Game 65: Phoenix Suns (35-29) @ Dallas Mavericks (33-31) l Sunday l 11:00am l ABC

[KdoubleDees23]

Mikal looks **** good, bro. Cam's struggled a bit, but I'm probably not going to feel good about the trade until after next season (if it goes well).

Any NBA player can go to a team and be 3-6 in first 9 games and score 30 points. Doesnt convert to winning.

Dude is a role player and for the nets to be a problem, he needs to be 3rd option

Any NBA player can do it efficiently? Interesting. I’d love to see idk Torrey Craig get traded somewhere and average same or more pts on same or better efficiency…all while being the main focal point of the offense.

Bridges is in the Booker yrs 1-4 phrase of his career where the team sucks around him but he’s still balling out and playing. The same way Booker was putting up pts and leading the Suns to 19-20 win seasons because of mostly garbage teammates, Bridges is basically doing the same for the Nets now except he’s on a better win rate.

We can enjoy KD without having to trash former Suns players fellas. And yes, the reason we are even talking about Mikal Bridges in this thread is because someone here tried to trash him.

I should have said any starter on NBA team. If they get the score at will order, most can score 20-40 a game! But may not lead to wins

[enigmatics]

Nit picking right now and it doesn't matter since we won but Ayton has to control himself in the future where he got that tech. Game was wayyyy too tight to pull that.
In fairness, it's rare for him to get T'd, but I hope Monty talks to him about it

He deserved to be benched for that BS. Tight game in the waning minutes and not only did he put his guy on the charity stripe he also decided it would be wise to mouth off to the ref? This dude just doesn't get it.

Imagine after that kind of win someone decided to put some your usual hate to DA. SMH

We can't criticize a player for what could have nearly cost them the game? OK bud.

[sunsbg]

He deserved to be benched for that BS. Tight game in the waning minutes and not only did he put his guy on the charity stripe he also decided it would be wise to mouth off to the ref? This dude just doesn't get it.

Imagine after that kind of win someone decided to put some your usual hate to DA. SMH

We can't criticize a player for what could have nearly cost them the game? OK bud.

Did you or any other certified Ayton hater prize him for the important put back in the end ?

[spanishninja]

Monty Williams and Jason Kidd make fun of Booker and Luka

Read on Twitter

I bet Monty actually doesn't care for Kidd. Somebody who lost his wife in a tragic accident would probably not think too highly of a domestic abuser.

[King4Day]

He deserved to be benched for that BS. Tight game in the waning minutes and not only did he put his guy on the charity stripe he also decided it would be wise to mouth off to the ref? This dude just doesn't get it.

Imagine after that kind of win someone decided to put some your usual hate to DA. SMH

We can't criticize a player for what could have nearly cost them the game? OK bud.

Yea I think it's absolutely a fair criticism. Nobody said to trade him and there was no hate or slander towards him.
It was a rare poor decision on his part, and it really could have cost us. Not everything we talk about has to be rosey.

[lilfishi22]

Every DA criticism is now DA hate it seems

[bwgood77]

Every DA criticism is now DA hate it seems

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

[lilfishi22]

Every DA criticism is now DA hate it seems

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Hardly fair when DA supporters continue to label criticism, any criticism as hate.

There are definitely a handful of posters who post little but DA criticism and doesn't give him props when he plays well but then we get lumped in there because we were critical too. It's at the point where I second guess whether to call out something I see because oh, I'm just a hater

[bhawk]

Every DA criticism is now DA hate it seems

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Guilty as charged. Ayton is so damn infuriating. He has a good game and then 2 or 3 stinkers. He takes plays off. He bumbles passes. He gets boxed out by smaller players. He doesn't even try for position most plays. He settles for jump shots. Doesn't dunk unless it's completly obvious. That Josh Okogie injury scare was Aytons fault... he just stood there like a tree. Move your feet big guy!

Look, I want him to be good. I really do. He's got to do better. It is obvious to anyone watching the game that Ayton is not an alpha, give me the ball, "Dominayton" player... when he could be. That's my problem. Ayton could be great, but he chooses not to be. I question his heart and work ethic and I'm sure others feel the same way.

[sashaturiaf]

To me we will comfortably handle the Mavs in a series in 6 or less.

Put simply there's simply too many guys we can throw on Luka in a series while they've got no answer to Durant at all.

Be careful with that.
Luka was injured (he is fat as hell, although they all said he was in the best shape of his life prior to the season and can only play in one gear).

The thing I miss the most for this roster is that we lack a big PF who still can add some off abilities and be able to defend and ger rebounds. Someone just like Jeff Green of the Nuggets would be incredible for us. He could defend Luka for stretches and then offer some athletic abilities and shoot from outside.
Craig is nice, but too short.
Okogie is great, but way tooo small.
KD is nice, but way tooo thin.
Anyway, I believe KD will defend Luka when the moment arrives. Too big of an asset to let it without use.

KD is one of the best Luka defenders in the league. Watch the Nets vs Mavs game earlier this season when KD took up the challenge.

He's got the length to bother Luka even after Luka tries to create space with his body, it was difficult for Luka to get a good shot off with KD on him.


Obviously you can't stop a superstar 1v1, but KD does as good a job on ball against Luka as anyone in the league

[SunsRback4Good]

To me we will comfortably handle the Mavs in a series in 6 or less.

Put simply there's simply too many guys we can throw on Luka in a series while they've got no answer to Durant at all.

Be careful with that.
Luka was injured (he is fat as hell, although they all said he was in the best shape of his life prior to the season and can only play in one gear).

The thing I miss the most for this roster is that we lack a big PF who still can add some off abilities and be able to defend and ger rebounds. Someone just like Jeff Green of the Nuggets would be incredible for us. He could defend Luka for stretches and then offer some athletic abilities and shoot from outside.
Craig is nice, but too short.
Okogie is great, but way tooo small.
KD is nice, but way tooo thin.
Anyway, I believe KD will defend Luka when the moment arrives. Too big of an asset to let it without use.

KD is one of the best Luka defenders in the league. Watch the Nets vs Mavs game earlier this season when KD took up the challenge.

He's got the length to bother Luka even after Luka tries to create space with his body, it was difficult for Luka to get a good shot off with KD on him.


Obviously you can't stop a superstar 1v1, but KD does as good a job on ball against Luka as anyone in the league

Sasha, how many rings do you think think KD needs to finish with to be considered top 10 all time player? Or maybe if not rings but other accomplishments?

[POLI]

To me we will comfortably handle the Mavs in a series in 6 or less.

Put simply there's simply too many guys we can throw on Luka in a series while they've got no answer to Durant at all.

Be careful with that.
Luka was injured (he is fat as hell, although they all said he was in the best shape of his life prior to the season and can only play in one gear).

The thing I miss the most for this roster is that we lack a big PF who still can add some off abilities and be able to defend and ger rebounds. Someone just like Jeff Green of the Nuggets would be incredible for us. He could defend Luka for stretches and then offer some athletic abilities and shoot from outside.
Craig is nice, but too short.
Okogie is great, but way tooo small.
KD is nice, but way tooo thin.
Anyway, I believe KD will defend Luka when the moment arrives. Too big of an asset to let it without use.

KD is one of the best Luka defenders in the league. Watch the Nets vs Mavs game earlier this season when KD took up the challenge.

He's got the length to bother Luka even after Luka tries to create space with his body, it was difficult for Luka to get a good shot off with KD on him.


Obviously you can't stop a superstar 1v1, but KD does as good a job on ball against Luka as anyone in the league

Yes. I was thinking exactly the same.
My thoughts are that Monty will hide him until a real important game is at stake.
KD took Luka just one time the other day.

[Fo-Real]

Monty Williams and Jason Kidd make fun of Booker and Luka

Read on Twitter

I bet Monty actually doesn't care for Kidd. Somebody who lost his wife in a tragic accident would probably not think too highly of a domestic abuser.

I bet it isnt on his mind at all.

[sunsbum]

Every DA criticism is now DA hate it seems

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Hardly fair when DA supporters continue to label criticism, any criticism as hate.

There are definitely a handful of posters who post little but DA criticism and doesn't give him props when he plays well but then we get lumped in there because we were critical too. It's at the point where I second guess whether to call out something I see because oh, I'm just a hater

DA definitely is at a point where “he can’t do anything right” but he’s kind of made that bed unfortunately. I think there will be less pressure on DA to perform now that KD is here so hopefully we can just get some consistent rebounding and defense out of him. Don’t really care about anything else although honestly I’m not holding my breath because Ayton is the model of inconsistent play.

[bigfoot]

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Hardly fair when DA supporters continue to label criticism, any criticism as hate.

There are definitely a handful of posters who post little but DA criticism and doesn't give him props when he plays well but then we get lumped in there because we were critical too. It's at the point where I second guess whether to call out something I see because oh, I'm just a hater

DA definitely is at a point where “he can’t do anything right” but he’s kind of made that bed unfortunately. I think there will be less pressure on DA to perform now that KD is here so hopefully we can just get some consistent rebounding and defense out of him. Don’t really care about anything else although honestly I’m not holding my breath because Ayton is the model of inconsistent play.

As a perfect example, I think everyone was happy that Ayton got that putback at the end of the Mavs game. Of course, at the moment it happened and the ball is slowly rolling on the rim, the instantaneous thought is why didn't DA just dunk it? Knowing his physical abilities (43" vertical jump) he should have easily dunked that ball. So it Jekyll/Hyde paradox with Ayton. You get the good and the bad.

Read on Twitter

The question people should ask is what prevented Ayton from dunking that ball knowing he has a 43" vertical and is seven foot tall?

[WeekapaugGroove]

Be careful with that.
Luka was injured (he is fat as hell, although they all said he was in the best shape of his life prior to the season and can only play in one gear).

The thing I miss the most for this roster is that we lack a big PF who still can add some off abilities and be able to defend and ger rebounds. Someone just like Jeff Green of the Nuggets would be incredible for us. He could defend Luka for stretches and then offer some athletic abilities and shoot from outside.
Craig is nice, but too short.
Okogie is great, but way tooo small.
KD is nice, but way tooo thin.
Anyway, I believe KD will defend Luka when the moment arrives. Too big of an asset to let it without use.

KD is one of the best Luka defenders in the league. Watch the Nets vs Mavs game earlier this season when KD took up the challenge.

He's got the length to bother Luka even after Luka tries to create space with his body, it was difficult for Luka to get a good shot off with KD on him.


Obviously you can't stop a superstar 1v1, but KD does as good a job on ball against Luka as anyone in the league

Yes. I was thinking exactly the same.
My thoughts are that Monty will hide him until a real important game is at stake.
KD took Luka just one time the other day.

Yeah defender KD is a real thing and something Monty should be picking his spots with all post season. You don't want KD to have to do it all game both from a fatigue and foul standpoint but in short bursts he's absolutely a guy you can stick on their best wing and his length and BBIQ will make it hard in that guy. Very underrated defender because his O is so otherworldly.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[sunsbg]

Every DA criticism is now DA hate it seems

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Hardly fair when DA supporters continue to label criticism, any criticism as hate.

There are definitely a handful of posters who post little but DA criticism and doesn't give him props when he plays well but then we get lumped in there because we were critical too. It's at the point where I second guess whether to call out something I see because oh, I'm just a hater

For the record I have called some people Ayton haters and you are not one of them.

Bigfoot thought ? Yes, he is. Why Ayton didn't dunk the ball ? Seriously ? The guy will turn one of DA's highlight into something to complain about.

Or the videos that were posted of KD passing a bounce pass to DA which resulted in a TO. That was attributed to DA's bad hands and had nothing to do with a bad pass. Then the next one where he sealed Doncic and got the ball was all about KD being a great passer. The hate towards Ayton is real. It's not something made up by the "supporters"/"apologists". There are certified haters who would post 9/10 hate posts and pretend they are some objective critics because of that one positive post. But they are just that, haters.

[SunsRback4Good]

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Hardly fair when DA supporters continue to label criticism, any criticism as hate.

There are definitely a handful of posters who post little but DA criticism and doesn't give him props when he plays well but then we get lumped in there because we were critical too. It's at the point where I second guess whether to call out something I see because oh, I'm just a hater

For the record I have called some people Ayton haters and you are not one of them.

Bigfoot thought ? Yes, he is. Why Ayton didn't dunk the ball ? Seriously ? The guy will turn one of DA's highlight into something to complain about.

Or the videos that were posted of KD passing a bounce pass to DA which resulted in a TO. That was attributed to DA's bad hands and had nothing to do with a bad pass. Then the next one where he sealed Doncic and got the ball was all about KD being a great passer. The hate towards Ayton is real. It's not something made up by the "supporters"/"apologists". There are certified haters who would post 9/10 hate posts and pretend they are some objective critics because of that one positive post. But they are just that, haters.

[lilfishi22]

to be fair, some people like you, jdiddy and others sometimes show frustration with DA but post about a lot of stuff. But there are some where 90-100% of their posts are just negative Ayton drivel, etc, and others who, whenever they DO say anything about Ayton in a post, it's complaining or negative and that's it.

Hardly fair when DA supporters continue to label criticism, any criticism as hate.

There are definitely a handful of posters who post little but DA criticism and doesn't give him props when he plays well but then we get lumped in there because we were critical too. It's at the point where I second guess whether to call out something I see because oh, I'm just a hater

For the record I have called some people Ayton haters and you are not one of them.

Bigfoot thought ? Yes, he is. Why Ayton didn't dunk the ball ? Seriously ? The guy will turn one of DA's highlight into something to complain about.

Or the videos that were posted of KD passing a bounce pass to DA which resulted in a TO. That was attributed to DA's bad hands and had nothing to do with a bad pass. Then the next one where he sealed Doncic and got the ball was all about KD being a great passer. The hate towards Ayton is real. It's not something made up by the "supporters"/"apologists". There are certified haters who would post 9/10 hate posts and pretend they are some objective critics because of that one positive post. But they are just that, haters.

Sure there are certainly a few who just have nothing good to say about DA and when there he has an amazing game, giving hi credit is like squeezing water from a rock. I don't doubt these posters are around.

The problem is when the criticisms is the same from both "haters" and the more balanced fans and that criticism is then chalked up to just hate because the "haters" point it out.

A prime example, if DA misses an easy lay up or putback that should've been a near 99% shot if he had just dunked it instead of finessing it, that's a legitimate criticism about his shot selection but that just gets thrown into the same bucket as the "haters" comments about wanting him to dunk all the time.