2024-25 Season Discussion and Speculation

[bwgood77]

Man I have some crow to eat for my Dunn takes so far lol amazing how much better his shot and feel for the game are from Summer League. I know it's glorified pick-up, but he was not looking good. I really hope he can keep this up.

Awkward scenario for Bud. It's just one game, but Dunn fills a lot of the holes in our starting lineup if he can keep shooting a solid percentage from 3. Going to be interesting to see how the Beal situations plays out.

Well, Beal can be a serious contender for the Best sixth man award and he could look great scoring with our second unit. I hope he has a sense not to make a fuss about it.

Yes, he could, but we don't know if it is a consideration. We can't assume if it doesn't happen he's making a fuss. He was our best player through 2 games. I know it's obviously a very small sample size, but 20ppg on 54% shooting, over 58% from 3, 5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1bpg, was our only player with a positive net rating, etc.

He would be great for energy off the bench, but he really does that anyway. Sits with like 5 minutes left in the 1st while KD and Book play most of the quarter, and comes back in in the 2nd with Morris and the bench.

I think we will have to see how we start games. If we are starting them well, there isn't a reason. But the staggering worked well against the Lakers in the first. Beal sat with about 7 min left in the 1st, then he came back in for Book with about 2 and 1/2 minutes left and they increased the lead from 8 to 15.

So he sat quickly and came back in when Book sat, which makes sense for keeping primary guys in at all times. Starting also gives him more chance to rest in between playing time, assuming his minutes stay the same.

Against the Lakers, Beal sat with over 7 1/2 minutes left in the first, so only played less than 4 1/2 minutes but had scored 5 points already. Then he came back in with over 3 minutes left, right after KD sat. So really he is providing bench relief for one of the other stars after they sit.

Another point, we have played very well overall. That close call vs the Clips, in hindsight, looks better than it appeared, after the Clips have beaten Denver AND Golden State, both ON THE ROAD.

The Lakers always give us trouble, because we don't really have anyone to cover in addition to LeBron.

But the main things in the Lakers game are that they got to the line 22 more times than us, as usual in LA, and also shot over 53% from the field and 52% from 3, which won't happen often. We did have 16 turnovers which we need to cut down on obviously.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Man I have some crow to eat for my Dunn takes so far lol amazing how much better his shot and feel for the game are from Summer League. I know it's glorified pick-up, but he was not looking good. I really hope he can keep this up.

Awkward scenario for Bud. It's just one game, but Dunn fills a lot of the holes in our starting lineup if he can keep shooting a solid percentage from 3. Going to be interesting to see how the Beal situations plays out.

Well, Beal can be a serious contender for the Best sixth man award and he could look great scoring with our second unit. I hope he has a sense not to make a fuss about it.

Yes, he could, but we don't know if it is a consideration. We can't assume if it doesn't happen he's making a fuss. He was our best player through 2 games. I know it's obviously a very small sample size, but 20ppg on 54% shooting, over 58% from 3, 5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1bpg, was our only player with a positive net rating, etc.

He would be great for energy off the bench, but he really does that anyway. Sits with like 5 minutes left in the 1st while KD and Book play most of the quarter, and comes back in in the 2nd with Morris and the bench.

I think we will have to see how we start games. If we are starting them well, there isn't a reason. But the staggering worked well against the Lakers in the first. Beal sat with about 7 min left in the 1st, then he came back in for Book with about 2 and 1/2 minutes left and they increased the lead from 8 to 15.

So he sat quickly and came back in when Book sat, which makes sense for keeping primary guys in at all times. Starting also gives him more chance to rest in between playing time, assuming his minutes stay the same.

Against the Lakers, Beal sat with over 7 1/2 minutes left in the first, so only played less than 4 1/2 minutes but had scored 5 points already. Then he came back in with over 3 minutes left, right after KD sat. So really he is providing bench relief for one of the other stars after they sit.

Another point, we have played very well overall. That close call vs the Clips, in hindsight, looks better than it appeared, after the Clips have beaten Denver AND Golden State, both ON THE ROAD.

The Lakers always give us trouble, because we don't really have anyone to cover in addition to LeBron.

But the main things in the Lakers game are that they got to the line 22 more times than us, as usual in LA, and also shot over 53% from the field and 52% from 3, which won't happen often. We did have 16 turnovers which we need to cut down on obviously.

Beal has been an absolute stud. Most impressive to me was how well he's been reading defenses, getting his hands in the passing lanes to get steals and deflections. How did "bench Beal" gain traction just as soon as he looked like our best player? I know it's only two games, but still.

Some of the things that have hurt us most thus far - Durant and Nurkola Jokic turning it over, sporadically reverting to iso ball, Booker playing less-than-spectacular - are things I'm not really worried about. Our lack of an interior presence hasn't been as bad as I expected - and that despite Bol Bol being injured.

Beal's stellar play, the excellence of our point guards and role players, deep bench, smooth rotations, modern offensive system, Dunn's emergence... we've had essentially only positive indicators from this team so far. I'm pumped!

[Saberestar]

Well, Beal can be a serious contender for the Best sixth man award and he could look great scoring with our second unit. I hope he has a sense not to make a fuss about it.

Yes, he could, but we don't know if it is a consideration. We can't assume if it doesn't happen he's making a fuss. He was our best player through 2 games. I know it's obviously a very small sample size, but 20ppg on 54% shooting, over 58% from 3, 5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1bpg, was our only player with a positive net rating, etc.

He would be great for energy off the bench, but he really does that anyway. Sits with like 5 minutes left in the 1st while KD and Book play most of the quarter, and comes back in in the 2nd with Morris and the bench.

I think we will have to see how we start games. If we are starting them well, there isn't a reason. But the staggering worked well against the Lakers in the first. Beal sat with about 7 min left in the 1st, then he came back in for Book with about 2 and 1/2 minutes left and they increased the lead from 8 to 15.

So he sat quickly and came back in when Book sat, which makes sense for keeping primary guys in at all times. Starting also gives him more chance to rest in between playing time, assuming his minutes stay the same.

Against the Lakers, Beal sat with over 7 1/2 minutes left in the first, so only played less than 4 1/2 minutes but had scored 5 points already. Then he came back in with over 3 minutes left, right after KD sat. So really he is providing bench relief for one of the other stars after they sit.

Another point, we have played very well overall. That close call vs the Clips, in hindsight, looks better than it appeared, after the Clips have beaten Denver AND Golden State, both ON THE ROAD.

The Lakers always give us trouble, because we don't really have anyone to cover in addition to LeBron.

But the main things in the Lakers game are that they got to the line 22 more times than us, as usual in LA, and also shot over 53% from the field and 52% from 3, which won't happen often. We did have 16 turnovers which we need to cut down on obviously.

Beal has been an absolute stud. Most impressive to me was how well he's been reading defenses, getting his hands in the passing lanes to get steals and deflections. How did "bench Beal" gain traction just as soon as he looked like our best player? I know it's only two games, but still.

Some of the things that have hurt us most thus far - Durant and Nurkola Jokic turning it over, sporadically reverting to iso ball, Booker playing less-than-spectacular - are things I'm not really worried about. Our lack of an interior presence hasn't been as bad as I expected - and that despite Bol Bol being injured.

Beal's stellar play, the excellence of our point guards and role players, deep bench, smooth rotations, modern offensive system, Dunn's emergence... we've had essentially only positive indicators from this team so far. I'm pumped!

Beal played great in the first game but he wasn't our best player at all in the second game. He played very well in the 2nd quarter but that’s it.

He was invisible on both sides all the second half. It’s what It’s.

Third game he was out and we got the W against a contender and he is questionable for the next one so I understand why some fans can think about the possibility of him being a 6th man more than an starter this early in the season.

I wouldn't do it and I want him to play at a borderline All-Star level as a starter for us but it’s not a crazy thinking to put him on a 6th man role with Dunn or Royce playing as great as they have been playing on their smaller roles.

[bwgood77]

Yes, he could, but we don't know if it is a consideration. We can't assume if it doesn't happen he's making a fuss. He was our best player through 2 games. I know it's obviously a very small sample size, but 20ppg on 54% shooting, over 58% from 3, 5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1bpg, was our only player with a positive net rating, etc.

He would be great for energy off the bench, but he really does that anyway. Sits with like 5 minutes left in the 1st while KD and Book play most of the quarter, and comes back in in the 2nd with Morris and the bench.

I think we will have to see how we start games. If we are starting them well, there isn't a reason. But the staggering worked well against the Lakers in the first. Beal sat with about 7 min left in the 1st, then he came back in for Book with about 2 and 1/2 minutes left and they increased the lead from 8 to 15.

So he sat quickly and came back in when Book sat, which makes sense for keeping primary guys in at all times. Starting also gives him more chance to rest in between playing time, assuming his minutes stay the same.

Against the Lakers, Beal sat with over 7 1/2 minutes left in the first, so only played less than 4 1/2 minutes but had scored 5 points already. Then he came back in with over 3 minutes left, right after KD sat. So really he is providing bench relief for one of the other stars after they sit.

Another point, we have played very well overall. That close call vs the Clips, in hindsight, looks better than it appeared, after the Clips have beaten Denver AND Golden State, both ON THE ROAD.

The Lakers always give us trouble, because we don't really have anyone to cover in addition to LeBron.

But the main things in the Lakers game are that they got to the line 22 more times than us, as usual in LA, and also shot over 53% from the field and 52% from 3, which won't happen often. We did have 16 turnovers which we need to cut down on obviously.

Beal has been an absolute stud. Most impressive to me was how well he's been reading defenses, getting his hands in the passing lanes to get steals and deflections. How did "bench Beal" gain traction just as soon as he looked like our best player? I know it's only two games, but still.

Some of the things that have hurt us most thus far - Durant and Nurkola Jokic turning it over, sporadically reverting to iso ball, Booker playing less-than-spectacular - are things I'm not really worried about. Our lack of an interior presence hasn't been as bad as I expected - and that despite Bol Bol being injured.

Beal's stellar play, the excellence of our point guards and role players, deep bench, smooth rotations, modern offensive system, Dunn's emergence... we've had essentially only positive indicators from this team so far. I'm pumped!

Beal played great in the first game but he wasn't our best player at all in the second game. He played very well in the 2nd quarter but that’s it.

He was invisible on both sides all the second half. It’s what It’s.

Third game he was out and we got the W against a contender and he is questionable for the next one so I understand why some fans can think about the possibility of him being a 6th man more than an starter this early in the season.

I wouldn't do it and I want him to play at a borderline All-Star level as a starter for us but it’s not a crazy thinking to put him on a 6th man role with Dunn or Royce playing as great as they have been playing on their smaller roles.

I thought overall Beal played very good in the 2nd game. He had 15 pts, 3-6 from 3, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block. He did have 2 turnovers, but he did miss a couple 2s, going just 3-8. I think the biggest problems in that game were Nurkic, 1-5 with 4 turnovers. He didn't play as much, but getting into foul trouble isn't good, and he only finished with 7 boards. KD had a few turnovers as well. All of our guys who played over 20 minutes had at least 2 turnovers.

He may not have been great but was very good. I just hope he can get and stay healthy. But it is encouraging that even with a sore shoulder he was 3-6 from 3. And even hit a 3 very late, so his elbow couldn't have been bothering him too much, as far as shooting goes. He was really in a rhythm so hopefully with a game or two off it doesn't take him out of it.

I'm fine with 6th man but I don't think it's necessary. He should be one of the guys with the most minutes, and in that case, you want to maximize rest time, so starting makes more sense to give him more breaks between plays.

But Dunn is looking great, so I'm not opposed to starting him either.

[lilfishi22]

Man I have some crow to eat for my Dunn takes so far lol amazing how much better his shot and feel for the game are from Summer League. I know it's glorified pick-up, but he was not looking good. I really hope he can keep this up.

Awkward scenario for Bud. It's just one game, but Dunn fills a lot of the holes in our starting lineup if he can keep shooting a solid percentage from 3. Going to be interesting to see how the Beal situations plays out.

Well, Beal can be a serious contender for the Best sixth man award and he could look great scoring with our second unit. I hope he has a sense not to make a fuss about it.

Yes, he could, but we don't know if it is a consideration. We can't assume if it doesn't happen he's making a fuss. He was our best player through 2 games. I know it's obviously a very small sample size, but 20ppg on 54% shooting, over 58% from 3, 5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1bpg, was our only player with a positive net rating, etc.

He would be great for energy off the bench, but he really does that anyway. Sits with like 5 minutes left in the 1st while KD and Book play most of the quarter, and comes back in in the 2nd with Morris and the bench.

I think we will have to see how we start games. If we are starting them well, there isn't a reason. But the staggering worked well against the Lakers in the first. Beal sat with about 7 min left in the 1st, then he came back in for Book with about 2 and 1/2 minutes left and they increased the lead from 8 to 15.

So he sat quickly and came back in when Book sat, which makes sense for keeping primary guys in at all times. Starting also gives him more chance to rest in between playing time, assuming his minutes stay the same.

Against the Lakers, Beal sat with over 7 1/2 minutes left in the first, so only played less than 4 1/2 minutes but had scored 5 points already. Then he came back in with over 3 minutes left, right after KD sat. So really he is providing bench relief for one of the other stars after they sit.

Another point, we have played very well overall. That close call vs the Clips, in hindsight, looks better than it appeared, after the Clips have beaten Denver AND Golden State, both ON THE ROAD.

The Lakers always give us trouble, because we don't really have anyone to cover in addition to LeBron.

But the main things in the Lakers game are that they got to the line 22 more times than us, as usual in LA, and also shot over 53% from the field and 52% from 3, which won't happen often. We did have 16 turnovers which we need to cut down on obviously.

Great post

Only thing to add is AD seem to always have Nurk's number as well, made worse by AD having an absolutely phenomenal start to the season. He's averaging 31/11/3.3a/1.7s/2.3b on sky high 67% TS%. Nurk just got torched by AD.

[lilfishi22]

Well, Beal can be a serious contender for the Best sixth man award and he could look great scoring with our second unit. I hope he has a sense not to make a fuss about it.

Yes, he could, but we don't know if it is a consideration. We can't assume if it doesn't happen he's making a fuss. He was our best player through 2 games. I know it's obviously a very small sample size, but 20ppg on 54% shooting, over 58% from 3, 5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1bpg, was our only player with a positive net rating, etc.

He would be great for energy off the bench, but he really does that anyway. Sits with like 5 minutes left in the 1st while KD and Book play most of the quarter, and comes back in in the 2nd with Morris and the bench.

I think we will have to see how we start games. If we are starting them well, there isn't a reason. But the staggering worked well against the Lakers in the first. Beal sat with about 7 min left in the 1st, then he came back in for Book with about 2 and 1/2 minutes left and they increased the lead from 8 to 15.

So he sat quickly and came back in when Book sat, which makes sense for keeping primary guys in at all times. Starting also gives him more chance to rest in between playing time, assuming his minutes stay the same.

Against the Lakers, Beal sat with over 7 1/2 minutes left in the first, so only played less than 4 1/2 minutes but had scored 5 points already. Then he came back in with over 3 minutes left, right after KD sat. So really he is providing bench relief for one of the other stars after they sit.

Another point, we have played very well overall. That close call vs the Clips, in hindsight, looks better than it appeared, after the Clips have beaten Denver AND Golden State, both ON THE ROAD.

The Lakers always give us trouble, because we don't really have anyone to cover in addition to LeBron.

But the main things in the Lakers game are that they got to the line 22 more times than us, as usual in LA, and also shot over 53% from the field and 52% from 3, which won't happen often. We did have 16 turnovers which we need to cut down on obviously.

Beal has been an absolute stud. Most impressive to me was how well he's been reading defenses, getting his hands in the passing lanes to get steals and deflections. How did "bench Beal" gain traction just as soon as he looked like our best player? I know it's only two games, but still.

Some of the things that have hurt us most thus far - Durant and Nurkola Jokic turning it over, sporadically reverting to iso ball, Booker playing less-than-spectacular - are things I'm not really worried about. Our lack of an interior presence hasn't been as bad as I expected - and that despite Bol Bol being injured.

Beal's stellar play, the excellence of our point guards and role players, deep bench, smooth rotations, modern offensive system, Dunn's emergence... we've had essentially only positive indicators from this team so far. I'm pumped!

It's all opportunity cost imo. It's not that he's done anything to deserve a "demotion" per se but just that we could potentially be even more dangerous with him off the bench and a player with more defense/lower usage in the starting line up. For me, I'm not going to be up in arms if he continues to start but I just would love to see him come off the bench just to see how it would work.

Again, I don't think he's done anything so far as a Suns player to deserve a demotion but it's really just more of a what-if

[dremill24]

Certainly seems like a guy who was gettable during the summer. Would look pretty good here if you want that Budenholzer stretch 5. Oh well, Good for him.

Read on Twitter

?t=KsAf31DZYYLNRe4qAwXhuw&s=19

[lilfishi22]

https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/41999854/best-worst-first-week-2024-25-nba-season

A lot of Lakers, Denver, OKC and Sixers/Embiid talk. We didn't get much of a mention but where we did, was a VERY sweet one

My bold prediction after one week is___?

MacMahon: The Rookie of the Year won't be a lottery pick. Two early candidates: New Orleans' Yves Missi and Phoenix's Ryan Dunn. Missi, the No. 21 pick, led all rookies in scoring (10.0 points per game), rebounding (6.5) and blocks (2.5) entering Sunday and should get consistent minutes, considering the lack of centers on the Pelicans' roster. Dunn, the No. 28 pick, profiles as a potentially elite defensive player who raised a lot of eyebrows by making more 3s in the preseason (13-of-30) than he did in his two seasons at Virginia (12-of-51). That has carried over into the regular season, as Dunn is shooting 46.2% (6-of-13) from long range. He impressed Suns coaches and teammates with his poise and toughness as a starter in Saturday's win against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

[lilfishi22]

I knew the Nuggets weren't as good as they were last season but boy....they are struggling even against the Raptors. Might be an 0-3 start to the season.

[They_Them_Hatin]

Dunn is so good. He needs to be starting. They have to figure out the center position. Nurkic is a mess.

[Mr Puddles]

I knew the Nuggets weren't as good as they were last season but boy....they are struggling even against the Raptors. Might be an 0-3 start to the season.

The Nuggets, Mavs and Wolves have all taken a step back this off-season IMO. If we can balance out our roster, I really only see OKC as the team to beat to get to the Finals.

[SunsRback4Good]

I knew the Nuggets weren't as good as they were last season but boy....they are struggling even against the Raptors. Might be an 0-3 start to the season.

The Nuggets, Mavs and Wolves have all taken a step back this off-season IMO. If we can balance out our roster, I really only see OKC as the team to beat to get to the Finals.

OKC, Dallas, Warriors, & Pelicans are untouchable. Those four teams will finish ahead of Phoenix.

[garrick]

Certainly seems like a guy who was gettable during the summer. Would look pretty good here if you want that Budenholzer stretch 5. Oh well, Good for him.

Read on Twitter

?t=KsAf31DZYYLNRe4qAwXhuw&s=19

Yet another failure by JJ to get a big man off the undrafted list.

[Mr Puddles]

I knew the Nuggets weren't as good as they were last season but boy....they are struggling even against the Raptors. Might be an 0-3 start to the season.

The Nuggets, Mavs and Wolves have all taken a step back this off-season IMO. If we can balance out our roster, I really only see OKC as the team to beat to get to the Finals.

OKC, Dallas, Warriors, & Pelicans are untouchable. Those four teams will finish ahead of Phoenix.

Is there an inside joke that I'm missing here?

[Mr Puddles]

Certainly seems like a guy who was gettable during the summer. Would look pretty good here if you want that Budenholzer stretch 5. Oh well, Good for him.

Read on Twitter

?t=KsAf31DZYYLNRe4qAwXhuw&s=19

Yet another failure by JJ to get a big man off the undrafted list.

We did extremely well picking up Dunn, Oso, and Gillispie - we can't expect our front office to pick up every hidden gem.

[lilfishi22]

I knew the Nuggets weren't as good as they were last season but boy....they are struggling even against the Raptors. Might be an 0-3 start to the season.

The Nuggets, Mavs and Wolves have all taken a step back this off-season IMO. If we can balance out our roster, I really only see OKC as the team to beat to get to the Finals.

I think Mavs probably took a step forward with the addition of Klay who's at worst the same as THJ but likely better and it's another year of experience under the belt for Lively. Nuggets definitely took a step back and I think Wolves likely as well but I think they could be nearly as good with a better Ant, addition of DDV and Randle playing well.

We got better simply having more balance, addition of a PG's and better coaching

[lilfishi22]

Certainly seems like a guy who was gettable during the summer. Would look pretty good here if you want that Budenholzer stretch 5. Oh well, Good for him.

Read on Twitter

?t=KsAf31DZYYLNRe4qAwXhuw&s=19

Yet another failure by JJ to get a big man off the undrafted list.

You heard of him before? I sure haven't. Dude has been in the league for 3 years and played like 30 games. Let's not act just because a team found a diamond in the rough, it's suddenly JJ's failure.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Prediction

1. OKC
2. Dallas
3. Minnesota
4. Phoenix
5. Denver
6. New Orleans
7. Memphis
8. Sacramento
9. Houston
10. Lakers
11. GSW
12. Clippers
13. Spurs
14. Utah
15. Portland

[garrick]

Certainly seems like a guy who was gettable during the summer. Would look pretty good here if you want that Budenholzer stretch 5. Oh well, Good for him.

Read on Twitter

?t=KsAf31DZYYLNRe4qAwXhuw&s=19

Yet another failure by JJ to get a big man off the undrafted list.

You heard of him before? I sure haven't. Dude has been in the league for 3 years and played like 30 games. Let's not act just because a team found a diamond in the rough, it's suddenly JJ's failure.

I haven't heard of him but a GM who is running a NBA team has an entire scouting team available to him and should have an eye on potential players to add in the summer league should have heard of him.

It's literally his job to keep his eyes out for potential hidden talent and JJ has largely failed in that department.

[lilfishi22]

Yet another failure by JJ to get a big man off the undrafted list.

You heard of him before? I sure haven't. Dude has been in the league for 3 years and played like 30 games. Let's not act just because a team found a diamond in the rough, it's suddenly JJ's failure.

I haven't heard of him but a GM who is running a NBA team has an entire scouting team available to him and should have an eye on potential players to add in the summer league should have heard of him.

It's literally his job to keep his eyes out for potential hidden talent and JJ has largely failed in that department.

I don't know what your job is but imagine if every single thing someone else did that you in theory COULD have done is considered YOUR failure. Nobody is judged that way and it's absolutely reasonable you shouldn't be judged that way