Game 64: Phoenix Suns (34-29) @ Chicago Bulls (29-34) l Friday l 6:00pm l BSAZ

[handsome salary]

Nice win. Took a big lead and kept it in the 4th. No one on the Suns had to go hero ball cause the rest of the team was such a let down. Everyone did enough for a casual win.

So happy seeing CP3 make the Bulls pay for treating him like Westbrook. He's looked so washed lately.

No complaints. Keep em coming.

[Slim Charless]

16 points, 16 boards with 4 assists and 1 block shooting 7/10 from the floor and 2/2 FTs with good defense against the Hornets.

No, he hasn’t disappeared at all.

When I checked his stats at the time of my posting, he had six points and three rebounds in 24 minutes.

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Yeah, he didn't put good numbers on this one but he played great against the Hornets with KD already on the court.

He also played excellent man defense on Vuc in the second half. Something that needed to happen as he was killing us on the first half.

[sashaturiaf]

why is 20 games going to flip the switch for him in your opinion?

Ayton had a bad rebounding game and has a bad one here and there, but in his last 10, had 16 boards twice (including his previous game), 15 once, and 11 or more in 4 others. So 7 out of last 10, double digit rebounds between 11 and 16. In his 5 games before that he had a 13, 14 and 20 rebound game.

As people often say "he only gets rebounds that go right to him"...which is ridiculous to talk about 15-20 rebounds happening like that (and as if it doesn't happen to others), there are games where rebounds do just bounce straight to other players often, like Paul or Book or others. It's not often those guys are in there boxing out and battling for them, though Craig for a while had a few games with some great offensive rebounds when flying in.

Even with poor rebounding games here and there, and a few games he left with injury early after a few minutes, he still averages over 10 rpg.

The idea that he only gets boards that right to him is def casual talk. Often times he'll be the only one there because he got position so smaller guys don't even bother and just start running back. Perhaps it looks lucky, but that's very much a reward for getting good position.

As for okogie, I overvalued Payne in his contract year on this board, thinking he'd be getting 13 mil a year and I believe he settled on something like 8 if I recall. Hopefully okogie realizes he's getting this burn and these open looks because he's playing with 3 first ballot hall of famers in his lineup. But the Mid level? I dunno, seems small for what he does in this league. If he keeps this up I can def see him as a 10 million guy. Isn't CP partially guaranteed next year? How does that work? Can we rework his deal since it's not fully guaranteed like they do in the NFL?

I doubt anyone will give Okogie the full mid level for one season of decent play. He's more 2 guard size rather than wing size and while he can make shots here and there he's hardly known as a shooter.

If he balls out for the rest of the season including playoffs he can probably command Bruce Brown level money which is still not the full mid level.

Suns gotta be careful not to bid against themselves lest it ends up with another Shamet contract on the books. Sarver is out and KD is here, there's no need to overpay for role players anymore, even minimum contracts will go a long way with getting ring chasers

[Saberestar]

Ayton had a bad rebounding game and has a bad one here and there, but in his last 10, had 16 boards twice (including his previous game), 15 once, and 11 or more in 4 others. So 7 out of last 10, double digit rebounds between 11 and 16. In his 5 games before that he had a 13, 14 and 20 rebound game.

As people often say "he only gets rebounds that go right to him"...which is ridiculous to talk about 15-20 rebounds happening like that (and as if it doesn't happen to others), there are games where rebounds do just bounce straight to other players often, like Paul or Book or others. It's not often those guys are in there boxing out and battling for them, though Craig for a while had a few games with some great offensive rebounds when flying in.

Even with poor rebounding games here and there, and a few games he left with injury early after a few minutes, he still averages over 10 rpg.

The idea that he only gets boards that right to him is def casual talk. Often times he'll be the only one there because he got position so smaller guys don't even bother and just start running back. Perhaps it looks lucky, but that's very much a reward for getting good position.

As for okogie, I overvalued Payne in his contract year on this board, thinking he'd be getting 13 mil a year and I believe he settled on something like 8 if I recall. Hopefully okogie realizes he's getting this burn and these open looks because he's playing with 3 first ballot hall of famers in his lineup. But the Mid level? I dunno, seems small for what he does in this league. If he keeps this up I can def see him as a 10 million guy. Isn't CP partially guaranteed next year? How does that work? Can we rework his deal since it's not fully guaranteed like they do in the NFL?

I doubt anyone will give Okogie the full mid level for one season of decent play. He's more 2 guard size rather than wing size and while he can make shots here and there he's hardly known as a shooter.

If he balls out for the rest of the season including playoffs he can probably command Bruce Brown level money which is still not the full mid level.

Suns gotta be careful not to bid against themselves lest it ends up with another Shamet contract on the books. Sarver is out and KD is here, there's no need to overpay for role players anymore, even minimum contracts will go a long way with getting ring chasers

Out of 29 teams I think that at least one of them is gonna offer him the full MLE for non tax teams. That would be around $40M/4 year.

I would hate to lose him but he is too good to just get $6-7M per year. Hopefully you are right but I can't see it.

He can defend any guard or wing, he has a 7 feet wingspan.

[irish22022]

Not to mention at his size he is just about the best rebounder in the league so far

[Frank Lee]

Ayton had a bad rebounding game and has a bad one here and there, but in his last 10, had 16 boards twice (including his previous game), 15 once, and 11 or more in 4 others. So 7 out of last 10, double digit rebounds between 11 and 16. In his 5 games before that he had a 13, 14 and 20 rebound game.

As people often say "he only gets rebounds that go right to him"...which is ridiculous to talk about 15-20 rebounds happening like that (and as if it doesn't happen to others), there are games where rebounds do just bounce straight to other players often, like Paul or Book or others. It's not often those guys are in there boxing out and battling for them, though Craig for a while had a few games with some great offensive rebounds when flying in.

Even with poor rebounding games here and there, and a few games he left with injury early after a few minutes, he still averages over 10 rpg.

The idea that he only gets boards that right to him is def casual talk. Often times he'll be the only one there because he got position so smaller guys don't even bother and just start running back. Perhaps it looks lucky, but that's very much a reward for getting good position.

As for okogie, I overvalued Payne in his contract year on this board, thinking he'd be getting 13 mil a year and I believe he settled on something like 8 if I recall. Hopefully okogie realizes he's getting this burn and these open looks because he's playing with 3 first ballot hall of famers in his lineup. But the Mid level? I dunno, seems small for what he does in this league. If he keeps this up I can def see him as a 10 million guy. Isn't CP partially guaranteed next year? How does that work? Can we rework his deal since it's not fully guaranteed like they do in the NFL?

I doubt anyone will give Okogie the full mid level for one season of decent play. He's more 2 guard size rather than wing size and while he can make shots here and there he's hardly known as a shooter.

If he balls out for the rest of the season including playoffs he can probably command Bruce Brown level money which is still not the full mid level.

Suns gotta be careful not to bid against themselves lest it ends up with another Shamet contract on the books. Sarver is out and KD is here, there's no need to overpay for role players anymore, even minimum contracts will go a long way with getting ring chasers

They wont be bidding against themselves, the dude deserves all we can give him. The cheap days are allegedly done and hes a damn bargain at 7 mil

[SkyBill40]

When I checked his stats at the time of my posting, he had six points and three rebounds in 24 minutes.

Sent from my [Samsung Z4 Fold] using RealGM mobile app

Yeah, he didn't put good numbers on this one but he played great against the Hornets with KD already on the court.

At this point it's not worth responding to Ayton-hater-trolls.

I'm not an "Ayton hater troll" and have no issue with giving credit where it's due. Guess having an opinion other than one who is of the dirty knees sort isn't allowed. Got it.

You need a napkin for that chin?

Sent from my [Samsung Z4 Fold] using RealGM mobile app

[sunsbg]

Yeah, he didn't put good numbers on this one but he played great against the Hornets with KD already on the court.

At this point it's not worth responding to Ayton-hater-trolls.

I'm not an "Ayton hater troll" and have no issue with giving credit where it's due. Guess having an opinion other than one who is of the dirty knees sort isn't allowed. Got it.

You need a napkin for that chin?

Sent from my [Samsung Z4 Fold] using RealGM mobile app

Don't tell us what you are doing when not hating on Ayton. Nobody really cares.

[grumpysaddle]

why is 20 games going to flip the switch for him in your opinion?

Ayton had a bad rebounding game and has a bad one here and there, but in his last 10, had 16 boards twice (including his previous game), 15 once, and 11 or more in 4 others. So 7 out of last 10, double digit rebounds between 11 and 16. In his 5 games before that he had a 13, 14 and 20 rebound game.

As people often say "he only gets rebounds that go right to him"...which is ridiculous to talk about 15-20 rebounds happening like that (and as if it doesn't happen to others), there are games where rebounds do just bounce straight to other players often, like Paul or Book or others. It's not often those guys are in there boxing out and battling for them, though Craig for a while had a few games with some great offensive rebounds when flying in.

Even with poor rebounding games here and there, and a few games he left with injury early after a few minutes, he still averages over 10 rpg.

The idea that he only gets boards that right to him is def casual talk. Often times he'll be the only one there because he got position so smaller guys don't even bother and just start running back. Perhaps it looks lucky, but that's very much a reward for getting good position.

As for okogie, I overvalued Payne in his contract year on this board, thinking he'd be getting 13 mil a year and I believe he settled on something like 8 if I recall. Hopefully okogie realizes he's getting this burn and these open looks because he's playing with 3 first ballot hall of famers in his lineup. But the Mid level? I dunno, seems small for what he does in this league. If he keeps this up I can def see him as a 10 million guy. Isn't CP partially guaranteed next year? How does that work? Can we rework his deal since it's not fully guaranteed like they do in the NFL?

Ayton had 3 **** rebounds. That's a fact. A 7 footer getting 3 rebounds in a game he played ~30 minutes in is a bad look and you can take your "casual talk" comment and eff right off. The only thing asked for Ayton right now is effort and rebounds are an effort stat. He had a bad game and it's allowed to be called out. It's been pointed out when he does have a good/great game. It's also allowed the other way.

[Puff]

Ayton had a bad rebounding game and has a bad one here and there, but in his last 10, had 16 boards twice (including his previous game), 15 once, and 11 or more in 4 others. So 7 out of last 10, double digit rebounds between 11 and 16. In his 5 games before that he had a 13, 14 and 20 rebound game.

As people often say "he only gets rebounds that go right to him"...which is ridiculous to talk about 15-20 rebounds happening like that (and as if it doesn't happen to others), there are games where rebounds do just bounce straight to other players often, like Paul or Book or others. It's not often those guys are in there boxing out and battling for them, though Craig for a while had a few games with some great offensive rebounds when flying in.

Even with poor rebounding games here and there, and a few games he left with injury early after a few minutes, he still averages over 10 rpg.

The idea that he only gets boards that right to him is def casual talk. Often times he'll be the only one there because he got position so smaller guys don't even bother and just start running back. Perhaps it looks lucky, but that's very much a reward for getting good position.

As for okogie, I overvalued Payne in his contract year on this board, thinking he'd be getting 13 mil a year and I believe he settled on something like 8 if I recall. Hopefully okogie realizes he's getting this burn and these open looks because he's playing with 3 first ballot hall of famers in his lineup. But the Mid level? I dunno, seems small for what he does in this league. If he keeps this up I can def see him as a 10 million guy. Isn't CP partially guaranteed next year? How does that work? Can we rework his deal since it's not fully guaranteed like they do in the NFL?

Ayton had 3 **** rebounds. That's a fact. A 7 footer getting 3 rebounds in a game he played ~30 minutes in is a bad look and you can take your "casual talk" comment and eff right off. The only thing asked for Ayton right now is effort and rebounds are an effort stat. He had a bad game and it's allowed to be called out. It's been pointed out when he does have a good/great game. It's also allowed the other way.

Stop it Grumpy. Don't you know that Ayton can do no wrong. The apologists would probably come out in force if he sat on a toilet at center while taking a crap and playing video games.

[MrMiyagi]

I love being a Suns fan.

[Qwigglez]

The five man lineup of Paul - Booker - Okogie - Durant - Ayton has played 33 minutes in their first 2 games together. Here are their stats so far:

Offensive rating: 134.8
Defensive rating: 95.7
Net Rating: 39.1

Read on Twitter

I don't care if the Suns end up going 18-0 the rest of the season. Hell I don't even care if the Suns end up winning the championship. I draw the line when my max contract center only grabs 3 rebounds in an entire game!

[sunsbg]

Ayton taking a crap at center won't be much different than the haters taking a crap on a message board. There is a difference between fair criticism and hate.

[SkyBill40]

At this point it's not worth responding to Ayton-hater-trolls.

I'm not an "Ayton hater troll" and have no issue with giving credit where it's due. Guess having an opinion other than one who is of the dirty knees sort isn't allowed. Got it.

You need a napkin for that chin?

Sent from my [Samsung Z4 Fold] using RealGM mobile app

Don't tell us what you are doing when not hating on Ayton. Nobody really cares.

Except you.... Because here you are. FOH with your nonsense.



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[POLI]

Seconmd game with KD and this is what a saw:

- great commitment by everybody. All players want to give their best, seem focused, play great defense, are attentive to details. This is the consequence of playing with a top level player.
- KD defers a lot to Booker. He looks for him, even too much. I believe he wants to show him that this is still his team.
- Booker can find open shots, where he simply cannot miss. Ball movement was great and the team showed a great level of play on some stretches. The Bulls seemed helpless at some point, although they then recomposed themselves a lot.
- The starting lineup is great, although I would love it to be more physical. I still prefer Craig over Okogie from the beginning.
- the bench players were great. Landale went to battle every single time and everybody offered a great level of effort.

[Frank Lee]

Ayton is the King of CouldBe.

[bwgood77]

Ayton had a bad rebounding game and has a bad one here and there, but in his last 10, had 16 boards twice (including his previous game), 15 once, and 11 or more in 4 others. So 7 out of last 10, double digit rebounds between 11 and 16. In his 5 games before that he had a 13, 14 and 20 rebound game.

As people often say "he only gets rebounds that go right to him"...which is ridiculous to talk about 15-20 rebounds happening like that (and as if it doesn't happen to others), there are games where rebounds do just bounce straight to other players often, like Paul or Book or others. It's not often those guys are in there boxing out and battling for them, though Craig for a while had a few games with some great offensive rebounds when flying in.

Even with poor rebounding games here and there, and a few games he left with injury early after a few minutes, he still averages over 10 rpg.

The idea that he only gets boards that right to him is def casual talk. Often times he'll be the only one there because he got position so smaller guys don't even bother and just start running back. Perhaps it looks lucky, but that's very much a reward for getting good position.

As for okogie, I overvalued Payne in his contract year on this board, thinking he'd be getting 13 mil a year and I believe he settled on something like 8 if I recall. Hopefully okogie realizes he's getting this burn and these open looks because he's playing with 3 first ballot hall of famers in his lineup. But the Mid level? I dunno, seems small for what he does in this league. If he keeps this up I can def see him as a 10 million guy. Isn't CP partially guaranteed next year? How does that work? Can we rework his deal since it's not fully guaranteed like they do in the NFL?

Ayton had 3 **** rebounds. That's a fact. A 7 footer getting 3 rebounds in a game he played ~30 minutes in is a bad look and you can take your "casual talk" comment and eff right off. The only thing asked for Ayton right now is effort and rebounds are an effort stat. He had a bad game and it's allowed to be called out. It's been pointed out when he does have a good/great game. It's also allowed the other way.

It's weird people focus on this so much when we, as a team, outrebound the Bulls by 7. Ayton has gotten better at boxing out and this allows others to get it. When you focus on team rebounding and have another 6'10 guy there and you can box out and let another primary ball handler get it, it's fine.

And as already mentioned, you can't control where the ball bounces. It often bounces right to Book or Paul or whatever.

He has shown often, especially as of late, that when the rebound is close, he gets it, with 15 and 16 rebound games in a few recently, and 11 or more in 7 out of his last 10. In the 10 before that, he had double digit boards in 8 out of 10 games including 13 in one, 14 in 2, 18 in one and 20 in one.

But to focus on one guy's stat in one category over and over, when it's pretty rare it happens, especially when the team outrebounds them by quite a bit is just plain strange.

[bwgood77]

The five man lineup of Paul - Booker - Okogie - Durant - Ayton has played 33 minutes in their first 2 games together. Here are their stats so far:

Offensive rating: 134.8
Defensive rating: 95.7
Net Rating: 39.1

Read on Twitter

I don't care if the Suns end up going 18-0 the rest of the season. Hell I don't even care if the Suns end up winning the championship. I draw the line when my max contract center only grabs 3 rebounds in an entire game!

It's quite ridiculous. We win big, outrebound them by 7, and it's not like Book and Paul were running and jumping over Ayton to grab them. As people say only when it applies to Ayton, sometimes there are games it bounces right to people. Rebounds often might not be in your area. That is a thing. But it apparently only happens when Ayton has a lot of rebounds that it bounces straight to him every time and never bounces far away from him and straight to others. Never.

[bwgood77]

Ayton taking a crap at center won't be much different than the haters taking a crap on a message board. There is a difference between fair criticism and hate.

It's only 4 or 5 mostly people who post a ton in game threads so the game threads have come to take enjoyment away from the game due to negativity even when we are playing well. Most at Ayton but you had it towards Bridges when people expected the team to carry us to wins with 7 of like our top 9 guys were out. It's just become absurd.

[sunsbg]

Ayton taking a crap at center won't be much different than the haters taking a crap on a message board. There is a difference between fair criticism and hate.

It's only 4 or 5 mostly people who post a ton in game threads so the game threads have come to take enjoyment away from the game due to negativity even when we are playing well. Most at Ayton but you had it towards Bridges when people expected the team to carry us to wins with 7 of like our top 9 guys were out. It's just become absurd.

This is a lie until you prove otherwise. I have been critical in the past of Mikal being too passive and not really stopping anyone in key playoff series, but never been critical on his latest breakout. Actually prized him for having great chemistry with Ayton and both being a big part of the future. For the rest you are right, there are 4-5 certified Ayton haters.