Game 12: Phoenix Suns (6-5) @ Detroit Pistons (3-8)

[lilfishi22]

Len doesn't play much and doesn't start because Hornacek doesn't want to hurt Plumlee i guess. Yeah Plumlee is playing bad but making him worse is not a good idea for our thin C rotation.

I mean, if Len plays like 30-35 mins a game and Plumlee plays 10-15, then what happens if Len's got injured? You have only Plumlee who is dissatisfied and unmotivated.

Wtf dissatisfied and unmotivated?

Doesn't he get paid to play a basketball? Or is he doing this as a volunteer job?

Lmao this is the pros, if benching you because of your play is gonna hurt feelings, confidence and motivation then Plumlee needs to pack up and head for the China.

I don't think it's because of that. Len isn't ready to play 30mpg. It's not often a 1st or 2nd year big man plays huge minutes straight away. Even in Anthony Davis' rookie year, he didn't play 30mpg.

[nevetsov]

Comes down to what Horny said earlier in the season in that they will be breaking the 82 game season into 4 "parts". I think they will reevaluate and reserve any lineup changes until the end of each part (~20 games). This is a smart idea becauses it allows time for lineups to adjust, provides a decent sample size and mitigates knee jerk lineup changes.

We will see Len start sooner or later, whether it's after the first part (around another 10 games), at the All star break, or next season.

[Revived]

Len doesn't play much and doesn't start because Hornacek doesn't want to hurt Plumlee i guess. Yeah Plumlee is playing bad but making him worse is not a good idea for our thin C rotation.

I mean, if Len plays like 30-35 mins a game and Plumlee plays 10-15, then what happens if Len's got injured? You have only Plumlee who is dissatisfied and unmotivated.

Wtf dissatisfied and unmotivated?

Doesn't he get paid to play a basketball? Or is he doing this as a volunteer job?

Lmao this is the pros, if benching you because of your play is gonna hurt feelings, confidence and motivation then Plumlee needs to pack up and head for the China.

I don't think I can name a player that isn't affected by the things you've just mentioned. A big paycheck changes nothing but your financial status. You still react to the same issues, petty or not.

Doesn't matter, unless your LeBron James, Kevin Durant or a handful of other superstar players, you should expect to be benched if you suck and someone else who plays the same position is outplaying you.

If he or any other player in the NBA doesn't wanna get benched, then perform.

[Revived]

Len doesn't play much and doesn't start because Hornacek doesn't want to hurt Plumlee i guess. Yeah Plumlee is playing bad but making him worse is not a good idea for our thin C rotation.

I mean, if Len plays like 30-35 mins a game and Plumlee plays 10-15, then what happens if Len's got injured? You have only Plumlee who is dissatisfied and unmotivated.

Wtf dissatisfied and unmotivated?

Doesn't he get paid to play a basketball? Or is he doing this as a volunteer job?

Lmao this is the pros, if benching you because of your play is gonna hurt feelings, confidence and motivation then Plumlee needs to pack up and head for the China.

I don't think it's because of that. Len isn't ready to play 30mpg. It's not often a 1st or 2nd year big man plays huge minutes straight away. Even in Anthony Davis' rookie year, he didn't play 30mpg.

Even though I disagree with this, it makes more sense than Hornacek protecting his feelings.

Suns starting Cs haven't played 30 mpg since the Gortat days so even if Len started, ,I doubt he'd play 30 mins.

[lilfishi22]

The fact that Pumlee has starting experience, has shown he can play upwards 30+min a game and saw his best moments playing with Bledsoe, it makes sense to start him while Len continues to get stronger, better conditioned and gain more experience. Len will start eventually, but it's better to ease him into playing against bench units first then ramp it up.

I don't see how protecting Plumlee's feeling makes more sense than that.

[kennydorglas]

Tucker looked pretty good stretching the floor with dragic.
He has a little quicker release than morris bros and more confidence in his shot
We really need some catch&shoot to make our drives even more tough to defend
No more pump fakes and long 2. Just shoot the ball for 3pt.

Everyone doubled on Dragic, leaving him alone almost everytime.

Dragic/Bledose/Tucker/Keef/Plumlee (gave more space in the middle for keef, eventually he can make some 3's too)
IT/Green/Mook/Warren/Len (green & mook open for drive&kick from isaiah, warren working in the middle with Len.)

[grumpysaddle]

Tucker has also been hitting the three from the top of the key this season, whereas last season he was strictly a corner 3 guy. I've even noticed that they are running plays to get him the open 3 from the middle. I'm sure that's just one of the 3 to 4 options figured into each play. Watching more games, I've noticed that the problem isn't with the Suns passing, or lack thereof. It's pretty much just with their shots not falling. Their plays are pretty advanced, but based on simpler plays. Once they get into midseason form with their shooting, I'm betting the assist numbers start going up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Revived]

I don't see how protecting Plumlee's feeling makes more sense than that.

That's what I said....

[MathiasPW]

Tucker looked pretty good stretching the floor with dragic.
He has a little quicker release than morris bros and more confidence in his shot
We really need some catch&shoot to make our drives even more tough to defend
No more pump fakes and long 2. Just shoot the ball for 3pt.

Everyone doubled on Dragic, leaving him alone almost everytime.

Dragic/Bledose/Tucker/Keef/Plumlee (gave more space in the middle for keef, eventually he can make some 3's too)
IT/Green/Mook/Warren/Len (green & mook open for drive&kick from isaiah, warren working in the middle with Len.)

Tucker as PF and Green as SF also worked well for the same reasoning. They don't handle the ball and are good at catch and shoot. Bledsoe/Dragic/Green/Tucker/Len is a solid defensive team with great spacing on offense

[nevetsov]

^ Yeah, I really like that team. As long as we have Len's size, we aren't that disadvantaged on the boards because PJ plays (and rebounds) like a PF, and Bledsoe boards like a SF. Plus, that's a true 4-out lineup.

Tucker is a bit like a boneheaded, mini Barkley in a way. Angry, drunken, undersized yet over aggressive PF.

[bwgood77]

Len should get up to 25-28 minutes a game in short time. Steven Adams who is in his second year plays 26.8 minutes a game. He's got more nba game experience from playing more last year, so it is reasonable to expect Len to get similar minutes by mid season.

Also, I'd rather see Len play more with Dragic and Bledsoe because sprinting down the floor with IT just takes the wind out of him and then Thomas jacks up a threes anyway and Len's opportunities to make plays are wasted while he gets tired for nothing.

[NTB]

Will someone open the Phila game thread?

[aIvin adams]

Will someone open the Phila game thread?

i'm not sure i want to even watch this thing. if the suns finally break out and look great, it won't matter. if they lose, i'll beat my dog. lose lose

i wish the NBA had 30 teams like in the old days. having this minor league team lurking around is a bummer.

[Saberestar]

Caldwell-Pope got it and you know he doesn't have any heart, so we knew he was going to miss," Morris said.
Van Gundy wasn't going to let such an insult slide.
"I'm not quite sure - maybe he knows - I'm not quite sure what Markieff Morris has accomplished in the league that gets him to the point of mouthing off," Van Gundy said after today's practice. "I mean, I don't like the mouthing off anyway.
"It seems to me you should at least participate in a playoff game before you do. But maybe not, maybe that's not the standard anymore."
The verbal volleys probably are because the two had to be separated after getting chest-to-chest to trash talk in the second quarter.
"A lot of emotions were running," Caldwell-Pope said. "We exchanged a few words with each other. So obviously, out of frustration, he said that."

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/p ... /70013868/

[phrazbit]

Even though I disagree with this, it makes more sense than Hornacek protecting his feelings.

Suns starting Cs haven't played 30 mpg since the Gortat days so even if Len started, ,I doubt he'd play 30 mins.

lol, "since the Gortat days"... so, one year? We have one season of playing a starting center under 30 minutes and clearly from now on the idea of a 30+ minute center is out the window. Suuure its not like there were other factors in play either. Like Plumlee's propensity for foul issues, that he looked gassed by the mid-point of the season and that you can't trust him to hit a free throw. CLEARLY its the Suns resistance to playing anyone tagged "center" that led to them using him for under 30 game.

Hypothetically you're right about Len probably averaging under 30 if he were to start... but its for the wrong reason. Len still fouls way too much. Even if the Suns wanted to play him way over 30 minutes a night it would not matter because he gets in foul trouble to quickly. He probably will get the starting job soon, and for the stretches that matter he HAS been getting the PT lately. But what will restrict his minutes is his own frequent fouling, not the coaching staff. As he cuts down on the fouls then his minutes will go up.

[Revived]

Kieff getting flamed on the GD board lol

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1356334

[Revived]

Will someone open the Phila game thread?

i'm not sure i want to even watch this thing. if the suns finally break out and look great, it won't matter. if they lose, i'll beat my dog. lose lose

i wish the NBA had 30 teams like in the old days. having this minor league team lurking around is a bummer.

It should be a good game for Warren, Ennis and Goodwin all to get a lot of playing time.

[aIvin adams]

Kieff getting flamed on the GD board lol

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1356334

I burned em. Presumably they will all apologize to kieff bc I burned em all so badly