Game 64: Suns (21-40) vs Wizards (37-24)

[ATTL]

Wish we had a bogdan

Maybe we can steal bogdan away from the kings in 2030 when he comes over from Europe.

[Saberestar]

Happy with our team tonight, it was a fun game.

Bledsoe played less than 30 minutes but he got 30 points. Ulis and Williams with another good performance (but Ulis could not stop Wall) and Warren with another solid game.

Booker played bad until the end, in that last minute he was fantastic.

Bojan Bogdanovic is a tremendous player, he made a big difference. He is gonna earn easily $14M per year, the guy can be the sixth man of the year or even an starter at SF.

[Saberestar]

Wish we had a bogdan

Maybe we can steal bogdan away from the kings in 2030 when he comes over from Europe.

Bogdan (Kings) is way worse IMO than Bojan Bogdanovic (Wizards).

In the last summer both played at the Olimpics...watch out their numbers and their relevance on their national teams and you would see the big difference.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Our games are coming down to Ulis and Williams off the bench, they were -24 and -8 today, after winning us the last 3.

[gaspar]

53 FTA for the Wizards. Ridiculous.

[Christine-In-AZ]

Did Markieff play? I watched the whole game, but I'm not entirely sure.

[Qwigglez]

Here's the gorilla

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18850453

[queridiculo]

Did Markieff play? I watched the whole game, but I'm not entirely sure.

Morris had a great stretch from about mid December to the All-Star break, actually defending, rebounding and not embarrassing himself on offense but he appears to be regressing to his old self.

Never a fan of the pickup and since the break he's been showing why he's one of the worst starting forwards in the league.

Really enjoyed watching that Suns play, just now caught the game.

They've got an incredibly talented squad with all the right pieces.

Len seems to have made quite a bit of progress (been following him as a Terp), nothing needs to be really said about Booker but the guys that really impressed me were Warren and Marquese Chriss.

Chriss seems to have a great combination of athleticism, skills and competitive fire you can't really teach.

Things are looking good for the Suns and I think Phoenix has just the right coach for this kind of group.

[Christine-In-AZ]

Did Markieff play? I watched the whole game, but I'm not entirely sure.

Morris had a great stretch from about mid December to the All-Star break, actually defending, rebounding and not embarrassing himself on offense but he appears to be regressing to his old self.

Never a fan of the pickup and since the break he's been showing why he's one of the worst starting forwards in the league.

Really enjoyed watching that Suns play, just now caught the game.

They've got an incredibly talented squad with all the right pieces.

Len seems to have made quite a bit of progress (been following him as a Terp), nothing needs to be really said about Booker but the guys that really impressed me were Warren and Marquese Chriss.

Chriss seems to have a great combination of athleticism, skills and competitive fire you can't really teach.

Things are looking good for the Suns and I think Phoenix has just the right coach for this kind of group.

Cool.

Yep. Tons of young talent and lots of draft picks over the next 3, 4 years. Something is definitely starting to happen for PHX, but still a long row to hoe.

Your observations about Len are true if your comparing his play now to where he was at Maryland or his early NBA games, but he's stagnated in his development the last two season. His offense...catching easy passes and hitting easy shots has disappeared the last year plus. He gets lost out there too often for a 4 year pro. Can't figure out why. But he's still young. His coming free agency this summer is probably the number 1 debate for Suns fans right now...should the Suns commit to Alex long term? Or go in a different direction. I'm in the "keep Alex camp" as long as he doesn't cost too, too much. His play tonight against the Wizards was probably his best in quite awhile.

Good luck to the Wizards.

[queridiculo]

About Len, I'd say what's true for most NBA bigs, it's really tough to get a footing in this league for centers.

The rules don't help and with today's offenses overwhelmingly relying on the pick and roll approach centers are essentially the safeties in todays defenses.

One wrong step and you've got a gaping hole and if you don't have the instincts on when to play how you're going to look foolish more often than not.

Centers take quite a bit longer to develop, but I'd say Len has some intriguing tools, perhaps he'll figure it out with time.

Of course like you mentioned, you never know what some team is willing to throw at him.

Just looking around the league and seeing what the Mozgov's and Mahinmi's of this league are earning makes your head spin.

Good luck, going to look out for the Suns more often!

[Jarlaxle0204]

What a crazy game! They go up by 20+ points and we have a huge run in the 2nd Quarter to bring it all the way back. Jared Dudley goes crazy and gets thrown out for a chest bump. We go up by 10+ points and they come back and go up double digits. Huge swings and runs. The gorilla goes sliding onto the floor during the live game. Booker shoves Beal 15 feet after getting knocked down and doesn't get called for it. Booker plays poorly most of the game and nearly brings us back within the last minute.

I'll say it was entertaining at least. Probably good that we got the L but one thing you can say for this team this year: They play hard and don't give up. I can't wait for whatever the iteration of this team is next year.

[MathiasPW]

By the way, who was that poster that was at the games in tour 3 wins??

Somebody keep that guy away from the arena!

[bwgood77]

Did Markieff play? I watched the whole game, but I'm not entirely sure.

Morris had a great stretch from about mid December to the All-Star break, actually defending, rebounding and not embarrassing himself on offense but he appears to be regressing to his old self.

Never a fan of the pickup and since the break he's been showing why he's one of the worst starting forwards in the league.

Really enjoyed watching that Suns play, just now caught the game.

They've got an incredibly talented squad with all the right pieces.

Len seems to have made quite a bit of progress (been following him as a Terp), nothing needs to be really said about Booker but the guys that really impressed me were Warren and Marquese Chriss.

Chriss seems to have a great combination of athleticism, skills and competitive fire you can't really teach.

Things are looking good for the Suns and I think Phoenix has just the right coach for this kind of group.

Cool.

Yep. Tons of young talent and lots of draft picks over the next 3, 4 years. Something is definitely starting to happen for PHX, but still a long row to hoe.

Your observations about Len are true if your comparing his play now to where he was at Maryland or his early NBA games, but he's stagnated in his development the last two season. His offense...catching easy passes and hitting easy shots has disappeared the last year plus. He gets lost out there too often for a 4 year pro. Can't figure out why. But he's still young. His coming free agency this summer is probably the number 1 debate for Suns fans right now...should the Suns commit to Alex long term? Or go in a different direction. I'm in the "keep Alex camp" as long as he doesn't cost too, too much. His play tonight against the Wizards was probably his best in quite awhile.

Good luck to the Wizards.

The positive about his play of late, until tonight, is that although it doesn't seem to be as good (though he's been much better on offense, taking what the defense gives him, shooting 56% in the last 5 along with 91.7% from the line), is that perhaps his contract offers will not be as high and he can be a bargain for us, which at worse, makes him a desirable trade asset for other teams. Though I do imagine some GMs will dig into the numbers and look at block and rebound rate and see the type of numbers that kenny posted in the Len thread, showing he is in elite company in that regard and with his rebound rate.

[bwgood77]

Spoiler:

Time for the jinx yet? Are we going to pull a Miami and go on a 10 game winning streak?

Relive the last game's game winner

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Good luck charms!
[spoiler]

I probably would have voted for Warren in the poll if you had him at greater than 50% (instead of less) because it's been a while since he's shot below 50%, though I guess he was only slightly above 50% in this game.

[RaisingArizona]

Only caught the 2nd half and didn't see what Dudley did till now. I love what he did sticking up for Ulis. Those types of plays build chemistry and leads to a more cohesive team. The pick was a little dirty so it was warranted.