G A M E D A Y: Suns (4-5) at Spurs (5-4), Nov 5, 6PM Central

[-Sammy-]

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
TV: FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Southwest
VEGAS LINE: N/A

Nothing's a given so far for the good guys, and the Suns have shown a good bit of pluck early in the season (despite the ongoing Bledsoe drama) after many projected them to be a rollover team. Devin Booker is picking up where he left off last year and two-way pickup Mike James has been a minor revelation.

T.J. Warren, Phoenix's second-leading scorer, is questionable tonight after banging his head against the dome of Enes Kanter Friday night in New York; for the good guys, Leonard, Parker, and Lauvergne remain sidelined.

[imagump1313]

No excuse to lose this one. Probably the only game we've had this year where you could say that.

[ducler]

[Cartuse]

I think it may be time to start thinking about a serious retooling, but with the current contracts the team has... Oh well

[G R E Y]

Uncomfortably close at the half, but then Spurs decided to stop mostly attempting jumpers, kept taking it inside, 3s fell, D closed in, and that's game, with win 1,156 putting Pop into sole possession of fifth most wins. On to the next one...

[imagump1313]

I think it may be time to start thinking about a serious retooling, but with the current contracts the team has... Oh well

Not sure what you want to re-tool. I know its frustrating but we are missing our best player and this part of the season we are getting a lot of younger guys some serious run and seeing what they can do.

However I am a bit disappointed in Murray at this point. I would have thought he would have made more of this opportunity. He seems to have forgotten how to be aggressive. Bertans still looks confused and timid.

Anderson has been great and Forbes, for as much as I dont trust him, has actually been the aggressive one.

[Nolan]

I think it may be time to start thinking about a serious retooling, but with the current contracts the team has... Oh well

Not sure what you want to re-tool. I know its frustrating but we are missing our best player and this part of the season we are getting a lot of younger guys some serious run and seeing what they can do.

However I am a bit disappointed in Murray at this point. I would have thought he would have made more of this opportunity. He seems to have forgotten how to be aggressive. Bertans still looks confused and timid.

Anderson has been great and Forbes, for as much as I dont trust him, has actually been the aggressive one.

Murray started strong with 4 awesome games then teams caught on to him and adjusted then the struggles began. Although I think he's starting to turn things around in the last two games. He's more in control, making smarter plays and doing a better job around the rim. He could of easily scored 20 last night but he missed 2 or 3 easy ones in garbage time last night. I still think the ceiling is extremely high for him, he really needs to work on his jumper. All he really actually needs is a Tony like pull up mid ranger and things will really open up for him.

As for Bertans I'm kinda disappointed as well. He definitely looks lost at times but I think Pops isn't exactly using him right either. He's being put in situations where he has to play "big" and that definitely isn't his strength right now.

[Nolan]

I think it may be time to start thinking about a serious retooling, but with the current contracts the team has... Oh well

We're missing our best player, our primary backup big and Tony (I still don't know what his role is on this team but he's a good player). Perspective man, we'll be alright.

[Nolan]

Was not a fan of the defense in the first half, we got lost off of switches far too often and gave up some easy looks in the paint. Offensively we were solid but if we didn't adjust and kept trying to trade buckets with them this would of been a loss. We came out on fire on both ends in the 3rd and blew this one wide open quickly. It was nice to finally see us be the team to make a major adjust and to do it well.

Things I liked:

LMA - He's been my good books basically every game this year and for good reason. Made some tough shots, put in some serious work around the bucket on both ends and was just all around solid all night. Really loved him work on the offensive glass. There were a couple possessions where it was just a foregone conclusion that he was getting the offensive rebound and the easy score. I really hope this effort and determination doesn't fade when Kawhi returns cause we're always going to need those effort plays in the paint. It makes the opposing team crash the glass which kills the fast break and one of the biggest keys to our success going forward this season is going to our ability to control the pace via the glass.

Patty - He's heating up after a slow start. He's been super aggressive coming off screens and he's finally turning back into a threat as a shooter.

Danny - Amazing defense all night on Booker. He absolutely locked him down and he was a disrupting force in the passing lanes. Offensively he excellent, made some open shots and was excellent off the dribble (it still feels weird saying this about him).

The bench - They stepped up big time again. Rudy made some buckets, did well on the glass and had really nice block in the 3rd. I'm really liking him as a 4 actually, I was skeptical at first but it's working well on both ends. Forbes was great again, Paul was excellent on both ends and Murray had a good night too.

Things I didn't like:

1st half defense - I touched on it early but it wasn't great. I know we have some new faces but they weren't really the problem last night. Patty got lost a bunch of times, Kyle had some poor rotations and things were just sloppy. We got our ish together in the 2nd half but if that would of happened against a better team the deficit would of been a lot bigger than 4 at the half.

[Nolan]

Also Bryn needs to watch some tape of his drives to the bucket. He doesn't need to put his floaters up so damn high and so awkwardly (the lean back is what I'm talking about). Just get them up quicker, release them higher and use your footwork to create a gap between yourself and the defender.

Him and Murray need to sit down together with Tony and watch a bunch of Tony's moves. Both of them can learn a lot about creating space for themselves from him.

[Cartuse]

We're missing our best player, our primary backup big and Tony (I still don't know what his role is on this team but he's a good player). Perspective man, we'll be alright.

I posted a bit out of frustration after watching that horrendous first half. That being said, that's a thought that I've been brewing for the past couple of seasons already. Last season in particular after seeing all that KawhISO. You can count on this team to always be decent in the regular season, but so many championships may've spoiled me and it's very frustrating to see the ceiling become lower and lower, having success that only translates into late picks in the draft. LMA has picked up his game big time this beggining of the season, but one of the major changes we've seen from him is smply that his long mid-range dropping instead of bricking. That's not something you can count on blindly. The fact is that at this point we're dependent on one player nailing long twos. I'm no fan of the 3-point obsession, but we're not going anywhere with this style of play when defensive schemes start to become serious.

Tony is not gonna turn things around coming back from a major injury at 35. Kawhi will of course elevate the level of the team, but we desperately need better pieces. I'm not talking about acquiring all-stars, but we have major holes in the rotation. There is NO inside defense (LA can't be doing everything on both sides, and no matter how solid his defense is, he's no true rim protector). Our shooting consists in Danny Green's bipolar shot and 5'11 Patty Mills (who, I've come to accept, can't play no defense whatsoever, no matter how hard he tries). I really hope Forbes matures into a better Mills, because we desperately need that.

I know the odds are against us for winning anything this year (same goes for the entire league minus GS, probably), but wasting our time with weak "win-now" moves (like the Gasol contract) really exasperate me. This is a team with not only a winning culture, but a CHAMPIONSHIP culture. If management and the coaching staff can take a bunch of former D-Leaguers, and make them contribute to winning 60 games the way they do, I imagine it doesn't take an awful lot to make this a championship caliber team again. I just hate seeing us in that middle ground between competing and making significant changes.

I'm not saying my anger is fully justified, because probably this off-season was planned differently and it just didn't pan out. After all, the staff has earned our trust in one way or the other. I just hope they're seeing something I'm not.

[Nolan]

We're missing our best player, our primary backup big and Tony (I still don't know what his role is on this team but he's a good player). Perspective man, we'll be alright.

I posted a bit out of frustration after watching that horrendous first half. That being said, that's a thought that I've been brewing for the past couple of seasons already. Last season in particular after seeing all that KawhISO. You can count on this team to always be decent in the regular season, but so many championships may've spoiled me and it's very frustrating to see the ceiling become lower and lower, having success that only translates into late picks in the draft. LMA has picked up his game big time this beggining of the season, but one of the major changes we've seen from him is smply that his long mid-range dropping instead of bricking. That's not something you can count on blindly. The fact is that at this point we're dependent on one player nailing long twos. I'm no fan of the 3-point obsession, but we're not going anywhere with this style of play when defensive schemes start to become serious.

Tony is not gonna turn things around coming back from a major injury at 35. Kawhi will of course elevate the level of the team, but we desperately need better pieces. I'm not talking about acquiring all-stars, but we have major holes in the rotation. There is NO inside defense (LA can't be doing everything on both sides, and no matter how solid his defense is, he's no true rim protector). Our shooting consists in Danny Green's bipolar shot and 5'11 Patty Mills (who, I've come to accept, can't play no defense whatsoever, no matter how hard he tries). I really hope Forbes matures into a better Mills, because we desperately need that.

I know the odds are against us for winning anything this year (same goes for the entire league minus GS, probably), but wasting our time with weak "win-now" moves (like the Gasol contract) really exasperate me. This is a team with not only a winning culture, but a CHAMPIONSHIP culture. If management and the coaching staff can take a bunch of former D-Leaguers, and make them contribute to winning 60 games the way they do, I imagine it doesn't take an awful lot to make this a championship caliber team again. I just hate seeing us in that middle ground between competing and making significant changes.

I'm not saying my anger is fully justified, because probably this off-season was planned differently and it just didn't pan out. After all, the staff has earned our trust in one way or the other. I just hope they're seeing something I'm not.

I get you man. I see all the same problems but I don't think retooling is the way to go.

We have a top five player and a front office that has shown that it can and will find guys to fill the gaps in our rotation. The reality is catching Golden State is going to be nearly impossible, but that doesn't mean giving up is the only option.

We're still 50 to 60 win team and crazy **** happens. I mean we're a couple crazy injuries away from being favorites.

[imagump1313]

We're missing our best player, our primary backup big and Tony (I still don't know what his role is on this team but he's a good player). Perspective man, we'll be alright.

I posted a bit out of frustration after watching that horrendous first half. That being said, that's a thought that I've been brewing for the past couple of seasons already. Last season in particular after seeing all that KawhISO. You can count on this team to always be decent in the regular season, but so many championships may've spoiled me and it's very frustrating to see the ceiling become lower and lower, having success that only translates into late picks in the draft. LMA has picked up his game big time this beggining of the season, but one of the major changes we've seen from him is smply that his long mid-range dropping instead of bricking. That's not something you can count on blindly. The fact is that at this point we're dependent on one player nailing long twos. I'm no fan of the 3-point obsession, but we're not going anywhere with this style of play when defensive schemes start to become serious.

Tony is not gonna turn things around coming back from a major injury at 35. Kawhi will of course elevate the level of the team, but we desperately need better pieces. I'm not talking about acquiring all-stars, but we have major holes in the rotation. There is NO inside defense (LA can't be doing everything on both sides, and no matter how solid his defense is, he's no true rim protector). Our shooting consists in Danny Green's bipolar shot and 5'11 Patty Mills (who, I've come to accept, can't play no defense whatsoever, no matter how hard he tries). I really hope Forbes matures into a better Mills, because we desperately need that.

I know the odds are against us for winning anything this year (same goes for the entire league minus GS, probably), but wasting our time with weak "win-now" moves (like the Gasol contract) really exasperate me. This is a team with not only a winning culture, but a CHAMPIONSHIP culture. If management and the coaching staff can take a bunch of former D-Leaguers, and make them contribute to winning 60 games the way they do, I imagine it doesn't take an awful lot to make this a championship caliber team again. I just hate seeing us in that middle ground between competing and making significant changes.

I'm not saying my anger is fully justified, because probably this off-season was planned differently and it just didn't pan out. After all, the staff has earned our trust in one way or the other. I just hope they're seeing something I'm not.

You make some good points and we all would love to take over Golden State but we are kinda stuck this year. The Gasol contract had to happen because him opting out helped out the team this year immensely. If we would have screwed him over we would never get another free agent to come here.

LMA is what he is which isnt "THE" main guy but "A" main guy. What he's doing now will be great when Kwahi comes back. He got discouraged last year watching endless Kawhi hero-ball ISOs. That isnt going to happen this year and I think it will benefit both of them.

I am a little curious why with our front court being soo thin that David Lee isnt back here. Unless he refused for some reason taking a lower salary that I dont know about. Its also strange that we continue to try to push all these small wing players like Forbes, Paul and White who are all basically the same player and continue to waste time with Costello. I admit I don't know all the details but I would rather have Lee using up one of those roster spots if it was possible.