Lakers @ Suns Friday game thread, 11-10-2023 - In-Season Tournament Game #1

[mjb21aztd]

I'm to the point I'm hoping the Cardinals can cheer me up. At least Kyler Murray will be back.

Praying also conor helps pounds the ball in the endzone .... but hope is a tallllllll task in az sports land lol

1140 and cant zzzz thanks suns.

 

[Phrazbit]

... I dunno what to say. This Laker team sucks, I think they're going to struggle to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, I think we're right there with them.

Supposedly we were building a team that wouldn't rely on Booker to carry them... now we're praying Booker can carry them.

 

[JerkFace]

As bad as we look at times right now I am still not worried. A fourth quarter lineup of Booker, Beal and Durant with two of Allen/Nurkic/Gordon will feast a lot more than they will famine.

 

[Cheesebeef]

As bad as we look at times right now I am still not worried. A fourth quarter lineup of Booker, Beal and Durant with two of Allen/Nurkic/Gordon will feast a lot more than they will famine.

Sure. But we’re already 1/10th of the way thru the season and haven’t seen that trip once yet. Whoever pegged the over under at 19.5 for all three might be spot on when all’s said and done.

And even with Book and KD, they still got beat relatively easily by that woeful Spurs team. At home.

 

[nashman]

Actually, the Clippers have four stars: Leonard, George, Harden and Westbrook.

And Mann, Zubach, some on here were saying they are more loaded than we are yet they have been losing over and over…

 

[nashman]

Sure. But we’re already 1/10th of the way thru the season and haven’t seen that trip once yet. Whoever pegged the over under at 19.5 for all three might be spot on when all’s said and done.

And even with Book and KD, they still got beat relatively easily by that woeful Spurs team. At home.

I wouldn’t say relatively easy come on, they shot lights out from 3 and were up by 19 after 1 so we expended tons of energy fighting back to tie it up late we just ran out of gas and Book was really the one scoring lots of no shows in that game as well! It’s still early on and the team is learning to play together clearly. They look better than they did in the first game it just takes time to build chemistry. I do agree Vogel not looking so bright right now, his rotations and offense just relying on KD leave a lot to be desired. I feel like they are putting in the effort on D but man. The refs just ticky tacking us to death with bs or non existent fouls, yet other stars are shooting FTs for getting breathed on…

 

[Cheesebeef]

I wouldn’t say relatively easy come on, they shot lights out from 3 and were up by 19 after 1 so we expended tons of energy fighting back to tie it up late we just ran out of gas and Book was really the one scoring lots of no shows in that game as well! It’s still early on and the team is learning to play together clearly. They look better than they did in the first game it just takes time to build chemistry. I do agree Vogel not looking so bright right now, his rotations and offense just relying on KD leave a lot to be desired. I feel like they are putting in the effort on D but man. The refs just ticky tacking us to death with bs or non existent fouls, yet other stars are shooting FTs for getting breathed on…

Do you just copy and paste the “come on! INSERT TEAM NAME HERE shot the lights out from 3!” thing that you use after every loss?

The fact that we were ever down 20 to the team with the worst point differential in the league and STILL lost by 10 points means it was an easy win for SA. Also, I’m pretty sure SA is adjusting to new pieces as well. But excuse all you want to losing to that terrible team TWICE AT HOME.

 

[JerkFace]

Sure. But we’re already 1/10th of the way thru the season and haven’t seen that trip once yet. Whoever pegged the over under at 19.5 for all three might be spot on when all’s said and done.

And even with Book and KD, they still got beat relatively easily by that woeful Spurs team. At home.

Still not worried, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be worried at some point. Give me 25 games with Beal/Booker/Durant and if the offense still isn’t clicking or if we never reach that number due to injuries, then I will start to worry.

 

[95pro]

Still pretty upset again. Fourth quarter, hey let’s just dump the ball to KD on the elbow and go iso. Offensive spacing sucks still, there’s still some confusion on where each guy should stand.

Might be time to sit JO. He’s been dreadful.

Keep Allen from playing point. Stick him in the corner to shoot.

Gordon needs to let it fly from deep. Him and Allen continue to drive into a packed lane with no contingency.

Stop playing KD full quarters!

Both ends there are simply no adjustments.

They ran the same play over and over several times. First half they took advantage of Yuta. Second half they went pick and roll with lebron to get Allen in him every time down the stretch. Do some pre-switching or substitution by possession. Just frustrating as there’s no strategy being employed.

 

[Hoop Head]

Upside, we can care a little less during tournament games because now we're fighting an uphill battle. Didn't want to see this team make the finals and become overconfident or waste energy on it.

 

[TJ]

I’m going to revel in UofA’s win against Duke for now, because I am thoroughly unimpressed with the Suns. Frankly, I’m scared shitless considering how much of the team we mortgaged to get guys like Durant here. As it stands this is not a championship team; this is an imposter. IDC if Book is injured. Durant/Beal should’ve been enough to hold onto a 10+ point lead against the Lakers.

 

[Raindog]

The Clippers don’t have three stars.

But they have three guys who think they are stars.

 

[Phrazbit]

But they have three guys who think they are stars.

They have 4 guys who think they are stars.

Not slightly kidding.

 

[Chaplin]

You’ve never heard of the term front runners?

It means they’re fine if they’re flying and kicking ass and winning big, but choke when the game gets close/face adversity.

Of course I’ve heard of it, just not in this context.

 

[LA Redbird]

It's getting to the point that these 4th quarter collapses are concerning to our playoff potential....

However, Book is still not here.

 

[AzStevenCal]

And Mann, Zubach, some on here were saying they are more loaded than we are yet they have been losing over and over…

I said, IF they stay healthy (unlikely) and IF they can make the pieces fit together (highly unlikely), they will be slightly better than us. The point was that they had more overall individual talent, not that they are or will be a better team. We have more talent than all but maybe two teams, yet right now we're below .500. We haven't stayed healthy and we haven't made the pieces fit together. But fortunately we don't have the built in chemistry concerns the Clippers face.

 

[Germz249]

I swear I hate the Lakers.

 

[Hoop Head]

And Mann, Zubach, some on here were saying they are more loaded than we are yet they have been losing over and over…

Are we really in a good spot as Suns fans, a team that is 4-5 and can't close out games, to cast doubt on other struggling teams? Like, come on. Take of the Purple and Orange glasses.


I'm not concerned yet. We typically start slow so until we're hovering around 500 as a team in late December, I'm not going to say this team doesn't have it but they have a lot of work to do.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I swear I hate the Lakers.

One of these days someone here is going to say the Suns are my favorite team and I also love the Lakers. And when it happens, the shock will probably kill a few of us.

 

[Proximo]

It's scary to think the best true point guard on the Suns roster is Saban Lee and he is on a two-way contract.

Stop it.

Eric Gordon is a better PG than Saben Lee, and Booker is 20 times as good a PG as Saben Lee

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Stop it.

Eric Gordon is a better PG than Saben Lee, and Booker is 20 times as good a PG as Saben Lee

Beal is also a better PG than Saben.

 

[Mainstreet]

Stop it.

Eric Gordon is a better PG than Saben Lee, and Booker is 20 times as good a PG as Saben Lee

You completely missed the point.

I said Saban Lee is the best true point guard on the Suns roster.

 

[Vacard]

We don’t have a strong bench

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

I thought the SSOL Suns had bad defense, but this team is on a different level.

 

[Mainstreet]

And Mann, Zubach, some on here were saying they are more loaded than we are yet they have been losing over and over…

The Clippers could be a very good team if they gel. The same could be said about the Suns.

I wasn't high on the addition of Harden.