Suns @ Kings 3-25-16

[Mainstreet]

The Suns play at the Kings tonight with a 7 p.m. Arizona start time.

Tyson Chandler is out with back spasms.

Here are the reported starting lineups from Paul Coro at azcentral.

C: Alex Len … DeMarcus Cousins

PF: Jon Leuer … Quincy Acy

SF: P.J. Tucker … Rudy Gay

SG: Devin Booker …. James Anderson

PG: Brandon Knight … Rajon Rondo

Key Kings reserves: Marco Bellinelli, Willie Cauley-Stein, Darren Collison, Omri Casspi, Caron Butler, Kosta Koufos.

Key Kings injuries: DeMarcus Cousins (bruised right knee) is probable. Ben McLemore (non-displaced right finger fracture) has missed the past nine games. Duje Dukan and Eric Moreland are on D-League assignment.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ns-make-last-visit-sacramento-arena/82267374/

 

[BC867]

The Suns play at the Kings tonight with a 7 p.m. Arizona start time.

Tyson Chandler is out with back spasms.

Here are the reported starting lineups from Paul Coro at azcentral.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ns-make-last-visit-sacramento-arena/82267374/

I wonder if Chandler really has back spasms. Or if the Suns have finally decided on an approach for the rest of this season.

 

[Mainstreet]

I wonder if Chandler really has back spasms. Or if the Suns have finally decided on an approach for the rest of this season.

Reportedly Chandler hopes to play Saturday. We shall see whats happens with him and perhaps other players.

 

[Chaplin]

Brandon Knight out with flu, John Jenkins to start.

 

[Mainstreet]

Brandon Knight out with flu, John Jenkins to start.

The flu can last for weeks.

 

[Mainstreet]

Paul Coro is saying Knight has an upset stomach.

Ronnie Price has missed practice for food poisoning.

Maybe they ate together.

 

[Finito]

Chambers kills me. Everytime Tony Delk is mentioned

 

[BC867]

Paul Coro is saying Knight has an upset stomach.

It was also reported (yesterday) that Knight now has a hamstring injury. I heard that it was brought on by his not being fully recuperated from his groin injury.

Groin. Hamstring. Upset stomach. What more do they need to shut him down for the rest of the season?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players...vbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwM0BHZ0aWQDQjE3MjVfMQRzZWMDc3I-

 

[Mainstreet]

It was also reported (yesterday) that Knight now has a hamstring injury. I heard that it was brought on by his not being fully recuperated from his groin injury.

Groin. Hamstring. Upset stomach. What more do they need to shut him down for the rest of the season?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players...vbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwM0BHZ0aWQDQjE3MjVfMQRzZWMDc3I-

The situation looks dire (joking).

Maybe the Suns wanted to show Knight off before the season ended and now they want to sit him.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It was also reported (yesterday) that Knight now has a hamstring injury. I heard that it was brought on by his not being fully recuperated from his groin injury.

Groin. Hamstring. Upset stomach. What more do they need to shut him down for the rest of the season?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players...vbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwM0BHZ0aWQDQjE3MjVfMQRzZWMDc3I-

I don't know why they brought him back in the first place. It's one of those injuries that tends to linger and it's no surprise another injury occurred while compensating. They should have never brought him back and now's their second chance to do the right thing.

 

[Mainstreet]

Alan Williams enters the game for Leuer.

 

[Mainstreet]

Alan Williams didn't stay out there long. There was no harm in looking at him. Now Mirza is in the game.

 

[Mainstreet]

Devin Booker already with 9 turnovers early in the 3rd quarter.

 

[Mainstreet]

Final: Kings 116 Suns 94

 

[BC867]

Devin Booker already with 9 turnovers early in the 3rd quarter.

The Suns are putting too much pressure on him. He is a 19-year old pure Shooting Guard, who also happens to have the best facilitating skills on a team with an undersized, unbalanced backcourt.

He got most, if not all, of the turnovers bringing the ball up court while playing the Point. Surrounded by a roster with very little chemistry.

As I posted once before, the coaching staff is burning him out for the Front Office to save face from causing that situation. I have no respect for Sarver or McDonough for doing that, then seeking scapegoats.

Watching Booker commit 9 turnovers is already doing that and it's not his fault. He is a Shooting Guard, damnit. I think Annie even made that reference during the game.

She has the title of Suns/Mercury Vice President. I wonder if she has any influence on Sarver and McDonough.

 

[Phrazbit]

Earlier in the year there were posts about how Booker should be playing 40 minutes, the front office is stupid for not letting him play as much as possible in a dead season, they should let him learn, get a lot of experience, let him play PG some too, ect ect... it happens and now the front office are negligent for playing him too much.

If Booker gets an injury, even a slight one, I hope they shut him down, but as is, let him get all the burn he can, let him experience being the guy the other team focuses on stopping. I don't see why this hurts his development.

 

[Hoop Head]

Earlier in the year there were posts about how Booker should be playing 40 minutes, the front office is stupid for not letting him play as much as possible in a dead season, they should let him learn, get a lot of experience, let him play PG some too, ect ect... it happens and now the front office are negligent for playing him too much.

If Booker gets an injury, even a slight one, I hope they shut him down, but as is, let him get all the burn he can, let him experience being the guy the other team focuses on stopping. I don't see why this hurts his development.

I'm all for him being out there as much as he is, even playing 5-10 minutes at PG, but anymore time as the main distributor is too much. Anyone watching him knows he'll be a great SG someday, with some good handles and passing ability, but to think he'll be a combo guard or serviceable PG is asking too much at this stage in his development. Focus on him mastering his natural position, don't force him to become something he's not so early in his career.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I'm all for him being out there as much as he is, even playing 5-10 minutes at PG, but anymore time as the main distributor is too much. Anyone watching him knows he'll be a great SG someday, with some good handles and passing ability, but to think he'll be a combo guard or serviceable PG is asking too much at this stage in his development. Focus on him mastering his natural position, don't force him to become something he's not so early in his career.

He's seemed to respond pretty well to the "trial by fire" approach to learning the NBA game this season and thus I don't see how this is any different. Devin is a very confident guy and thus I believe he can handle having bad games and bounce right back as a better player the next night.

 

[Hoop Head]

He's seemed to respond pretty well to the "trial by fire" approach to learning the NBA game this season and thus I don't see how this is any different. Devin is a very confident guy and thus I believe he can handle having bad games and bounce right back as a better player the next night.

I'm not disputing that but I think it's unnecessary to play him at PG so much. I think the Suns should have given Pressey a longer look, especially with the health concerns surrounding both Knight and Price. He looked the best of all the rentals we brought in and seemed to be a true PG.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I'm all for him being out there as much as he is, even playing 5-10 minutes at PG, but anymore time as the main distributor is too much. Anyone watching him knows he'll be a great SG someday, with some good handles and passing ability, but to think he'll be a combo guard or serviceable PG is asking too much at this stage in his development. Focus on him mastering his natural position, don't force him to become something he's not so early in his career.

Not too much. We are watching him develop those skills game by game. The kid is handling and adjusting and learning so quickly. Good teachers understand that there are some students that are just capable of learning so much, so much faster than everyone else. The Suns pg injury situation has been a godsend in the development of Devin Booker. It has put the ball in his hands and let him learn how to create off the dribble. It has allowed him to become a better passer and dribbler which makes him a better teammate and helps him avoid becoming the oddly developed player that Brevin Knight is.

Along the way, someone told Brevin Knight that he has to be a shooter with no conscience. He has become that, and everyone hates him for it.

Things are going just fine for Devin Booker.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns are putting too much pressure on him. He is a 19-year old pure Shooting Guard, who also happens to have the best facilitating skills on a team with an undersized, unbalanced backcourt.

He got most, if not all, of the turnovers bringing the ball up court while playing the Point. Surrounded by a roster with very little chemistry.

As I posted once before, the coaching staff is burning him out for the Front Office to save face from causing that situation. I have no respect for Sarver or McDonough for doing that, then seeking scapegoats.

Watching Booker commit 9 turnovers is already doing that and it's not his fault. He is a Shooting Guard, damnit. I think Annie even made that reference during the game.

She has the title of Suns/Mercury Vice President. I wonder if she has any influence on Sarver and McDonough.

I chalk up Booker's turnovers as a learning experience. The Kings have a reputation for getting steals by reaching around and poking the ball away. IMO, he walks away a better player. I'm not locked into limiting his role as strictly a SG although I think it will be his primary position. Booker has a lot of skills at age 19. I'm hoping the Suns add a PG or two in the off season to prevent the necessity of playing Booker at PG.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I chalk up Booker's turnovers as a learning experience. The Kings have a reputation for getting steals by reaching around and poking the ball away. IMO, he walks away a better player. I'm not locked into limiting his role as strictly a SG although I think it will be his primary position. Booker has a lot of skills at age 19. I'm hoping the Suns add a PG or two in the off season to prevent the necessity of playing Booker at PG.

I agree. Some players cannot switch gears on the court. They cannot change mentality. But the NBA is not going that way. The new NBA is about positionless players. Point guards who are lead scorers, like Curry. Power forwards who are facilitators like Draymond Green. Centers who are shooters like Channing Frye.

Booker obviously has the brain to be able to switch gears. While his future is primarily at sg, ANY team that is successful will have to make necessary adjustments in the pursuit of a championship. Its players like Magic Johnson who switched from pg to center in a championship series, and Scottie Pippen who could fill almost any role that was asked, that make great teams great.

This right now is the learning ground for Book, and he is showing that he has the goods. His future is really bright. He can improve in two important ways. First, his body. He still has a teenager's body. He is big but he has not filled out. He does not have the strength that he will one day have as a full grown man. If he works on it, he will add power and explosiveness to his game. That will help in the second area--defense. As he improves his conditioning and strength he will be more effective on the defensive end. He has the size to do it as well as the strength. We have seen flashes of it already.

I do not think we really know how great this moment is for the Suns.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Suns are putting too much pressure on him. He is a 19-year old pure Shooting Guard, who also happens to have the best facilitating skills on a team with an undersized, unbalanced backcourt.

He got most, if not all, of the turnovers bringing the ball up court while playing the Point. Surrounded by a roster with very little chemistry.

As I posted once before, the coaching staff is burning him out for the Front Office to save face from causing that situation. I have no respect for Sarver or McDonough for doing that, then seeking scapegoats.

Watching Booker commit 9 turnovers is already doing that and it's not his fault. He is a Shooting Guard, damnit. I think Annie even made that reference during the game.

She has the title of Suns/Mercury Vice President. I wonder if she has any influence on Sarver and McDonough.

Not really. He had a couple of plays where the defense anticipated and closed up the passing lanes. He lost one or two to Rondo's reach around defense in the halfcourt and both types of TO's probably fall into what you're talking about. But he also lost a couple because the person he was passing to wasn't paying attention or failed to fight hard enough for the pass. But none of his turnovers were indicative of a problem so I'm unconcerned. Also, it's indicative of the intelligence he plays with that he adjusted and didn't pick up another turnover for the rest of the game.

Did anyone else watch this game with the Sacramento broadcasters? It seems to me that most of the time the the opposing team broadcast crew just reads a recap of local area sports talk show highlights and uses that as fuel for their comments. And that was the case last night as they started off by saying reasonably nice things about Booker. But it wasn't long before they started raving about him. Made some positive comments about his defensive instincts too. They even went so far as to say that "one thing is clear, Phoenix will be looking to move a big named guard very soon" (misquoted from memory).

And I'm fine with the way we're using him. He's a young star in the making and I see no problem with him being a well rounded player or with us taking advantage of his ability to fill multiple roles. He's a shooting guard but nowhere is it written that shooting guards can't help run an offense. I'd hate to see him have to do this for a full season but his minutes and added responsibility seem like a plus to me rather than a concern.

 

[Mainstreet]

I agree. Some players cannot switch gears on the court. They cannot change mentality. But the NBA is not going that way. The new NBA is about positionless players. Point guards who are lead scorers, like Curry. Power forwards who are facilitators like Draymond Green. Centers who are shooters like Channing Frye.

Booker obviously has the brain to be able to switch gears. While his future is primarily at sg, ANY team that is successful will have to make necessary adjustments in the pursuit of a championship. Its players like Magic Johnson who switched from pg to center in a championship series, and Scottie Pippen who could fill almost any role that was asked, that make great teams great.

This right now is the learning ground for Book, and he is showing that he has the goods. His future is really bright. He can improve in two important ways. First, his body. He still has a teenager's body. He is big but he has not filled out. He does not have the strength that he will one day have as a full grown man. If he works on it, he will add power and explosiveness to his game. That will help in the second area--defense. As he improves his conditioning and strength he will be more effective on the defensive end. He has the size to do it as well as the strength. We have seen flashes of it already.

I do not think we really know how great this moment is for the Suns.

I couldn't agree more. This is the most I have been excited about a rookie since Amare Stoudemire.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Not really. He had a couple of plays where the defense anticipated and closed up the passing lanes. He lost one or two to Rondo's reach around defense in the halfcourt and both types of TO's probably fall into what you're talking about. But he also lost a couple because the person he was passing to wasn't paying attention or failed to fight hard enough for the pass. But none of his turnovers were indicative of a problem so I'm unconcerned. Also, it's indicative of the intelligence he plays with that he adjusted and didn't pick up another turnover for the rest of the game.

Did anyone else watch this game with the Sacramento broadcasters? It seems to me that most of the time the the opposing team broadcast crew just reads a recap of local area sports talk show highlights and uses that as fuel for their comments. And that was the case last night as they started off by saying reasonably nice things about Booker. But it wasn't long before they started raving about him. Made some positive comments about his defensive instincts too. They even went so far as to say that "one thing is clear, Phoenix will be looking to move a big named guard very soon" (misquoted from memory).

And I'm fine with the way we're using him. He's a young star in the making and I see no problem with him being a well rounded player or with us taking advantage of his ability to fill multiple roles. He's a shooting guard but nowhere is it written that shooting guards can't help run an offense. I'd hate to see him have to do this for a full season but his minutes and added responsibility seem like a plus to me rather than a concern.

One of their comments was pretty funny to me. One of them said "He looks like he's about 12 years old" and the other guy said "sure does, until he plays".

Just watching the highlights they were sending a ton of compliments his way.

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