Game 1: Phoenix Suns @ LA Clippers | Wednesday, 23 Oct | 7:00PM

[Saberestar]

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[Saberestar]

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[ChuckS]

I just dont love the KD center minutes. The defense is only average and whenever they do get an initial stop they NEVER get the rebound.

[I mean yeah, but can the offense be so good it overcomes giving up like 120 pts/100? I know they had that one Sacramento game where they had that crazy comeback but otherwise it was not great.

I actually agree. They do not call him the "Slim Reaper" for no reason. It would be a waste of his talents, IMO, in spite of his length, to put him on big and brawny centers, On the other hand there is an ancient proverb: "Necessity is the mother of invention." I have seen the illogical work, even for a whole game or games. Take my memories with "a grain of salt". I do. But I never saw Shaq look as frustrated as in that series he was guarded by Dennis Rodman. And after the tears dried from seeing Willis Reed limp out of the tunnel to start that Knick championship game, score a few immediate points and limp off, barely able to walk, I was awed by how a 6'6" Dave DeBusschere gave Wilt fits for the rest of the game. With Durant it was in the Gold Medal Championship game of 2020.

Bam was the only center we had. Gobert had killed us in a previous game, and was doing the same. Coach Pop put KD on Rudy in the first quarter. Sure enough he got two fouls and had to come out. But he's smart and Popovich is even smarter. So he wound up playing 35 minutes with only one more foul. I remember two rim shots he would have challenged most other times that he just ignored. He wound up being the MVP with game high 29 points to Gobert's 16 points, clinching the win with two foul shots with seconds to go.

So, in summary, I think judicious use of this tactic, could be valuable, particularly with a guy as versatile and skilled as Durant.

[lilfishi22]

I just dont love the KD center minutes. The defense is only average and whenever they do get an initial stop they NEVER get the rebound.

KD at the 5 minutes is almost never about the defense, it's about all out offense.

I mean yeah, but can the offense be so good it overcomes giving up like 120 pts/100? I know they had that one Sacramento game where they had that crazy comeback but otherwise it was not great.

In short spurts, yeah why not. It's not like we'd be running KD at the 5 for an entire quarter where offense and defence starts to stabilise. It's just injecting adrenaline into a stale offense.

[lilfishi22]

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Grayson quickly transitioning into Silver Fox status. Brother looks like an assistant coach

[SkyBill40]

Another season about to get rolling and I have questions...

Do we show up or is it a half baked effort?
Does the PG situation immediately improve cohesion and chemistry?
Does Beal continue to stink it up or was his performance in preseason just a bad game?
Who fails to meet expectations in this first game and who surprises?

I'm as eager as anyone for basketball once again, but what product we get compared to demands of the fans remains to be seen. Does the coaching change actually make a difference for once?

[Qwigglez]

The way the team plays the first 8 games of the season will be a good indicator on what is to come. Hopefully, we see the effort and no hero ball. I liked the ball movement in preseason, and I'm hoping that will continue.

[lilfishi22]

Another season about to get rolling and I have questions...

Do we show up or is it a half baked effort?
Does the PG situation immediately improve cohesion and chemistry?
Does Beal continue to stink it up or was his performance in preseason just a bad game?
Who fails to meet expectations in this first game and who surprises?

I'm as eager as anyone for basketball once again, but what product we get compared to demands of the fans remains to be seen. Does the coaching change actually make a difference for once?

For some perspective, I think it's a bit of a minor miracle we had no PG's, Beal miss almost 30 games, no coherent offense system and being a historically bad 4th quarter tea, and we still won 49 games last season. I think we've addressed those issues. Whether we've solved those issues...we'll need to see but going into this season, it's good to know we've taken meaningful steps to address them.

I'm optimistic

[dremill24]

KD at the 5 minutes is almost never about the defense, it's about all out offense.

I mean yeah, but can the offense be so good it overcomes giving up like 120 pts/100? I know they had that one Sacramento game where they had that crazy comeback but otherwise it was not great.

In short spurts, yeah why not. It's not like we'd be running KD at the 5 for an entire quarter where offense and defence starts to stabilise. It's just injecting adrenaline into a stale offense.

I suppose. i guess my frame of mind is assessing how much i like it as something that can truly be relied on, maybe even come playoff time. 2-3 minute spurts here and there might be ok. Even then...i might try to see what the numbers looked like outside of that SAC game if/when i have time lol

[lilfishi22]

I mean yeah, but can the offense be so good it overcomes giving up like 120 pts/100? I know they had that one Sacramento game where they had that crazy comeback but otherwise it was not great.

In short spurts, yeah why not. It's not like we'd be running KD at the 5 for an entire quarter where offense and defence starts to stabilise. It's just injecting adrenaline into a stale offense.

I suppose. i guess my frame of mind is assessing how much i like it as something that can truly be relied on, maybe even come playoff time. 2-3 minute spurts here and there might be ok. Even then...i might try to see what the numbers looked like outside of that SAC game if/when i have time lol

It shouldn't be relied on that, that's for sure. But again, if we could run a potent small ball line up of like Jones/Beal/Book/Dunn/KD and put on a ton of points in a short amount of time, it might just be the difference between getting blown out or getting back into a game.

[garrick]

In short spurts, yeah why not. It's not like we'd be running KD at the 5 for an entire quarter where offense and defence starts to stabilise. It's just injecting adrenaline into a stale offense.

I suppose. i guess my frame of mind is assessing how much i like it as something that can truly be relied on, maybe even come playoff time. 2-3 minute spurts here and there might be ok. Even then...i might try to see what the numbers looked like outside of that SAC game if/when i have time lol

It shouldn't be relied on that, that's for sure. But again, if we could run a potent small ball line up of like Jones/Beal/Book/Dunn/KD and put on a ton of points in a short amount of time, it might just be the difference between getting blown out or getting back into a game.

We're still ridiculously undersized though and even the additions of Plumlee, Oso and Dunn don't really help us tremendously either on that front although we are better now than at the end of last season.

[RaisingArizona]

I am ready

[lilfishi22]

Let's go Suns!

[lilfishi22]

Clippers new stadium looks SICK

[SkyBill40]

Poor start. Hopefully we can get something going soon.

Sent from my SM-F936U using RealGM mobile app

[Mulhollanddrive]

Shot selection outstanding, typical Budenholzer.

Can't rebound for anything atm, bigs just watching.

O'Neale sub in for Beal.

[Qwigglez]

Good movement by Plumlee off the ball.

[bwgood77]

Our rebounding is horrible.

[garrick]

Our rebounding is horrible.

Not surprising since we didn't get that much bigger in the off season. It will be our Achilles heel this season.

[lilfishi22]

At this rate, we're attempting low 30's in threes