Game 71: Phoenix Suns (38-32) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (34-36) l Sunday l 12:30pm l BSAZ

[lilfishi22]

Honestly to me it’s not about who starts the game it’s about who finishes. I would never let Craig finish a game. He’s trash.
But to answer your question it would depend on who were playing and who’s starting at the 4.
I don’t think it’s fair to judge TJ on what he’s done with Monty.
The guy only lets him play 3 minutes. Can Booker even get into a rhythm in 3 minutes?

That's basically a non-answer

Fair to judge? Players don't just earn playing time by being good in games. They get PT by performing in practice as well. If they do well in limited minutes in game, then they progressively get more over time. That's how it worked for Okogie and that's how it works in the NBA unless you're a certified starting level player.

Unless you're talking about when we were in the lottery and anyone was basically gifted playing time because they have some experience or unproven talent. TJ was one of my favourite players on the Suns and I want him to do well as any other TJ fan but he just hasn't been good, I don't know what to say to you.

I highly doubt Craig is outplaying anyone in practice. Are they even going hard in practice at this point of the season? Do they even scrimmage? Idk. Doesn’t sound wise to do that and risk injury.

It doesn’t matter. Talking about this doesn’t change anything. I don’t think Monty is as bad as some people say. But he’s definitely not a top coach in the nba. I don’t think he’s top 15. He’s middle of the pack.
I wouldn’t fire him unless it’s for Udoka. There’s no one else out there I would fire him for.

I don’t know how that’s not an answer. I would have a revolving door for my starting 4 spot depending on matchups. I’m not just giving it to Craig just because. And it’s fine if you want to start him but he doesn’t need to close games. Especially when he’s bricked every wide open shot.
This question is more like is Monty to blame or Jones. I blame Jones more than Monty. Jones gives Monty this trash to work with. I guess he’s doing the best he can with the trash he was given. But at the same time why play Craig so many minutes when he’s not performing.
It’s not just Craig. It used to be with Shamet. Shamet could miss 10 straight shots and Monty doesn’t do anything. So idk. I think Jones is worse at his job than Monty is at his job.

I don't know for a fact if Craig has outplayed other players to warrant his playing time but Occam's razor would suggest he has in order to be given playing time.

You trust the guys that has gone to battle with you. Craig, whether you like him or not, has been to two playoff runs with this group and is on track to have his best season as a Suns as he heads to his 3rd post-season run with us. Missing shots happen, even wide open shots. In that exact moment, it would be great if you had Lee out there shooting a wide open 3, but in all the other moments, you always want other things. If a guy can do other things like defend, rebound and play in a 0.5 offence even when his shot isn't falling, he should get minutes. If you're someone who can't do anything outside of shoot and you're failing at your one job, you're not going to get into the closing rotation. Craig plays because we know pretty much what we're getting from the guy. You're not going to get wild plays where he squares up on the wings and iso's on a good defender. You're not going to get him shooting logo 3's. You're not going to get him not setting screens and just stand on the wings waiting for the ball.

[lilfishi22]

Monty got outworked by Lue, Bud, Willie Green and Kidd in the playoffs.
Sadly the writing is on the wall.
He's our Mark Jackson.

You could very well be right

But for balance, let's remember what Bud was before he finally won it all.
I’ve
He was seen as a really solid coach with ATL and won 60 games with a team that was probably below average in high end talent. That ultimately didn't go anywhere and ATL moved on from Bud. After Kidd got fired because he got nowhere with Giannis/Bucks, Bud got the nod as head coach. Despite being on a new team and winning a ton of games, those narratives about him being a really good but not elite coach never left him. After two disappointing post seasons where they had Giannis playing at an elite level, there were real questions as to whether Bud is the guy to lead the team going forward and he was on the hot seat. It wasn't until they finally pushed through and won it all did Bud now have that label of a truly elite coach.

Bud had absolutely nothing to do with the Bucks pushing through and finally winning a championship. It was all made possible because their smart front office decided F—— Bledsoe let’s bring in a quality high IQ pg to lead the way which resulted in ::::: Drum roll please::::::

Spoiler:

Jru Holiday

once Jru was acquired they went on to win the title that same year. One can imagine without Jru, Bud would have been canned last season. Sadly, JJ has not shown he can acquire the right players to help Book & Ayton out or have the balls to fire Monty. Addition by subtraction does not count (losing two quality role players for aging KD with injuries). Can’t wait till Suns lose once again in semis/WCF for JJ to see the bigger picture. Let’s hope our new owner makes the right appropriate moves going forward instead of trading the whole house for an aging star.

If you're waiting for your "ideal" roster with the "ideal" coach with the "ideal" ownership to come together, you should probably stop watching now

What a defeatist attitude.

[sunsfan1o1]

That's basically a non-answer

Fair to judge? Players don't just earn playing time by being good in games. They get PT by performing in practice as well. If they do well in limited minutes in game, then they progressively get more over time. That's how it worked for Okogie and that's how it works in the NBA unless you're a certified starting level player.

Unless you're talking about when we were in the lottery and anyone was basically gifted playing time because they have some experience or unproven talent. TJ was one of my favourite players on the Suns and I want him to do well as any other TJ fan but he just hasn't been good, I don't know what to say to you.

I highly doubt Craig is outplaying anyone in practice. Are they even going hard in practice at this point of the season? Do they even scrimmage? Idk. Doesn’t sound wise to do that and risk injury.

It doesn’t matter. Talking about this doesn’t change anything. I don’t think Monty is as bad as some people say. But he’s definitely not a top coach in the nba. I don’t think he’s top 15. He’s middle of the pack.
I wouldn’t fire him unless it’s for Udoka. There’s no one else out there I would fire him for.

I don’t know how that’s not an answer. I would have a revolving door for my starting 4 spot depending on matchups. I’m not just giving it to Craig just because. And it’s fine if you want to start him but he doesn’t need to close games. Especially when he’s bricked every wide open shot.
This question is more like is Monty to blame or Jones. I blame Jones more than Monty. Jones gives Monty this trash to work with. I guess he’s doing the best he can with the trash he was given. But at the same time why play Craig so many minutes when he’s not performing.
It’s not just Craig. It used to be with Shamet. Shamet could miss 10 straight shots and Monty doesn’t do anything. So idk. I think Jones is worse at his job than Monty is at his job.

I don't know for a fact if Craig has outplayed other players to warrant his playing time but Occam's razor would suggest he has in order to be given playing time.

You trust the guys that has gone to battle with you. Craig, whether you like him or not, has been to two playoff runs with this group and is on track to have his best season as a Suns as he heads to his 3rd post-season run with us. Missing shots happen, even wide open shots. In that exact moment, it would be great if you had Lee out there shooting a wide open 3, but in all the other moments, you always want other things. If a guy can do other things like defend, rebound and play in a 0.5 offence even when his shot isn't falling, he should get minutes. If you're someone who can't do anything outside of shoot and you're failing at your one job, you're not going to get into the closing rotation. Craig plays because we know pretty much what we're getting from the guy. You're not going to get wild plays where he squares up on the wings and iso's on a good defender. You're not going to get him shooting logo 3's. You're not going to get him not setting screens and just stand on the wings waiting for the ball.

Nah. Craigs gotta sit. I was being nice. He doesn’t just miss wide open shots. He misses defensive assignments. He gives the ball to the other team. Misses free throws. There’s no reason for him to be in the game in those important situations. We’ve lost games cuz of that. That’s a coach thing not a player thing.

I mean you can go back and look at how many times Craig has turned the ball over in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

You can go back and look at how many times he doesn’t switch on defense and the offense gets an uncontested layup. That first Utah game specifically. Suns switch everything on defense. So many times Craig gets picked and keeps going with his man instead of switching and they get a wide open layup.
He’s just as bad as Shamet. I wouldn’t play Craig more than 12-15 mpg.

He’s better in short bursts. The longer he plays the more his weaknesses show. Again that’s a coach thing.
TJ has been a better player his entire career. Craig’s best season couldn’t f with Warrens worst season.

TJ isn’t the best defender but I don’t think Craig is that much better a defender than TJ. I think they are the same player on defense. TJ is better at steals. Craig is better at rebounding. On ball they can’t stay in front of their man. Off ball they get lost.

Tj 10 times better on offense. Those wide open 3s Craig gets TJ is knocking those down.

I figure Monty knows he’s gonna shorten his bench in the playoffs and doesn’t plan on playing TJ so he’s just not invested in seeing what he can do.

Let’s just keep it real. Monty hates TJ Warren. For no reason. He just hates him that’s why he refuses to play him.

[sunsbum]

Imagine blaming TC when you have DA on your team

[garrick]

I highly doubt Craig is outplaying anyone in practice. Are they even going hard in practice at this point of the season? Do they even scrimmage? Idk. Doesn’t sound wise to do that and risk injury.

It doesn’t matter. Talking about this doesn’t change anything. I don’t think Monty is as bad as some people say. But he’s definitely not a top coach in the nba. I don’t think he’s top 15. He’s middle of the pack.
I wouldn’t fire him unless it’s for Udoka. There’s no one else out there I would fire him for.

I don’t know how that’s not an answer. I would have a revolving door for my starting 4 spot depending on matchups. I’m not just giving it to Craig just because. And it’s fine if you want to start him but he doesn’t need to close games. Especially when he’s bricked every wide open shot.
This question is more like is Monty to blame or Jones. I blame Jones more than Monty. Jones gives Monty this trash to work with. I guess he’s doing the best he can with the trash he was given. But at the same time why play Craig so many minutes when he’s not performing.
It’s not just Craig. It used to be with Shamet. Shamet could miss 10 straight shots and Monty doesn’t do anything. So idk. I think Jones is worse at his job than Monty is at his job.

I don't know for a fact if Craig has outplayed other players to warrant his playing time but Occam's razor would suggest he has in order to be given playing time.

You trust the guys that has gone to battle with you. Craig, whether you like him or not, has been to two playoff runs with this group and is on track to have his best season as a Suns as he heads to his 3rd post-season run with us. Missing shots happen, even wide open shots. In that exact moment, it would be great if you had Lee out there shooting a wide open 3, but in all the other moments, you always want other things. If a guy can do other things like defend, rebound and play in a 0.5 offence even when his shot isn't falling, he should get minutes. If you're someone who can't do anything outside of shoot and you're failing at your one job, you're not going to get into the closing rotation. Craig plays because we know pretty much what we're getting from the guy. You're not going to get wild plays where he squares up on the wings and iso's on a good defender. You're not going to get him shooting logo 3's. You're not going to get him not setting screens and just stand on the wings waiting for the ball.

Nah. Craigs gotta sit. I was being nice. He doesn’t just miss wide open shots. He misses defensive assignments. He gives the ball to the other team. Misses free throws. There’s no reason for him to be in the game in those important situations. We’ve lost games cuz of that. That’s a coach thing not a player thing.

I mean you can go back and look at how many times Craig has turned the ball over in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

You can go back and look at how many times he doesn’t switch on defense and the offense gets an uncontested layup. That first Utah game specifically. Suns switch everything on defense. So many times Craig gets picked and keeps going with his man instead of switching and they get a wide open layup.
He’s just as bad as Shamet. I wouldn’t play Craig more than 12-15 mpg.

He’s better in short bursts. The longer he plays the more his weaknesses show. Again that’s a coach thing.
TJ has been a better player his entire career. Craig’s best season couldn’t f with Warrens worst season.

TJ isn’t the best defender but I don’t think Craig is that much better a defender than TJ. I think they are the same player on defense. TJ is better at steals. Craig is better at rebounding. On ball they can’t stay in front of their man. Off ball they get lost.

Tj 10 times better on offense. Those wide open 3s Craig gets TJ is knocking those down.

I figure Monty knows he’s gonna shorten his bench in the playoffs and doesn’t plan on playing TJ so he’s just not invested in seeing what he can do.

Let’s just keep it real. Monty hates TJ Warren. For no reason. He just hates him that’s why he refuses to play him.

That TO Craig had when he telegraphed a half court pass that got picked off for a layup is exactly why he’s such a liability late in the 4th and needs to be on the bench. I’m all for playing TJ more but this late in the season it might be too late to change things up.

[SunsRback4Good]

You could very well be right

But for balance, let's remember what Bud was before he finally won it all.
I’ve
He was seen as a really solid coach with ATL and won 60 games with a team that was probably below average in high end talent. That ultimately didn't go anywhere and ATL moved on from Bud. After Kidd got fired because he got nowhere with Giannis/Bucks, Bud got the nod as head coach. Despite being on a new team and winning a ton of games, those narratives about him being a really good but not elite coach never left him. After two disappointing post seasons where they had Giannis playing at an elite level, there were real questions as to whether Bud is the guy to lead the team going forward and he was on the hot seat. It wasn't until they finally pushed through and won it all did Bud now have that label of a truly elite coach.

Bud had absolutely nothing to do with the Bucks pushing through and finally winning a championship. It was all made possible because their smart front office decided F—— Bledsoe let’s bring in a quality high IQ pg to lead the way which resulted in ::::: Drum roll please::::::

Spoiler:

Jru Holiday

once Jru was acquired they went on to win the title that same year. One can imagine without Jru, Bud would have been canned last season. Sadly, JJ has not shown he can acquire the right players to help Book & Ayton out or have the balls to fire Monty. Addition by subtraction does not count (losing two quality role players for aging KD with injuries). Can’t wait till Suns lose once again in semis/WCF for JJ to see the bigger picture. Let’s hope our new owner makes the right appropriate moves going forward instead of trading the whole house for an aging star.

If you're waiting for your "ideal" roster with the "ideal" coach with the "ideal" ownership to come together, you should probably stop watching now

What a defeatist attitude.

That “ideal” roster, “ideal coach” and “ideal” ownership is what wins championships. No wonder the Suns never sniffed a title in 55 years. How are we supposed to have a winning product if we continue to make same mistakes after mistakes? Maybe Ishbia is the missing key to the puzzle? Only time will tell.

[lilfishi22]

Bud had absolutely nothing to do with the Bucks pushing through and finally winning a championship. It was all made possible because their smart front office decided F—— Bledsoe let’s bring in a quality high IQ pg to lead the way which resulted in ::::: Drum roll please::::::

Spoiler:

Jru Holiday

once Jru was acquired they went on to win the title that same year. One can imagine without Jru, Bud would have been canned last season. Sadly, JJ has not shown he can acquire the right players to help Book & Ayton out or have the balls to fire Monty. Addition by subtraction does not count (losing two quality role players for aging KD with injuries). Can’t wait till Suns lose once again in semis/WCF for JJ to see the bigger picture. Let’s hope our new owner makes the right appropriate moves going forward instead of trading the whole house for an aging star.

If you're waiting for your "ideal" roster with the "ideal" coach with the "ideal" ownership to come together, you should probably stop watching now

What a defeatist attitude.

That “ideal” roster, “ideal coach” and “ideal” ownership is what wins championships. No wonder the Suns never sniffed a title in 55 years. How are we supposed to have a winning product if we continue to make same mistakes after mistakes? Maybe Ishbia is the missing key to the puzzle? Only time will tell.

Then according to you, Bud and the Bucks front office weren't the ideal coach/FO until they were

[lilfishi22]

I highly doubt Craig is outplaying anyone in practice. Are they even going hard in practice at this point of the season? Do they even scrimmage? Idk. Doesn’t sound wise to do that and risk injury.

It doesn’t matter. Talking about this doesn’t change anything. I don’t think Monty is as bad as some people say. But he’s definitely not a top coach in the nba. I don’t think he’s top 15. He’s middle of the pack.
I wouldn’t fire him unless it’s for Udoka. There’s no one else out there I would fire him for.

I don’t know how that’s not an answer. I would have a revolving door for my starting 4 spot depending on matchups. I’m not just giving it to Craig just because. And it’s fine if you want to start him but he doesn’t need to close games. Especially when he’s bricked every wide open shot.
This question is more like is Monty to blame or Jones. I blame Jones more than Monty. Jones gives Monty this trash to work with. I guess he’s doing the best he can with the trash he was given. But at the same time why play Craig so many minutes when he’s not performing.
It’s not just Craig. It used to be with Shamet. Shamet could miss 10 straight shots and Monty doesn’t do anything. So idk. I think Jones is worse at his job than Monty is at his job.

I don't know for a fact if Craig has outplayed other players to warrant his playing time but Occam's razor would suggest he has in order to be given playing time.

You trust the guys that has gone to battle with you. Craig, whether you like him or not, has been to two playoff runs with this group and is on track to have his best season as a Suns as he heads to his 3rd post-season run with us. Missing shots happen, even wide open shots. In that exact moment, it would be great if you had Lee out there shooting a wide open 3, but in all the other moments, you always want other things. If a guy can do other things like defend, rebound and play in a 0.5 offence even when his shot isn't falling, he should get minutes. If you're someone who can't do anything outside of shoot and you're failing at your one job, you're not going to get into the closing rotation. Craig plays because we know pretty much what we're getting from the guy. You're not going to get wild plays where he squares up on the wings and iso's on a good defender. You're not going to get him shooting logo 3's. You're not going to get him not setting screens and just stand on the wings waiting for the ball.

Nah. Craigs gotta sit. I was being nice. He doesn’t just miss wide open shots. He misses defensive assignments. He gives the ball to the other team. Misses free throws. There’s no reason for him to be in the game in those important situations. We’ve lost games cuz of that. That’s a coach thing not a player thing.

I mean you can go back and look at how many times Craig has turned the ball over in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

You can go back and look at how many times he doesn’t switch on defense and the offense gets an uncontested layup. That first Utah game specifically. Suns switch everything on defense. So many times Craig gets picked and keeps going with his man instead of switching and they get a wide open layup.
He’s just as bad as Shamet. I wouldn’t play Craig more than 12-15 mpg.

He’s better in short bursts. The longer he plays the more his weaknesses show. Again that’s a coach thing.
TJ has been a better player his entire career. Craig’s best season couldn’t f with Warrens worst season.

TJ isn’t the best defender but I don’t think Craig is that much better a defender than TJ. I think they are the same player on defense. TJ is better at steals. Craig is better at rebounding. On ball they can’t stay in front of their man. Off ball they get lost.

Tj 10 times better on offense. Those wide open 3s Craig gets TJ is knocking those down.

I figure Monty knows he’s gonna shorten his bench in the playoffs and doesn’t plan on playing TJ so he’s just not invested in seeing what he can do.

Let’s just keep it real. Monty hates TJ Warren. For no reason. He just hates him that’s why he refuses to play him.

It's really dumbfounding how much blind faith you have in TJ and the only source of that blind faith I can think of is you're own hatred for TC it seems, which is ironic given you're saying Monty doesn't play TJ because he hates him apparently.

If you want to keep it real, it's always this same line when Monty doesn't play the guy you want him to play. Oh Monty hates Biz. Monty hates Jalen Smith. Monty hates this player, that player. It's so tiring seeing this line because it comes purely from the minds of fans who just has NFI what's going on behind the scenes or too blind to see that there's a good reasons your guy isn't playing. Here's the thing, we need only need two things from that position because scoring is being left to the better scorers, 3 and D. TJ hasn't shot well for 4 years whereas TC is shooting a career high from 3. Defensively, it's pretty conclusively in TC's favor.

Again, I have no bias here. I like TJ a lot as a player and as a person, I want to see him succeed but based on what I've seen since his return from injury, he hasn't been good shooting the 3 ball and defensively he's slipped pretty significantly. I would like to see TJ get more minutes but I'd be lying to myself if I thought he was deserving of rotation minutes at this point.

[sunsfan1o1]

Imagine blaming TC when you have DA on your team

Bro Tom Chambers doesn’t play anymore. Where have you been? And David Aldridge? He’s a reporter. Yo what are you talking about.

[sunsfan1o1]

I don't know for a fact if Craig has outplayed other players to warrant his playing time but Occam's razor would suggest he has in order to be given playing time.

You trust the guys that has gone to battle with you. Craig, whether you like him or not, has been to two playoff runs with this group and is on track to have his best season as a Suns as he heads to his 3rd post-season run with us. Missing shots happen, even wide open shots. In that exact moment, it would be great if you had Lee out there shooting a wide open 3, but in all the other moments, you always want other things. If a guy can do other things like defend, rebound and play in a 0.5 offence even when his shot isn't falling, he should get minutes. If you're someone who can't do anything outside of shoot and you're failing at your one job, you're not going to get into the closing rotation. Craig plays because we know pretty much what we're getting from the guy. You're not going to get wild plays where he squares up on the wings and iso's on a good defender. You're not going to get him shooting logo 3's. You're not going to get him not setting screens and just stand on the wings waiting for the ball.

Nah. Craigs gotta sit. I was being nice. He doesn’t just miss wide open shots. He misses defensive assignments. He gives the ball to the other team. Misses free throws. There’s no reason for him to be in the game in those important situations. We’ve lost games cuz of that. That’s a coach thing not a player thing.

I mean you can go back and look at how many times Craig has turned the ball over in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

You can go back and look at how many times he doesn’t switch on defense and the offense gets an uncontested layup. That first Utah game specifically. Suns switch everything on defense. So many times Craig gets picked and keeps going with his man instead of switching and they get a wide open layup.
He’s just as bad as Shamet. I wouldn’t play Craig more than 12-15 mpg.

He’s better in short bursts. The longer he plays the more his weaknesses show. Again that’s a coach thing.
TJ has been a better player his entire career. Craig’s best season couldn’t f with Warrens worst season.

TJ isn’t the best defender but I don’t think Craig is that much better a defender than TJ. I think they are the same player on defense. TJ is better at steals. Craig is better at rebounding. On ball they can’t stay in front of their man. Off ball they get lost.

Tj 10 times better on offense. Those wide open 3s Craig gets TJ is knocking those down.

I figure Monty knows he’s gonna shorten his bench in the playoffs and doesn’t plan on playing TJ so he’s just not invested in seeing what he can do.

Let’s just keep it real. Monty hates TJ Warren. For no reason. He just hates him that’s why he refuses to play him.

It's really dumbfounding how much blind faith you have in TJ and the only source of that blind faith I can think of is you're own hatred for TC it seems, which is ironic given you're saying Monty doesn't play TJ because he hates him apparently.

If you want to keep it real, it's always this same line when Monty doesn't play the guy you want him to play. Oh Monty hates Biz. Monty hates Jalen Smith. Monty hates this player, that player. It's so tiring seeing this line because it comes purely from the minds of fans who just has NFI what's going on behind the scenes or too blind to see that there's a good reasons your guy isn't playing. Here's the thing, we need only need two things from that position because scoring is being left to the better scorers, 3 and D. TJ hasn't shot well for 4 years whereas TC is shooting a career high from 3. Defensively, it's pretty conclusively in TC's favor.

Again, I have no bias here. I like TJ a lot as a player and as a person, I want to see him succeed but based on what I've seen since his return from injury, he hasn't been good shooting the 3 ball and defensively he's slipped pretty significantly. I would like to see TJ get more minutes but I'd be lying to myself if I thought he was deserving of rotation minutes at this point.

Stop gaslighting

Torrey Craig is trash

I don’t even like TJ. He’s not my guy. But again Torrey Craig is trash. If I was a coach and I was coaching someone who’s trash like Torrey Craig I would give TJ Warren more than 3 minutes in the 2nd quarter to see if he can play better than trash Craig

[TeamTragic]

My man. Torrey Craig and DA should not play the same amount of minutes per game.
Torrey Craig has shown the world he does not belong in the game in clutch time.
EVERYONE knows he should’ve called timeout against the Heat in Miami before Booker got blocked by Butler.
Monty Williams doesn’t understand these simple concepts.
Levels or not people don’t have to be in practice to assess a coach’s incompetence.

If I’m going to surgery to remove my appendix and I wake up missing a leg, that surgeon is incompetent. I don’t need to know surgery.

You don’t need to understand any levels for that

Every single time I see Torrey Craig in the starting lineup I want to throw up.

Booker, KD and Ayton deserve way better than Monty.

Lol. You too.
Meanwhile TJ Warren is buried on the bench as 12th man.
No coach buried TJ. Not one. Except for Monty.
He’s playing Lee and Craig over him. But I need to understand levels? Stop it.

Do you remember the series against the Pelicans? Monty refused to change up his lineup and we almost lost that series when Booker got injured because he had to overextend himself. Ayton/CP3 had to give their souls just so we could move forward.

TJ sitting on the bench when Craig starts is absolutely insane. I understand that it would require adjusting the entire lineup but you are supposed to be a good coach and manage your talent.

[Jesus_H_Macy]

Every single time I see Torrey Craig in the starting lineup I want to throw up.

Booker, KD and Ayton deserve way better than Monty.

Lol. You too.
Meanwhile TJ Warren is buried on the bench as 12th man.
No coach buried TJ. Not one. Except for Monty.
He’s playing Lee and Craig over him. But I need to understand levels? Stop it.

Do you remember the series against the Pelicans? Monty refused to change up his lineup and we almost lost that series when Booker got injured because he had to overextend himself. Ayton/CP3 had to give their souls just so we could move forward.

TJ sitting on the bench when Craig starts is absolutely insane. I understand that it would require adjusting the entire lineup but you are supposed to be a good coach and manage your talent.

I'm confused why Monty isn't experimenting with lineups more, considering we really don't have any lineup stability established to destablize if we did. Maybe things happening in practice, but Shamet always getting as much burn as he did makes me skeptical. Warren has not been good when he's played, but I agree that it's been a very small amount that would be hard to get into a rhythm with. Bazley seems like he might be able to bring some athleticism and D on bigs that we're lacking, I'd be interested to see him more. Hasn't been good either, but give him a bit of time so we can know he won't contribute. Just feels like we have nothing to lose with the current dudes available if we experiment a bit. We all know who Craig is at this point, so why not give TJ some more time to know for sure if he really can't contribute? Craig can be a valuable role player, but he should never close games as was said earlier. Craig can play D, can rebound, can hit 3s (though he doesn't necessarily do those things with consistency) but he cannot ever be trusted with passing or decision making in critical situations. And it's not fair to him to expect him to, even if Craig might think he's capable deep down inside. Craig will 100% make at least one horrible decision that results in a turnover when things get tight, it happens over and over. Having Craig close a game is just as risky as throwing TJ out there at the end of a game.

[TeamTragic]

Lol. You too.
Meanwhile TJ Warren is buried on the bench as 12th man.
No coach buried TJ. Not one. Except for Monty.
He’s playing Lee and Craig over him. But I need to understand levels? Stop it.

Do you remember the series against the Pelicans? Monty refused to change up his lineup and we almost lost that series when Booker got injured because he had to overextend himself. Ayton/CP3 had to give their souls just so we could move forward.

TJ sitting on the bench when Craig starts is absolutely insane. I understand that it would require adjusting the entire lineup but you are supposed to be a good coach and manage your talent.

I'm confused why Monty isn't experimenting with lineups more, considering we really don't have any lineup stability established to destablize if we did. Maybe things happening in practice, but Shamet always getting as much burn as he did makes me skeptical. Warren has not been good when he's played, but I agree that it's been a very small amount that would be hard to get into a rhythm with. Bazley seems like he might be able to bring some athleticism and D on bigs that we're lacking, I'd be interested to see him more. Hasn't been good either, but give him a bit of time so we can know he won't contribute. Just feels like we have nothing to lose with the current dudes available if we experiment a bit. We all know who Craig is at this point, so why not give TJ some more time to know for sure if he really can't contribute? Craig can be a valuable role player, but he should never close games as was said earlier. Craig can play D, can rebound, can hit 3s (though he doesn't necessarily do those things with consistency) but he cannot ever be trusted with passing or decision making in critical situations. And it's not fair to him to expect him to, even if Craig might think he's capable deep down inside. Craig will 100% make at least one horrible decision that results in a turnover when things get tight, it happens over and over. Having Craig close a game is just as risky as throwing TJ out there at the end of a game.

Craig is a bench player without a doubt. Starting him shows that Monty has ZERO creativity.

No chance I choose Craig in the fourth quarter over TJ.