Kings @ Suns game thread 4-3-18

[Mainstreet]

I thought Bender held that in bounds pass too long. Instead a timeout given.

 

[SweetD]

Ok there is no reason to loose this game

 

[Mainstreet]

Kings ball with 7 seconds left.

House turns it over.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

The Suns are NOT good at putting a team away hahaha

 

[SweetD]

Ugh no ot please I don't want to see anyone get injured on a game that got stretched out

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

What an uninspiring win.

 

[Mainstreet]

Final:

Suns 97- Kings 94

Kings miss two 3's at buzzer... really good looks.

 

[SweetD]

Eeeeeeeeek that was way to close

 

[AzStevenCal]

Poor finish, good game nonetheless. Nice win, don't do it again guys (till October!).

 

[TJ]

Phoenix is really going to play itself out of some ping pong balls.

 

[Phrazbit]

It's one game... you can't lose them all, even though we've tried.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Phoenix is really going to play itself out of some ping pong balls.

it's what Phoenix teams do best.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Jackson is deceptively fast. He has those long strides and he is able to just see and take seams without even slowing down. Wow.

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Can't lose them all.. just try not to do that again, guys.

At least a couple other bad teams won tonight as well. Griz only 1 game up though.

 

[pokerface]

Jackson is deceptively fast. He has those long strides and he is able to just see and take seams without even slowing down. Wow.

He such a hustle player. So....Marion?

 

[Phrazbit]

He such a hustle player. So....Marion?

He is half the rebounder Marion was... twice the ball handler Marion was (even as a rookie). I'm content with letting him be Josh Jackson right now, because Josh Jackson looks like a future all-star. A freakish athlete, with play making ability and potentially a stud defender.

Speaking of Marion though, and he probably deserves his own thread here, a buddy of mine (and Laker fan no less) was talking to me about Marion's Hall of Fame odds, which I figured were marginal, then he busts out this stat:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ws_career.html

Look at Marion's career win shares. 44th all time, everyone ahead and around him are either in the hall or destined for it.

 

[pokerface]

He is half the rebounder Marion was... twice the ball handler Marion was (even as a rookie). I'm content with letting him be Josh Jackson right now, because Josh Jackson looks like a future all-star. A freakish athlete, with play making ability and potentially a stud defender.

Sounds good to me. I'm liking his game a lot.

 

[Hoop Head]

Why not?

Just because he hasn't developed into a quality player doesn't mean it's been dull watching him. You never knew what version of Len would show up nightly, whether it was focused and determined Len that would put up a double double with ease or the Alex Len that looked like he just took up basketball a few days before the game. He was rarely invisible, he just wasn't effective on a consistent basis. He's never lost his spot in the rotation since he's been here, he's always played around 20 minutes a game since he was a rookie. It's up to him to maximize the time he gets though and he's failed to do that on his own.

We've gotten to see the Suns play with a true Center on the court all game for almost every game over the last 5 years, and Len was a big part of that. That's been a change from typical "Suns basketball" where they might have 1 true Center on the entire roster all year. Unfortunately Len isn't more than a backup though. Hopefully his time here showed some people that having a real Center doesn't mean much in the NBA nowadays, size isn't everything.

 

[pokerface]

Just because he hasn't developed into a quality player doesn't mean it's been dull watching him. You never knew what version of Len would show up nightly, whether it was focused and determined Len that would put up a double double with ease or the Alex Len that looked like he just took up basketball a few days before the game. He was rarely invisible, he just wasn't effective on a consistent basis. He's never lost his spot in the rotation since he's been here, he's always played around 20 minutes a game since he was a rookie. It's up to him to maximize the time he gets though and he's failed to do that on his own.

We've gotten to see the Suns play with a true Center on the court all game for almost every game over the last 5 years, and Len was a big part of that. That's been a change from typical "Suns basketball" where they might have 1 true Center on the entire roster all year. Unfortunately Len isn't more than a backup though. Hopefully his time here showed some people that having a real Center doesn't mean much in the NBA nowadays, size isn't everything.

I kinda referred to Len as "fools gold"....looks all pretty but doesn't pass the taste test. After seeing his up and down game I think most of us are scared off by now. Plus as others have stated his dinosaur game doesn't fit in today's game.

 

[JCSunsfan]

He is half the rebounder Marion was... twice the ball handler Marion was (even as a rookie). I'm content with letting him be Josh Jackson right now, because Josh Jackson looks like a future all-star. A freakish athlete, with play making ability and potentially a stud defender.

Speaking of Marion though, and he probably deserves his own thread here, a buddy of mine (and Laker fan no less) was talking to me about Marion's Hall of Fame odds, which I figured were marginal, then he busts out this stat:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ws_career.html

Look at Marion's career win shares. 44th all time, everyone ahead and around him are either in the hall or destined for it.

Yeah. I think he was just comparing his hustle to Marion.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I kinda referred to Len as "fools gold"....looks all pretty but doesn't pass the taste test. After seeing his up and down game I think most of us are scared off by now. Plus as others have stated his dinosaur game doesn't fit in today's game.

There are players somewhat similar that play important roles on good teams. The big difference though is that they tend to be far more athletic and thus make great roll men in the pick and roll. And they have better hands as well. Jordan, Drummond and Adams come to mind as far as skill set is concerned.

 

[Hoop Head]

Len has to have some of the worst hands in the league. It's so rare that he catches a pass well. Our guards seem to enjoy throwing lobs to Chandler and Chriss, even if Chriss can't complete the dunk, but they both catch the passes. I can't recall the last time I saw someone throw Len an alley-oop type pass. I'm not sure he could throw it down if they did.

 

[AzStevenCal]

There are players somewhat similar that play important roles on good teams. The big difference though is that they tend to be far more athletic and thus make great roll men in the pick and roll. And they have better hands as well. Jordan, Drummond and Adams come to mind as far as skill set is concerned.

If Len had Greg Monroe's hands, I'd take him over Jordan, Drummond or Adams. As it is, his ceiling is probably that of a homeless man's Rudy Gobert.

 

[FArting]

I had great seats at the game. Section 120 row 1 seats 5 and 6

 

[Carolinacacti]

Hopefully his time here showed some people that having a real Center doesn't mean much in the NBA nowadays, size isn't everything.

I hope your not insinuating that Len and Chandler are the cause of the worst record in the league. Suns are a better team with Len on the floor only problem is he isn't. Or he is with the second unit witch is garbage.