NBA PLAYOFFS: Round 2 l Game 2: Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets l Monday l 7:00pm l TNT l Nuggets lead series 1-0

[Revived]

Last time Terrence Ross was in the playoffs, he averaged 16 ppg on 47% shooting off the bench for the series. That’s more pts than the entire Suns bench has averaged since playoffs started.

Last time TJ Warren was in the playoffs he averaged 20 ppg on 47% shooting and 37% shooting from 3 for the series. That’s also more pts than the entire Suns bench has averaged since playoffs started.

Both played zero minutes in this series in non-garbage time.

[RaisingArizona]

****. Embiid just won MVP. Joker will murder us even more now.

Joker is doing that anyway. He literally doesn't care. He's got 2. He's going for that Larry O

Domination won't allow that

[sunsfan1o1]

Last time Terrence Ross was in the playoffs, he averaged 16 ppg on 47% shooting off the bench for the series. That’s more pts than the entire Suns bench has averaged since playoffs started.

Last time TJ Warren was in the playoffs he averaged 20 ppg on 47% shooting and 37% shooting from 3 for the series. That’s also more pts than the entire Suns bench has averaged since playoffs started.

Both played zero minutes in this series in non-garbage time.

Monty was paid off by Adam Silver to play the trash and Shamet has naked pictures of Monty that he’s threatening to release if he doesn’t play him.

[bwgood77]

Mikal and Cam Johnson scored a combined 42 ppg in the playoffs for Brooklyn. Durant and TJ getting us 28 ppg.

.... and were swept by team that didn't even have Joel Embiid lol.

Enough about those 2 already. They'll be in the lottery next season.

Because they didn’t have Devin Booker….who’s the one carrying this crap Suns team, not KD.

Slim do you know who Booker is? Sometimes I feel like you forget or something lol. He’s literally the only reason the Suns are in the 2nd round.

Put Booker on the current Nets team and they easily go to the finals. Easily, I don’t think they would lose more than 1-2 games in any series.

KD was pretty unbelievable in the Clips series. Not sure what you were watching, but being the focus of the D every night he averaged 28.4, 7.6, 6.2, 1, 1 on 52/46/96 splits. Book did have an unbelievable series...even better #s, with all the defensive attention KD attracts, but we are not winning that series or this one unless both play well. Even in this series, with KD having one poor shooting night, he still is averaging 26.5, 11, 2.5 blk.

I mean of course if you put Book on the current Nets team they are on fire. If you put KD on it, they would likely win it all.

[MrMiyagi]

.... and were swept by team that didn't even have Joel Embiid lol.

Enough about those 2 already. They'll be in the lottery next season.

Because they didn’t have Devin Booker….who’s the one carrying this crap Suns team, not KD.

Slim do you know who Booker is? Sometimes I feel like you forget or something lol. He’s literally the only reason the Suns are in the 2nd round.

Put Booker on the current Nets team and they easily go to the finals. Easily, I don’t think they would lose more than 1-2 games in any series.

KD was pretty unbelievable in the Clips series. Not sure what you were watching, but being the focus of the D every night he averaged 28.4, 7.6, 6.2, 1, 1 on 52/46/96 splits. Book did have an unbelievable series...even better #s, with all the defensive attention KD attracts, but we are not winning that series or this one unless both play well. Even in this series, with KD having one poor shooting night, he still is averaging 26.5, 11, 2.5 blk.

I mean of course if you put Book on the current Nets team they are on fire. If you put KD on it, they would likely win it all.

You mean against the depleted Clippers?

[bwgood77]

Because they didn’t have Devin Booker….who’s the one carrying this crap Suns team, not KD.

Slim do you know who Booker is? Sometimes I feel like you forget or something lol. He’s literally the only reason the Suns are in the 2nd round.

Put Booker on the current Nets team and they easily go to the finals. Easily, I don’t think they would lose more than 1-2 games in any series.

KD was pretty unbelievable in the Clips series. Not sure what you were watching, but being the focus of the D every night he averaged 28.4, 7.6, 6.2, 1, 1 on 52/46/96 splits. Book did have an unbelievable series...even better #s, with all the defensive attention KD attracts, but we are not winning that series or this one unless both play well. Even in this series, with KD having one poor shooting night, he still is averaging 26.5, 11, 2.5 blk.

I mean of course if you put Book on the current Nets team they are on fire. If you put KD on it, they would likely win it all.

You mean against the depleted Clippers?

Well, I was responding to the comment of Book being the only reason they are in the 2nd round, depleted or not. But even om the first 2 games he averaged like 26,10,8,2,1, on very nice efficienecy.

I mean, I didn't want to trade for him, but any "KD sucks" statements are pretty ridiculous. He has been on fire since joining the Suns and came off a bad shooting game. No one is immune from those.

[Frank Lee]

No shht….(to Miyag’s post) KD has tossed up a couple of stinkers by his standards. This team cannot overcome less than average/average games by Book or KD. If we don’t get 15+ from both Payne and Ayton next game, the odds of winning diminish significantly.

I’m sour on the evisceration this trade did to our future. I’m sour on the neglectful laziness of Jones. I wonder why he didn’t sign Love? Surely besty Jones could have guaranteed him a starting spot. He dumped Saric for nottaGDthing. This is a poorly constructed team, with no expendable players to trade.

Interesting comparison……..Last 2 games we played minimum contract players 56 and 63 minutes…. Denver ? 9 and 0

[bwgood77]

No shht….(to Miyag’s post) KD has tossed up a couple of stinkers by his standards. This team cannot overcome less than average/average games by Book or KD. If we don’t get 15 from both Payne and Ayton next game, the odds of winning diminish significantly.

I’m sour on the evisceration this trade did to our future. I’m sour on the neglectful laziness of Jones. I wonder why he didn’t sign Love? Surely besty Jones could have guaranteed him a starting spot. He dumped Saric for nottaGDthing. This is a poorly constructed team, with no expendable players to trade.

Interesting comparison……..Last 2 games we played minimum contract players 56 and 63 minutes…. Denver ? 9 and 0

Yeah, I'm sure everyone's aware of my thoughts of the trade and our future, but not much you can do. We are very limited right now. We have Ayton, which I can't see netting anything really worthwhile, though maybe more depth. Just like last summer, there are very few teams that need a C though who either don't have a good bargain one, a better one, and then there is the draft. If Charlotte doesn't get Victor maybe Nick Richards and Rozier? But at this point I don't see us being a contender for much longer. Though of course I was one of the only people who felt we could be a contender for almost a decade had we kept our core. Solid chemistry, and a vastly improving Bridges.

[darealjuice]

If there's any "positive" to CP3 being out, it's that he definitely hasn't been carrying us or anything. He's only been averaging 13/7/5/2 on 42/32/50 in the playoffs before last game and he was being hunted on defense a lot. Cam Payne's obviously not any better, but he'll bring a faster pace on offense and brings a bit more pressure on defense. Hopefully he's able to find his footing with the extended break between games, he's played pretty well when given an opportunity to start in the past.

I think we can keep things interesting enough at home, it's hard to see us getting a win in Denver without everyone firing though.

[Frank Lee]

I said this before… we have a better chance on KDs last yr than the next one. (Due to Paul and Shamets 40 mill dropping off) At least we will have cap space and the ‘24 first. I was with you on that core hope Bwg

[Revived]

.... and were swept by team that didn't even have Joel Embiid lol.

Enough about those 2 already. They'll be in the lottery next season.

Because they didn’t have Devin Booker….who’s the one carrying this crap Suns team, not KD.

Slim do you know who Booker is? Sometimes I feel like you forget or something lol. He’s literally the only reason the Suns are in the 2nd round.

Put Booker on the current Nets team and they easily go to the finals. Easily, I don’t think they would lose more than 1-2 games in any series.

KD was pretty unbelievable in the Clips series. Not sure what you were watching, but being the focus of the D every night he averaged 28.4, 7.6, 6.2, 1, 1 on 52/46/96 splits. Book did have an unbelievable series...even better #s, with all the defensive attention KD attracts, but we are not winning that series or this one unless both play well. Even in this series, with KD having one poor shooting night, he still is averaging 26.5, 11, 2.5 blk.

I mean of course if you put Book on the current Nets team they are on fire. If you put KD on it, they would likely win it all.

Slimm was trying to make the comparison that the Suns are still playing and that Bridges and the Nets aren’t. I said if Bridges had Booker on the Nets, the Nets would still be playing too.

I’ll even go a step further and say Booker on the current Nets team would go further than this current Suns team.

[kennydorglas]

We definitely miss the cutting ability and 3pt from the twins
Im starting to believe they were our key pieces to make this 0.5 offense work.

[Revived]

Dude you wanna talk about the Mavs series only, then fine let’s talk about KD’s last time in the playoffs, the Celtics series! You remember that one right? Where he shot fcking 20% and averaged like 12 turnovers a game? Nets may have been better off with Landry Shamet than KD.

If you want to let one playoff series define all players, then we should define KD by how he played against Boston when he was complete ass cheeks.

And I hate to say this but you’re one of the people I’m talking about in the post below. There’s no way in hell you can tell me this crap lineup is better than what’s mentioned in the post especially considering how successful the team that did make that trade is right now.

viewtopic.php?p=105868025#p105868025

I can't take you seriously - especially when in that post you linked me to you declared the Lakers:

"They were utter garbage for all season long and made a trade without blowing up their team in February and now they’re well on their way to like semi finals or finals and another chip. "

Based on what? Taking care of a Grizzlies squad that was a shadow of its former self due to injuries (Adams out, Clarke out, Morant/Kennard hurt in series) and the dysfunction stemming from the Morant suspension? You mean this new iteration Laker squad that had the 4th easiest SOS in the Western Conference after the All-Star break? Only being fair here - many criticized the Suns as having a cupcake schedule (their SOS was 13th btw). That's not to say the Lakers haven't improved because they have.

There's no arguing with it because you've already gone hyperbolic. Now the new look Lakers have to face a legitimate NBA contender with a treasure trove of championship experience and HEALTHY above all else.

Um yeah the same Lakers that only beat an injured Grizzlies team and had an easy schedule just stomped the defending champion Warriors at home on the road. I doubt this series even goes 6 games quite honestly.

Again if you think the Suns would beat them in a series, I’m asking you again if you’re interested in purchasing my exclusive beach front property in Arizona, it’s actually in Phoenix right across from the Suns practice center.

[sunsbum]

Because they didn’t have Devin Booker….who’s the one carrying this crap Suns team, not KD.

Slim do you know who Booker is? Sometimes I feel like you forget or something lol. He’s literally the only reason the Suns are in the 2nd round.

Put Booker on the current Nets team and they easily go to the finals. Easily, I don’t think they would lose more than 1-2 games in any series.

KD was pretty unbelievable in the Clips series. Not sure what you were watching, but being the focus of the D every night he averaged 28.4, 7.6, 6.2, 1, 1 on 52/46/96 splits. Book did have an unbelievable series...even better #s, with all the defensive attention KD attracts, but we are not winning that series or this one unless both play well. Even in this series, with KD having one poor shooting night, he still is averaging 26.5, 11, 2.5 blk.

I mean of course if you put Book on the current Nets team they are on fire. If you put KD on it, they would likely win it all.

You mean against the depleted Clippers?

Who cares? Can KD or Phoenix control that? more "whatif'ism" this board is so in love with.

[sunsbum]

I'm hoping our 3rd/4th star (ayton) will step up with Paul out. (he won't)

[AtheJ415]

Monty has made this bench look abysmal. Our 2 best bench scorers have effectively not played in this series. Monty needs to get a grip.

[AtheJ415]

Lee, Terrence Ross, Cam Payne, TJ Warren, Craig or Okogie whoever isn't starting. All those guys would play a bit on most of the playoff teams. 3 of those guys combined for the most bench points in franchise history in the regular season. We have a weak bench but not this weak. Monty needs to figure it out.

I will never forgive passing on Haliburton. My god this team would be in such better shape. Probably wouldn't need to trade for KD either.

[enigmatics]

Dude you wanna talk about the Mavs series only, then fine let’s talk about KD’s last time in the playoffs, the Celtics series! You remember that one right? Where he shot fcking 20% and averaged like 12 turnovers a game? Nets may have been better off with Landry Shamet than KD.

If you want to let one playoff series define all players, then we should define KD by how he played against Boston when he was complete ass cheeks.

And I hate to say this but you’re one of the people I’m talking about in the post below. There’s no way in hell you can tell me this crap lineup is better than what’s mentioned in the post especially considering how successful the team that did make that trade is right now.

viewtopic.php?p=105868025#p105868025

I can't take you seriously - especially when in that post you linked me to you declared the Lakers:

"They were utter garbage for all season long and made a trade without blowing up their team in February and now they’re well on their way to like semi finals or finals and another chip. "

Based on what? Taking care of a Grizzlies squad that was a shadow of its former self due to injuries (Adams out, Clarke out, Morant/Kennard hurt in series) and the dysfunction stemming from the Morant suspension? You mean this new iteration Laker squad that had the 4th easiest SOS in the Western Conference after the All-Star break? Only being fair here - many criticized the Suns as having a cupcake schedule (their SOS was 13th btw). That's not to say the Lakers haven't improved because they have.

There's no arguing with it because you've already gone hyperbolic. Now the new look Lakers have to face a legitimate NBA contender with a treasure trove of championship experience and HEALTHY above all else.

Um yeah the same Lakers that only beat an injured Grizzlies team and had an easy schedule just stomped the defending champion Warriors at home on the road. I doubt this series even goes 6 games quite honestly.

Again if you think the Suns would beat them in a series, I’m asking you again if you’re interested in purchasing my exclusive beach front property in Arizona, it’s actually in Phoenix right across from the Suns practice center.

Stomped? Game was tied with less than a minute to go. LOL. Again, hyperbolic.

Look I know you think you think they've already wrapped up the series after game 1 - but I'm not going back/forth with you after each game. When the series ends we can come back to it, but then again you're also predicting a Lakers title - especially with your comments over in the the generals thread calling it their easiest run to a chip ever.

[sunskerr]

I am over talking about the KD trade. In fact I was never about talking about it. My stance was always "let's see what happens" and acknowledged we got another shot creator but had 0 depth (depth was already an issue before the trade, as a reminder).

So what's done is done. It is useless to complain about the trade. I honestly can't tell if we'd be better off with Bridges and Cam. Lord knows Jones probably wouldn't have been able to trade Crowder. As I said before, our depth was bad going back to 2021.

I do like to fantasize about what if we got DLo/Vandy/Rui and kept Mikal/Cam, or still did the KD trade. But ultimately it's pointless unless we're trying to pin point whether it's the trade that ruined the team (Ishbia or jones) or Montys bad rotations.

Ultimately both are issues though, as one (Montys love for Shamet) has compounded the other (lack of depth).

So the only thing we can look forward to if we lose is what happens to Ayton and Paul. Book and KD are going nowhere. Unfortunately it looks like we gave up a little too much for KD in hindsight - theres no other way to put it, at least right now.

And Im jealous watching the Lakers come together and look like an enjoyable TEAM. We just look like two stars and spare parts. They play good cohesive basketball i.e. the right way, like how OKC played this year. They even get good minutes out of Troy Brown lol.

I should hope we find enough players to fill out the roster next year but Jones has had us running on a skeleton crew for a few years now and the shelf of picks is collecting cobwebs.

So I'm not necessarily condemning the trade, as quite frankly our roster wasn't that great beforehand as we already lacked depth even if Crowder played. And things can still turn around in the offseason, or even in game 3.

But due to current circumstances of lack of assets, and the 0-2 hole and rotation, it's looking sort of grim.

[schnakenpopanz]

the return of investment on money invested in a player is an issue.
if you invest 30+ million in an player - he should give you the production to make it valuable.
the only player living up to his contract numbers is devin booker right now.
cp will be ok-ish naext season because unguareanteed.
kd looks bad on papaer right now
in hindsight the suns turned an bottom 3 team around to a finals/championship contender for 1.5/2 seasons, but is clearly heading back to middle of the pack team like memphis is right now.