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

[AtheJ415]

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 think the bench offense will run through Saric and Payne when Saric is back. That's where the team turned the corner and Saric excelled in that role. I think that's why he was brought back--to be the 6th starter (nearly 30 minutes a game off the bench) type of guy. He'll eat up 18-20 minutes at center and 12 or so at PF imo. Galloway and Moore are upgrades over the prior bench scoring wise as well. With Cam continuing to flash cutting / attacking ability, I just don't see how Crowder is the better option except in defensive possession / situational basketball. And again not a knock on Crowder. He's a solid player. But I'd rather have Bubble Cam over last year's Crowder anyways. Pretty clear at this point between end of last season, bubble, and now, that Cam's improved play when he took over from Oubre was no fluke.

[denial]

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.

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 look that 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.

I love Bridges. I was specifically rebutting the notion that Book "forced" things tonight. And I used a comparison to everyone's (well deserved) glowing reviews of Bridges' game as a reference point.
I am definitely not saying Book outplayed Bridges or was more efficient than him. I specifically said he shot better than him. Which he did.

[bwgood77]

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.

Well Rubio did start tonight. DLo came off the bench. Rubio started with Beasley, Towns, Okogie and Layman. I'm pretty sure he was the primary ball handler out of that group.

[AtheJ415]

Also, Cam is essentially another bail out guy. When we have no time to find a shot, his size allows him to just go up with it, and he's a good enough shooter that he'll hit it a decent amount. Last year we really only had Book who could score in tight situations. This year we have CP3, Book, and imo, Cam just because he's always somewhat open with his size.

[Blackification]

Mikal is a winner, plain and simple he is the type of player you want if you want to win games, does whatever it takes. Cam Payne was impressive tonight off the bench, has a bit of tunnel vision when he decides he is going to go for a shot but his scoring off the bench was much needed. Lastly props to Cam for playing well and not just being a three point spacer, and to Monty for not leaving Crowder in there with his shot wasn't following and trusting Cam to put him back in the game at the end.

[MrMiyagi]

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.

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 look that 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.

I love Bridges. I was specifically rebutting the notion that Book "forced" things tonight. And I used a comparison to everyone's (well deserved) glowing reviews of Bridges' game as a reference point.
I am definitely not saying Book outplayed Bridges or was more efficient than him.

I feel like Booker played exactly as he should, but got screwed over hard by the refs. He had 1 trip to the line 11 seconds into the game and then didn't get another trip until 1:44 left in the 4th quarter... That's super suspicious.

[AtheJ415]

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.

Well Rubio did start tonight. DLo came off the bench. Rubio started with Beasley, Towns, Okogie and Layman. I'm pretty sure he was the primary ball handler out of that group.

I'm not the biggest DLo fan in the world, but on that team, I don't understand making him the 6th man. I wonder if it's just for the opener because it's Rubio and his history there. I have a feeling DLo will want out, and hell they may want him out, if they keep him out of the starting lineup while he's on that giant contract.

[Slim Charless]

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.

I can get behind a Zhaire Smith acquisition. Its really too bad $arver sold the g league team. He'd be a great add and have him spend some time there. Still, pick him up either way.

[NTB]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Revived]

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.

Well Rubio did start tonight. DLo came off the bench. Rubio started with Beasley, Towns, Okogie and Layman. I'm pretty sure he was the primary ball handler out of that group.

I don’t think starting matters as much as minutes do. DLo played almost 10 mins more than Rubio. They also run their offense through Towns, not Rubio. And again, Minnesota doesn’t have anywhere close to the system we do in which he played well in. A head to head comparison for anyone that’s foolish enough to want to do one after one freaking game would be to compare how he did in a Suns uniform vs how his replacement is doing. I couldn’t care less about how he’s doing with the the TWolves or Beijing Ducks or whoever.

[SuperSunsFan]

I didn't know Rubio was traded to the Wolves, I thought he was with Thunder.

[Slim Charless]

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.

Well Rubio did start tonight. DLo came off the bench. Rubio started with Beasley, Towns, Okogie and Layman. I'm pretty sure he was the primary ball handler out of that group.

I don’t think starting matters as much as minutes do. DLo played almost 10 mins more than Rubio. They also run their offense through Towns, not Rubio. And again, Minnesota doesn’t have anywhere close to the system we do in which he played well in. A head to head comparison for anyone that’s foolish enough to want to do one after one freaking game would be to compare how he did in a Suns uniform vs how his replacement is doing. I couldn’t care less about how he’s doing with the the TWolves or Beijing Ducks or whoever.

So bring back Starbury? I swear I think heard they built a statue of him over there lmao.

[NTB]

Read on Twitter

[Hsker4Life]

1-0, I’ll take it. Especially when it’s against the Mavs.

[Revived]

I think considering the circumstances for the whole game, we have to pleased with how it played out and of course getting the win.

Ayton was really good defensively but just had some terrible calls against him. Luka is just so crafty that when he drives, the player has to basically move away from him and still try to contest somehow. He’s way too good at drawing fouls and the league needs to change this crap because nobody will play defense at this point.

Offensively Ayton had some good post buckets but he also had some really dumb fade aways when he was matched with smaller players. I have no idea who taught him that he should go AWAY from the rim but whoever that is has no business coaching basketball.

CP3 did ok. I think he’s gonna learn that he needs to be more aggressive looking to score. There were times when the Mavs knew he wasn’t gonna try to get a bucket so they essentially just played passing lanes when he had the ball. I think better chemistry will help and it’s gonna come with time. Great bucket at the end there.

Booker was really good in the 1st QTR and sort of first half. Then in the 2nd half he wanted to make it a Booker vs Luka show and dominate the ball a little too much. Hopefully he remembers how bad this team was when we had too much Point Book in the past. He’s also learning to play with CP3 so it’s gonna get better imo.

Rookie Smith was better than Jones imo. We really need someone like Dwayne Dedmond though even as an emergency big after Saric gets back.

Cam and Bridges were the biggest reason we won the game imo. Both showed they can do more than just 3 & D. Especially Bridges, I really liked watching him try to do more off the ball. Hope it continues same with Cam.

[cberry78]

71 more to go!

[SlovenianDragon]

71 more to go!

EZ.

[bwgood77]

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.

Well Rubio did start tonight. DLo came off the bench. Rubio started with Beasley, Towns, Okogie and Layman. I'm pretty sure he was the primary ball handler out of that group.

I don’t think starting matters as much as minutes do. DLo played almost 10 mins more than Rubio. They also run their offense through Towns, not Rubio. And again, Minnesota doesn’t have anywhere close to the system we do in which he played well in. A head to head comparison for anyone that’s foolish enough to want to do one after one freaking game would be to compare how he did in a Suns uniform vs how his replacement is doing. I couldn’t care less about how he’s doing with the the TWolves or Beijing Ducks or whoever.

Yeah, but you should still see quite a few assists from Rubio just from hitting open guys from 3 and stuff. Towns has never been a really high assist guy. He shoots a ton of catch and shoot 3s.

But tonight our offense was running through Booker. Once Booker got it it rarely came back to Paul.

[Fo-Real]

A game where our bigs were in foul trouble the whole game, we had multiple key players (Paul, Ayton, Crowder), have off nights and we still won!! Not ideal but a sign of the overall depth and commitment to the team. Hell, Book had kinda an off night also, turnovers and mismanagement...... AND WE STILL WON!!

[SlovenianDragon]

Still hyped...

Watch on YouTube