Game 3: Phoenix Suns (1-1) @ Portland TrailBlazers (1-1)

[Revived]

Speaking of Steph Curry, remember when the Suns almost traded Stat for him during the draft?

[Revived]

Warren had a rough night, 0-6 from the field and 3 fouls in 20 minutes of play.

[MrMiyagi]

Anyone know why Booker isn't getting much playing time in last two games? Against Mavs he scored 13 but only played 2 minutes combined in the next two games.

Because he is a rookie. Because he doesn't play defense. Because he has to earn his stripes. Because the rotation needed to be tightened.

All his minutes have been in junk time so far.

Oh please, lets not act as if the Suns are a franchise that treasures defense and won't play players who can't play that well.

If that's the case how did Dragic, IT, Green, Marcus, hell even Teletovic all get minutes over the years?

Guys like Towns, Okafor etc earned their "stripes" through both practice and games. Every single Suns staff member and player have raved about Booker and his ability in practice.

Its only been 3 games so its not a big deal but I hope we don't continue some BS narrative that he shouldn't get minutes because he's a 17 year old rookie or whatever. Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he started for a Lakers team with championship aspirations and I'd say he turned out pretty well.

Obviously I'm not saying Booker is the next Kobe or that he has Kobe's ability but at the same time, Suns aren't a team with championship aspirations or even anything close to that. The goal is to somehow sneak in as the 8th seed, that's it.

I don't blame Hornacek for not playing him so far since again its only been 3 games but if Weems and Tucker continue to play the way they been playing so far, then Booker should be getting lot of their minutes.

It's a tricky situation. PJ, for better or worse, has pretty much cemented himself as our starting 3, TJ has put in his time and proven he can play at this level, Sonny's still too early to tell but has a larger resume and Ronnie Price has been a calming presence, even if his stat sheet doesn't show his impact. But even if you regard Booker's game 1 minutes as "garbage time", he still shot and played well and definitely looked like he deserved a second chance to prove it wasn't a fluke. Some guys come into the NBA quick learners or just plain good fits and thrive their first years. There is a huge difference between how Booker looked game 1 and how Archie looked his rookie season (and I still love Archie).

Then again, it might just be Hornacek's way of doing things. Len and Archie never played much their rookie seasons (Len was injured, though), neither did TJ or Ennis.

[batsmasher]

Oh please, lets not act as if the Suns are a franchise that treasures defense and won't play players who can't play that well.

If that's the case how did Dragic, IT, Green, Marcus, hell even Teletovic all get minutes over the years?

-Dragic was a serviceable defender, definitely not in the category of the rest. Guys need to have a role within the team to be successful.

-Green was the scoring spark, who's been replaced by TJ.

-IT got minutes but we didn't find any success with him on the team because we were too heavy in the backcourt. If we'd kept IT I could see it possibly working, since Bled could cover up his defensive liability.

-Marcus never really worked at all. He didn't deserve minutes but got them because we had playoff ambitions and his spacing was probably more valuable than a rookie TJ.

-Mirza, jury is out. Horny says he's still sick. I'm thinking he might be "sick" all season as a polite way of saying he's redundant when we have Leuer who isn't terrible defensively.

Guys like Towns, Okafor etc earned their "stripes" through both practice and games. Every single Suns staff member and player have raved about Booker and his ability in practice.

Its only been 3 games so its not a big deal but I hope we don't continue some BS narrative that he shouldn't get minutes because he's a 17 year old rookie or whatever. Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he started for a Lakers team with championship aspirations and I'd say he turned out pretty well.

These rooks fit into 1 of 2 categories:

-They're on teams that don't give a damn about playoffs.

-They have an opening on their team which actually fills a role of need.

Now, there's no doubt we need shooting. Book is a good candidate. But it comes back to roster balance. Where does Book fit? If BK got injured I think he'd be a great candidate to start. But other than that, there's no real fit. He can't come off the bench with TJ because the floodgates would open on D.

Obviously I'm not saying Booker is the next Kobe or that he has Kobe's ability but at the same time, Suns aren't a team with championship aspirations or even anything close to that. The goal is to somehow sneak in as the 8th seed, that's it.

I don't blame Hornacek for not playing him so far since again its only been 3 games but if Weems and Tucker continue to play the way they been playing so far, then Booker should be getting lot of their minutes.

Absolutely not. Weems and Tucker are our only wing defenders, they're both solid dudes who have real experience defending. We neeeeeeeed to at least make the playoffs so we at least need some defense at each position. I'd be completely down for giving the rook minutes and not caring about the playoffs. But we all know why the Suns need to at least make the playoffs at this stage. Gotta get some experience into the core that are transitioning into their prime. More importantly, need the success for the franchise.

[MathiasPW]

Our rebounding has been a very pleasant surprise.

[NTB]

Our rebounding has been a very pleasant surprise.

I wouldn't consider it as a surprise. Weems, Leuer, Tyson additions are all good rebounders. Bledsoe, Tucker, Warren, Len are good rebounders as well.

[bwgood77]

Knight and Bledsoe's scoring is great and all, but I miss the days when the Suns had point guards that actually passed well and made the players around them better.

The Suns can finish 80-2 and you'll still find over a dozen of weaknesses with this team. Both our guards just played an amazing game and instead of saying positive things you reflect on what occured in the past. Bled&KNIGHT are different types of players that don't need to record 9+ assists a game it's just not their game and it's fine cause they play different style of basketball.

I did not say they did not play great. They played very well but I would absolutely not say it was amazing. You know who did play amazing tonight? Steph Curry. 53 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals in only 36 minutes on 17-27 fg including 8-14 3 pts. So you can drool all over one game the Suns backcourt had against a Blazers team expected to go nowhere but I am going to stick to my opinion. The Suns are going to have to do a whole lot better than 16 assists against 13 turnovers and 41.5% fg if they wanna be a good team. Those are horrible offensive numbers as a team. HORRIBLE.

Yeah, the shooting overall could be better. TJ 0-6 not likely to happen often. Kieff 6-17 probably not either. But the starting guards with 60 on 55% shooting with 6 3s at 40% with 11 assists, 6 steals, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks with only 4 combined turnovers was nice for at least me to see.

[JMac1]

Where does Booker fit? He fits in for a 29 year old journey man named Sonny Weems who has displayed 0 thus far.....

Sonny is the first guy off of the bench and can't shoot for crap and he isn't a dynamic ball handler. Booker should be the second SG off of the bench. Price looks fine right now, if Bled and Knight continues to play like they have for the last two games at PG and SG, I am cool with that....Knight being more exclusively a two.

Bledsoe/Price
Knight/Booker
PJ/Warren
Kieff/Leuer
Chandler/Len

that's the 10 man rotation until their PLAY says different. Knight and Bledsoe has to keep playing at a high level to protect PJ in the starting lineup, otherwise Warren will have to supplant him.

[bwgood77]

Anyone know why Booker isn't getting much playing time in last two games? Against Mavs he scored 13 but only played 2 minutes combined in the next two games.

Because he is a rookie. Because he doesn't play defense. Because he has to earn his stripes. Because the rotation needed to be tightened.

All his minutes have been in junk time so far.

Oh please, lets not act as if the Suns are a franchise that treasures defense and won't play players who can't play that well.

If that's the case how did Dragic, IT, Green, Marcus, hell even Teletovic all get minutes over the years?

Guys like Towns, Okafor etc earned their "stripes" through both practice and games. Every single Suns staff member and player have raved about Booker and his ability in practice.

Its only been 3 games so its not a big deal but I hope we don't continue some BS narrative that he shouldn't get minutes because he's a 17 year old rookie or whatever. Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he started for a Lakers team with championship aspirations and I'd say he turned out pretty well.

Obviously I'm not saying Booker is the next Kobe or that he has Kobe's ability but at the same time, Suns aren't a team with championship aspirations or even anything close to that. The goal is to somehow sneak in as the 8th seed, that's it.

I don't blame Hornacek for not playing him so far since again its only been 3 games but if Weems and Tucker continue to play the way they been playing so far, then Booker should be getting lot of their minutes.

He's not going to get a ton of minutes with our team trying to compete. At least not early. And Kobe started a total of 7 games in his first TWO years.

[bigfoot]

Because he is a rookie. Because he doesn't play defense. Because he has to earn his stripes. Because the rotation needed to be tightened.

All his minutes have been in junk time so far.

Oh please, lets not act as if the Suns are a franchise that treasures defense and won't play players who can't play that well.

If that's the case how did Dragic, IT, Green, Marcus, hell even Teletovic all get minutes over the years?

Guys like Towns, Okafor etc earned their "stripes" through both practice and games. Every single Suns staff member and player have raved about Booker and his ability in practice.

Its only been 3 games so its not a big deal but I hope we don't continue some BS narrative that he shouldn't get minutes because he's a 17 year old rookie or whatever. Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he started for a Lakers team with championship aspirations and I'd say he turned out pretty well.

Obviously I'm not saying Booker is the next Kobe or that he has Kobe's ability but at the same time, Suns aren't a team with championship aspirations or even anything close to that. The goal is to somehow sneak in as the 8th seed, that's it.

I don't blame Hornacek for not playing him so far since again its only been 3 games but if Weems and Tucker continue to play the way they been playing so far, then Booker should be getting lot of their minutes.

He's not going to get a ton of minutes with our team trying to compete. At least not early. And Kobe started a total of 7 games in his first TWO years.

But Booker > Kobe

[JMac1]

Oh please, lets not act as if the Suns are a franchise that treasures defense and won't play players who can't play that well.

If that's the case how did Dragic, IT, Green, Marcus, hell even Teletovic all get minutes over the years?

Guys like Towns, Okafor etc earned their "stripes" through both practice and games. Every single Suns staff member and player have raved about Booker and his ability in practice.

Its only been 3 games so its not a big deal but I hope we don't continue some BS narrative that he shouldn't get minutes because he's a 17 year old rookie or whatever. Kobe Bryant was 18 years old when he started for a Lakers team with championship aspirations and I'd say he turned out pretty well.

Obviously I'm not saying Booker is the next Kobe or that he has Kobe's ability but at the same time, Suns aren't a team with championship aspirations or even anything close to that. The goal is to somehow sneak in as the 8th seed, that's it.

I don't blame Hornacek for not playing him so far since again its only been 3 games but if Weems and Tucker continue to play the way they been playing so far, then Booker should be getting lot of their minutes.

He's not going to get a ton of minutes with our team trying to compete. At least not early. And Kobe started a total of 7 games in his first TWO years.

But Booker > Kobe

No, he doesn't have to be >Kobe, he has to be >Weems. Kobe isn't playing in front of him.

[Gorilla Warfare]

Speaking of Steph Curry, remember when the Suns almost traded Stat for him during the draft?

Suns would have traded him for draft picks before he got as great as he is today.

[cjx]

Free Devin Booker!

[Cutter]

That was a really fun game to watch. I was surprised to see Bledsoe egging on the crowd early. It was great to see some fire from him, Chandler, and Knight. I'd love to see that intensity every game.

Also, the broadcasters were pretty funny tonight. Lot of weird deadpan comments. Great game all around.

Yeah, not used to seeing Bledsoe interact with opposing crowds like that. He didn't act mad toward them, he just had a little "in your face" attitude towards them. He played last night like one of the best PG in the league.

[RaisingArizona]

Knight and Bledsoe's scoring is great and all, but I miss the days when the Suns had point guards that actually passed well and made the players around them better.

The Suns can finish 80-2 and you'll still find over a dozen of weaknesses with this team. Both our guards just played an amazing game and instead of saying positive things you reflect on what occured in the past. Bled&KNIGHT are different types of players that don't need to record 9+ assists a game it's just not their game and it's fine cause they play different style of basketball.

I did not say they did not play great. They played very well but I would absolutely not say it was amazing. You know who did play amazing tonight? Steph Curry. 53 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals in only 36 minutes on 17-27 fg including 8-14 3 pts. So you can drool all over one game the Suns backcourt had against a Blazers team expected to go nowhere but I am going to stick to my opinion. The Suns are going to have to do a whole lot better than 16 assists against 13 turnovers and 41.5% fg if they wanna be a good team. Those are horrible offensive numbers as a team. HORRIBLE.

I bet you gave out pennies and toothbrushes last night to your trick or treaters.

[Cutter]

After 3 games Eric Bledsoe is ranked #11 in scoring with with 22.7 ponts per game. Of those top 11 players, Bledsoe is #6 in scoring efficieincy at 46.8%. He is not shooting 3's very well, but is scoring at the rim like a boss. Also shooting free throws at 80+%. This is just his offensive impact, and doesn't speak to his defensive impact which is huge.

I'd say Bledsoe is a keeper, despite what some on this board are saying.

[rsavaj]

I haven't been a fan of Knight so far but he was really excellent last night

[jcsunsfan]

It is interesting to see that Knight and Bledsoe might be able to thrive together. It will take some spacing from the forwards though.

[Qwigglez]

These are the types of games I expect from our backcourt. They have the capability to be one of the best backcourts in the NBA but I'm afraid they'll be too inconsistent.

[MrMiyagi]

These are the types of games I expect from our backcourt. They have the capability to be one of the best backcourts in the NBA but I'm afraid they'll be too inconsistent.

Our backcourt will be together for the next four years. I think they should become consistent and comfortable with each other and the rest of this squad by the end of the season (and hopefully into the post season).