Suns @ Clippers Thursday game thread, October 31st, 2024
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Suns_fan69
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This is the version of Devin Booker we've all been looking for. Decisive with his attacks, passes quickly when help defenders step up.
Peter Sheldon
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so very true.
Am I alone in wondering if Beal out for some games is kind of a good thing?
His absence automatically makes us larger and better defensively.
I mean, he's had a good shooting season so far, and he'll be a godsend if Booker misses games, but....
I never liked that signing at all. Too much money and no-trade clause.
Chaplin
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So sick of Beal being the undeserving whipping boy on this board.
That was sick run.
To be fair, he has had 4 different injuries already. I think it's fair for people to worry about him impacting the chemistry of the team if he is going to be out a bunch again this season. People had the same worry about Durant.
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I'm relieved Booker is okay. It gave me a scare me as well.
The Suns need to stay healthy, although they have quality depth this season except for the 4/5 position.
Chaplin
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I'll concede injuries of course, but that's not the whole story.
So now he's bad for chemistry? Come on!
No, but constantly being absent from the starting lineup messes with team chemistry if you have to constantly shuffle other guys in and out of the lineup. That's different than the way your are invoking it. I don't think he is a bad chemistry guy the way you mean it..at all. The organization cited a big reason last season for the struggles was the big 3 not being on the court enough together.
Chaplin
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But that's the coach's job to deal with that, IF it's even a problem. Coach Bud to me is pretty no nonsense, if he thinks a switch is good, then he'll do that.
I think we put way too much importance on who starts the game, although right now our 1st quarter struggles are an issue. But I think that is more related to Nurk than to Beal. After all, we were down 18 last night and Beal didn't even play.
It's not just who starts the game but it impacts rotations as well. How many times last year did we hear the Suns couldn't establish enough time with sets of guys or they couldn't settle rotations. I agree that coach Bud is different but I do believe settling on rotations is pretty important to do at some point. That's hard to do with a ton of injuries.
Chaplin
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And talking about last year -- when it was the same starting five with Grayson instead of Tyus, we were either the very best or close to the best starting 5 unit in the league. We're the complete opposite this year minus Grayson and with Tyus. How do we explain that?
Define best? This team had long stretches of falling apart offensively or defensively and not being able to execute. We have gone over those stats a ton. Again, the organization constantly evoked that reasoning last season as being PART of the reason for the team's struggles.
JCSunsfan
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My comment wasn't meant to be a knock on Beal, its just difficult to manage minutes with Beal and the rest of the depth. Same would go if Book was out and Beal was playing. Instead of trying to figure out who the go to guy is, they would know each night.
Good side of this is that Beal can heal without rushing back, and we can still win games. The same will be true for Book and Durant. It is nice to have this kind of depth when injuries occur. The hard thing is when everyone is healthy.
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Chaplin
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We were the best, I think it was +/- but I don't remember.
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I thought the Suns really missed Beal's energy and shooting to start the game when the Suns came out flat.
That's one of many stats. There were some bad ones too.
Chaplin
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I agree. Beal has arguably been our best player in 1st quarters this season when he plays.
Chaplin
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Last year we fell apart because our bench was terrible. Still won 49 games, mainly because our starting 5 was so good.
Yep but we didn't really hit a stride until Beal was back more consistently.
Chaplin
Better off silent
That's fair, but even in those first 50 games before he came back we were gangbusters. And that was despite having empty stat Eric Gordon in as that 5th starter until Beal came back.
Suns catch fire with 15 straight makes for spirited comeback
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That's fair too but I think we would also all agree had Beal been healthy we definitely would have notched more wins. I mean this season when he has been there the team looks different. So much so, Grayson might be expendable by the trade deadline. Speaking of Grayson, it just seems like he is having a hard time fitting in this new system so far.
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My favorite play of that game was defending Harden then Dunn running out catching it in stride with the Dunk. That was awesome.
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