Game 5: Utah Jazz @ Phoenix Suns, Wednesday, October 25th, 7PM, PT

[NavLDO]

Went to the game (section 103 row 3) ... nice seats. Man did the Suns commit to playing defense. Nearly everyone is stepping up their defense. Not a fan of Daniels defense but he is our only SG option right now. TJ was a monster in the third quarter. I still really like the Len / Bender combo on defense. They are both tall and long and cause lots of problems for guards driving into the lane. If Chris is injured I wonder if we would consider starting Dudley to keep the Blender together.

Or, if Bender is getting it done on Defense,and Len is no slouch on offense (and I bet with a little confidence from the HC, Bender would be as well), why not just start:

James/Booker/Warren/Bender/Len

Rather than trying to figure who will start with a Center that doesn't deserve the Start, why don't we put the Center that does (Len), and start Bender. If defensively, they can continue to cause this much havoc, then great, we win by defense...how terrible would that be...

[NavLDO]

Very happy I got tickets for that game tonight. Definitely not a big crowd, but there was decent energy when we got rollin.

This offense is nothing like what we were using with Earl. Ulis said it himself on the radio after the game, there's a few things they do similar but it's a completely new offense. The ball movement was impressive at times, everyone was moving and screening with a purpose, and even though we missed a lot of uncontested shots and tips around the rim I thought we had a disciplined showing on offense. There weren't a lot of possessions where we were just jacking up a shot without working the defense, which was refreshing.

The defense was night and day compared to what I'm used to with this team. It started falling off a little when they were getting tired towards the end, but I was impressed with how well we contested shots and how everyone did in help defense and rotations. There were obviously mistakes and bad fouls, but I have a feeling it's been a good amount of time since we've held a team to 13 points in a quarter. Love seeing that energy on the defensive end from this team. Triano has done a good job in a short time with this young team, hopefully we can continue to see improvement.

How does a new coach on the job for two days implement a new offense and get such renewed commitment on defense? This is not jus a team playing with more energy. They are also running a new system with discipline.


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Triano may not have been wildly successful as a HC in the past, but it's clear he's an Xs and Os guy...not just a rah rah guy. I don't see how if he continues getting the players to perform at this level, how they do not consider him to be the long-term answer at HC. My gosh...how nice it would be to actually have a HC with some experience!

[NavLDO]

It seems like TJ, Bender and Len played most of the 2nd half so maybe they were tired.

It did not look like TJ was happy to be on the bench to finish the game, looked like he was voicing his displeasure at the end of the bench to Dudley. Also the post game interview with Tom and Tom said the interview would be with TJ. There seemed to be mix up, then delay with them even saying "Live tv ladies and gentlemen ". Then we get Josh Jackson in a slingshot looking like someone grabbed him from the locker room. Wouldn't be surprised if TJ refused the interview first. Just my wild observations, hope I'm completely wrong.

Yeah, he refused to make the interview, I saw that just at the end of the game.

He put 27 points in 27 minutes and he was hot...that's why he wanted to play those last 4 minutes.

I like Warren, and all, but he needs to get his head right. This is about the team right now. He's 'getting' his. He got his contract and he's starting. He has no reason to be 'hot' about anything right now. The team is in a state of transition, and he needs to understand that Triano needs to appease 14 other players as well.

[NavLDO]

It did not look like TJ was happy to be on the bench to finish the game, looked like he was voicing his displeasure at the end of the bench to Dudley. Also the post game interview with Tom and Tom said the interview would be with TJ. There seemed to be mix up, then delay with them even saying "Live tv ladies and gentlemen ". Then we get Josh Jackson in a slingshot looking like someone grabbed him from the locker room. Wouldn't be surprised if TJ refused the interview first. Just my wild observations, hope I'm completely wrong.

Yeah, he refused to make the interview, I saw that just at the end of the game.

He put 27 points in 27 minutes and he was hot...that's why he wanted to play those last 4 minutes.

I think Tyson is the one who fired TJ up and pissed him off maybe it's the reason he played better in the second half, maybe it's not. In the second quarter there was a situation between James and TJ where TJ should have posted up or run two man game on the right side. Tyson was there to try to run a pick between the two and then backed into key out of the way. TJ then backed out and started fading out towards the three-point line, James look confused the ball stopped and then they call the timeout. Tyson yelled at him on the way off the court basically pointing down to the post like get down there and work TJ looked pissed and it didn't look like he agreed but Tyson was arguing with him on the way off the court.

I hope that was the case, and if so, Tyson needs to worry about Tyson; that's what he does best anyway. I really hope we can attach his a$$ to the Bledsoe trade and bring in a Veteran PF/C instead, this way, Len can start, and Chriss and whoever we bring in can spell Len from time to time, but otherwise, they alternate at PF when Bender isn't playing.

[NavLDO]

If Bender keeps it up...we might have two studs and one strong supporting player in Bender. TJ is definitely the 6th man of the future if JJ grows as he should. If JJ doesn't, back to square one.

Why do so many believe this to be true? Is it because JJ was drafted 4th, and TJ 14th? Why don't we wait, as you mentioned, to see how JJ progresses, and see what all he can do. If TJ continues on this trajectory, why the heck are we 'benching' him? Right now, he's our best player, when considering ALL facets of the game. If JJ surpasses him, great, that makes him the 2nd best player. Why are we putting our 2nd best player on the bench?

We should start ? / Booker, JJ, Warren / ? as our 'middle' positions...PG and C will be TBD. If JJ doesn't progress much more, he'll still be a great asset as is, and maybe HE can be our 6th Man. Why doesn't anyone consider that?

[JMac1]

If Bender keeps it up...we might have two studs and one strong supporting player in Bender. TJ is definitely the 6th man of the future if JJ grows as he should. If JJ doesn't, back to square one.

Why do so many believe this to be true? Is it because JJ was drafted 4th, and TJ 14th? Why don't we wait, as you mentioned, to see how JJ progresses, and see what all he can do. If TJ continues on this trajectory, why the heck are we 'benching' him? Right now, he's our best player, when considering ALL facets of the game. If JJ surpasses him, great, that makes him the 2nd best player. Why are we putting our 2nd best player on the bench?

We should start ? / Booker, JJ, Warren / ? as our 'middle' positions...PG and C will be TBD. If JJ doesn't progress much more, he'll still be a great asset as is, and maybe HE can be our 6th Man. Why doesn't anyone consider that?

JJ potential is thru the roof. If he hits that as most assume he will then where will TJ play? TJ doesn't create for no one but TJ. TJ defensive potential is all hustle. That makes TJ a sixth man. TJ has very good offense.A typical 6th man.

[RunDogGun]

I've only even been to Phoenix twice on tour with bands I was in. I grew up in CT as a Knicks fan, but stopped caring about basketball post-Ewing/Starks until Nash/Stoudemire back in like 2004 or 2005 or whenever it was. I still sometimes watch the Knicks for old times sake.

What instrument do you play? Would we know the bands you toured with?

Guitar in one and bass in the other. It was back in mid-2000s with those. Smaller bands for sure that no one's heard of.

This is the one I was playing guitar in:

Watch on YouTube

No links for the other band, but that's fine, cause I really was only in it to go on tour anyway. I actually miss that band above.

This is the most recent band I was in that actually made it to playing shows, never got on tour before we broke up unfortunately, though... (I'm the guitar player that's not female).

Watch on YouTube

Fun, thanks for sharing the links. Tempe, AZ was a great place to play music back in the 90s. Decent venues and small clubs were fun to play, watch, and listen. I was pretty fortunate to learn drums from solid drummers around town.

I had band practice last night, and we are auditioning singers. Decent rock music, nothing heavy, but I like the direction our originals are going. I hope the new singer whoever that may be, can grasp the direction and push us all to be the best we can be.

It’s kind of funny, but I view the band like a basketball starting lineup. Each player brings his or her own style, but it only works when we play as a team. (Mods if you want to move this to another thread, I totally understand, and hope we didn’t take over the thread with these few posts.)

[Damkac]

If Bender keeps it up...we might have two studs and one strong supporting player in Bender. TJ is definitely the 6th man of the future if JJ grows as he should. If JJ doesn't, back to square one.

Why do so many believe this to be true? Is it because JJ was drafted 4th, and TJ 14th? Why don't we wait, as you mentioned, to see how JJ progresses, and see what all he can do. If TJ continues on this trajectory, why the heck are we 'benching' him? Right now, he's our best player, when considering ALL facets of the game. If JJ surpasses him, great, that makes him the 2nd best player. Why are we putting our 2nd best player on the bench?

We should start ? / Booker, JJ, Warren / ? as our 'middle' positions...PG and C will be TBD. If JJ doesn't progress much more, he'll still be a great asset as is, and maybe HE can be our 6th Man. Why doesn't anyone consider that?

JJ potential is thru the roof. If he hits that as most assume he will then where will TJ play? TJ doesn't create for no one but TJ. TJ defensive potential is all hustle. That makes TJ a sixth man. TJ has very good offense.A typical 6th man.

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

[NavLDO]

Why do so many believe this to be true? Is it because JJ was drafted 4th, and TJ 14th? Why don't we wait, as you mentioned, to see how JJ progresses, and see what all he can do. If TJ continues on this trajectory, why the heck are we 'benching' him? Right now, he's our best player, when considering ALL facets of the game. If JJ surpasses him, great, that makes him the 2nd best player. Why are we putting our 2nd best player on the bench?

We should start ? / Booker, JJ, Warren / ? as our 'middle' positions...PG and C will be TBD. If JJ doesn't progress much more, he'll still be a great asset as is, and maybe HE can be our 6th Man. Why doesn't anyone consider that?

JJ potential is thru the roof. If he hits that as most assume he will then where will TJ play? TJ doesn't create for no one but TJ. TJ defensive potential is all hustle. That makes TJ a sixth man. TJ has very good offense.A typical 6th man.

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

And sorry, JMac, I don't see how a SF/PF tweener, which is what Warren has developed into (and evidenced by his minutes at the PF position), shouldn't be a starter because his defense is hustle and he doesn't provide a ton of assists...frankly, that's not his job.

It makes no sense to put one of our top 3 players (in the future...right now, he's unquestionably top 2) on the bench in a 6th man role. Until one of them 'surpass' Warren, Chriss and/or Bender can play the 6th man role. We need to stop starting players that haven't earned the start (I'm looking at you, Chandler), and start 'starting' our best players, which for anyone paying attention, is Booker, JJ, Warren, and Len. Bender looks great defensively, but he needs to be covered up by offensive players. And if it's a question of Bender being one of the best players, then it's between Bender and JJ, not Bender and Warren, so Triano should be starting Booker, Warren, Bender, Len...and either James or Ulis, which ever is the better of the two. Then he can sub in JJ, Chriss, Ulis/James, Daniels, Chandler, and Dudley as needed.

Someone mentioned a couple days back that we should bring in Bender and Len off the Bench together because they are creating havoc. WHY are we bringing them off the bench?? Start them, and let Chandler and Chriss come off the bench, of Len and Bender are playing better, why would we start the two that aren't playing as well. That makes no sense to me. I home Triano stays true to his comments and plays those that deserve it, and doesn't play those based upon seniority/buddy-buddy/etc. It's time for a change around here; what's been done in the past isn't working, obviously.

[Bogyo]

AND1000 to Nav!

[JMac1]

Why do so many believe this to be true? Is it because JJ was drafted 4th, and TJ 14th? Why don't we wait, as you mentioned, to see how JJ progresses, and see what all he can do. If TJ continues on this trajectory, why the heck are we 'benching' him? Right now, he's our best player, when considering ALL facets of the game. If JJ surpasses him, great, that makes him the 2nd best player. Why are we putting our 2nd best player on the bench?

We should start ? / Booker, JJ, Warren / ? as our 'middle' positions...PG and C will be TBD. If JJ doesn't progress much more, he'll still be a great asset as is, and maybe HE can be our 6th Man. Why doesn't anyone consider that?

JJ potential is thru the roof. If he hits that as most assume he will then where will TJ play? TJ doesn't create for no one but TJ. TJ defensive potential is all hustle. That makes TJ a sixth man. TJ has very good offense.A typical 6th man.

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

It's funny that your are actually calling JJ a disappointment after 5 games. It's funny that you are saying a 4th Year player is better than a rookie.....duh! So because TJ has more assists stats wise you think he is a better playmaker or are you saying that just to be difficult, I need to know before I comment, not falling in that trap statement.

At the end of the day if TJ is a better player than JJ two years down the road, then there is no need to talk because we are screwed. TJ is a band aid player. He looks good compared to a 20yr old rookie 5 games in but he is a sixth man, and to act as if I'm tripping because I envision him starting over TJ in the future is laughable....

[NavLDO]

JJ potential is thru the roof. If he hits that as most assume he will then where will TJ play? TJ doesn't create for no one but TJ. TJ defensive potential is all hustle. That makes TJ a sixth man. TJ has very good offense.A typical 6th man.

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

It's funny that your are actually calling JJ a disappointment after 5 games. It's funny that you are saying a 4th Year player is better than a rookie.....duh! So because TJ has more assists stats wise you think he is a better playmaker or are you saying that just to be difficult, I need to know before I comment, not falling in that trap statement.

At the end of the day if TJ is a better player than JJ two years down the road, then there is no need to talk because we are screwed. TJ is a band aid player. He looks good compared to a 20yr old rookie 5 games in but he is a sixth man, and to act as if I'm tripping because I envision him starting over TJ in the future is laughable....

I'm not disagreeing with you; JJ might END UP being better, but RIGHT now, Warren is, and like I said, UNTIL JJ surpasses him, or if he even does, it still doesn't change the fact that Warren would be, at worst, the 3rd best player on the team...that's not a bench player, and if he is the 6th Man, he better be a 32 MPG 6th man...

[Damkac]

JJ potential is thru the roof. If he hits that as most assume he will then where will TJ play? TJ doesn't create for no one but TJ. TJ defensive potential is all hustle. That makes TJ a sixth man. TJ has very good offense.A typical 6th man.

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

It's funny that your are actually calling JJ a disappointment after 5 games. It's funny that you are saying a 4th Year player is better than a rookie.....duh! So because TJ has more assists stats wise you think he is a better playmaker or are you saying that just to be difficult, I need to know before I comment, not falling in that trap statement.

At the end of the day if TJ is a better player than JJ two years down the road, then there is no need to talk because we are screwed. TJ is a band aid player. He looks good compared to a 20yr old rookie 5 games in but he is a sixth man, and to act as if I'm tripping because I envision him starting over TJ in the future is laughable....

I didn't call JJ a disappointment just said his first games was a bit disappointing for me. He should work hard to become player everyone expect him to be and then he will start over Warren.

[JMac1]

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

It's funny that your are actually calling JJ a disappointment after 5 games. It's funny that you are saying a 4th Year player is better than a rookie.....duh! So because TJ has more assists stats wise you think he is a better playmaker or are you saying that just to be difficult, I need to know before I comment, not falling in that trap statement.

At the end of the day if TJ is a better player than JJ two years down the road, then there is no need to talk because we are screwed. TJ is a band aid player. He looks good compared to a 20yr old rookie 5 games in but he is a sixth man, and to act as if I'm tripping because I envision him starting over TJ in the future is laughable....

I'm not disagreeing with you; JJ might END UP being better, but RIGHT now, Warren is, and like I said, UNTIL JJ surpasses him, or if he even does, it still doesn't change the fact that Warren would be, at worst, the 3rd best player on the team...that's not a bench player, and if he is the 6th Man, he better be a 32 MPG 6th man...

Agreed. But once/if JJ surpasses TJ, TJ should come off of the bench. Don't play one of the two out of position to start him just because our back up "SF" is the third best player on the team. Ginobli came off of the bench as the third best player.

[JMac1]

To start JJ must first show that he is better than Warren. For now Warren is without a doubt a much better player. To be honest JJ is disappointing for me so far. It's also funny you say TJ doesn't create for others when he has more assist than Jackson.

It's funny that your are actually calling JJ a disappointment after 5 games. It's funny that you are saying a 4th Year player is better than a rookie.....duh! So because TJ has more assists stats wise you think he is a better playmaker or are you saying that just to be difficult, I need to know before I comment, not falling in that trap statement.

At the end of the day if TJ is a better player than JJ two years down the road, then there is no need to talk because we are screwed. TJ is a band aid player. He looks good compared to a 20yr old rookie 5 games in but he is a sixth man, and to act as if I'm tripping because I envision him starting over TJ in the future is laughable....

I didn't call JJ a disappointment just said his first games was a bit disappointing for me. He should work hard to become player everyone expect him to be and then he will start over Warren.

I don't know what you expected. I hoped to see fire, handles, and a better shot. I knew I would see a lost guy here and there often as all rookie Are.....so no disappointment for me as of yet.

[Damkac]

I expected more rebounds, assists and better finishing in the paint. But he is rookie so he has time to improve. I understand people love him for his potential but there is no need to underrate Warren. For now he is better player. I really don't think coming of the bench is bad for Jackson as long as he gets enough playing time to develop. Maybe this will motivate him to work harder if becoming the starter will be his goal. It's better than giving him starting spot just for potential.

[JMac1]

I expected more rebounds, assists and better finishing in the paint. But he is rookie so he has time to improve. I understand people love him for his potential but there is no need to underrate Warren. For now he is better player. I really don't think coming of the bench is bad for Jackson as long as he gets enough playing time to develop. Maybe this will motivate him to work harder if becoming the starter will be his goal. It's better than giving him starting spot just for potential.

How are you going to get rebounds standing at the three point line? How are you going to get assists if you don't handle the ball? I guess you should be disappointed with the coaching design and not him. Josh drawing personal fouls multiple times on players like DeAndre Jordan when attacking the basket should be encouraging if you ask me. I don't think Josh needs to be promised a starting position in order to work hard, he seems to do that regardless of reward, that's who he is. Josh isn't going to become lazy if he is starting. The difference between TJ and Josh all around isn't too much of a difference in my opinion if we chose to start JJ instead of TJ to develop JJ faster.

Like all of the posters said last night, TJ is sooooo inconsistent; and from a player who is old as he is and been in the league for as long as he is, he shouldn't be guaranteed anything either. Its TJ not Gianni's that's playing in front of JJ right now.