Houston Rockets (21-8) @ Phoenix Suns (8-20)

[LukasBMW]

It's nice to see a team actually run an offense. MDA did do that damn well. Amazing how he has turned Harden into an assist machine.

I'm getting tired of seeing us only run the pick and roll with 2 players while the other 3 stand still. Can we develop some plays with more then just 2 moving parts?

It's not even January and we are almost statistically eliminated from the playoffs. Only the 8th seed is somewhat realistic at this point. And that is a 4 game death sentence.

[thamadkant]

Bender will get minutes down the line... Seriously though he is a stick figure and getting him injured will hamper his development.

I think he should start getting plenty of minutes in the last 3rd of the season as he puts on more strength and his body adapts to the daily practice and training program. Dont get me wrong... I still thinks he can outplay Tucker... But Tucker getting exposure may get teams interested on him for trades.


But I still think Watson sucks because he cant coach for crap.

[DaleyBlind]

Bender will get minutes down the line... Seriously though he is a stick figure and getting him injured will hamper his development.

I think he should start getting plenty of minutes in the last 3rd of the season as he puts on more strength and his body adapts to the daily practice and training program. Dont get me wrong... I still thinks he can outplay Tucker... But Tucker getting exposure may get teams interested on him for trades.


But I still think Watson sucks because he cant coach for crap.

Cmon, his not going to get injured because he is slim lol. I hope your right though, id love to seem him get consistent minutes ASAP

[Frank Lee]

Hehehe.... rookie love is strong here. It's all we have. Sad when your team hopes sink to trades and draft picks.

Thanks McD.... your 3rd rebuild is going well.... may be the next one will be better


I agree with the inept X/O coaching of Watson. Our guys pass when they can't shoot. No discipline. It seems EW doesn't really coach. He doesnt holler out much, shows no emotion. Doesn't even work the refs. Is he that cool? Too much of a buddy buddy to players? Does he have tanking leeway? Contrast him with Thibs. I like a coach who is active, at least it seems like they are involved on every play.

[Jarlaxle0204]

Bender is trash. Got no points, no rebounds, no assists. I can't believe he's still in the league at this point.

I really like his connection to Kukoc, you can see similarities in his game. I think Bender will be a solid player in the future.

You can definitely see the similarities in their game. Bender and Kukoc even had a very similar stat line tonight as well.

In all seriousness, I love how the very first play Bender comes in, he gets a steal. This is ridiculous. You don't want to play the guy, fine. Just don't pretend like you can't find minutes for him on this amazing team full of superstars.

[RunDogGun]

Bender is trash. Got no points, no rebounds, no assists. I can't believe he's still in the league at this point.

I really like his connection to Kukoc, you can see similarities in his game. I think Bender will be a solid player in the future.

You can definitely see the similarities in their game. Bender and Kukoc even had a very similar stat line tonight as well.

In all seriousness, I love how the very first play Bender comes in, he gets a steal. This is ridiculous. You don't want to play the guy, fine. Just don't pretend like you can't find minutes for him on this amazing team full of superstars.

Tough to say when I'm not on the bench and in practice. It's good that Bender isn't complaining, and I think he will get more playing time this season. Maybe we don't want to showcase him until we make a trade involving other players like Knight and Tucker, for teams will ask for Bender if he breaks out too early. Or maybe he just isn't ready for big minutes. Len had issues with the game speed his rookie season, so maybe it's similar for Bender.

Either way, I think he is a talent that we will enjoy seeing playing for our Suns in the near future.

[RunDogGun]

In all seriousness, Watson is a pathetic excuse for an NBA coach.

Posts like this are pathetic too. If given a choice, every coach in the league leans on veterans. Bender and Ulis give Earl no reason to play them any meaningful minutes right now. Suns fans have been complaining about our rookies playing time for as long as I can remember, but this season you guys are taking it to a whole new level. This non-stop hate in every thread can really diminish the pleasure of browsing this board sometimes.

Lean on veterans for what exactly....to Lose by 15 instead of 20? we are a **** team, and we are playing guys who have no real future on the team. Its completely (Please Use More Appropriate Word).

The goal right now should be to get minutes for Booker/Warren/Len/Bender/Chriss/Ullis...Of course we will lose games, but we are losing games anyway. When Ullis has played he has looked solid, Bender was the 4th pick in the draft he should be getting some playing time, not 3 minutes here and 1 minute there - consistent minutes so we can actually see what he can do when given consistent playing time.

McDonough has already come out and said we doesn't want Bender/Ullis buried on the bench and out vets playing 40mins a night. Watson clearly hasn't changed his mind, so McDonough is going to have trade them for it to happen and it cant come soon enough.

I don't know, I think our goal should be to developed a good team culture, where players play for each other, not for themselves. I think we have the right mix of vets. While I'm fine if we move Tucker, I feel his leadership along with Chandler, LB and Dudley is a good foundation. Our main issue is that neither Bledsoe nor Knight are great floor leaders currently.

It was great to have Warren get back into form, and I think he will transition back to the starting group very soon. So let's see how things change once we have a healthy squad.

I'm not worried about our young guys playing time right now, and bringing one along at a time, is fine. However, I think we should find games where all three can get minutes together.

I also feel that a trade is coming involving Knight and Tucker, or just Knight for now, and then Tucker near the deadline. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Tucker and Warren starting together for a few games. We should have been using that pairing for a few years now, they could have been a solid forward pair filling in each other's gaps.

[bwgood77]

Hehehe.... rookie love is strong here. It's all we have. Sad when your team hopes sink to trades and draft picks.

Thanks McD.... your 3rd rebuild is going well.... may be the next one will be better


I agree with the inept X/O coaching of Watson. Our guys pass when they can't shoot. No discipline. It seems EW doesn't really coach. He doesnt holler out much, shows no emotion. Doesn't even work the refs. Is he that cool? Too much of a buddy buddy to players? Does he have tanking leeway? Contrast him with Thibs. I like a coach who is active, at least it seems like they are involved on every play.

Yep. Love having rookies who can give us hope for the future. Loved seeing Amare as a rookie, KJ after the trade in his rookie year, Nash, Finley, Majerle, Hornacek, Marion, Booker, Warren, and now our new rookies. I love when we get rookies who for most of our entire existence have been the cornerstones of our best teams. Heck, go back to Alvan Adams, picking him 4th like Bender, Walter Davis, Larry Nance, the list goes on and on.

[bwgood77]

Bender is trash. Got no points, no rebounds, no assists. I can't believe he's still in the league at this point.

I really like his connection to Kukoc, you can see similarities in his game. I think Bender will be a solid player in the future.

You can definitely see the similarities in their game. Bender and Kukoc even had a very similar stat line tonight as well.

In all seriousness, I love how the very first play Bender comes in, he gets a steal. This is ridiculous. You don't want to play the guy, fine. Just don't pretend like you can't find minutes for him on this amazing team full of superstars.

Yes, he shows plenty of reasons he should be on the court, despite what some say to the contrary. Oh well.

[Villalobos]

Markieff choked his teammate, threw a towel at his coach on national TV, had a pending criminal assault case, and played like garbage most of the season, and he still netted a lottery pick.

All it takes is one GM to like a player or one GM to be desperate for a player to have value in the league. Do I think Knight will return great value? I have no idea. But after so many of the trades I've seen, nothing would surprise me either way. Fans (and most sports writers not named Zach Lowe) just don't know players' actual value, because it's mostly in GMs' heads.

[AtheJ415]

I really like his connection to Kukoc, you can see similarities in his game. I think Bender will be a solid player in the future.

You can definitely see the similarities in their game. Bender and Kukoc even had a very similar stat line tonight as well.

In all seriousness, I love how the very first play Bender comes in, he gets a steal. This is ridiculous. You don't want to play the guy, fine. Just don't pretend like you can't find minutes for him on this amazing team full of superstars.

Yes, he shows plenty of reasons he should be on the court, despite what some say to the contrary. Oh well.

There is literally nothing I can find in any efficiency stats or based on my eyeball viewing when Bender actually plays that suggests he shouldn't be in the rotation. PJ Tucker is no star. And besides that, he can play 2-3 positions. Watson needs to find the minutes. This shouldn't be hard.

[bwgood77]

Markieff choked his teammate, threw a towel at his coach on national TV, had a pending criminal assault case, and played like garbage most of the season, and he still netted a lottery pick.

All it takes is one GM to like a player or one GM to be desperate for a player to have value in the league. Do I think Knight will return great value? I have no idea. But after so many of the trades I've seen, nothing would surprise me either way. Fans (and most sports writers not named Zach Lowe) just don't know players' actual value, because it's mostly in GMs' heads.

Morris made only a little more than half the money Knight makes at a more needed position in the league. Count me in the camp that would be shocked to net a lottery pick. And I thought Morris might get one. He was a much better player too.

[Frank Lee]

I think Watson is helping PJ get his last big contract. That's a player's coach, who played 13(?) years or so. PJ stands to pocket 10-15million with a decent-good season. He looks like he is returning to form, or ahem, may be finally getting in shape. I don't think Nacho Tucker took the off season seriously.

BWood.... nice list..... but other than Amare, most of those past Suns had 3-4 yrs of college. That's what's changed in this league and really rendered the draft a very expensive crap shoot. Risky road to rely on.

[bwgood77]

I think Watson is helping PJ get his last big contract. That's a player's coach, who played 13(?) years or so. PJ stands to pocket 10-15million with a decent-good season. He looks like he is returning to form, or ahem, may be finally getting in shape. I don't think Nacho Tucker took the off season seriously.

BWood.... nice list..... but other than Amare, most of those past Suns had 3-4 yrs of college. That's what's changed in this league and really rendered the draft a very expensive crap shoot. Risky road to rely on.

Yes, Fran, I know, so it's not apples to apples. KJ I think only played two years and Joe Johnson who we traded for (I think during his rookie season) only had one I'm pretty sure. But most or all of the others yes.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I think Watson is helping PJ get his last big contract. That's a player's coach, who played 13(?) years or so. PJ stands to pocket 10-15million with a decent-good season. He looks like he is returning to form, or ahem, may be finally getting in shape. I don't think Nacho Tucker took the off season seriously.

BWood.... nice list..... but other than Amare, most of those past Suns had 3-4 yrs of college. That's what's changed in this league and really rendered the draft a very expensive crap shoot. Risky road to rely on.

Sure going the draft route has risks but with the new extension rules even less stars will leave via free agency and due to less guys threatening on leaving less will get traded. So the suns need to play the hand they are dealt and the draft looks like the most likely path to getting good again.

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[alldayeveryday]

Lower level against Rockets for $69 a pop. Section 101 - Row 12. (Behind Suns Bench)

The avg. price around that area is $200+ (I got lucky)

How'd you manage that?

Went to NBA Ticket Exchange just to see if there were any tickets available before I went full price from Suns ticket box.