2018-19 Season | Point Guard Discussion

[ColdPickleNachos]

The Suns are trying to win. At this point I wish they were tanking. It might give some hope for the future.

I'd love to bring in a guy like Lin just to see if it would spark something in the young players and help move along their development. The Suns don't really need to tank at this point.

Consider:

- The top 3 teams have an equal 14% chance at the #1 spot.

- The 4th worst team has a 12.5% chance at #1.

- There are 4 awful teams, and the Suns are one of them.

- The 5th worst team is the Hawks. The 6th worst team is the Grizzlies. The Suns are currently 8 games behind the Hawks and 12.5 behind the Grizzlies with only 24 games to go.

The main reason to tank this year is upside. There are 2 or 3 exciting prospects at the top. Honestly, I don't think it matters a great deal whether the Suns wind up at 4 or 7 if they're not in the top 3. It's just hoping someone falls or increasing trade value of the pick; not significant enough to warrant losing on purpose.

TL;DR All that really matters is having one of the 3 worst records. Having the 4th worst record is almost as good. The Suns are virtually guaranteed to end up with a bottom-4 record.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'd love to bring in a guy like Lin just to see if it would spark something in the young players and help move along their development. The Suns don't really need to tank at this point.

Consider:

- The top 3 teams have an equal 14% chance at the #1 spot.

- The 4th worst team has a 12.5% chance at #1.

- There are 4 awful teams, and the Suns are one of them.

- The 5th worst team is the Hawks. The 6th worst team is the Grizzlies. The Suns are currently 8 games behind the Hawks and 12.5 behind the Grizzlies with only 24 games to go.

The main reason to tank this year is upside. There are 2 or 3 exciting prospects at the top. Honestly, I don't think it matters a great deal whether the Suns wind up at 4 or 7 if they're not in the top 3. It's just hoping someone falls or increasing trade value of the pick; not significant enough to warrant losing on purpose.

TL;DR All that really matters is having one of the 3 worst records. Having the 4th worst record is almost as good. The Suns are virtually guaranteed to end up with a bottom-4 record.

This has been my goal as well. To bring in a temporary fix at point guard to see if it works.

I so dislike the idea of going into next season and finding out it doesn't. It would be another season lost.

At this point I'm not thinking much about the lottery other than I hope the Suns get lucky. As you point out, they are not going anywhere this season.

 

[AzStevenCal]

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Oh no. There goes a good option.

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He's really not much more than Canaan, I don't think we lost out on anything at all.

 

[Mainstreet]

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He's really not much more than Canaan, I don't think we lost out on anything at all.

I like Mack more than Canaan having seen him play. Maybe stat wise there is not a huge difference.

Also Canaan is on a 10 day contract while Mack was claimed off waivers by the Hornets so there is that.

Certainly the Suns need someone better than the either of them but I think Mack would have been a better temporary fix.

I wonder if Teo is still available.

 

[GatorAZ]

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[JCSunsfan]

This team has more than a point guard problem.

I hate to say it, but Booker is a problem too. He is not making players around him better. His three point shooting numbers are frankly horrible this year (32%), especially for a player who shoots as much as he does. He has the highest turnover per36 on the team, even higher than JJ, by a significant amount. His defense is still horrible.

 

[Mainstreet]

This team has more than a point guard problem.

I hate to say it, but Booker is a problem too. He is not making players around him better. His three point shooting numbers are frankly horrible this year (32%), especially for a player who shoots as much as he does. He has the highest turnover per36 on the team, even higher than JJ, by a significant amount. His defense is still horrible.

I'm not going to make excuses for Booker but being forced into a point guard role has not helped his career.

The Suns are trying to throw mud at the wall at point guard but it isn't sticking.

 

[SirStefan32]

I think being forced to play point will help him long-term, but for now it's really hurting him. I haven't looked at the stats, but I think he is a far better shooter on catch-and-shoot threes than off-the-dribble threes. As for turnovers, people who handle the ball a lot, turn the ball over a lot. Doncic, for example averages 3.2 turnovers and Book averages 3.9. Harden averages 5.4 and Westbrook 4.6.

What I see as an even bigger problem is that he does not know what to do when he gets double-teamed. To be fair, his teammates don't seem to know what to do when he gets double teamed either, but either way, it drives me crazy.

 

[Yuma]

This team has more than a point guard problem.

I hate to say it, but Booker is a problem too. He is not making players around him better. His three point shooting numbers are frankly horrible this year (32%), especially for a player who shoots as much as he does. He has the highest turnover per36 on the team, even higher than JJ, by a significant amount. His defense is still horrible.

This is from intense double teams and trying to pass to players who don't continue their cuts, and who don't work to create space to get open to receive passes. Bookers big challange now is to learn how to work effectively out of intense double teams. When he learns this, he will be unstoppable.

 

[Yuma]

I think being forced to play point will help him long-term, but for now it's really hurting him. I haven't looked at the stats, but I think he is a far better shooter on catch-and-shoot threes than off-the-dribble threes. As for turnovers, people who handle the ball a lot, turn the ball over a lot. Doncic, for example averages 3.2 turnovers and Book averages 3.9. Harden averages 5.4 and Westbrook 4.6.

What I see as an even bigger problem is that he does not know what to do when he gets double-teamed. To be fair, his teammates don't seem to know what to do when he gets double teamed either, but either way, it drives me crazy.

Totally agree! But when he does learn to deal with double teams, watch out!

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is a list of free agent point guards that may be available:

Point Guards

• Wade Baldwin
• Aaron Brooks
• Michael Carter-Williams
• Mario Chalmers
• Larry Drew II
• Jarrett Jack
• Brandon Jennings
• Xavier Munford
• Jameer Nelson
• Cameron Payne
• Gary Payton II
• Ramon Sessions
• Kobi Simmons
• Isaiah Taylor
• Milos Teodosic
• Tyler Ulis
• Briante Weber

http://amicohoops.net/top-remaining-nba-free-agents-by-position/

 

[Bufalay]

What if the rockets suck this year. Would you want the Suns to trade for waaay overpaid Chris Paul?

That was a good idea.