NBA PLAYOFFS: Game 4: Denver Nuggets @ Phoenix Suns l Sunday l 5:00 l TNT l DEN leads series 2-1

[Saberestar]

BTW, we got away with a clear foul from Ayton in the last jumpball. NOICE.

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[King4Day]

BTW, we got away with a clear foul from Ayton in the last jumpball. NOICE.

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I don't care about these things. It's rare for us to get the benefit of calls so I'll take them where we can get them.

[King4Day]

Seems like Suns fans have been saying "We need more from DA" since he got here.I think he is who he is at this point.I'll be glad when he's gone this offseason.I'm ready for the Ayton experience to end.

So many people want him traded and think he should be traded (including myself) but we’re all gonna be disappointed because trading him on his current contract will not be easy. He has no value and he has ton of years and is extremely overpaid for what he brings to the court.

If someone took ben simmons someone will take DA

100%
I guarantee you a team like Charlotte would take him.

[BobbieL]

BTW, we got away with a clear foul from Ayton in the last jumpball. NOICE.

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I don't care about these things. It's rare for us to get the benefit of calls so I'll take them where we can get them.

The jump ball the refs gave the Nuggets when DA clearly had the ball and Monty was calling time out

[BobbieL]

If Jokic got suspended, in a way it would be like when Amare and Diaw got suspended when we were coming home in game 5. We had that series 2-2 with 2 games left at home, but had to play this first one without Amare and Diaw. Denver would be much in the same situation.

Jokic should not be suspended

It was nothing

I agree, but neither should have Diaw or Amare. They stood up and even if a foot went on the court, they didn't run to go do anything/touch anyone.

I haven't watched the film in years but I think Amare was on the court out of the coaching box area

Diaw barely was on the court parallel to the coaching box - - I kind of get why Amare was suspended. Still have no clue why Diaw was

And that same game, Duncan helped elson as he got entangled with somebody on the Suns - he wasn't suspended

David "Palaver" stern - can stand that arrogant pmpous SOB (I realize he passed away)

[Slim Charless]

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Shamet's dream is the matrix we're in now.

Steph Shamet pls.

Monty is gonna have that meme made into a shirt. Will also have Booker and KD setting screens for Shamet in game 5. Like how the Pacers used to do for Reggie Miller but, you know Shamet.

[oddity]

What can I say about Book that hasn't already been said? This man is painting Picassos out there every night. He really dropped 47 on 80% shooting, then dropped 36 in the first three-quarters of the next game. This dude is a lunatic. What's even more unhinged is how he decided he didn't have to shoot at all the fourth, fed the ball to his teammates brilliantly out of double teams, and finished the game with 12 assists to show for it. Talent is nice and all, but Devin Booker is a true leader and is really looking like Him out there.

This is worst-case scenario for the Nugget's defense. They tried doubling Book after he dropped 36 in the first 3 quarters, only for him not to even have to score at all in the fourth. I have to eat **** and give Landry Shamet some overdue credit too for breaking the levees for us with those corner threes. Performances like those are infectious to the rest of our role players, who may also step up in turn. He did enough to make the Nuggets fear that shot for the rest of the series, whether he actually shoots that well ever again or not. The Nuggets can't give up corner threes to double KD or Book, but that begs the question; who do you play off of?

Our defense isn't faring much better. Jokic showed he can singlehandedly be the engine for the Nuggs' offense, and there is really nothing we can do to stop him. I will say that the more he shoots the better off we are on the boards - barring tipping his own misses, that is one massive body unavailable to rebound - but I doubt that trade-off is worth it. If MPJ and AG start showing up, I doubt we'll be able to do much about it.

This series is going to be about who blinks first. Which star will finally cool off? Which team will drop a home game? What's so remarkable about this series is how blazing hot everyone has been to the point where this whole matchup is becoming a shoot-off.

Expect coaches to want to change it up a bit in game 5. I'm expecting a really physical game tomorrow, so I hope this team is ready to hustle in altitude. If we take this game we can really stun the Nuggets. Let's go Suns

[drsd]

Magic fan here:

Looks like a Denver fan "updated" the wiki page for Mat Ishbia.

wiki link: Mat Ishbia

During Game 4 of the Suns' playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Ishbia was involved in an altercation with Nuggets player Nikola Jokić. During the game, Suns player Josh Okogie crashed into the seats while trying to save a loose ball. He landed in a group of fans on the baseline that included Ishbia, who grabbed the basketball. Jokić tried to take the ball back from Ishbia, with Ishbia refusing to hand it over. It resulted in the ball flying backward into the crowd as Ishbia put his hand on Jokić's side. Jokić light touched Ishbia, resulting in an Ishbia flop on the play. Jokić was then assessed a technical foul.[16]

That's classic.

I still don’t want him suspended

Let’s just play

I agree, and still don't believe he'll be suspended, but that video makes it pretty clear that he should be.

I initially was fine with it but reality is he SHOULD be suspended. You cannot assault a fan. Now, I kind of hope he is suspended since he's blatantly lying about what happened. The guy who grabbed him did so after the shove. And players are not allowed to rip the ball out of fan's hands. He was an idiot, and I still have not forgotten how he broke Cam Payne's nose because he got mad about a no call. If I was Ishbia, just to troll Jokic, I'd press charges, because it is from a legal perspective assault.

And fans often get banned from NBA games for interfering with the flow of a game.

Neutrally viewed, I suspect neither Ishbia nor Jokić will be further punished. But I absolutely expect Silver to "call Ishbia to his office".


Frankly your owner probably won you this game in how it added a point and changed the flow of the game. So: just be happy.


Jokić is all logical to me (particular at the 1:30 mark):

Watch on YouTube

..

[Slim Charless]

Magic fan here:

Looks like a Denver fan "updated" the wiki page for Mat Ishbia.

wiki link: Mat Ishbia

During Game 4 of the Suns' playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Ishbia was involved in an altercation with Nuggets player Nikola Jokić. During the game, Suns player Josh Okogie crashed into the seats while trying to save a loose ball. He landed in a group of fans on the baseline that included Ishbia, who grabbed the basketball. Jokić tried to take the ball back from Ishbia, with Ishbia refusing to hand it over. It resulted in the ball flying backward into the crowd as Ishbia put his hand on Jokić's side. Jokić light touched Ishbia, resulting in an Ishbia flop on the play. Jokić was then assessed a technical foul.[16]

That's classic.

I agree, and still don't believe he'll be suspended, but that video makes it pretty clear that he should be.

I initially was fine with it but reality is he SHOULD be suspended. You cannot assault a fan. Now, I kind of hope he is suspended since he's blatantly lying about what happened. The guy who grabbed him did so after the shove. And players are not allowed to rip the ball out of fan's hands. He was an idiot, and I still have not forgotten how he broke Cam Payne's nose because he got mad about a no call. If I was Ishbia, just to troll Jokic, I'd press charges, because it is from a legal perspective assault.

And fans often get banned from NBA games for interfering with the flow of a game.

Neutrally viewed, I suspect neither Ishbia nor Jokić will be further punished. But I absolutely expect Silver to "call Ishbia to his office".


Frankly your owner probably won you this game in how it added a point and changed the flow of the game. So: just be happy.


Jokić is all logical to me (particular at the 1:30 mark):

Watch on YouTube

..

A Denver fan or 1 of the window lickers on the GB. All of them think it's OK to hit someone UFC-style for no reason. To say nothing of thr fact that Joker's like 100lbs and 2 feet bigger than Ish.

Should be a suspension. At the very least give him games start of next season.

[WeekapaugGroove]

They were the 1 seed so not exactly shocking but Denver is really good, if they beat the suns I think they win the championship. Just a really really hard team to defend.

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[Slim Charless]

They were the 1 seed so not exactly shocking but Denver is really good, if they beat the suns I think they win the championship. Just a really really hard team to defend.

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They're gonna get mollywhopped by the Lakers....and I think I'll be rooting for Lebron.

**** Joker and all of his nuthuggers. Man is a menace.

[King4Day]

Magic fan here:

Looks like a Denver fan "updated" the wiki page for Mat Ishbia.

wiki link: Mat Ishbia

During Game 4 of the Suns' playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Ishbia was involved in an altercation with Nuggets player Nikola Jokić. During the game, Suns player Josh Okogie crashed into the seats while trying to save a loose ball. He landed in a group of fans on the baseline that included Ishbia, who grabbed the basketball. Jokić tried to take the ball back from Ishbia, with Ishbia refusing to hand it over. It resulted in the ball flying backward into the crowd as Ishbia put his hand on Jokić's side. Jokić light touched Ishbia, resulting in an Ishbia flop on the play. Jokić was then assessed a technical foul.[16]

That's classic.

I initially was fine with it but reality is he SHOULD be suspended. You cannot assault a fan. Now, I kind of hope he is suspended since he's blatantly lying about what happened. The guy who grabbed him did so after the shove. And players are not allowed to rip the ball out of fan's hands. He was an idiot, and I still have not forgotten how he broke Cam Payne's nose because he got mad about a no call. If I was Ishbia, just to troll Jokic, I'd press charges, because it is from a legal perspective assault.

And fans often get banned from NBA games for interfering with the flow of a game.

Neutrally viewed, I suspect neither Ishbia nor Jokić will be further punished. But I absolutely expect Silver to "call Ishbia to his office".


Frankly your owner probably won you this game in how it added a point and changed the flow of the game. So: just be happy.


Jokić is all logical to me (particular at the 1:30 mark):

Watch on YouTube

..

A Denver fan or 1 of the window lickers on the GB. All of them think it's OK to hit someone UFC-style for no reason. To say nothing of thr fact that Joker's like 100lbs and 2 feet bigger than Ish.

Should be a suspension. At the very least give him games start of next season.

What irks me the most is, why did Jokic go so far out of his way to grab the ball? It's not his job to grab it from a fan. The ball is out of play and a player is down.
I actually do not think Ishbia will be fined. When you watch the replay, you see he was focused on Okogie before Jokic tried taking the ball. And the 'hand on the player' was because of how close Jokic got to him. That's human nature.

I've said it before, I don't expect a suspension for Jokic. Just a fine. However, had this been a regular fan, I fully would have expected a suspension because the league would have had to set a precedent to help prevent any legal actions. Yes it wasn't a heavy shove, but it was enough to move him. If Mat doesn't raise his arms, it wouldn't have been seen as a flop. There are fans who want money. Jokic and the NBA should be very relieved it was Ishbia and nobody else because apparently nobody knew it was the Suns owner until they were told. Dodged a bullet

[WeekapaugGroove]

Good breakdown of some adjustments Phoenix made

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[BobbieL]

Suns with Payne at the PG position seem to push the ball more than Paul

I read somewhere that for the Nuggets, and I am sure most teams, the more possessions they play on defense, their effectiveness goes down

So when Paul does that stuff of taking 7-8 seconds to get across mid-court plus holding it another 5-6 - that helps the Nuggets defense.

Suns need to keep pushing the ball, pushing tempo, creating more possessions. That doesn't mean bad shots. Granted, when they wait too long to start running a play, that isn't always good shots either

[flagstaff]

Play faster with payne

Do you think we're a better team with Payne? CP3 is sooooo slow it hurts our two stars letting the defence get set.

No doubt we miss CP3's shotmaking down the stretch (when he's hitting them), but I wouldn't mind seeing us continue to start Payne even if CP3 is back.

CP3 may be more effective coming off the bench as a 6th man, but I doubt Monty will do that.

[flagstaff]

Do you think we're a better team with Payne? CP3 is sooooo slow it hurts our two stars letting the defence get set.

No doubt we miss CP3's shotmaking down the stretch (when he's hitting them), but I wouldn't mind seeing us continue to start Payne even if CP3 is back.

CP3 may be more effective coming off the bench as a 6th man, but I doubt Monty will do that.

I think that would be best for the Suns. I think it would take CP to approach Monty though.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I think the biggest thing CP being out did was force the suns to run EVERYTHING through Booker and KD and to be frank that's better than running things through CP at this point. The question is can they actually do it for 2 more wins or will the reps add up.

CP could be helpful for non KD and Booker minutes and I would actually try to play some without either guy because I'd avoid staggering them as much as possible. The minutes they play together are just too good and so god damn hard to defend. CP could allow them to try and buy 4-7 minutes a half without either guy.


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[flagstaff]

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Shamet's dream is the matrix we're in now.

Steph Shamet pls.

After he hit one 3 and rushed another one on next posession I thought 'does he think he's Booker now', but then he hit three more. Nice game by Shamet. Hopefully his good game gives more confidence to the other bench players too.

Booker and KD were amazing. Suns win. Yet the focus of the usual suspects is on Ayton. Pathological hatred. Go get yourself checked by a doctor.

One of the best basketball games in a while, Suns won while playing beautiful and, as you say, resident haters and negative nancies are hating on Ayton, who btw. had a valuable defensive performance. SMH

I don't think I watched the Suns play that fast all year. It was fun to watch.

[enigmatics]

For as much crapping as I've done on Landry Shamet I gotta give the man his props for his performance yesterday.

[NapoleonII]

I think the biggest thing CP being out did was force the suns to run EVERYTHING through Booker and KD and to be frank that's better than running things through CP at this point. The question is can they actually do it for 2 more wins or will the reps add up.

CP could be helpful for non KD and Booker minutes and I would actually try to play some without either guy because I'd avoid staggering them as much as possible. The minutes they play together are just too good and so god damn hard to defend. CP could allow them to try and buy 4-7 minutes a half without either guy.


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Yeah, this is a really good point, and why I think CP3 should be on the bench the rest of the series.

Durant has really 'unlocked' Booker. He's damn near unguardable when KD is there as a decoy, 3 point threat, a pressure valve for the offense.

And this also weirdly would let the bench be more effective, if they aren't just playing "back-up" to KD or Booker. Guys need to make plays without them, push the pace even more, muck it up, offensive rebound.