2022-23 Season Discussion and Speculation 5 - The KD era begins

[NE1Care]

I say we sign Patrick Beverly to vet minimal and then pull a Crowder and ask him to stay away from the team and not play him. Just let him rot. Not serious just a mean thought.

[lilfishi22]

Ahhh...he's reduced his fouls a lot, having the lowest per 36 in his career, all while becoming an even better defender. He averages 4.3 per 36, down from 5.9 2 years ago, all while guarding the best player on the other team every night....and being all over the place, blocking shots. Blocking shots usually is hard to do without having a lot of fouls, but he has gone up to 4.4 per 36 in blocks as well, up from 3 last year, 2.5 the year before, 2 the year before that..

We shouldn't have trouble with Memphis if we happen to remain healthy but he is best equipped to guard KD of anyone out there.

Haven't paid a ton of attention specifically to JJJr's foul rate but why is he still only playing 27mpg? That's basically his career average. You would think with fewer fouls committed, he'd play more? Even in games where he isn't having any foul troubles, he's still playing under 30mpg

They have a ton of depth, have been involved in a lot of blowouts both ways, and also they probably eased in back some coming back from injury.

Fair enough.

[lilfishi22]

I say we sign Patrick Beverly to vet minimal and then pull a Crowder and ask him to stay away from the team and not play him. Just let him rot. Not serious just a mean thought.

I hate the idea of Pat Bev even having his name stain the history of the Suns by being officially a Suns player even if we don't play him.

Mikal out ---> Pat Bev in

[Bogyo]

Haven't paid a ton of attention specifically to JJJr's foul rate but why is he still only playing 27mpg? That's basically his career average. You would think with fewer fouls committed, he'd play more? Even in games where he isn't having any foul troubles, he's still playing under 30mpg

They have a ton of depth, have been involved in a lot of blowouts both ways, and also they probably eased in back some coming back from injury.

Fair enough.

He is a very good defender. However, do not let his numbers fool you. There was already an article out on how the home box score keepers cheat those. Basically he gets like 3-4 stocks a game just from home cooking... One guy rewatched a couple of games and he couldn't find anything remotley similar to what the box score showed in blocks and steals... not even in deflections, etc... So basically they cheat him into it - which is pretty effing disgusting if you ask me, and yes, league should do something about it.

[spanishninja]

I say we sign Patrick Beverly to vet minimal and then pull a Crowder and ask him to stay away from the team and not play him. Just let him rot. Not serious just a mean thought.

we should receive payments under the table from the other teams in the league because a league without PatBev playing is a much safer league for everybody.

[Revived]

Watching all their steals and fast break points, it made me realize how we likely won't have nearly that many fast break points. We will just be all halfcourt, jump shooting. Luckily KD is so efficient, and Ayton usually. And 3 guys who can get their own shot. Hopefully Book gets back to normal soon but with KD it should help him a lot.

I was watching the Kings/Mavs game and Luka went away from Kyrie when Kyrie was hot and took a bad 3 that missed.

But I liked his reaction (below) after the game to that shot. Hopefully KD will be our guy down the stretch in similar way.

Spoiler:

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Yeah, lets make Luka a hesitant player!!! Tear em apart from the inside Kyrie!!!

Eh not necessarily being a “hesitant player” it’s about riding the hot hand and playing to your strengths. LeBron deferred to Kyrie in the finals one year down the stretch and Kyrie hit one of the biggest shots in basketball and that worked out pretty well for them in that series. Same thing with Luka where he needs to know who to defer to in terms of clutch shooting when he’s on and Luka himself admits that.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Teams have been able to shut down Chris Paul in do or die clutch games for 2 decades because he's the shortest player on the court. Now with Booker and Durant we shouldn't go missing when it matters and then when Paul is 3rd option and has a favourable match up he can strike.

[Fo-Real]

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DA and TJ also are midrange associates of the mob.

[BobbieL]

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DA and TJ also are midrange associates of the mob.

I just want to see Durant on the court with the Suns. When that happens - the trade will feel more real as Mikal and CamJ are out there playing and Durant has been on a 15 second video

[WeekapaugGroove]

They have 25ish games to figure this out and injuries have a way of figuring this out for you but I'm very curious of the playoff rotation.

I assume CP and Payne and then DA/biz cover all the PG and C minutes. Then for easy math let's say Booker and KD play about 38 mins a game.

That leaves about 68 minutes across the 2-4 positions.

Craig is currently 2nd in total minutes played for the suns so I think it's safe to say he'll be in the rotation. He's average like 25 minutes per game so with him we have about 43 left.

Damien Lee would be the guy of the rest that I'm most confident will get some playing time. His BBIQ and shooting are valuable. Let's say about 15-20 minutes a game conservatively.

So that leaves 25-30 minutes for this group.

Okogie, Ross, Warren, Bazely, Shamet (maybe Ish)

One or two of these guys will have to be in the rotation but the rest won't. Probably going to be somewhat matchup based. Personally I'm rooting for Okogie to earn that spot because his point of attack D would be very useful if he can hold up on O.

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[BobbieL]

They have 25ish games to figure this out and injuries have a way of figuring this out for you but I'm very curious of the playoff rotation.

I assume CP and Payne and then DA/biz cover all the PG and C minutes. Then for easy math let's say Booker and KD play about 38 mins a game.

That leaves about 68 minutes across the 2-4 positions.

Craig is currently 2nd in total minutes played for the suns so I think it's safe to say he'll be in the rotation. He's average like 25 minutes per game so with him we have about 43 left.

Damien Lee would be the guy of the rest that I'm most confident will get some playing time. His BBIQ and shooting are valuable. Let's say about 15-20 minutes a game conservatively.

So that leaves 25-30 minutes for this group.

Okogie, Ross, Warren, Bazely, Shamet (maybe Ish)

One or two of these guys will have to be in the rotation but the rest won't. Probably going to be somewhat matchup based. Personally I'm rooting for Okogie to earn that spot because his point of attack D would be very useful if he can hold up on O.

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Good way of looking at it. I think the extra minutes will be a nightly basis. Okogie for defense; maybe if Lee or Ross are making shots - they get the minutes. Its nice that Ross will be with the team this week to start that part of the process. Getting acclimated.

[Revived]

Isn’t there gonna be a press conference introducing KD, Warren, Bazley and Ross? Anyone know when that will be?

Also, have they said anything about whether Warren and Bazley will be available to play in next week’s games before the All Star break?

Leander mentioned in the last pregame that Bazley and Warren’s press conference will be Tuesday and KD’s on Thursday.


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A little strange that they wouldn’t just do KD‘s with Bazley and Warren as well. Unless KD’s on vacation or something and only getting back in the country later this week I guess.

[Revived]

I think only 2-3 guys in the west can cover KD decently. One would be really good and two others decent, though one probably won't make the playoffs. Anyone venture to guess which players I am talking about?

I'd think Vanderbilt, Kwahi, and Bridges would be the players if I had to guess. With Bridges being the one probably not making the playoffs? I would almost prefer to say Vanderbilt with the Flakers, but I figure somehow they'll find a way to sneak in! But V8 would have been a coup for us playing alongside of Durant!

Stanley Johnson might be the other guy who can cover KD. Might be good to scoop him up just to not let some other playoff team grab him

He actually makes a lot of sense. I’ve seen many Suns Twitter media guys like Kellen Olson, David IVplay etc talk about how Suns really need a POA defender as they don’t have one currently.

Johnson can do that pretty well. And he defends 1-4.

On offense he’s pretty much trash (40% 3pt on super low attempts that wouldn’t hold up on legit attempts) but he may be worth signing for the defense alone.

I’d rather have him than Ish Wainwright if they had to pick between the two.

[KdoubleDees23]

I'd think Vanderbilt, Kwahi, and Bridges would be the players if I had to guess. With Bridges being the one probably not making the playoffs? I would almost prefer to say Vanderbilt with the Flakers, but I figure somehow they'll find a way to sneak in! But V8 would have been a coup for us playing alongside of Durant!

Stanley Johnson might be the other guy who can cover KD. Might be good to scoop him up just to not let some other playoff team grab him

He actually makes a lot of sense. I’ve seen many Suns Twitter media guys like Kellen Olson, David IVplay etc talk about how Suns really need a POA defender as they don’t have one currently.

Johnson can do that pretty well. And he defends 1-4.

On offense he’s pretty much trash (40% 3pt on super low attempts that wouldn’t hold up on legit attempts) but he may be worth signing for the defense alone.

I’d rather have him than Ish Wainwright if they had to pick between the two.

I would rather neither Ish or Stanley Johnson! You do not play scrubs if you are a contender! We don't need players to have players. I hope we pick up D Rose (if bought out) or (John Wall) have him run bench unit.

Other than that we are good to go.

You can plug me in with a roster of CP3, Booker, KD, and AYTON and we would still be favored

[bwgood77]

They have 25ish games to figure this out and injuries have a way of figuring this out for you but I'm very curious of the playoff rotation.

I assume CP and Payne and then DA/biz cover all the PG and C minutes. Then for easy math let's say Booker and KD play about 38 mins a game.

That leaves about 68 minutes across the 2-4 positions.

Craig is currently 2nd in total minutes played for the suns so I think it's safe to say he'll be in the rotation. He's average like 25 minutes per game so with him we have about 43 left.

Damien Lee would be the guy of the rest that I'm most confident will get some playing time. His BBIQ and shooting are valuable. Let's say about 15-20 minutes a game conservatively.

So that leaves 25-30 minutes for this group.

Okogie, Ross, Warren, Bazely, Shamet (maybe Ish)

One or two of these guys will have to be in the rotation but the rest won't. Probably going to be somewhat matchup based. Personally I'm rooting for Okogie to earn that spot because his point of attack D would be very useful if he can hold up on O.

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My guess is Shamet if he is healthy, but they will ease him back in...I know it's not people's preference but I think they like that he can handle, and he was getting hot shooting before injury and had some big games.

Then Warren if healthy and Ross. I definitely don't see Bazley playing outside of garbage time. Okogie would probably be the guy that would be least likely to play out of the others, but I imagine we will always have some injuries, so he will get spot minutes.

I figure Craig gets 20-25 minutes, Warren 15-20, 15 for 15-20 for Shamet, and 10-15 for Ross. Then with injuries others go up.

[WeekapaugGroove]

They have 25ish games to figure this out and injuries have a way of figuring this out for you but I'm very curious of the playoff rotation.

I assume CP and Payne and then DA/biz cover all the PG and C minutes. Then for easy math let's say Booker and KD play about 38 mins a game.

That leaves about 68 minutes across the 2-4 positions.

Craig is currently 2nd in total minutes played for the suns so I think it's safe to say he'll be in the rotation. He's average like 25 minutes per game so with him we have about 43 left.

Damien Lee would be the guy of the rest that I'm most confident will get some playing time. His BBIQ and shooting are valuable. Let's say about 15-20 minutes a game conservatively.

So that leaves 25-30 minutes for this group.

Okogie, Ross, Warren, Bazely, Shamet (maybe Ish)

One or two of these guys will have to be in the rotation but the rest won't. Probably going to be somewhat matchup based. Personally I'm rooting for Okogie to earn that spot because his point of attack D would be very useful if he can hold up on O.

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My guess is Shamet if he is healthy, but they will ease him back in...I know it's not people's preference but I think they like that he can handle, and he was getting hot shooting before injury and had some big games.

Then Warren if healthy and Ross. I definitely don't see Bazley playing outside of garbage time. Okogie would probably be the guy that would be least likely to play out of the others, but I imagine we will always have some injuries, so he will get spot minutes.

I figure Craig gets 20-25 minutes, Warren 15-20, 15 for 15-20 for Shamet, and 10-15 for Ross. Then with injuries others go up.

No Damien Lee? He's been so good with open 3s and he's just a trustworthy guy out there.

I view Shamet as more of the Payne injury insurance if they don't add another ball handler. But you could be right they do like him. The best version of Landry would help I just don't have any trust in him at this point.

I agree Bazely is the least likely to crack the rotation. I have no idea on Ross and Warren until I see them actually play.

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[lonea]

You forgot to mention they lost Booker in the first round with a hamstring injury and who knows how healthy he was versus the Mavs, ,my gut says had it been the regular season he would have sat out a lot more games like this year but in the playoffs you absolutely try to play through it if you can.

The Suns got dominated by the bigs. It wasn't because Booker wasn't playing.

DA got man handled by them.

Did you happen to watch a different series? DA was one of the reasons we got past New Orleans with the loss of Booker.

Uhhh, maybe you were watching a different series.

If you think these numbers by DA was "one of the reasons" Suns got past NO, I don't know what dream world you are living in.
He got double-double one game out of 6.

Gm1 - 21-3
Gm2 - 10-9
Gm3 - 28-17
Gm4 - 23-8
Gm5 - 19-9
Gm6 - 22-4

and here's Valanciunas' numbers

Gm1 - 18-25
Gm2 - 10-13
Gm3 - 6-11
Gm4 - 26-15
Gm5 - 17-14
Gm6 - 10-8

DA simply got outplayed, manhandled... period.

[bwgood77]

They have 25ish games to figure this out and injuries have a way of figuring this out for you but I'm very curious of the playoff rotation.

I assume CP and Payne and then DA/biz cover all the PG and C minutes. Then for easy math let's say Booker and KD play about 38 mins a game.

That leaves about 68 minutes across the 2-4 positions.

Craig is currently 2nd in total minutes played for the suns so I think it's safe to say he'll be in the rotation. He's average like 25 minutes per game so with him we have about 43 left.

Damien Lee would be the guy of the rest that I'm most confident will get some playing time. His BBIQ and shooting are valuable. Let's say about 15-20 minutes a game conservatively.

So that leaves 25-30 minutes for this group.

Okogie, Ross, Warren, Bazely, Shamet (maybe Ish)

One or two of these guys will have to be in the rotation but the rest won't. Probably going to be somewhat matchup based. Personally I'm rooting for Okogie to earn that spot because his point of attack D would be very useful if he can hold up on O.

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My guess is Shamet if he is healthy, but they will ease him back in...I know it's not people's preference but I think they like that he can handle, and he was getting hot shooting before injury and had some big games.

Then Warren if healthy and Ross. I definitely don't see Bazley playing outside of garbage time. Okogie would probably be the guy that would be least likely to play out of the others, but I imagine we will always have some injuries, so he will get spot minutes.

I figure Craig gets 20-25 minutes, Warren 15-20, 15 for 15-20 for Shamet, and 10-15 for Ross. Then with injuries others go up.

No Damien Lee? He's been so good with open 3s and he's just a trustworthy guy out there.

I view Shamet as more of the Payne injury insurance if they don't add another ball handler. But you could be right they do like him. The best version of Landry would help I just don't have any trust in him at this point.

I agree Bazely is the least likely to crack the rotation. I have no idea on Ross and Warren until I see them actually play.

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Oh, I thought you had already included him. Yes, Craig and Lee will get the most minutes. Shamet probably less than I was thinking unless he comes back and is completely healthy too, and who knows about Payne? I think he will be back.

Someone will be injured though unless we go from the most injured team to the most healthy suddenly. I don't see Bazley or Okogie getting really any minutes if TJ and Ross are playing well.

[matt131]

Nooooooooooooo


We’re our own worst enemies here lol

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[lonea]

Nooooooooooooo


We’re our own worst enemies here lol

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Don't see why this is relevant. He's not even a good player. Suns don't need another undersized PG.