebounds to be had just from Book alone, but they sure did maximize the effort. And they are our 2nd and 3rd string centers.

[sunsbg]

Another chance for Jalen to show if he fits as a PF with Jae out(hopefully don't miss many games). Payne hit a 3 before leaving, probably a sign he won't be out for too long. He usually needs time to get his game back after an injury.

[Saberestar]

Injuries are everywhere, not a big deal. Payne and Crowder will be back soon.

This was a good opponent, Carlile is a very good coach and he has his guys ready to go for every game. They won to the Warriors a couple days ago in San Francisco so props to them with basically their starting five out.

CP3 with another monster game, I love to watch him play. I seriously think that he is the smartest player in basketball. Ever.

We have so much depth, no doubt this team can compete and win against any team even without 5-6 guys. I have faith in Elfrid doing a solid job with Payne out.

[Ghost of Kleine]

I don't see us making either of those deals. I think we drop Elf in as the backup point, using Shamet as another to handle the ball some times with Elf, and Smith gets the back up minutes behind Johnson. Johnson's minutes get bumped up to 30+, with maybe a few minutes of twin towers in Ayton and Biz when Ayton returns. Most likely add a 10 day contract to someone, and some mins for Ish at the pf.

Interesting for sure!
How does that work though with none of Elf, Shamet ( 1 solid game out of every 10), and Biyombo not being able to space the floor in their roles? Also, to a lesser extent Ayton too, even though he's got an serviceable perimeter game but prefers to seldom use it? Also Monty seems not to want to play Smith even if we had no size at all, He's not played more than a couple of minutes in the last 3 games, and not at all even in our 20 point blow out last night. So whatever confidence he probably had from getting minutes during Covid is probably unfortunately gone now. His confidence in shooting will at best be questionable now, But at least he can still rebound well. We might go back to 10 day options if there's someone available that is actually a quality option at that role. Not sure who'd that be though? The Cam Johnson option is very good though and the right choice!!

Just not sure who picks up the offensive slack for Payne or behind Johnson off the bench, As we don't have legitimate floor spacers/ proficient scorers in any of the above mentioned players. What we primarily lost in Payne and Crowder going down is scoring, timely shot making with our starters on the bench. Cam can cover for his role? Bismac, Smith ( whom I still really like, But Monty's wasted), Payton, and even Shamet whose been a wild disappointment since getting paid (funny how that works) just cannot be counted on to carry any portion our offense consistently IF either of those players are out for any significant amount of time.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Injuries are everywhere, not a big deal. Payne and Crowder will be back soon.

This was a good opponent, Carlile is a very good coach and he has his guys ready to go for every game. They won to the Warriors a couple days ago in San Francisco so props to them with basically their starting five out.

CP3 with another monster game, I love to watch him play. I seriously think that he is the smartest player in basketball. Ever.

We have so much depth, no doubt this team can compete and win against any team even without 5-6 guys. I have faith in Elfrid doing a solid job with Payne out.

Respect your opinion and perspectives of course but really disagree that current our depth is legitimate enough to carry us IF they miss significant time. For now I guess we'll see how things play out?

[TheLoon]

I was praying the whole 4th Q for Monty to wave the flag and finally bench Booker but like always I was disappointed. We know what Popovich would do in that situation meanwhile Monty is having a joyous time leaving Booker in when he cannot score a single bucket. Could be reason why Pacers came back within 6 after being down by 17+.

And what was up with Book passing up a wide open Johnson, to be forced to dump it to Biz, who was behind the back board. Biz had to force it. I get it that Johnson wasn't shoot great either, but that was so wide open. Book was making bad choices after bad shots.

Exactly, besides his atrocities shooting his decision making was lacking too. It felt like Suns were playing 4 against 5 the entire game because Booker was nothing but a ghost on the court. Pretty hilarious after he wins player of the week he comes out with a stinker shooting near 12%. Oh well, just glad we managed to beat the same team who won against Lakers & Warriors on the road.

Jeez not like he didn't just have a 48 point zero turnover game...tough crowd

[Revived]

Jeez not like he didn't just have a 48 point zero turnover game...tough crowd

Exactly lol. Some of these posts are just funny. I mean go look at Booker’s last two weeks worth of games, he’s been on fire basically over that span. He was bound to have a bad game just like every player including prime MJ.

I’d rather his “off game” be to a team like the depleted Pacers where other guys (like Bridges who otherwise gives close to nothing offensively) can more easily step up than against a really good team where we will need Book and CP3 to do most of the heavy lifting.