Game 1: Dallas Mavericks @ Phoenix Suns l Wednesday l 8:30pm l ESPN

[bwgood77]

Ya'll trashing on Book is disappointing and just silly.

Booker
22/5/3
on 8 for 15 shooting
in 34 minutes. Led the winning team in scoring.
+/- +7

Doncic
32/8/5
on 11 for *26* shooting
in 36 minutes. Led the losing team in scoring.
+/- -9

(edit: not saying Book outplayed Doncic per se. But with the discrepancy in calls by the refs, and Book's much better efficiency, I think he played just fine against the pre-ordained 2021 mvp)

It's just the 8 turnovers and taking us out of the .5 offense dribbling the air out of the ball.

[LV-Suns]

Maybe we shouldn’t be so upset at taking Cam over Brandon Clarke?

Read on Twitter

[MrMiyagi]

CP3's leadership really shining right now... Much better than Rubio's leadership... Yep...

Yeah, we really could have used the 1-4 shooting, 3 assists and 1 rebound Rubio put up for Minny tonight a lot better than Paul's key steal and baskets down the stretch.

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Start Crowder but Johnson finishes.

Johnson got 26 minutes tonight, probably can up that to 30 if any weak spots appear.

[SlovenianDragon]

Maybe we shouldn’t be so upset at taking Cam over Brandon Clarke?

Read on Twitter

What is he a t-rex?

[Adrao]

the only thing I can feel good about tonight is that our team is DEEP.

That's the point. Our big three didn't shine today but we were able to win.

[SunsRback4Good]

Maybe we shouldn’t be so upset at taking Cam over Brandon Clarke?

Read on Twitter

That looks just like my jumpshot.

[bwgood77]

Our transition D was terrible. Ayton's driving was way better. Got a couple fouls off the dribble.

Payne I think is clearly our backup PG. He just has a lot more talent than Carter. The game has slowed down for him and him becoming a legit scorer has opened things up quite a bit.

Johnson needs to start. I'm not saying it just on this game. He's been a top 5 player on this team since the bubble, and the main reason we took off imo was Oubre being out and Cam taking his spot. No offense to Crowder, but Cam's shooting at his size with even passable defense has more value than Jae does. Also, with Cam in a corner and Ayton with Book or Paul on the PnR, it especially works with Bridges's cutting ability. That group fits very well together. Cam is big enough to play the 4. They need to make this move sooner than later imo.

Galloway was great. I think Moore still will play on this team.

I'd like to see this 11 man rotation. Depending on resting situations and opponent, the guy left out could differ:

Paul / Payne / Carter
Booker / Galloway / Payne
Bridges / Crowder / Moore
Johnson / Saric / Smith / Crowder
Ayton / Saric / Smith


I think it's fairly clear we can afford to get rid of Jones or Kaminsky and take another wing. Smith is good enough to be our temporary backup center and 3rd string once Saric gets back. No reason for Jones to stay here. I'd really look at Frank Jackson for the last roster spot and Zhaire Smith for a 2 way. Zhaire was such a monster defender in college and an infectious disease derailed his career so far. It's well worth a 2 way spot to see what happens there imo.

I'd get rid of Jones as soon as someone is available and then Kaminsky maybe if someone else does.

I agree that Johnson should start...though the scoring off the bench is nice too.

[Revived]

Yeah, we really could have used the 1-4 shooting, 3 assists and 1 rebound Rubio put up for Minny tonight a lot better than Paul's key steal and baskets down the stretch.

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

For real. The disrespect for Rubio is so weird in here.

He played extremely well in Monty Williams system. He averaged 13, 9 and 5 on 36% 3pt shooting last season.

Of course he’s probably not gonna do as well playing in freaking Flip Saunders son system especially when they have like 20 ball handlers on the team as well. Rubio isn’t an off ball shooter so no **** he won’t be doing as well there in that role.

We can praise CP3’s leadership without putting Rubio down. I don’t think there’s been one Suns player that left to a new team that fans here haven’t ripped to shreds even when they don’t deserve it. I hope that tradition doesn’t continue with Rubio, Jerome and Oubre who were all utmost professionals when they were here and helped us get as close to the playoffs as we’ve ever been in the last 10 yrs.

[Mr Puddles]

Yeah, we really could have used the 1-4 shooting, 3 assists and 1 rebound Rubio put up for Minny tonight a lot better than Paul's key steal and baskets down the stretch.

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

I was just pointing out how silly it is to look at one game and draw such a sweeping conclusion like "CP3's leadership really shining right now... Much better than Rubio's leadership... Yep...".

Obviously, Rubio was very valuable for us this past season.

If you want to criticize the Paul acquisition based on his only game as a Sun this far, that's fine, don't be surprised when other people point out that Rubio didn't have the best of evenings either.

[denial]

Quick thoughts about the game.

Book forced it too much, kinda got the feeling he wanted to prove he's still the man with cp3 here.

Ayton's fouls were BS, defensively he was above solid, especially on the perimeter. Missed a couple of drives where he didn't contest being the weak side defender but no blown coverage or so. On offense he got his with the minimal touches he got, it's funny how he can score 13 points and you can hardly tell he got any shots.

Cp3 had an off game, yet his influence in crunch time was huge, that's why they brought him.

Cams and Galloway, very solid game, love me some Johnson, he's looking like he's developing very well (ain't that a nice change from our pre-18 rook classes)

Game ball goes to Mikal, he's taking the next step we were hoping to see from Ayton, he's reaching Middleton territory this year, I love this guy.

I think Book forced it more because it was vs Doncic and it was national tv. I wonder what casual fans thought...or people watching it on the GB thread.

But yeah, spot on with everything.

Book took 11 shots less than Doncic and shot a much higher percentage. 53% to 42%. Who was forcing what?
Book also shot better than Bridges, who had a great game by everyone's account.

[bwgood77]

Yeah, we really could have used the 1-4 shooting, 3 assists and 1 rebound Rubio put up for Minny tonight a lot better than Paul's key steal and baskets down the stretch.

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

I was hesitant about the trade, especially with the pick, but if you're arguing that Rubio is just as good as Paul I think I will disagree, and I'm not sure many would agree there. CP3 didn't have a great game, but he's had a hall of fame career and is one of the best point guards of all time.

I did think that Rubio will improve in the next 2 years and Paul is likely to decline, but at the end of last season, Paul was much better. He was an all star and led a team to the 4/5 seed that no one thought would be close to the playoffs.

[bwgood77]

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

For real. The disrespect for Rubio is so weird in here.

He played extremely well in Monty Williams system. He averaged 13, 9 and 5 on 36% 3pt shooting last season.

Of course he’s probably not gonna do as well playing in freaking Flip Saunders son system especially when they have like 20 ball handlers on the team as well. Rubio isn’t an off ball shooter so no **** he won’t be doing as well there in that role.

We can praise CP3’s leadership without putting Rubio down. I don’t think there’s been one Suns player that left to a new team that fans here haven’t ripped to shreds even when they don’t deserve it. I hope that tradition doesn’t continue with Rubio, Jerome and Oubre who were all utmost professionals when they were here and helped us get as close to the playoffs as we’ve ever been in the last 10 yrs.

I don't think anyone (or at least many) rip Rubio. Pointing out he didn't have a very good game when Paul had a better one isn't shredding him, but tearing apart Paul in his first game when Rubio didn't do anything doesn't make sense. Paul also had some key steals and a huge bucket at the end.

[bigfoot]

Our transition D was terrible. Ayton's driving was way better. Got a couple fouls off the dribble.

Payne I think is clearly our backup PG. He just has a lot more talent than Carter. The game has slowed down for him and him becoming a legit scorer has opened things up quite a bit.

Johnson needs to start. I'm not saying it just on this game. He's been a top 5 player on this team since the bubble, and the main reason we took off imo was Oubre being out and Cam taking his spot. No offense to Crowder, but Cam's shooting at his size with even passable defense has more value than Jae does. Also, with Cam in a corner and Ayton with Book or Paul on the PnR, it especially works with Bridges's cutting ability. That group fits very well together. Cam is big enough to play the 4. They need to make this move sooner than later imo.

Galloway was great. I think Moore still will play on this team.

I'd like to see this 11 man rotation. Depending on resting situations and opponent, the guy left out could differ:

Paul / Payne / Carter
Booker / Galloway / Payne
Bridges / Crowder / Moore
Johnson / Saric / Smith / Crowder
Ayton / Saric / Smith


I think it's fairly clear we can afford to get rid of Jones or Kaminsky and take another wing. Smith is good enough to be our temporary backup center and 3rd string once Saric gets back. No reason for Jones to stay here. I'd really look at Frank Jackson for the last roster spot and Zhaire Smith for a 2 way. Zhaire was such a monster defender in college and an infectious disease derailed his career so far. It's well worth a 2 way spot to see what happens there imo.

I'd get rid of Jones as soon as someone is available and then Kaminsky maybe if someone else does.

I agree that Johnson should start...though the scoring off the bench is nice too.

I liked Crowder as the starter even though his shooting was off ... everything else he did was great. I just think we need bench firepower so having Cam be a scorer there is fine. He will get plenty of minutes backing up both Bridges and Crowder. Plus he has a good rapport with Saric.

[LV-Suns]

Ayton surprised me a little bit with offensive rebound and drawing the foul late in the game. That saved us the game.

[Revived]

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

For real. The disrespect for Rubio is so weird in here.

He played extremely well in Monty Williams system. He averaged 13, 9 and 5 on 36% 3pt shooting last season.

Of course he’s probably not gonna do as well playing in freaking Flip Saunders son system especially when they have like 20 ball handlers on the team as well. Rubio isn’t an off ball shooter so no **** he won’t be doing as well there in that role.

We can praise CP3’s leadership without putting Rubio down. I don’t think there’s been one Suns player that left to a new team that fans here haven’t ripped to shreds even when they don’t deserve it. I hope that tradition doesn’t continue with Rubio, Jerome and Oubre who were all utmost professionals when they were here and helped us get as close to the playoffs as we’ve ever been in the last 10 yrs.

I don't think anyone (or at least many) rip Rubio. Pointing out he didn't have a very good game when Paul had a better one isn't shredding him, but tearing apart Paul in his first game when Rubio didn't do anything doesn't make sense. Paul also had some key steals and a huge bucket at the end.

I didn’t see what was said about Paul but yeah that would be an overreaction too.

And we can’t compare Rubio to CP3 this season because CP3 has the luxury of being the primary ball handler here while Rubio is like 3rd or 4th at best.

If anyone really wants to do a direct comparison then compare what Rubio did with the Suns vs what Paul is doing with the Suns.

But yes it’s dumb to start comparing and doing all that after it’s literally been one game in which we won.

[NTB]

Read on Twitter

[Slim Charless]

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

For real. The disrespect for Rubio is so weird in here.

He played extremely well in Monty Williams system. He averaged 13, 9 and 5 on 36% 3pt shooting last season.

Of course he’s probably not gonna do as well playing in freaking Flip Saunders son system especially when they have like 20 ball handlers on the team as well. Rubio isn’t an off ball shooter so no **** he won’t be doing as well there in that role.

We can praise CP3’s leadership without putting Rubio down. I don’t think there’s been one Suns player that left to a new team that fans here haven’t ripped to shreds even when they don’t deserve it. I hope that tradition doesn’t continue with Rubio, Jerome and Oubre who were all utmost professionals when they were here and helped us get as close to the playoffs as we’ve ever been in the last 10 yrs.

I'm not bashing him per se but how many games did we lose just like this one last season? 10? 15? More? Rubio is a fine player who helped us with a calming force....but he's no future HOFer either.

He's not doing bad over in Minnesota either btw. KAT is tied with Joker as the best big in the league. If Ayton insists in being a perimeter jumpshooter than he hopefully can put up numbers that are somewhat close to KAT.

[bwgood77]

Quick thoughts about the game.

Book forced it too much, kinda got the feeling he wanted to prove he's still the man with cp3 here.

Ayton's fouls were BS, defensively he was above solid, especially on the perimeter. Missed a couple of drives where he didn't contest being the weak side defender but no blown coverage or so. On offense he got his with the minimal touches he got, it's funny how he can score 13 points and you can hardly tell he got any shots.

Cp3 had an off game, yet his influence in crunch time was huge, that's why they brought him.

Cams and Galloway, very solid game, love me some Johnson, he's looking like he's developing very well (ain't that a nice change from our pre-18 rook classes)

Game ball goes to Mikal, he's taking the next step we were hoping to see from Ayton, he's reaching Middleton territory this year, I love this guy.

I think Book forced it more because it was vs Doncic and it was national tv. I wonder what casual fans thought...or people watching it on the GB thread.

But yeah, spot on with everything.

Book took 11 shots less than Doncic and shot a much higher percentage. 53% to 42%. Who was forcing what?
Book also shot better than Bridges, who had a great game by everyone's account.

By forcing it, I meant he dribbled forever looking for his shot, and ended up with a lot of turnovers because it left him with no passing lanes because he got trapped...or using up nearly all the shot clock looking for something, and then giving it to Cam or Galloway with 4-5 seconds left where they had to find something quickly.

So he shot a tad better from the field, however Bridges took 7 of his 11 shots from 3 and Booker took 9 of his 15 from 2.

But look at everything else. Turnovers - Booker 8, Bridges 0
Rebounds - Bridges 7, Booker 5
Blocks - Bridges 2, Booker 0
3 pt shooting - Bridges 4-7, Booker 2-6
Free throws - Bridges 4-4, Booker 4-6

So overall, with TS%, Bridges was more efficient

Bridges was also responsible for a lot of Doncic not shooting well.

Booker did have 3 assists though (but the 8 turnovers don't make that look too impressive)...a couple of steals though as well, which, I guess you could say, kind of cancels 2 of his 8 turnovers, but even a net 6 is bad.

[MrMiyagi]

This. Its obvious this a game that we lose previously and having CP3 out there as a steadying hand played a major key to the victory.

Y'all are acting like Rubio did nothing for us last season. CP3 did nothing in this game that I haven't seen Rubio do.

And whatever excuses you're making for CP3 (new team, shortened offseason) can be made for Rubio.

I was just pointing out how silly it is to look at one game and draw such a sweeping conclusion like "CP3's leadership really shining right now... Much better than Rubio's leadership... Yep...".

Obviously, Rubio was very valuable for us this past season.

If you want to criticize the Paul acquisition based on his only game as a Sun this far, that's fine, don't be surprised when other people point out that Rubio didn't have the best of evenings either.

I've always said CP3 is going to have to prove he's better than Rubio was. When he does, I will acknowledge it. He has not yet.

Continuity is a big boon that we tossed out the window. We need demonstrable improvement to make throwing it out worth it.