Game 59: Sacramento Kings (32-24) @ Phoenix Suns (31-27) l Tuesday l 7:00pm l BSAZ

[Mulhollanddrive]

If Okogie can shoot 30 something percent from 3 we look hard to beat.

[sunsbg]

Read on Twitter

Engaged Ayton with 15+ shots is an amazing player. As said many times Monty should have integrated his midrange game in the offense more. Ayton didn't turn into a good shooter lately, his midrange shot was always there.

[SunsRback4Good]

If Okogie can shoot 30 something percent from 3 we look hard to beat.

I swear Okogie three point % went up from 28 to 33% in a span of three games. He’s shooting 9-15 in his past three games. Okogie is now shooting in the Crowder range 41% fg & 33% from 3’s that is perfect to start alongside Ayton, KD, Booker, and CP3 in the playoffs. We have a defensive sniper on our hands who can now hit some shot.

[Saberestar]

It was a really fun game to watch, the Kings are a good team but I don't fear them at all.

CP3 did what he had to do with Book and Ayton in great shape next to him. 19 assists just orchestrating the offense, nothing flashy but that stuff it's not easy to do. Maestro.

Book with a quick 32 points. He looks exuberant out there, full of energy and ready for tough battles. The Kings aren't good enough to stop a player like that.

Ayton with ANOTHER monster performance. He keeps punishing teams with his touch when he has a foot in the paint. Right hooks, dunks, put backs, mid-range shots...easy money for him.
On defense he was really active too.

I can't imagine him averaging less than 20/10 at this point. NOICE.

What can I say about Okogie? I loved the signing out of nowhere for the minimum (but for some fans James Jones is a bad GM lol) but I never expected THIS high level of play out of him. Since Mikal was traded he is playing great as an starting SF...and it looks sustainable.

Warren just played 7 minutes but he looked good. He will get more playing time after learning the sets and get some familiarity with the team.

Ish Wainright playing big minutes yet, I don't know if that means that he will get his two-way contract converted or not...he can play in only one more game. We will see.

It was cool to see KD on the bench. Oh my...this team is deep. LET'S GO!

[bwgood77]

Everyone will, to some degree. That's just how good KD is

Yeah, not everyone will be able to score 25-30 every night. It's nice to see both Booker and Ayton get between 15-20 shots. I don't particularly like when one player exceeds 20. We will probably move the ball well though and we will never (at least I hope) have to have those damn crappy all bench units out there. We should have 2 of our top 4 guys out there at all times.

If Monty doesn't stagger are guys at least as much as possible, that will suck. Obviously you want them all in there to start and end games, but figure the substitution patterns out.

It would be nice if we had a little better backup C. I know people love Bizzy and some love Jock, and feel we'd be fine with Biz starting but that offensive threat is huge...you need a solid C against the good teams...especially with all the other great Cs out there today. This C position is as deep as it's ever been. You had the superstars in the 90s where Robinson and Hakeem each won an MVP when Jordan was playing baseball but not the depth (and of course we have our own superstar MVP candidates these days in addition to the depth).

bigfoot raised the question in the season thread, with the last spot, what kind of player would you want to add? Seems like you want extra depth at the 5?

I don't know the injury status of everyone, but we seem really set at guard and wing. Payne was practicing the other day and until recently was rarely injured. Shamet I am less sure about, but he is less necessary. He is usually good as a 4th ball handler but Saben Lee looks ok there and a couple of the wings can handle ok. To me it seems we have plenty of options 1-3.

I think our issue is when teams go big. I don't feel totally comfortable with our backup bigs and would really like a bigish PF who could play some C.

This is why I brought up Olynyk a lot. I think he'd be a great type of piece, but I don't see him being bought out. Then there is Love potentially...but the Cavs, competing, may as well keep him.

At this point we are probably mostly set though, and if there is a player out there after buyout, try and get the BPA, but to me it seems we could use some more size. We have our Cs, two of which I don't trust much in the playoffs, KD who is fine at PF to defend, rebound, etc, but not really a banger, and Craig is solid for his size. Ish can be good..but still not a lot of size. We seem fairly loaded at guys that can play 2/3.

Now if I knew Payne was out for the season I'd want a PG, but I expect he should be back...probably need at least 1 of him and Shamet.

[darmani]

If Okogie can shoot 30 something percent from 3 we look hard to beat.

I swear Okogie three point % went up from 28 to 33% in a span of three games. He’s shooting 9-15 in his past three games. Okogie is now shooting in the Crowder range 41% fg & 33% from 3’s that is perfect to start alongside Ayton, KD, Booker, and CP3 in the playoffs. We have a defensive sniper on our hands who can now hit some shot.

Okogie was 1/18 (5.6%) from three to start the season. He's shooting 30/76 (39.5%) since December 5th.

[sashaturiaf]

Good win Good vibe!

As fans we are all susceptible to falling in love with role players, however ultimately it's the organisation's job to do the right thing by the team.

KD isn't bigger than the Suns. But his overall impact could make the NBA universe revolve around the Suns.

[BobbieL]

Yeah, not everyone will be able to score 25-30 every night. It's nice to see both Booker and Ayton get between 15-20 shots. I don't particularly like when one player exceeds 20. We will probably move the ball well though and we will never (at least I hope) have to have those damn crappy all bench units out there. We should have 2 of our top 4 guys out there at all times.

If Monty doesn't stagger are guys at least as much as possible, that will suck. Obviously you want them all in there to start and end games, but figure the substitution patterns out.

It would be nice if we had a little better backup C. I know people love Bizzy and some love Jock, and feel we'd be fine with Biz starting but that offensive threat is huge...you need a solid C against the good teams...especially with all the other great Cs out there today. This C position is as deep as it's ever been. You had the superstars in the 90s where Robinson and Hakeem each won an MVP when Jordan was playing baseball but not the depth (and of course we have our own superstar MVP candidates these days in addition to the depth).

bigfoot raised the question in the season thread, with the last spot, what kind of player would you want to add? Seems like you want extra depth at the 5?

I don't know the injury status of everyone, but we seem really set at guard and wing. Payne was practicing the other day and until recently was rarely injured. Shamet I am less sure about, but he is less necessary. He is usually good as a 4th ball handler but Saben Lee looks ok there and a couple of the wings can handle ok. To me it seems we have plenty of options 1-3.

I think our issue is when teams go big. I don't feel totally comfortable with our backup bigs and would really like a bigish PF who could play some C.

This is why I brought up Olynyk a lot. I think he'd be a great type of piece, but I don't see him being bought out. Then there is Love potentially...but the Cavs, competing, may as well keep him.

At this point we are probably mostly set though, and if there is a player out there after buyout, try and get the BPA, but to me it seems we could use some more size. We have our Cs, two of which I don't trust much in the playoffs, KD who is fine at PF to defend, rebound, etc, but not really a banger, and Craig is solid for his size. Ish can be good..but still not a lot of size. We seem fairly loaded at guys that can play 2/3.

Now if I knew Payne was out for the season I'd want a PG, but I expect he should be back...probably need at least 1 of him and Shamet.

Pretty much the same. Just not sure there is a big out there unless Love but why would they buy him out. They will be int he playoffs so they might need him

I also agree that if Payne were not back - maybe the Suns would have pushed for Reggie Jackson. But if Payne is back - Ross was the good signing

Suns roster is probably locked at this point

Good win last night - be nice to finish off the Clippers. Be the solid #4 seed going into the ASB and finish on a 12-3 run of games before the final 22/. 50 wins, if Durant is available for OKC and the rest of the season - within reach actually.

[sunsbg]

Btw Saben Lee looked better than Ish in this game and Suns need a 3rd PG more than another wing.

[spanishninja]

bigfoot raised the question in the season thread, with the last spot, what kind of player would you want to add? Seems like you want extra depth at the 5?

I don't know the injury status of everyone, but we seem really set at guard and wing. Payne was practicing the other day and until recently was rarely injured. Shamet I am less sure about, but he is less necessary. He is usually good as a 4th ball handler but Saben Lee looks ok there and a couple of the wings can handle ok. To me it seems we have plenty of options 1-3.

I think our issue is when teams go big. I don't feel totally comfortable with our backup bigs and would really like a bigish PF who could play some C.

This is why I brought up Olynyk a lot. I think he'd be a great type of piece, but I don't see him being bought out. Then there is Love potentially...but the Cavs, competing, may as well keep him.

At this point we are probably mostly set though, and if there is a player out there after buyout, try and get the BPA, but to me it seems we could use some more size. We have our Cs, two of which I don't trust much in the playoffs, KD who is fine at PF to defend, rebound, etc, but not really a banger, and Craig is solid for his size. Ish can be good..but still not a lot of size. We seem fairly loaded at guys that can play 2/3.

Now if I knew Payne was out for the season I'd want a PG, but I expect he should be back...probably need at least 1 of him and Shamet.

Pretty much the same. Just not sure there is a big out there unless Love but why would they buy him out. They will be int he playoffs so they might need him

I also agree that if Payne were not back - maybe the Suns would have pushed for Reggie Jackson. But if Payne is back - Ross was the good signing

Suns roster is probably locked at this point

Good win last night - be nice to finish off the Clippers. Be the solid #4 seed going into the ASB and finish on a 12-3 run of games before the final 22/. 50 wins, if Durant is available for OKC and the rest of the season - within reach actually.

it really does come down to when we will have the full squad in play. I cannot think of any team we can't beat in the regular season once KD joins, and we dont' even need to go on some insane streak. even a 10 game winning streak would likely secure 3rd seed or better for us, and might even catch Memphis and/or Denver.

[bwgood77]

I don't know the injury status of everyone, but we seem really set at guard and wing. Payne was practicing the other day and until recently was rarely injured. Shamet I am less sure about, but he is less necessary. He is usually good as a 4th ball handler but Saben Lee looks ok there and a couple of the wings can handle ok. To me it seems we have plenty of options 1-3.

I think our issue is when teams go big. I don't feel totally comfortable with our backup bigs and would really like a bigish PF who could play some C.

This is why I brought up Olynyk a lot. I think he'd be a great type of piece, but I don't see him being bought out. Then there is Love potentially...but the Cavs, competing, may as well keep him.

At this point we are probably mostly set though, and if there is a player out there after buyout, try and get the BPA, but to me it seems we could use some more size. We have our Cs, two of which I don't trust much in the playoffs, KD who is fine at PF to defend, rebound, etc, but not really a banger, and Craig is solid for his size. Ish can be good..but still not a lot of size. We seem fairly loaded at guys that can play 2/3.

Now if I knew Payne was out for the season I'd want a PG, but I expect he should be back...probably need at least 1 of him and Shamet.

Pretty much the same. Just not sure there is a big out there unless Love but why would they buy him out. They will be int he playoffs so they might need him

I also agree that if Payne were not back - maybe the Suns would have pushed for Reggie Jackson. But if Payne is back - Ross was the good signing

Suns roster is probably locked at this point

Good win last night - be nice to finish off the Clippers. Be the solid #4 seed going into the ASB and finish on a 12-3 run of games before the final 22/. 50 wins, if Durant is available for OKC and the rest of the season - within reach actually.

it really does come down to when we will have the full squad in play. I cannot think of any team we can't beat in the regular season once KD joins, and we dont' even need to go on some insane streak. even a 10 game winning streak would likely secure 3rd seed or better for us, and might even catch Memphis and/or Denver.

If everyone is healthy, I expect us to go on a crazy stretch where we go like 15-2 or something. I mean we went 8-2 not long ago with a bunch of injuries. We took the Nuggets to OT with just Ayton and Bridges I think. And nearly beat the Pelicans after losing Booker early and losing Ayton due to fouls in OT. Then we beat Memphis once or twice. Now the Kings without AD.

We have basically competed with or beaten most all the top teams in the west and Boston when we were not even close to full strength, which is why I was never as down on our team as most, if we ever got to full strength. But now if we are at full strength, we will obviously be even better.

[spanishninja]

Pretty much the same. Just not sure there is a big out there unless Love but why would they buy him out. They will be int he playoffs so they might need him

I also agree that if Payne were not back - maybe the Suns would have pushed for Reggie Jackson. But if Payne is back - Ross was the good signing

Suns roster is probably locked at this point

Good win last night - be nice to finish off the Clippers. Be the solid #4 seed going into the ASB and finish on a 12-3 run of games before the final 22/. 50 wins, if Durant is available for OKC and the rest of the season - within reach actually.

it really does come down to when we will have the full squad in play. I cannot think of any team we can't beat in the regular season once KD joins, and we dont' even need to go on some insane streak. even a 10 game winning streak would likely secure 3rd seed or better for us, and might even catch Memphis and/or Denver.

If everyone is healthy, I expect us to go on a crazy stretch where we go like 15-2 or something. I mean we went 8-2 not long ago with a bunch of injuries. We took the Nuggets to OT with just Ayton and Bridges I think. And nearly beat the Pelicans after losing Booker early and losing Ayton due to fouls in OT. Then we beat Memphis once or twice. Now the Kings without AD.

We have basically competed with or beaten most all the top teams in the west and Boston when we were not even close to full strength, which is why I was never as down on our team as most, if we ever got to full strength. But now if we are at full strength, we will obviously be even better.

and I guess the other thing is we actually played a lot of tough teams when we were totally injured, and sure we took our lumps but it's not looking TOO bad the rest of the way:

2x Milwaukee (1st meeting shortly after the break though so KD might not play)
1x Philly (late March but on a back to back)
1x @Mavs (early March with rest; like to see both teams full strength)
2x @Lakers (they only have a chance if Lebron plays)
2x Clippers (both at home and the second game is the final game of the season)
2x Denver (3/31 and 4/6 so have nuggets locked up 1st seed by then?)
1x @Warriors (Steph likely back)
4x Thunder (not sure what to think about them, haven't faced them at all this year)

other than these, the rest of the games seem fairly easy, and only 2 more sets of back to backs so should not have to worry about KD and Book sitting out too many games. If we go even .500 on the above games and win out the rest, we're looking at something like 47-35 or 48-34. 50 wins definitely realistic.

[King4Day]

Read on Twitter

Engaged Ayton with 15+ shots is an amazing player. As said many times Monty should have integrated his midrange game in the offense more. Ayton didn't turn into a good shooter lately, his midrange shot was always there.

IMO, the issue with his midrange was always selection. He has been insanely predictable when he'll shoot it. And they weren't always good decisions

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

[SunsRback4Good]

Read on Twitter

That’s one intimidating gif GOK. I’m ready for KD era to officially begin.

[lilfishi22]

Read on Twitter

How awkward would it be for him to be asked to go into the studio one day and put on the uniform just do maybe 10 different takes of this and then seeya later.

[kennydorglas]

Read on Twitter

Oh boy im ready

[King4Day]

Read on Twitter

How awkward would it be for him to be asked to go into the studio one day and put on the uniform just do maybe 10 different takes of this and then seeya later.

I saw both Cam and Mikal did it for Brooklyn. Probably was just what you said. A quick session. Maybe 30 minutes or so and that's it. Just enough to get through the season

[bwgood77]

Spoiler:

Who: Phoenix Suns @ Sacramento Kings

When: Tuesday, February 14th @ 7:00pm (9:00ET) l BSAZ

Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ







Sacramento Kings starting lineup:


C- Sabonis

F- Barnes

F- Murray

G- Huerter

G- Fox


Reserves: Monk/Okpala/Mitchell/Davis






Phoenix Suns starting lineup:


C- Ayton

F- Craig

F- Lee

G- Booker

G- CP3



Reserves: Okogie/Bazley/Landale/Ish


Good luck charm!!!

You're up for a Clippers game thread! Hopefully it's the first time we play him where they are more or less healthy and play their stars the whole game so we can see where we stack up, at least pre-KD. They handed us the game last time...we won easily despite Book's bad game during his slump.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

That’s one intimidating gif GOK. I’m ready for KD era to officially begin.

How cool would it be if this platform could have animated gifs or avatars/ banners? I hope they can support that someday soon because
that would be really cool!