Grizzlies @ Suns Sunday game thread 1-5-20

[Mainstreet]

Ayton now with 4 personal fouls.

 

[Mainstreet]

Saric is in the game.

 

[1Sun]

Before you go off on Ayton, please realize he is being left to do it alone in the frontcourt. That isn't fair to any player. If you want to blame anyone, blame James Jones for not having a single NBA level power forward on the roster.

And when his "shooters" aren't hitting their shots (cough, cough...Cam Johnson...cough, cough), it looks even worse.

 

[BirdGangThing]

Folks want Ayton to be more dominant and aggressive on defense. I simply want him to play smarter so he can be a care free presence at the end, not worrying about foul trouble.

 

[Mainstreet]

Oubre (14) is trying to give the Suns an inside game.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Baynes is getting targeted virtually every play on defense. They need to glue him on a corner shooter or get him out of the game. Ayton's length and mobility is wasted with Baynes in the middle.

except here's the problem with the above... Ayton doesn't want to man the middle. He wants to be a 4 and wants to guard on the perimeter.

https://arizonasports.com/story/221...cover-from-lifeless-start-to-beat-the-knicks/

“About time! I’ve been asking them since there was a little rumor, a little tweet, saying I’m about to play the 4 so I’ve been wanting to play the 4, been wanting to guard out on the perimeter.” Ayton said, assumingly referring to a quote from late September at his fundraiser when he said power forward was his “born-and-raised position.”

“I think the league changing to where dudes are big and strong, versatile as well, so we want to be the same thing,” Ayton said. “We want to join them. Just us putting pressure on the rim, protecting the rim and cleaning up the glass. It’s even easier to me.”

The reality is that right now, Ayton's length and mobility are wasted because he doesn't want to use them in the middle. Not because Baynes can't do it. Baynes should be a backup C, not a starter. Just because our #1 pick doesn't want to do the hard work, doesn't mean blame should slide down to the guy who actually is willing to do it.

 

[1Sun]

Folks want Ayton to be more dominant and aggressive on defense. I simply want him to play smarter so he can be a care free presence at the end, not worrying about foul trouble.

Hard to do that when you're the only interior player in the rotation.

 

[Mainstreet]

Do the Grizzlies not foul?

 

[1Sun]

except here's the problem with the above... Ayton doesn't want to man the middle. He wants to be a 4 and wants to guard on the perimeter.

https://arizonasports.com/story/221...cover-from-lifeless-start-to-beat-the-knicks/

“About time! I’ve been asking them since there was a little rumor, a little tweet, saying I’m about to play the 4 so I’ve been wanting to play the 4, been wanting to guard out on the perimeter.” Ayton said, assumingly referring to a quote from late September at his fundraiser when he said power forward was his “born-and-raised position.”

“I think the league changing to where dudes are big and strong, versatile as well, so we want to be the same thing,” Ayton said. “We want to join them. Just us putting pressure on the rim, protecting the rim and cleaning up the glass. It’s even easier to me.”

The reality is that right now, Ayton's length and mobility are wasted because he doesn't want to use them in the middle. Not because Baynes can't do it. Baynes should be a backup C, not a starter. Just because our #1 pick doesn't want to do the hard work, doesn't mean blame should slide down to the guy who actually is willing to do it.

Then someone needs to sit Ayton down and tell him what his role needs to be. And if he doesn't accept that, trade him ASAP.

Something tells me he wouldn't have such a problem defending and playing inside if the Suns weren't asking him to be the only one to do it...

 

[Mainstreet]

These referees are giving the basket +1.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns have no inside game although Oubre does his best to give the Suns one.

 

[Phrazbit]

Maddening.

About a week ago Monty, rightfully, touts Ayton, Bridges, Oubre, Booker and Rubio as our best lineup... since then we've seen that group together for about 1 minute per game.

This game is extremely frustrating to watch, Baynes is getting roasted out there and we've done nothing to adjust.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Wow. Monty fell out of good grace fast. Maybe we should fire him. Then Sarver can pay, what, like 12 head coaches all at once.

 

[1Sun]

Suns need to sign at least one free agent interior banger and draft two more. Or trade for one. In any event we need to acquire at least three interior players.

Given his history, I don't trust James Jones to be the one to do so. He has proven himself entirely unaware of what this team needs in the frontcourt.

 

[Phrazbit]

Seriously... every... freaking... play... is a pick and roll targeting Baynes and he ends up covering no one.

 

[Mainstreet]

End of 3rd quarter:

Grizzlies 96 - Suns 77

Suns look like a team that has already lost the game.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Suns out-scored by 9 in the second quarter and 14 in the third... wow.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

This is just a bad basketball team. This is at full strength. They aren’t worst in the league bad anymore, but we are kidding ourselves if we think this is anything approaching a good team. The lack of athleticism in the face of a young athletic teams like Memphis is sobering.

 

[1Sun]

And this isn't about Monty. It's about the crap roster James Jones saddled him with.

If anyone needs to go, it's James Jones, not Monty (though I do like James Jones as a player relations guy...I just think it is foolish to trust him with a position and duties that he is clearly I'll equipped to handle...it's like taking a great Corporal and suddenly elevating him to General).

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Every move that Jones made this off season is a damn joke

 

[1Sun]

This is just a bad basketball team. This is at full strength. They aren’t worst in the league bad anymore, but we are kidding ourselves if we think this is anything approaching a good team. The lack of athleticism in the face of a young athletic teams like Memphis is sobering.

Everyone in the world could see that right from the beginning...except our GM...

 

[Phrazbit]

except here's the problem with the above... Ayton doesn't want to man the middle. He wants to be a 4 and wants to guard on the perimeter.

https://arizonasports.com/story/221...cover-from-lifeless-start-to-beat-the-knicks/

“About time! I’ve been asking them since there was a little rumor, a little tweet, saying I’m about to play the 4 so I’ve been wanting to play the 4, been wanting to guard out on the perimeter.” Ayton said, assumingly referring to a quote from late September at his fundraiser when he said power forward was his “born-and-raised position.”

“I think the league changing to where dudes are big and strong, versatile as well, so we want to be the same thing,” Ayton said. “We want to join them. Just us putting pressure on the rim, protecting the rim and cleaning up the glass. It’s even easier to me.”

The reality is that right now, Ayton's length and mobility are wasted because he doesn't want to use them in the middle. Not because Baynes can't do it. Baynes should be a backup C, not a starter. Just because our #1 pick doesn't want to do the hard work, doesn't mean blame should slide down to the guy who actually is willing to do it.

I don't give a rip. Amare never wanted to play center, but he was the best option the Suns had so they forced him to play center.

Baynes shouldn't be playing this many minutes and he shouldn't be on the court with another big, he's just too damn slow. Small fast lineups destroy these 2 big man looks in the modern NBA.

 

[1Sun]

Every move that Jones made this off season is a damn joke

Not every move. Hiring Monty and signing Rubio were good moves (albeit obvious ones under the circumstances...and James Jones came this close to screwing one of them up, but he was saved from his own stupidity when the Pacers made a play for Brogdon, allowing Rubio to come here cheaper than Rozier). Everything else is a damn joke, though, and James Jones needs to be shown the door before he screws this roster up even more (such as by trading Ayton for Gallinari)...

 

[Cheesebeef]

End of 3rd quarter:

Grizzlies 96 - Suns 77

Suns look like a team that has already lost the game.

holy cow... last I saw we were down 62-57.

that's a pathetic 3rd quarter.

 

[82CardsGrad]

This is just a bad basketball team. This is at full strength. They aren’t worst in the league bad anymore, but we are kidding ourselves if we think this is anything approaching a good team. The lack of athleticism in the face of a young athletic teams like Memphis is sobering.

This... the team is better than last season, and yet still light-years from being a good team.
I really don’t like Rubio’s game FWIW. Totally unreliable shooter and defender.
The lack of depth on this team remains a massive issue.
Just highlights how epically awful the team has been over the past many seasons...