Game 8: Suns @ Blazers

[ATTL]

I heard Earl Watson will play PJ Tucker as a small ball center.

Soon as I read Tyson was questionable I immediately thought PJ was going to start.

[bwgood77]

Moving Chriss to permanent power forward on game 8 of his rookie season shows me that Watson has confidence in his ability to develop right now, no need to let him get a couple of years experience from the bench. That, plus Dudley really hasn't been showing anything at all playing out of position as a starting 4.

Good move Earl!

What's interesting is that this shift is happening despite how poorly Chriss has played thus far.

Putting both Tucker and Dudley on the bench is a problem as well. They're extremely similar players.

Yeah, that is interesting about Chriss. I think Dudley on the bench helps the bench, because he's played with Knight and can hit the 3 at a very good rate. It will probably be a lot better for Knight and Len to have Dudley out there than Chriss with them.

I do hope that especially since Chriss is being given a starter role, that the other rookies start to get some burn as well. It would suck for them he starts and they get DNPs,

[ATTL]

Read on Twitter

Interesting, rookie fans should like this

"Chriss, the 19-year-old Suns rookie, will get his first NBA start Tuesday night at Portland in a permanent Suns lineup move at power forward"

Permanent? I'll believe it when I see it.

[bwgood77]

I heard Earl Watson will play PJ Tucker as a small ball center.

Soon as I read Tyson was questionable I immediately thought PJ was going to start.

Obviously Len will probably start, but Chandler would obviously be better to have next to Chriss. However, Chriss has been playing with Len so far.

We should be able to get to see some Big Sauce if Chandler is out though.

[ATTL]

I heard Earl Watson will play PJ Tucker as a small ball center.

Soon as I read Tyson was questionable I immediately thought PJ was going to start.

Obviously Len will probably start, but Chandler would obviously be better to have next to Chriss. However, Chriss has been playing with Len so far.

We should be able to get to see some Big Sauce if Chandler is out though.

If Chandler's out I expect Bender to get some playing time before sauce

[bwgood77]

Soon as I read Tyson was questionable I immediately thought PJ was going to start.

Obviously Len will probably start, but Chandler would obviously be better to have next to Chriss. However, Chriss has been playing with Len so far.

We should be able to get to see some Big Sauce if Chandler is out though.

If Chandler's out I expect Bender to get some playing time before sauce

I guess the question would be who would play center? Which SF? Dudley, Tucker or Bender?

[nevetsov]

I like this move because I see Booker/Warren/Chriss as our starting core moving forward. Bookending them with defensive vets in Bledsoe and Chandler gives them the best possible opportunity to grow into their roles.

This also gives our bench a ton of versatility which can be tailored game to game:

Ulis
Knight
Barbosa
Tucker
Dudley
Bender
Len

While I'd love to see Ulis, Bender and Len be the permanent fixtures of the bench lineup (complemented by any 1 or 2 of the others based on lineup) we at least have the pieces there to go small, big, fast, inside, outside, etc.

[Thespianoid]

What's interesting is that this shift is happening despite how poorly Chriss has played thus far.

I'm not surprised at all really. This is exactly what I was afraid of ever since SL and preseason happened, as Watson had clearly chosen him as his favorite project for the future.

It's been leading up to this - why else would Chriss get all sorts of time and offensive involvement despite him playing terribly for stretches? Poor IQ defensively and with his passes/fouls, yet still gets all the opportunity in the world to play through it - as evidenced by there only being one game he has barely played. But Bender and Ulis play well in the limited minutes they're allowed to play, and then never see the court again.

To be honest this reminds me too much of the early days of Dwane Casey picking his favorites and riding with them come hell or high water.

[TeamTragic]

What's interesting is that this shift is happening despite how poorly Chriss has played thus far.

I'm not surprised at all really. This is exactly what I was afraid of ever since SL and preseason happened, as Watson had clearly chosen him as his favorite project for the future.

It's been leading up to this - why else would Chriss get all sorts of time and offensive involvement despite him playing terribly for stretches? Poor IQ defensively and with his passes/fouls, yet still gets all the opportunity in the world to play through it. But Bender and Ulis play well whenever they're allowed to play, and then never see the court again.

What are you talking about exactly? Chriss has been playing decent and you forget that in order to improve he needs to get on the court. I'm not talking about practice.

Please stop bashing our rookies. They have barely played and honestly Watson has made terrible decisions about when/where to play our rookies.

[Thespianoid]

What's interesting is that this shift is happening despite how poorly Chriss has played thus far.

I'm not surprised at all really. This is exactly what I was afraid of ever since SL and preseason happened, as Watson had clearly chosen him as his favorite project for the future.

It's been leading up to this - why else would Chriss get all sorts of time and offensive involvement despite him playing terribly for stretches? Poor IQ defensively and with his passes/fouls, yet still gets all the opportunity in the world to play through it. But Bender and Ulis play well whenever they're allowed to play, and then never see the court again.

What are you talking about exactly? Chriss has been playing good and do we need to remind you the we need to play him if we want him to improve? Please go back to the Raptors board.

Play him all the minutes, sure, but also give the same opportunity to the other rookies if that is the case. That hasn't been the case at all the entire season/preseason and that annoys me, considering the amount of IQ mistakes I've seen from Chriss vs. Bender/Ulis.

I haven't seen much from Chriss that puts him above the other rookies, aside from his athleticism - he plays like a rookie most of the time on both ends, Bender and Ulis have less lapses in that regard, and for a young team trying to improve I'd be rewarding smart, mature play over pure athleticism and less brains. But then again I'm not a Suns fan so it doesn't matter I guess.

Please stop bashing our rookies. They have barely played and honestly Watson has made terrible decisions about when/where to play our rookies.

Not bashing the rookies, I want to see them do well, just I hate to see inequality of opportunity. And you've basically agreed with me on a certain level - Watson has made terrible decisions regarding them. But I see this as yet another one - giving one favored rookie a big role over the others, without merit.

[TeamTragic]

I'm not surprised at all really. This is exactly what I was afraid of ever since SL and preseason happened, as Watson had clearly chosen him as his favorite project for the future.

It's been leading up to this - why else would Chriss get all sorts of time and offensive involvement despite him playing terribly for stretches? Poor IQ defensively and with his passes/fouls, yet still gets all the opportunity in the world to play through it. But Bender and Ulis play well whenever they're allowed to play, and then never see the court again.

What are you talking about exactly? Chriss has been playing decent and you forget that in order to improve he needs to get on the court. I'm not talking about practice.

Please stop bashing our rookies. They have barely played and honestly Watson has made terrible decisions about when/where to play our rookies.

Play him all the minutes, sure, but also give the same opportunity to the other rookies if that is the case. That hasn't been the case at all the entire season/preseason and that annoys me, considering the amount of IQ mistakes I've seen from Chriss vs. Bender/Ulis.

I haven't seen much from Chriss that puts him above the other rookies, aside from his athleticism - he plays like a rookie most of the time on both ends, Bender and Ulis have less lapses in that regard, and for a young team trying to improve I'd be rewarding smart, mature play over pure athleticism and less brains.

But then again I'm not a Suns fan so it doesn't matter I guess.

How can you tell that when Watson has barely played our rookies?

[Thespianoid]

What are you talking about exactly? Chriss has been playing decent and you forget that in order to improve he needs to get on the court. I'm not talking about practice.

Please stop bashing our rookies. They have barely played and honestly Watson has made terrible decisions about when/where to play our rookies.

Play him all the minutes, sure, but also give the same opportunity to the other rookies if that is the case. That hasn't been the case at all the entire season/preseason and that annoys me, considering the amount of IQ mistakes I've seen from Chriss vs. Bender/Ulis.

I haven't seen much from Chriss that puts him above the other rookies, aside from his athleticism - he plays like a rookie most of the time on both ends, Bender and Ulis have less lapses in that regard, and for a young team trying to improve I'd be rewarding smart, mature play over pure athleticism and less brains.

But then again I'm not a Suns fan so it doesn't matter I guess.

How can you tell that when Watson has barely played our rookies?

You're right, there's not a large enough sample size to conclude anything about their play, just bits and pieces of what they bring at this stage (good and bad), but I simply don't understand the need to reward one rookie with a big role while neglecting the others.

If this move putting Chriss into the starting lineup also comes with making Bender/Ulis a key part of the bench rotation, with all getting similar amounts of minutes, I'd have zero issues. But I'm just reading this as a "make Chriss into a star, forget the rest" move. I hope I'm wrong.

in order to improve he needs to get on the court. I'm not talking about practice.

exactly, but my issue is this- why has this not been applied to all the rookies equally?

They all need time on the court to improve, and with this team essentially in a developmental stage, what better time is there to do that? What has Chriss shown over the other rookies that determines he gets a starting role while they get glued to the bench? I haven't seen it from his play, however little that might be.

[ducler]

[kennydorglas]

Watson is so tough to understand hahaha
Dont play Chriss at all and now he's a full time starter lol

I dont think Duds deserved to be benched, but if this is the start of our youth movement, i'll be okay.
Dudley is a true pro... I wonder if he had any part on this move (like he did with Giannis in Milwaukee)

[TeamTragic]

Play him all the minutes, sure, but also give the same opportunity to the other rookies if that is the case. That hasn't been the case at all the entire season/preseason and that annoys me, considering the amount of IQ mistakes I've seen from Chriss vs. Bender/Ulis.

I haven't seen much from Chriss that puts him above the other rookies, aside from his athleticism - he plays like a rookie most of the time on both ends, Bender and Ulis have less lapses in that regard, and for a young team trying to improve I'd be rewarding smart, mature play over pure athleticism and less brains.

But then again I'm not a Suns fan so it doesn't matter I guess.

How can you tell that when Watson has barely played our rookies?

You're right, there's not a large enough sample size to conclude anything about their play, just bits and pieces of what they bring at this stage (good and bad), but I simply don't understand the need to reward one rookie with a big role while neglecting the others.

If this move putting Chriss into the starting lineup also comes with making Bender/Ulis a key part of the bench rotation, with all getting similar amounts of minutes, I'd have zero issues. But I'm just reading this as a "make Chriss into a star, forget the rest" move. I hope I'm wrong.

in order to improve he needs to get on the court. I'm not talking about practice.

exactly, but my issue is this- why has this not been applied to all the rookies equally?

They all need time on the court to improve, and with this team essentially in a developmental stage, what better time is there to do that? What has Chriss shown over the other rookies that determines he gets a starting role while they get glued to the bench? I haven't seen it from his play, however little that might be.

Currently I weigh each rookie the same. I just want them to get substantial minutes. Watson needs to stop being an idiot.

[blacksun]

I see this move as a balancing out of sorts. Dudley is needed by the bench as a stabilizing force to run with Len, Knight and Barbosa. Chriss can benefit with playing beside Tyson Chandler, and provides more size and athleticism. Good move imo. And props to Dudley for being a true pro.

[GetYourPHX]

Got tickets to the game tonight from my Blazer Bro. Can't wait to get pesky in Portland.

[Qwigglez]

While trying to find parking we saw the Suns bus pull up. Waiting to get inside the arena.

Read on Twitter

[Damkac]

Moving Dudley to bench may (perhaps) save the Suns from having the dumbest bench in the league.

[MrMiyagi]

Got tickets to the game tonight from my Blazer Bro. Can't wait to get pesky in Portland.

Oh, yeah!
You gotta get pesky.
You gotta get pesky in here.
It's time to get pesky.
Oh oh.
You gotta get pesky.