Kings @ Suns Sunday game thread, November 10th 2024

[1tinsoldier]

like i've been saying for years. Booker is not very bright, especially in the clutch. He missed 2 game winners tonight, and, as is his MO, he likes to take difficult 3 pt shots when we only need 1 or 2 pts to win. Last season when he made a game winner, the highlight reel had to go back to the bubble to show his prior game winner.

we've been winning close games for 3 reasons.

1. Durant can get off his shot on anyone.
2. Book has been deferring leadership to Durant, probably as per Bud's direction
3. We have a point guard on the floor to minimize Booker and Durant's fumbles.

Steve Kerr understood how best to use Booker -- in a support role. His assist numbers are good. But he's a border-line all-star being paid the supermax and he should never be making the decisions in the clutch. Bud needs to call plays. Even KD needs to adjust to plays rather than go one on one, but at least he takes good shots.

Booker should be traded to NY before the rest of the league figures out he's overpaid. And that he's a scorer, not a guy who wills a team to wins in the heat of battle like a dozen other stars. In fact, he too often gets sloppy when the going gets rough. The last time he really stood out, was the start of last season. Since then, he's seemed a little disconnected with the Suns.

 

[Germz249]

Look I did my part. I was at the Waffle House. Who here did not stick to their routine? Next time you repeat the same thing you did. Eat the same meal. Wear the same clothes without washing it. Underwear and all.

Do your part!!

 

[Mainstreet]

Bradley Beal talking about playing through the knee injury.

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[somethingshesaid]

like i've been saying for years. Booker is not very bright, especially in the clutch. He missed 2 game winners tonight, and, as is his MO, he likes to take difficult 3 pt shots when we only need 1 or 2 pts to win. Last season when he made a game winner, the highlight reel had to go back to the bubble to show his prior game winner.

If you mean you think Booker has low basketball IQ, I mostly disagree--I think his problem is arrogance and a laid-back personality, not lack of intelligence; but I respect you, because I think it was audacious to claim Booker is "not very bright."

I don't really know if he still has the "that's my mother******* shot" attitude of his youth that offended me and ensured that he would never be my favorite Suns player, but I agree that his desire for glory overrides whatever basketball IQ he does have. That is why I call him arrogant. Thinks he's Kobe Bryant, his mentor, when he isn't.

I also am not interested in trading him.

 

[Chaplin]

This thread pretty much went where expected.

 

[Yuma]

like i've been saying for years. Booker is not very bright, especially in the clutch. He missed 2 game winners tonight, and, as is his MO, he likes to take difficult 3 pt shots when we only need 1 or 2 pts to win. Last season when he made a game winner, the highlight reel had to go back to the bubble to show his prior game winner.

we've been winning close games for 3 reasons.

1. Durant can get off his shot on anyone.
2. Book has been deferring leadership to Durant, probably as per Bud's direction
3. We have a point guard on the floor to minimize Booker and Durant's fumbles.

Steve Kerr understood how best to use Booker -- in a support role. His assist numbers are good. But he's a border-line all-star being paid the supermax and he should never be making the decisions in the clutch. Bud needs to call plays. Even KD needs to adjust to plays rather than go one on one, but at least he takes good shots.

Booker should be traded to NY before the rest of the league figures out he's overpaid. And that he's a scorer, not a guy who wills a team to wins in the heat of battle like a dozen other stars. In fact, he too often gets sloppy when the going gets rough. The last time he really stood out, was the start of last season. Since then, he's seemed a little disconnected with the Suns.

I would agree with this except, Bud designed those two stupid plays at the end of the game. On TV they literally showed him designing the second one where Book had to run parallel to the basket and jack up a three. That's the best play design we could do only needing 1 point to win the game? We ALL know Book's game is mid range assassin. Why did Bud have him taking threes? Also, we had Beal, Allen, etc, on the court. The play didn't have to go to Booker. Finally, someone on the board asked why wasn't Dunn or Oso in, which would have provided gravity at the rim because they would have had to guard against the lob, especially if the rookies could make it look pre inbounds like they were screening for one of them to receive the lob.

Also, once we got to overtime and decided to go MINI with our lineup, that played right into Fox's hands as there was no shot blocker to stop him from driving to the basket. So they had to play off him and let him shoot open shoots. We should have at the very minimum had Oso in there. I blame Coach Bud, but also, we have no real rim protector on this team, and that's on the GM.

I think Booker is dealing with some injury/sickness. It has been reported by the guys covering the team they have been told Book is playing despite being ill. He has been deferring on shots, which he seems off on his shooting evidenced by many air balls. Instead he has Been playing D, and dishing assists. I give him credit for trying to play through whatever it is going on. We would really be toast without him on the floor. Even as bad as you said he is, he's clearly one of our better players.

We really lost this game by taking 58, FIFTY-EIGHT, three point shots and only hitting 31% of them. That's a HUGE percentage of our total shots to hit so low of a percentage. We do better there, and arguably we win this game in regular time. That's what happens when you start playing to take so many threes as your game plan. You will lose games like this. Overall we are 8-2 to start the first ten games of the season. I bet very few of us thought we would be sitting at this record especially sweeping the Mavs so far.

 

[Yuma]

I liked the Oso at center and Okogie at power forward combination.

In earlier games, Bud had Oso and Plumlee on the court at the same time, with Oso being the PF and that looked good.

 

[SirStefan32]

I am not too mad about this one. First game without KD, Nurkic got hurt, and they shot like crap from three. It sucks to lose the game they basically had all but won, but it happens.

 

[Yuma]

I am not too mad about this one. First game without KD, Nurkic got hurt, and they shot like crap from three. It sucks to lose the game they basically had all but won, but it happens.

We shoot better from three as a team we won that game. That's on a lot of guys that played last night that were shooting bad from three. Agreed that we could have won this. I wish Bud had drawn up better plays at the end of regulation. The last play he had Book trying to go Rex Chapman on a shot. You gotta draw up a better play than having a guy try a once in a fifty year time span shot.

 

[1tinsoldier]

If you mean you think Booker has low basketball IQ, I mostly disagree--I think his problem is arrogance and a laid-back personality, not lack of intelligence; but I respect you, because I think it was audacious to claim Booker is "not very bright."

I don't really know if he still has the "that's my mother******* shot" attitude of his youth that offended me and ensured that he would never be my favorite Suns player, but I agree that his desire for glory overrides whatever basketball IQ he does have. That is why I call him arrogant. Thinks he's Kobe Bryant, his mentor, when he isn't.

I also am not interested in trading him.

essentially, i agree. His understanding of the game is sound. However, his ego/emotions get the better of him in crunch time or when riled up and his bb iq drops. That's why he did fit in with team USA, with clutch superstars taking the reigns and with CP3 being the coach on the floor here for 2 years.

i'm tempted to say i'd keep him if he was just on a max salary, but when i consider that his tenure here as "the man" resulted in the most humiliating Suns episodes in 40 years, i'd honestly say even if he walked away and we got nothing in return we'd be better off. Playoff games are won by the teams that make the best decisions in crunch time. We went furthest with smart leaders like Barkley, Kidd, Nash, and CP3. Durant is smart, but his penchant for 1-on-1 in crunch time is something defenses can handle in the playoffs.

if Bud did call a dumb 3pt play when we needed 1 last night, it's indicative of the problem we've had with coaches unwilling to reign in Booker's misguided heroic ambitions -- and it's gonna be another long season, and short playoffs!

 

[Covert Rain]

Our chance to win this game was in regulation. Honestly? The fact that we had an opportunity speaks volumes to me about the improved depth of the team. If your team is missing players, I tend to think that OT games are not in your favor. Once we hit OT? I wasn't shocked we lost.

 

[GatorAZ]

Dunn’s ankle must still be bothering him for Okogie to be getting minutes.