Game 2: The Rise of the Rookies

[DRK]

Watson probably tried to hedge the crap out of Westbrook with Chriss, but kinda backfired because he didnt put Chandler in after the TO.

In under no circunstances you put a super raw kid to protect the rim against the freak of this league. It's just crazy. Could've been EASILY an and-1 for them.

I guess Watson's a rookie too but that was a ridiculously stupid move.

I liked having Chriss in there to trap Westy, but Watson mustve fallen asleep during the timeout or went to the toilet to take a dump because Chandler should have been in the game.

Last time a big man was benched for more mobile players on the last play, this happened.

Watch on YouTube

[DRK]

I

If you are HELL BENT on trapping Westbrook, we have a pesky 5'10" guard who seems to get a steal on every other posession. Why not trap with him?

If Ulis was on Westbrook, Westbrook would back him down from halfcourt.

[blacksun]

Two things for me. Booker, when he holds the ball, his play materializes so slowly. He needs to be quicker with the ball. He isnt the point guard on this team, and facilitating plays isnt his number one task. He needs to focus on scoring first through off-ball movement. He seems to be standing around an awful lot when he doesnt hold the ball.

Second, are we allergic to catch and shoot threes? too many times they run an offense well only to turn down a good shot off the catch, and choose to take a dribble to take an even harder shot, or drive to the rim which usually ends in a contested layup. Just put it up quickly and be done with it.

[kennydorglas]

Watson probably tried to hedge the crap out of Westbrook with Chriss, but kinda backfired because he didnt put Chandler in after the TO.

In under no circunstances you put a super raw kid to protect the rim against the freak of this league. It's just crazy. Could've been EASILY an and-1 for them.

I guess Watson's a rookie too but that was a ridiculously stupid move.

I liked having Chriss in there to trap Westy, but Watson mustve fallen asleep during the timeout or went to the toilet to take a dump because Chandler should have been in the game.

Last time a big man was benched for more mobile players on the last play, this happened.

Watch on YouTube

I just cant get enough of this play.
Ray Allen's IQ is just off the charts. OMG

[LukasBMW]

My takeaways:

Positive:
- We played way better.
- TJ Warren is the real deal folks. 30 points and 9 boards on 13-18 shooting. That's absurd!
- Booker missed so many shots he usually makes, but he will be fine. I love love his confidence and swagger.
- Bledsoe and Chandler are good players. If we have any playoff hopes, it requires both of them stay healthy. That may be a tall order. Can we please get them some help? They won't last if we have to play them 40 minutes a game!

Negative:
-Knight with 19 and 6 on 7/18 shooting. From the stat line, it MIGHT seem like he had a good game. If you watched, you know differently. He cannot make any passes in traffic nor can he find any open players. His other stat line says it all -18 in the +/-
-Len with -19 in +/-. Also had 3 points and 4 fouls. What a waste. He seriously played better as a rookie!
-Imagine...JUST IMAGINE how good we would be with a REAL center!!! We'd win games! Can we get Tyson some help please?
-Knight should not start OR FINISH games. He really shouldn't finish games because he CHOKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!


Misc:
-Westbook is a beast. He might be the best small player EVER. Is there a PG that could ever do what he does? He carries the Thunder. Taking 44 shots is comical, but 51/13/10 is INSANE!

[KLEON]

Watching Brandon Knight is like buying a lottery scratcher ticket.

20% of the time, it's fun and you win. 80% of the time, you lose and realize you were an idiot.

I think Jason Kidd is a prophet because I remember Knight was playing at an all star level before he got injured and then got traded to the Suns. Jason Kidd is a GENIUS

[LukasBMW]

I

If you are HELL BENT on trapping Westbrook, we have a pesky 5'10" guard who seems to get a steal on every other posession. Why not trap with him?

If Ulis was on Westbrook, Westbrook would back him down from halfcourt.

He had 51 points and got to the rim whenever we wanted. At least Ulis could stay in front of him. Forcing Westbrook to back him down and take a turn around jumper would have been a nice change instead of letting him blow by Knight for an easy layup.

Ulis also has the heart of a lion on roids. He wouldn't back down from Rus, nor would he let a few bad plays get to his head.

[lilfishi22]

Just finished watching. Even thought we lost..WOW!

What a thriller of a game!

the game just finished..it was live - we all just finished watching..

but yea agreed solid game..TJ Warren definitely a highlight.

Yeah I figured. I was watching on delay then forgot I had skipped the halftime BS so I was live haha

TJ was solid. I loved his overall game. His defense was solid and he rebounded very well. I like that front court to end the game with Warren and Chandler.

[lilfishi22]

My takeaways:

Positive:
- We played way better.
- TJ Warren is the real deal folks. 30 points and 9 boards on 13-18 shooting. That's absurd!
- Booker missed so many shots he usually makes, but he will be fine. I love love his confidence and swagger.
- Bledsoe and Chandler are good players. If we have any playoff hopes, it requires both of them stay healthy. That may be a tall order. Can we please get them some help? They won't last if we have to play them 40 minutes a game!

Negative:
-Knight with 19 and 6 on 7/18 shooting. From the stat line, it MIGHT seem like he had a good game. If you watched, you know differently. He cannot make any passes in traffic nor can he find any open players. His other stat line says it all -18 in the +/-
-Len with -19 in +/-. Also had 3 points and 4 fouls. What a waste. He seriously played better as a rookie!
-Imagine...JUST IMAGINE how good we would be with a REAL center!!! We'd win games! Can we get Tyson some help please?
-Knight should not start OR FINISH games. He really shouldn't finish games because he CHOKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!


Misc:
-Westbook is a beast. He might be the best small player EVER. Is there a PG that could ever do what he does? He carries the Thunder. Taking 44 shots is comical, but 51/13/10 is INSANE!

Booker looked bad until the last OT imo. I didn't like that he rushed a ton of his shots either. He shot them early in the shot clock and he wasn't balanced when he took them. Then in OT he did the right thing by putting the pressure on the D and on the refs by taking it to the hoop. It took him a while to figure that out but he figured it out which is the important part.

With regards to Westbrook, his swagger, his ability to take over games and his fiery attitude, that's some prime Kobe/Jordan sht.

[lilfishi22]

Two things for me. Booker, when he holds the ball, his play materializes so slowly. He needs to be quicker with the ball. He isnt the point guard on this team, and facilitating plays isnt his number one task. He needs to focus on scoring first through off-ball movement. He seems to be standing around an awful lot when he doesnt hold the ball.

Second, are we allergic to catch and shoot threes? too many times they run an offense well only to turn down a good shot off the catch, and choose to take a dribble to take an even harder shot, or drive to the rim which usually ends in a contested layup. Just put it up quickly and be done with it.

This for sure irked me a bit. Early last season when he was still very green, he was strictly a catch and shoot player. He made decisions quick and he executed. Now it seems like he's intent on reseting every play which is not only annoying to watch, it affects the flow of the game greatly. He needs to play within the flow of the game. I do feel like he was a bit down on himself in this game because of the shots he was missing so he sort of took it upon himself to reset and try to make plays or score the ball. That's really not what we need.

[batsmasher]

Two things for me. Booker, when he holds the ball, his play materializes so slowly. He needs to be quicker with the ball. He isnt the point guard on this team, and facilitating plays isnt his number one task. He needs to focus on scoring first through off-ball movement. He seems to be standing around an awful lot when he doesnt hold the ball.

100% agree and it's why I gave him the -3. Just because it's his team doesn't entitle him to waste time on the ball. Good players do what they wanna do, and they do it quickly.

[bwgood77]

Watching Brandon Knight is like buying a lottery scratcher ticket.

20% of the time, it's fun and you win. 80% of the time, you lose and realize you were an idiot.

I think Jason Kidd is a prophet because I remember Knight was playing at an all star level before he got injured and then got traded to the Suns. Jason Kidd is a GENIUS

Except that instead of taking our pick he took MCW, who they later traded for Tony Snell.

[TeamTragic]

Watching Brandon Knight is like buying a lottery scratcher ticket.

20% of the time, it's fun and you win. 80% of the time, you lose and realize you were an idiot.

I think Jason Kidd is a prophet because I remember Knight was playing at an all star level before he got injured and then got traded to the Suns. Jason Kidd is a GENIUS

Except that instead of taking our pick he took MCW, who they later traded for Tony Snell.

Bucks ended up the bigger loser in this situation:

Thank you Jason Kidd - McD

[Hesh]

I was shocked that Chandler bit on that Stevens pump fake in OT. Tyson is usually smarter than that

[AtheJ415]

Watching Brandon Knight is like buying a lottery scratcher ticket.

20% of the time, it's fun and you win. 80% of the time, you lose and realize you were an idiot.

I think Jason Kidd is a prophet because I remember Knight was playing at an all star level before he got injured and then got traded to the Suns. Jason Kidd is a GENIUS

Well, I'd agree but he traded him for Michael Carter-Williams (worse) and demanded Tyler Ennis (out of league). He didn't win that trade.

[KLEON]

Watching Brandon Knight is like buying a lottery scratcher ticket.

20% of the time, it's fun and you win. 80% of the time, you lose and realize you were an idiot.

I think Jason Kidd is a prophet because I remember Knight was playing at an all star level before he got injured and then got traded to the Suns. Jason Kidd is a GENIUS

Well, I'd agree but he traded him for Michael Carter-Williams (worse) and demanded Tyler Ennis (out of league). He didn't win that trade.

The thing is he doesn't have those problems anymore and we are stuck with Knight for years

[LukasBMW]

Just found this article on AZCentral.com

CRAZYYYY!!!!!! I copy/pasted it here in case some of you cannot access the article:

--------------------

Former Suns player charged with kidnapping and identity theft


11:34 p.m. MST October 28, 2016

(Photo: Phoenix Police Department)

Phoenix police raided the house of former Phoenix Suns player Shannon Brown on Friday night. Brown (age 30), last played for the Suns in 2013. Sgt. Daniel Mejia, Phoenix Police Department spokesman, said Brown was booked into the Maricopa County jail and charged with kidnapping, identity theft, three counts of wire fraud, and four counts of credit card fraud.

Phoenix police removed boxes of evidence from Brown’s modest house in North Phoenix. Notable items included DVD’s of the 90’s hit movies “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Face/off.” Police also found Brandon Knight tied up and gagged inside the house.

Apparently shortly after Feburary 19th, 2015, Brown kidnapped Knight and used a 3D printer to duplicate his face. Brown then used the tactics he learned from watching Mrs. Doubtfire and Face/off to transfer the face to his skull and had been impersonating Brandon Knight ever sense.

Brown signed a $70 million extension with the Suns in the summer of 2015 posing as Knight and used the money to buy expensive masonry equipment. Sgt. Daniel Mejia said that police found a large selection of bricks in the backyard of Brown’s house but police had not yet determined if the bricks belonged to Knight or Brown.

Stay tuned for more updates…

[letsgosuns]

Idk if the Bucks won the trade because they have not done much since trading Knight, but the Suns definitely lost the trade. Not only did they trade the pick, but they paid Knight 70 million dollars for five years. Just an awful miscalculation of what kind of player he is.

[bwgood77]

Idk if the Bucks won the trade because they have not done much since trading Knight, but the Suns definitely lost the trade. Not only did they trade the pick, but they paid Knight 70 million dollars for five years. Just an awful miscalculation of what kind of player he is.

It was a three way trade and without a doubt Philly won it. They have the Lakers pick which will probably be a mid lotto pick this year in a great draft. If we still had that pick and our own, we could draft a PG and C high in the draft.

[batsmasher]

You know what is absolutely nuts? Bender has looked more NBA ready in his minutes than Marquese. No one would have thought that was possible a week ago.