Game 11: Celtics (6-4) @ Suns (2-8), 7:00pm

[Flying Colors]

Everyone knows that the coach with the most testosterone is Brad Stevens, just look at this man, he got the juice

[lilfishi22]

Agree to disagree. And I say you're wrong.

Tu estas incorrecto, mi amigo.

We can keep going if you want. Multiple players didnt understand Igor's instructions. How do you explain that? They all were just not paying attention? The team's already tuned him out? Or maybe his broken English combined with the noise of the stadium contributed to a miscommunication. Can you completely rule that out?

Miscommunication, misinterpretation

I'd like to think I speak perfect English, so does my boss and so do the people who work under me. Sometimes we do the wrong thing because of those two things, miscommunication or misinterpretation. Sure, we can't rule out maybe he's just some fancy pants European who can't speek english gooooood. Or maybe they couldn't hear properly because of the noise. Maybe they tuned him out 3 games ago.

You can't completely rule out anything but to me, the simplest explanation is that it was a simple miscommunication. The players thought he said something, misinterpreted it in a certain way and reconfirmed it with each other before the start of the play.

[lilfishi22]

Which one looks like they could command the respect of guys like Booker and Ayton and push them to play defense? Which one looks like they have enough testosterone to lead a group of men (not counting Bender obviously)? It matters.

Pretty sure this post says a lot more about you than it does either of the coaches.

It matters whether you want to accept it or not, sorry.

Perhaps a manual cradling is required to compare the level of testosterone. Being a resident expert in test levels, please report back

[bwgood77]

Which one looks like they could command the respect of guys like Booker and Ayton and push them to play defense? Which one looks like they have enough testosterone to lead a group of men (not counting Bender obviously)? It matters.

Igor, the long time pro coach, who is stoic and resolved. Majerle looks like he's about to blow a gasket in some lower level college basketball game.

[bwgood77]

Tu estas incorrecto, mi amigo.

We can keep going if you want. Multiple players didnt understand Igor's instructions. How do you explain that? They all were just not paying attention? The team's already tuned him out? Or maybe his broken English combined with the noise of the stadium contributed to a miscommunication. Can you completely rule that out?

Miscommunication, misinterpretation

I'd like to think I speak perfect English, so does my boss and so do the people who work under me. Sometimes we do the wrong thing because of those two things, miscommunication or misinterpretation. Sure, we can't rule out maybe he's just some fancy pants European who can't speek english gooooood. Or maybe they couldn't hear properly because of the noise. Maybe they tuned him out 3 games ago.

You can't completely rule out anything but to me, the simplest explanation is that it was a simple miscommunication. The players thought he said something, misinterpreted it in a certain way and reconfirmed it with each other before the start of the play.

You guys are digging too far into this...he probably said "If you can stick to your man and switch, don't foul, but if he moves far enough away from the 3 pt line, foul". So he likely said both. The bigger issue was letting them get back in the game, not one play. Booker deciding to play one man "prevent Suns team offense" halfway through the 4th is what killed us.

[_79_]

Igor, the long time pro coach, who is stoic and resolved. Majerle looks like he's about to blow a gasket in some lower level college basketball game.

U-N-I-T

[bwgood77]

This game was of course Booker's fault for forcing shots for the entire overtime, with Ayton not even touching the ball once if I remember correctly. I was shouting to feed Ayton all overtime - all 4th quarter actually, and it was frustrating watching Booker continue to deny him in the pick and roll. Which leads me to not having a point guard. It isn't that Canaan's missed those threes. That isn't what lost the game for us. But imagine a Kyrie level point guard instead of him. Imagine how much more the ball would have moved, and how much pressure would be off Booker's shoulders.
As of now, Book is an all star. He's shown glimpses of being a real superstar but he still has major holes in his game. He isn't a playmaker like lebron, or even Kyrie, or even Kemba Walker, and we need that to run that deadly as advertised Ayton pick and roll. So for now, we need something as close to that as we can to get the ball moving.
If Sarver could hypothetically make anything great happen that is.

Yeah, the irony of people thinking Booker will want out because he doesn't have help is that he tries to do it all himself anyway too much. He got some help...let the other guys help. He did for 3+ qtrs. Don't feel you need to do it all..people will remember wins more than big shots in a few games with tons of losses.

[itlnsunsfan]

Majerle would have the lockeroom because he was a damn good player and is a passionate coach. Not sure testostorome plays a role here

The reason Majerle was a damn good player and is a passionate coach is because his testosterone levels are through the roof. Igor is low energy and just stands on the sideline with a clueless expression of his face the entire time because his testosterone levels are mediocre at best.

I mean look at this guy, what an absolute unit.

Roid raging aside, that's more a product of personality than testosterone. What do you think Kawhi Leonard's testosterone levels are at?

[JMac1]

Ayton is just Enes Kanter

Stoppit.... this is so not true... cause Kanter would bust your ass if you looked at him or a teammate wrong.

Ayton is as passive as they come. Zero mean streak. No temper mon, such a dont worry be happy attitude. He's got his $$, his #1 status. I remember the bad feeling I got when they were introducing the draftees... he came out and showed off his new watch/jewelry I swear to god.

How do you coach up a bad motor? or a 'its OK to lose' mentality. He will get owned by any toughie. Really.... has anyone seen him pissed off yet ?

I cant figure out Igor yet.... but any team that doesn't foul when up by three like that has to either be not listening or weren't told. Which is it?


Now, Its time for a collage.... cant hurt.

Get him involved in the game instead of handing off the ball at the top of the key looking like a NFL QB giving the ball to a RB 9 miles from the hoop. Surround him with players who play defense and communicate.

[JMac1]

Maybe starting Holmes next game sends a message to Ayton on his effort and defense? Ayton started the game strong then just faded as it went on. Need constant effort. Suns also need a PG (rubio) to get him the ball consistently without having to jump 10 feet in the air to catch the entry pass. I'd also contemplate starting Okobo next game and bringing up Melton for backup minutes. Canaan and Anderson are useless if they're missing all their open 3s. At least Melton will be a defensive pest and Okobo is aggressive in driving to the rim.

[_79_]

Maybe starting Holmes next game sends a message to Ayton on his effort and defense? Ayton started the game strong then just faded as it went on. Need constant effort. Suns also need a PG (rubio) to get him the ball consistently without having to jump 10 feet in the air to catch the entry pass. I'd also contemplate starting Okobo next game and bringing up Melton for backup minutes. Canaan and Anderson are useless if they're missing all their open 3s. At least Melton will be a defensive pest and Okobo is aggressive in driving to the rim.

Some of the takes on this board are hilarious. Trade Warren and all of our picks for Butler, trade for Wall, bench Ayton, play Bender and Jackson big minutes, Booker lost us the game last night, etc.

[bwgood77]

Maybe starting Holmes next game sends a message to Ayton on his effort and defense? Ayton started the game strong then just faded as it went on. Need constant effort. Suns also need a PG (rubio) to get him the ball consistently without having to jump 10 feet in the air to catch the entry pass. I'd also contemplate starting Okobo next game and bringing up Melton for backup minutes. Canaan and Anderson are useless if they're missing all their open 3s. At least Melton will be a defensive pest and Okobo is aggressive in driving to the rim.

Some of the takes on this board are hilarious. Trade Warren and all of our picks for Butler, trade for Wall, bench Ayton, play Bender and Jackson big minutes, Booker lost us the game last night, etc.

I agree...and hire Majerle, fire Igor 11 games into the season when he doesn't have a PG or PF.

[bwgood77]

Also, about the "misunderstanding", from Gina's tweet it doesn't sound like the players said they were told not to foul..just talked about the switching...they just didn't mention anything about fouling...avoided the question...were probably embarrassed they blew the lead and didn't want to blame themselves more..understandable.

Read on Twitter

[JMac1]

Some of the takes on this board are hilarious. Trade Warren and all of our picks for Butler, trade for Wall, bench Ayton, play Bender and Jackson big minutes, Booker lost us the game last night, etc.

I agree...and hire Majerle, fire Igor 11 games into the season when he doesn't have a PG or PF.

I don't want to fire him, I just want him to coach better. Can't keep changing coaches....

[bwgood77]

Some of the takes on this board are hilarious. Trade Warren and all of our picks for Butler, trade for Wall, bench Ayton, play Bender and Jackson big minutes, Booker lost us the game last night, etc.

I agree...and hire Majerle, fire Igor 11 games into the season when he doesn't have a PG or PF.

I don't want to fire him, I just want him to coach better. Can't keep changing coaches....

I'm sure he will improve. He's learning on the job with somewhat of a dysfunctional roster....no real PG (probably the most important position), a rookie C (who has talent, but he is still a rookie and is outmatched in the NBA knowledge dept) and no real PF...so he has Booker and a bunch of wings.

Even though we've lost most of our games, the team in infinitely more fun to watch than it has been since our 48 win year or maybe half of that next year (but that wasn't fun because the PGs were not happy because McD had too many of them).

Our team is definitely getting better, beating Memphis and taking Boston to OT and would have won with a little more depth and/or team ball at the end.

[KLEON]

Well Utah just showed the Suns how to close a game against the Celtics

[lilfishi22]

I agree...and hire Majerle, fire Igor 11 games into the season when he doesn't have a PG or PF.

I don't want to fire him, I just want him to coach better. Can't keep changing coaches....

I'm sure he will improve. He's learning on the job with somewhat of a dysfunctional roster....no real PG (probably the most important position), a rookie C (who has talent, but he is still a rookie and is outmatched in the NBA knowledge dept) and no real PF...so he has Booker and a bunch of wings.

Even though we've lost most of our games, the team in infinitely more fun to watch than it has been since our 48 win year or maybe half of that next year (but that wasn't fun because the PGs were not happy because McD had too many of them).

Our team is definitely getting better, beating Memphis and taking Boston to OT and would have won with a little more depth and/or team ball at the end.

The hallmark of a young, inexperienced team is being taken down late by a more experienced, well disciplined team with legit star players. That's what happened in the Boston game

[bwgood77]

Well Utah just showed the Suns how to close a game against the Celtics

A little easier with Kyrie resting. Without him zero chance Boston wins last night.

[grumpysaddle]

Maybe starting Holmes next game sends a message to Ayton on his effort and defense? Ayton started the game strong then just faded as it went on. Need constant effort. Suns also need a PG (rubio) to get him the ball consistently without having to jump 10 feet in the air to catch the entry pass. I'd also contemplate starting Okobo next game and bringing up Melton for backup minutes. Canaan and Anderson are useless if they're missing all their open 3s. At least Melton will be a defensive pest and Okobo is aggressive in driving to the rim.

Some of the takes on this board are hilarious. Trade Warren and all of our picks for Butler, trade for Wall, bench Ayton, play Bender and Jackson big minutes, Booker lost us the game last night, etc.

Refer to bw's post above for the snarky retort I would have given. It's not benching Ayton, it's rewarding effort. Ayton would still end up playing the lion's share of minutes. It's things like that that spark fires under players' asses. Or you could just continue letting him play with intensity for a random 3 minutes of a game instead of most of the time he's in. It's called sending a message. The Suns aren't winning anyway, so why not?

[grumpysaddle]

Also, wtf did I just scroll through in the past however many pages? Photos upon photos debating testosterone levels based on...?