Game 33: Cleveland Cavaliers (19-9) @ Phoenix Suns (12-20)

[bwgood77]

If I was development coach.. I would benchmark the current Suns youth and develop them to the closest player.

Len = Valenciounas
Goodwin = Stephenson
Booker = Reddick
Warren = Jamison or Harden (SF non-play making version, just scoring)

That is a pretty low ceiling.

Booker has better handles, size, and athleticism. When was the last time Reddick attack Lebron at the rim, AND FINISHED?!

Yeah, Redick seems extremely overrated on this board.

[AtheJ415]

Booker's comparable is Klay Thompson. Pretty obvious.

Warren is somewhat unique. I wouldn't worry about getting him to emulate anyone. I'd just worry about getting him to defend, and to a small extent continue to work on the 3 ball (which he's much improved on this year). If he does those 2 things he'll be a monster.

Len already emulates Tim Duncan. I don't think it makes much sense to try to get him to be like Valuncunias even if he is physically closer to Len.

[kennydorglas]

Booker is Korver.
Comparing him to Klay is just nonsense. Klay was always a superb defender.
That's why he's so valuable now.

Not because he's a unbelievable shooter. It's because he can SHOOT AND DEFEND top tier players.
If y'all are hoping this for Booker, u better be ready to be disappointed... BIG TIME.

[AtheJ415]

Booker is Korver.
Comparing him to Klay is just nonsense. Klay was always a superb defender.
That's why he's so valuable now.

Not because he's a unbelievable shooter. It's because he can SHOOT AND DEFEND top tier players.
If y'all are hoping this for Booker, u better be ready to be disappointed... BIG TIME.

1. Korver is an incredibly underrated defender.
2. Korver is a catch and shoot guy mostly. Booker does more than that.

[JMac1]

Booker is Korver.
Comparing him to Klay is just nonsense. Klay was always a superb defender.
That's why he's so valuable now.

Not because he's a unbelievable shooter. It's because he can SHOOT AND DEFEND top tier players.
If y'all are hoping this for Booker, u better be ready to be disappointed... BIG TIME.

1. Korver is an incredibly underrated defender.
2. Korver is a catch and shoot guy mostly. Booker does more than that.

Plus Klay became a good defender, coming out of college and his first few years he was not a good defender.

Is it me or do some people believe Klay is an all time 50 greatest or something? If not for Steph, Klay wouldn't be half the player he is. There is such little pressure on him being the second option to the best shooter of all-time.....no pressure whatsoever. But to pretend Klay is Kobe or something is absurd.

Devin has shown me more this year than what I would have expected him to be showing 2-3 years down the road; and I wanted no parts of him during the draft.

That's just IMO.

[Revived]

Len emulate Duncan? Lol in that case I think Goodwin plays more like Michael Jordan.

[Revived]

Personally I like the Bradley Beal comparison the best for Booker. Not sure if he will be as good as Klay because Klay actually has the ability to put the ball on the court plus a very good defender AND Klay actually has a post game too that he used to hit turnaround jumpers from the baseline.

I hope Booker will be more than Redick which is why I like Beal comp.

[gaspar]

Booker is Korver.
Comparing him to Klay is just nonsense. Klay was always a superb defender.
That's why he's so valuable now.

Not because he's a unbelievable shooter. It's because he can SHOOT AND DEFEND top tier players.
If y'all are hoping this for Booker, u better be ready to be disappointed... BIG TIME.

No, he wasn't.

Here's Klay's DrafExpress pre-draft scouting report:

While there are some concerns about Thompson's athleticism hurting his offensive game at the next level, the bigger concerns lie on the defensive end, where he is noticeably lacking in lateral quickness and is taken off the dribble often.

Thompson's effort level on the defensive end has improved during his time in college, and he shows solid awareness and makes good rotations off the ball, but his lack of quickness is certainly something that can be exploited. His problems can be hid somewhat on good defensive teams, and his apparent effort level and capacity for playing good team defense will certainly be useful, though he'd have a lot of work to do to even become an average NBA defender overall.

Thompson's defensive problems should be equally pronounced at either the shooting guard or small forward positions, and the questions for teams will be how much can they coach him up and whether his offensive strengths do enough to outweigh his defensive shortcomings.

Klay's age on his NBA debut: 21 years, 320 days
Booker's age on his NBA debut: 18 years, 363 days

Almost 3 years older...

[bwgood77]

To add to that, there was a story (I posted here) how Klay is much worse without Curry. Curry demands so much attention it makes it easy for Klay. I think he was a net negative on the floor when playing without Curry.

[bwgood77]

Personally I like the Bradley Beal comparison the best for Booker. Not sure if he will be as good as Klay because Klay actually has the ability to put the ball on the court plus a very good defender AND Klay actually has a post game too that he used to hit turnaround jumpers from the baseline.

I hope Booker will be more than Redick which is why I like Beal comp.

Knight actually compares almost equally to Beal, and actually better in advanced stats. Booker has a higher upside I think.

http://bkref.com/tiny/61bka

I think Knight has dropped a bit since last time I looked from 3, but he still measures out as a better player. Same TS%, ppg too. HIgher in many other categories.

[letsgosuns]

Now that the Suns are 12-21, Bledsoe is out for the season, two assistants have been fired, the Markieff saga keeps getting weirder, and the team has been in turmoil, I ask you guys, has it been worth it to hold onto Morris to supposedly get a decent package in return. I said before the season started his goal was to destroy to season himself and he did. Intentionally tanking games caused losses (and still might) and also put the organization in a terrible position.

If the Suns would have just traded Markieff for the best package they could get before training camp, I highly doubt all of this would have happened. This entire season would have been nothing like the slew of negativity it is now. That is why I truly believe if the Suns bring back Markieff again after this suspension and allow him to sit on the bench during games, there is nothing else to say but that this organization has gone completely insane.

[Damkac]

Didn't watch the game but I'm suprised it wasn't a blowout. Even more suprised that Warren hit 4 of 5 3 pt shoot
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75e9RlwGWws[/youtube]

[Saberestar]

Now that the Suns are 12-21, Bledsoe is out fort the season, two assistants have been fired, the Markieff saga keeps getting weirder, and the team has been in turmoil, I ask you guys, has it been worth it to hold onto Morris to supposedly get a decent package in return. I said before the season started his goal was to destroy to season himself and he did. Intentionally tanking games caused losses (and still might) and also put the organization in a terrible position.

If the Suns would have just traded Markieff for the best package they could get before training camp, I highly doubt all of this would have happened. This entire season would have been nothing like the slew of negativity it is now. That is why I truly believe if the Suns bring back Markieff again after this suspension and allow him to sit on the bench during games, there is nothing else to say but that this organization has gone completely insane.

It is incredibly that the FO and Hornacek believe in Markieff after all that has happened in the last 2 months. It is incredibly.

[AtheJ415]

Booker is Korver.
Comparing him to Klay is just nonsense. Klay was always a superb defender.
That's why he's so valuable now.

Not because he's a unbelievable shooter. It's because he can SHOOT AND DEFEND top tier players.
If y'all are hoping this for Booker, u better be ready to be disappointed... BIG TIME.

1. Korver is an incredibly underrated defender.
2. Korver is a catch and shoot guy mostly. Booker does more than that.

Plus Klay became a good defender, coming out of college and his first few years he was not a good defender.

Is it me or do some people believe Klay is an all time 50 greatest or something? If not for Steph, Klay wouldn't be half the player he is. There is such little pressure on him being the second option to the best shooter of all-time.....no pressure whatsoever. But to pretend Klay is Kobe or something is absurd.

Devin has shown me more this year than what I would have expected him to be showing 2-3 years down the road; and I wanted no parts of him during the draft.

That's just IMO.

Until last year, many didn't think he was worth a max contract. This is funny to me, because not only do we have many who think our young guys, many of which are younger than Thompson was when he was deemed unworthy of the contract, are already unable to become stars--but now, suddenly the past is re-written and those guys were already better than they really were as young guys.

[AtheJ415]

Now that the Suns are 12-21, Bledsoe is out fort the season, two assistants have been fired, the Markieff saga keeps getting weirder, and the team has been in turmoil, I ask you guys, has it been worth it to hold onto Morris to supposedly get a decent package in return. I said before the season started his goal was to destroy to season himself and he did. Intentionally tanking games caused losses (and still might) and also put the organization in a terrible position.

If the Suns would have just traded Markieff for the best package they could get before training camp, I highly doubt all of this would have happened. This entire season would have been nothing like the slew of negativity it is now. That is why I truly believe if the Suns bring back Markieff again after this suspension and allow him to sit on the bench during games, there is nothing else to say but that this organization has gone completely insane.

It is incredibly that the FO and Hornacek believe in Markieff after all that has happened in the last 2 months. It is incredibly.

If he's being moved for an FA, then it will all make sense January 15th. It's possible a deal has already been in place for weeks.

[Revived]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/681716850959335424[/tweet]

Lmao come on Hornacek, even I know your better than that. Show some damn awareness when you talk.

[JMac1]

1. Korver is an incredibly underrated defender.
2. Korver is a catch and shoot guy mostly. Booker does more than that.

Plus Klay became a good defender, coming out of college and his first few years he was not a good defender.

Is it me or do some people believe Klay is an all time 50 greatest or something? If not for Steph, Klay wouldn't be half the player he is. There is such little pressure on him being the second option to the best shooter of all-time.....no pressure whatsoever. But to pretend Klay is Kobe or something is absurd.

Devin has shown me more this year than what I would have expected him to be showing 2-3 years down the road; and I wanted no parts of him during the draft.

That's just IMO.

Until last year, many didn't think he was worth a max contract. This is funny to me, because not only do we have many who think our young guys, many of which are younger than Thompson was when he was deemed unworthy of the contract, are already unable to become stars--but now, suddenly the past is re-written and those guys were already better than they really were as young guys.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Let's just give Warren and Booker 20 shots a game and see what they can do.

There's no bad outcome for it really.

[SarcasticSun]

Len emulate Duncan? Lol in that case I think Goodwin plays more like Michael Jordan.

Yeah Len won't be a superstar any time soon. The Duncan comparison is way too much. I'm just hoping he can be a Zydrunas Ilgauskas type player.

[AtheJ415]

Len emulate Duncan? Lol in that case I think Goodwin plays more like Michael Jordan.

He does. Worked out with him over the summer. Watches his game film. Nobody's saying he's going to be Duncan. He won't. But why not try to play like him than Jonas?