The TJ Warren Thread!

[kennydorglas]

Great to see Warren doing well. A couple of questions - is he a 3 or a 4? Does he have a 3 ball now? And has his defense improved?

Going in to this season, I felt Warren's scoring ability was obvious, but I questioned whether he was the guy you want next to Booker, mainly for defensive reasons. If his defense really has improved, you may well have your future wing combo for years to come.

With two high ceiling PF prospects coming through the ranks and an upcoming draft with an abundance of great PG talent in the lottery, things could pan out well.

Whether Len's the answer at C going forward or not I'm not sure, you've seen a lot more of him than I have, but that's obviously a crossroads your at right now. Personally, I'd lean towards rolling with him going forward. He may not consistently live up to his potential, but he seems like a very solid, big C, and they're not dime a dozen. Ideally, once all the pieces start falling in to place, he's not a main option anyway.

Someone here posted his hustle stats... he's the leader in the NBA right now with 6.5 deflections per game.
So he's just playing hard on defense and crashing the boards like crazy... Eventually he'd figure it out and I'm glad he did in his early career.

[Mylie10]

I consider Warren a Warrior killer. That dude just owns us on offense.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Someone here posted his hustle stats... he's the leader in the NBA right now with 6.5 deflections per game.

And yet I was reading a number of comments in the game threads criticizing his D. SMH. Sometimes I don't know what others are watching.

[jcsunsfan]

Someone here posted his hustle stats... he's the leader in the NBA right now with 6.5 deflections per game.

And yet I was reading a number of comments in the game threads criticizing his D. SMH. Sometimes I don't know what others are watching.

I think much defensive criticism comes from people who want to sound like they know basketball, or those who do not watch but only read stat sheets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lilfishi22]

Great to see Warren doing well. A couple of questions - is he a 3 or a 4? Does he have a 3 ball now? And has his defense improved?

Going in to this season, I felt Warren's scoring ability was obvious, but I questioned whether he was the guy you want next to Booker, mainly for defensive reasons. If his defense really has improved, you may well have your future wing combo for years to come.

With two high ceiling PF prospects coming through the ranks and an upcoming draft with an abundance of great PG talent in the lottery, things could pan out well.

Whether Len's the answer at C going forward or not I'm not sure, you've seen a lot more of him than I have, but that's obviously a crossroads your at right now. Personally, I'd lean towards rolling with him going forward. He may not consistently live up to his potential, but he seems like a very solid, big C, and they're not dime a dozen. Ideally, once all the pieces start falling in to place, he's not a main option anyway.

He's a 3 but I think he can play the 4 in spurts because he has decent height and he's a pretty good rebounder for a wing. I wouldn't want to see him play the 4 long term but that front line of Chandler/Warren we closed out our last game against OKC looked great. His D has improved slightly but I still think he has problems playing good fundamental defense in front of his man. He does have good hands in the passing lanes though.

I don't like the idea of going forward with Len. I know he's young big with decent athleticism but he's so bad offensively and defensively, he's fairly average. I feel these past three seasons with Len, he's trying so hard to be well-rounded in all facets of the big man game that he hasn't focused on doing one single thing great which is why we are where we are today. I still want to believe he can turn into a good defensive C but I don't know what our development staff or Len's mindset is on this matter; whether they still want him to be good on both ends of the court.

[lilfishi22]

Someone here posted his hustle stats... he's the leader in the NBA right now with 6.5 deflections per game.

And yet I was reading a number of comments in the game threads criticizing his D. SMH. Sometimes I don't know what others are watching.

I think much defensive criticism comes from people who want to sound like they know basketball, or those who do not watch but only read stat sheets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So if anyone criticises his defense, they either don't see what you see or want to sound like they know basketball or they only look at the stat sheets?

[TeamTragic]

Most improved player this season. Hands down.

[blacksun]

And yet I was reading a number of comments in the game threads criticizing his D. SMH. Sometimes I don't know what others are watching.

I think much defensive criticism comes from people who want to sound like they know basketball, or those who do not watch but only read stat sheets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So if anyone criticises his defense, they either don't see what you see or want to sound like they know basketball or they only look at the stat sheets?

Agreed. And deflections does not equal defense. Hes improving, but hes not a good defender yet.

[floppymoose]

Warren was a guy I wanted on the Warriors back in his draft class. He can clearly score at any level. He needs a 3-ball to be all that he can be, though. Is he making progress on that?

[PackSuns]

I like how some "fans" critique certain players one way and others a different way. Shouldn't the criteria be the same? Tear a player down because you are a fan boy of a different player?? This is a team sport.

[dremill24]

I like how some "fans" critique certain players one way and others a different way. Shouldn't the criteria be the same? Tear a player down because you are a fan boy of a different player?? This is a team sport.

There's 3 sides to every story..

[bwgood77]

Warren was a guy I wanted on the Warriors back in his draft class. He can clearly score at any level. He needs a 3-ball to be all that he can be, though. Is he making progress on that?

Yes, shot 40% last year and tonight. Too small a sample size so far this year but he can hit them. He can pretty much score from anywhere.

[lilfishi22]

I think much defensive criticism comes from people who want to sound like they know basketball, or those who do not watch but only read stat sheets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So if anyone criticises his defense, they either don't see what you see or want to sound like they know basketball or they only look at the stat sheets?

Agreed. And deflections does not equal defense. Hes improving, but hes not a good defender yet.

Deflections are like incomplete steals or assisted steals. Steals in the NBA are mostly achieved by gambling on passing lanes which shows some defensive awareness but it's not always a good stat or skill to prove defensive fundamentals or ability. Allen Iverson was always at the top of the league in steals but he doesn't play very good fundamental defense, he just gambles a lot and has the defensive players behind to cover up his missed gambles.

I watch TJ's feet when his man is about to receive the ball, I look at how he's positioned when he's defending and I look at how he reacts to his opponents movements. TJ doesn't react very well to opponent movements still and although he tries hard to put himself in the right position to defend, he's often a step slow which gives his man an edge when they make a move.

[Damkac]

Watch on YouTube

Race is a contentious issue in modern America, and for good reason. Inequality abounds, achievement gaps widen, and mistrust is rampant. As worthy as the subject is, it is not my place to discuss such matters. I will leave that up to the good people who work in the media, with the confidence that they will be completely honest and truthful in their handling of the subject, as they are with any other. However, I can offer this tidbit, a small sign of increasing equality in these troubled times:

At 0:43 of this video, Suns commentator Eddie Johnson uses the descriptive phrase "sneaky hops" in reference to a black person!

I wouldn't call this a milestone in race relations, but it is a good sign, is it not? No longer is having physical traits that obscure one's vertical leaping ability the domain of white persons exclusively. This is surely at least part of the future that Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed of.

[Owen_Bart]

You can see TJ has really put the work in this off season! Hope to see him take a big leap this year.

[Saberestar]

He is smooth and always under control, offensively he has all the tools and he does not hold the ball.

He is a really good defender IMO this season, probably one of the best in our team right now. He can defend multiple positions and he can switch everything, he is no longer weak defending in the paint.

[PackSuns]

He is smooth and always under control, offensively he has all the tools and he does not hold the ball.

He is a really good defender IMO this season, probably one of the best in our team right now. He can defend multiple positions and he can switch everything, he is no longer weak defending in the paint.

Spot on.

[kennydorglas]

Hustling is almost 90% of the REAL DEFENSE in the NBA.

[Saberestar]

With Watson comparing Suns small forward T.J. Warren to Paul Pierce, it is appropriate that Pierce’s coach in Boston and Los Angeles, Doc Rivers, said he saw this early-season scoring breakthrough coming from the Suns small forward.

“He’s a professional scorer at a young age,” Rivers said. “I remember (early last season) writing down and sending to our staff upstairs, ‘This kid can score.’ He had an awful game that game against us but you could just see the raw ability that he has. He has timing, feel, change of pace, quirky shots. He’s going to be a great scorer in our league.”

Watson said Warren reminds him of Pierce because of his mid-range game, sneaky athleticism, body and potential defensively.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/11/01/phoenix-suns-alex-len-no-extension-deadline/93100722/?hootPostID=%5B%27a8bfdeb83c8ce955be61e2a6a774f801%27%5D

[OGBAH]

Hope he keeps it up so we don't sign Hayward