NBA PLAYOFFS: GAME 2: Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns (LAC leads 1-0) | Tuesday | 7:00 PM

[Revived]

I loved hearing Stan Van Gundy blast Monty so many times yesterday. The funny thing is SVG almost always defends HCs on TV too because he’s a former HC himself.

But he had Monty on blast and deservedly so. He criticized Monty for it being playoffs and still not having a set rotation and playing random guys each game. He blasted Monty for the terrible drop coverage on screens against Kawhi which got wide open looks. Blasted Monty for Suns looking completely unprepared to start off the first qtr. Criticized him for not adjusting/countering and creating 3pt looks for Booker/KD which Lue is smartly taking away.

There was at least a few other things too. I hope Matt Ishbia dumbass gets a chance to listen to the broadcast sometime.

[Saberestar]

TJ needs to play

warren is too slow for clippers, will get eaten alive on fast breaks

No way that he is slower than Batum and Eric Gordon.

Warren is fast, precisely he is very good on fast breaks.

[Revived]

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Funny he says this and then Ross goes on to play ZERO minutes yesterday lol

The Suns bench production is still nonexistent. Can’t rely on Booker and KD to carry the entire load and play 43 mins each night. It’s begging for injury.

We literally had a bench lineup that worked in the last 6-7 games of the season with Payne/Ross/Warren/Craig/Biyombo

I get it that Payne is out so then simply have CP3 or point-Book play those minutes. But the rest of the lineup should remain the same.

Not sure if Suns have had a HC in franchise history that loves to go away from what’s working as much as Monty does. This is in large part because of Shamet coming back to the lineup and Monty feeling like it’s impossible to not give him minutes.

[Revived]

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Former nba players are losing their **** with Monty as well

[Sunlight]

The health status of the star players was the biggest question mark before the playoffs. Now Monty Williams is doing everything to make it happen.

[spanishninja]

The health status of the star players was the biggest question mark before the playoffs. Now Monty Williams is doing everything to make it happen.

maybe in his point of view, he is leaning heavily on the starters because he doesn't want the series to drag on too long. playing the wrong bench guys clearly cost us game 1, and maybe he figures that he would rather have 40+ minutes of KD and Booker 6 games instead of 35 minutes for 7 games.

I really hope he has found the winning strategy and that we are good enough to withstand Lue's next adjustment. I don't think we should be preemptively anticipating what Lue will do, and instead continue to dictate the game ourselves.

[Revived]

Need to steal one in LA. Denver's defense will feel like Goku dropping his training weights if we can get by the Clippers.

Eh I wouldn’t be so sure. I remember last season many here were certain when the Suns were struggling with the Pelicans that the Pelicans would be a way tougher matchup than the next round against Dallas.

And of course we proceeded to get our ass kicked in historic fashion by the same “weaker” opponent in the Mavs.

So yeah perhaps best to not underrate Denver because history sometimes lovesssssssssss to repeat itself.

[irish22022]

I loved hearing Jeff Van Gundy blast Monty so many times yesterday. The funny thing is JVG almost always defends HCs on TV too because he’s a former HC himself.

But he had Monty on blast and deservedly so. He criticized Monty for it being playoffs and still not having a set rotation and playing random guys each game. He blasted Monty for the terrible drop coverage on screens against Kawhi which got wide open looks. Blasted Monty for Suns looking completely unprepared to start off the first qtr. Criticized him for not adjusting/countering and creating 3pt looks for Booker/KD which Lue is smartly taking away.

There was at least a few other things too. I hope Matt Ishbia dumbass gets a chance to listen to the broadcast sometime.

I'd go in to detail about bad of a take this is, how you're over interpreting what was said about monty on the broadcast, you're reaching, being hyperbolic, whatever, but you don't even have the right commentator so I guess it's clear you didn't watch too closely anyway.

[Revived]

I loved hearing Jeff Van Gundy blast Monty so many times yesterday. The funny thing is JVG almost always defends HCs on TV too because he’s a former HC himself.

But he had Monty on blast and deservedly so. He criticized Monty for it being playoffs and still not having a set rotation and playing random guys each game. He blasted Monty for the terrible drop coverage on screens against Kawhi which got wide open looks. Blasted Monty for Suns looking completely unprepared to start off the first qtr. Criticized him for not adjusting/countering and creating 3pt looks for Booker/KD which Lue is smartly taking away.

There was at least a few other things too. I hope Matt Ishbia dumbass gets a chance to listen to the broadcast sometime.

I'd go in to detail about bad of a take this is, how you're over interpreting what was said about monty on the broadcast, you're reaching, being hyperbolic, whatever, but you don't even have the right commentator so I guess it's clear you didn't watch too closely anyway.

The only thing incorrect was yeah I got the wrong Van Gundy brother. Fixed it. Other than that it’s not close to a bad take. I listed actual evidence of what was said, I didn’t just say Monty was ripped by JVG. I did that cause I know there’s a few (very few at this point tbh) like yourself that think Monty does no wrong. The fact that commentators, broadcasters and former players are all now saying the same thing us fans who “don’t watch too closely” are saying is plenty telling on its own.

[Sunlight]

The health status of the star players was the biggest question mark before the playoffs. Now Monty Williams is doing everything to make it happen.

maybe in his point of view, he is leaning heavily on the starters because he doesn't want the series to drag on too long. playing the wrong bench guys clearly cost us game 1, and maybe he figures that he would rather have 40+ minutes of KD and Booker 6 games instead of 35 minutes for 7 games.

I really hope he has found the winning strategy and that we are good enough to withstand Lue's next adjustment. I don't think we should be preemptively anticipating what Lue will do, and instead continue to dictate the game ourselves.

If the Clippers are the biggest challenge before the finals, then I accept this way.

[spanishninja]

The health status of the star players was the biggest question mark before the playoffs. Now Monty Williams is doing everything to make it happen.

maybe in his point of view, he is leaning heavily on the starters because he doesn't want the series to drag on too long. playing the wrong bench guys clearly cost us game 1, and maybe he figures that he would rather have 40+ minutes of KD and Booker 6 games instead of 35 minutes for 7 games.

I really hope he has found the winning strategy and that we are good enough to withstand Lue's next adjustment. I don't think we should be preemptively anticipating what Lue will do, and instead continue to dictate the game ourselves.

If the Clippers are the biggest challenge before the finals, then I accept this way.

there's an argument that they might be, if golden state goes down. I feel the Clippers are slightly better than the Lakers, as they are deeper, better coached, have more experienced guys, and Kawhi is a more reliable superstar than Lebron or AD currently. Possibly match up better too.

[sunsbum]

Ayton needs to stay out of foul trouble. we could have easily given up the lead and never recovered when he picked up his fourth. they missed some easy shots in the third quarter.

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Ayton’s 3rd or 4th foul was a super bad call that Monty should have challenged. They showed the replay and there was zero contact even.

What are you two talking about? The 4th foul was valid, he was trying to basically heard the guy out of bounds with his knee because he was in bad position. It was a terrible play on DA’s end after picking up a foul literally seconds before.

As much as many of us Suns fans hate Ayton, I don’t think anyone hates him more than NBA refs themselves. I think he gets screwed by the refs the most out of any Suns player. I don’t know what it is, maybe he needs to buy them a box of chocolates before each game or something. Or it’s about the right way to talk to the refs to not piss them off. Whatever.

THIS IS WHY HE ISNT AGGRESSIVE AND DRIVES TO THE HOOP HARD, GOES HARD FOR OFFENSIVE REBOUDS, & DOESNT DUNK LIKE YALL WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!

These refs are literally out to get the SUNS! We need to get to the FT line, and we also need to guard the 3 ball. Also, when is payne back? We need a spark off our bench

[NapoleonII]

I'm hopeful we'll take this series.

Clippers are in a good spot......they're both the underdogs and also playing for the championship because PG is coming back soon. Weird dynamic. Couple that with their intense defense, excellent coaching/adjustments and playoff Kawhi, yeah this might be the toughest series we face in the West.

We're getting killed on the offensive boards, and they've taken away the three, basically inviting us to hit mid-ranges, which we can, but the numbers are tough when you add in turnovers and low free-throws. I'm not as hard on Monty as you all, but I agree he really **** up in game 1. He's also playing without Payne. Our offense is way too predictable without another reliable ball-handler.

Here's what I want to see in game 3, hopefully not overly adjusting, but improving.

-Terrance Ross needs to play, hopefully in place of Sham-Wow-he's-awful. Also, more Okogie minutes and looks (he can self-create opportunities),Okogie to me is the key to winning it all.

-More cuts and off-ball movement. KD as a passer really shone in Game 1, but the pressure and their rebounding killed us so it didn't matter. KD to Ayton/Ross on the wing, or even Jock/Biz would help us get inside looks more.

-CP3 needs to continue to be aggressive. They're giving him heavy drop coverage.

-Ayton needs more shots/inside looks. He averaged over 20 ppg on 60+% shooting against these Clips in 2021, he can up his scoring and provide a more balance offense then mid-range spamming.

-Continue building chemistry and continuity. The playoffs are a different beast, we need to adjust. Craig is playing great. Biz is tough, blocking shots. KD is KD, Booker is Booker, CP3 is consistent. Ayton needs to step it up.

[RaisingArizona]

TJ needs to play

warren is too slow for clippers, will get eaten alive on fast breaks

What's going on, Monty?

[lonea]

TJ needs to play

warren is too slow for clippers, will get eaten alive on fast breaks

No way that he is slower than Batum and Eric Gordon.

Warren is fast, precisely he is very good on fast breaks.

warren will be playing against the clippers bench, which consist of hyland, powell and mann...

[SunsRback4Good]

TJ needs to play

warren is too slow for clippers, will get eaten alive on fast breaks

What's going on, Monty?

That’s not Monty it’s lonea bro.

[Puff]

Shamet may have the flatest shot in the league, god he is awful

There's literally nothing Shamet does better than Okogie right now. I say give all his minutes to JO

Shamet is the backup pg since we literally don’t have any ball handlers on the bench right now.

Okogie can dribble but he’s not a playmaker.

I have no idea why Saben Lee is not part of the playoff roster. Especially with the injury issues with both CP3 and Payne.

There were also other PG's available on the buy out market. Why didn't we get one of them?

[Revived]

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[garrick]

There's literally nothing Shamet does better than Okogie right now. I say give all his minutes to JO

Shamet is the backup pg since we literally don’t have any ball handlers on the bench right now.

Okogie can dribble but he’s not a playmaker.

I have no idea why Saben Lee is not part of the playoff roster. Especially with the injury issues with both CP3 and Payne.

There were also other PG's available on the buy out market. Why didn't we get one of them?

I think we would have had to waive a player on the roster, I like Lee but he’s the least experienced player and I don’t know who you would waive that’s worse?

Jock?

[PittsburghSuns]

We really need C Payne back in a bad way. He’s very inconsistent but compared to Shamet he’s Isaiah Thomas.