Lakers @ Suns Sunday game thread 3-21-21

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Reigning sixth man of the year. Yeah ok. Sure, this isn’t normal for him, but he’s having a good game. That happens to all good players. Singling him out as a reason why the Suns suck is weak.

Lol, you’re right, I should’ve chosen a guy who wasn’t working the suns as a reason the suns were looking badly.

 

[Chaplin]

Any w is good. But that one didn’t feel particularly good. Nice to see Ayton be assertive offensively. Rebounding still weirdly low.

Curious why you think it’s not particularly good. Dario had a bad game but Ayton had a great game, Booker scored well and CP3 had a lot of assists and a triple dub.

 

[Chaplin]

Lol, you’re right, I should’ve chosen a guy who wasn’t working the suns as a reason the suns were looking badly.

You missed the point but ok. All good.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

He said that Harrel always kills us which says we can’t defend him. Harrel is a good player and really the only guy they got. It would be much more unusual if he DIDN’T have a good game.

Actually, I said we are allowing him to play like an all star. YOU said it always happens. Weird thing to attack me about . . .

 

[Chaplin]

Actually, I said we are allowing him to play like an all star. YOU said it always happens. Weird thing to attack me about . . .

Attack? Really? I’m attacking you?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Curious why you think it’s not particularly good. Dario had a bad game but Ayton had a great game, Booker scored well and CP3 had a lot of assists and a triple dub.

That was a really mediocre team that we didn’t put away until like 2 - 3 minutes left in the game. To me it was just sorta meh.

 

[Proximo]

Any w is good. But that one didn’t feel particularly good. Nice to see Ayton be assertive offensively. Rebounding still weirdly low.

It wasn't a bad win at all when you consider how we shot from 3.

Game was never out of the Suns control.

 

[Mainstreet]

Cam Johnson with a nice return game shooting 3-4 for 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Cam Johnson coming back and looking really good on both ends was awesome. Everyone else was just what you expect, except Dario. Off game for him. It happens. He won us the first LA game against Bron led Lakeshow.

 

[Cheesebeef]

18 of our last 31 on the road. Damn... that’s a lot of road games.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Cam Johnson with a nice return game shooting 3-4 for 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

but I thought he was pretty much done for the season at that point! We’re just lucky that he didn’t die on the court.

 

[elindholm]

Montrez is an all star against us. It’s ridiculous.

He's a badass.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

[ ] anyone besides me watched trez get clowned by Nuggets

 

[Mainstreet]

In Saric's last four games he has scored 4, 2, 8 and 7 points.

Suns need an insurance 4/5 if they are serious about making a run in the playoffs.

It can't be just Ayton and Saric carrying the load at center.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

He's a badass.

He basically just put up his per 36 averages in this game (in 34 minutes). If he could average close to 36 minutes per game he likely would average close to 21/9.

 

[Mainstreet]

Mavericks blow out the Trail Blazers tonight 132-92.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns have sole possession of 2nd place in the Western Conference with two less losses than 3rd place Lakers.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Mavericks blow out the Trail Blazers tonight 132-92.

love seeing this and getting a little breathing room from Portland.

 

[Phrazbit]

18 of our last 31 on the road. Damn... that’s a lot of road games.

It might change as the next few months go by, but thus far, with no fans, home and road hasn't really mattered much.

 

[Hoop Head]

It might change as the next few months go by, but thus far, with no fans, home and road hasn't really mattered much.

The Suns have been allowing 3000 fans into home games for the last month or so. I know that's not a lot but its something.

 

[Phrazbit]

The Suns have been allowing 3000 fans into home games for the last month or so. I know that's not a lot but its something.

I think what makes basketball home court such a big advantage is the fans being right there, mere feet away from the refs and the players screaming in their ears. Until that stuff gets opened up I don't think home court will be quite the same.

Playoffs don't start until mid May this year so, if a large enough portion of the population are vaccinated it might be possible for some packed houses come playoff time.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It might change as the next few months go by, but thus far, with no fans, home and road hasn't really mattered much.

Not sure this is true across the league. Utah is still a Utah-ish 16-2. Philly is 19-4. Brooklyn is 17-6, Milwaukee is 16-5. Which is normal when most of the best teams in the league play very well at home and a little better than .500 on the road. We’re the anomaly, the only team who’s better on the road than at home. Out of the top 7 teams in the league only the Lakers have a worse home record advantage and most of that has been a result of AD missing so much time and them going on a slide at home right after.

 

[Phrazbit]

Not sure this is true across the league. Utah is still a Utah-ish 16-2. Philly is 19-4. Brooklyn is 17-6, Milwaukee is 16-5. Which is normal when most of the best teams in the league play very well at home and a little better than .500 on the road. We’re the anomaly, the only team who’s better on the road than at home. Out of the top 7 teams in the league only the Lakers have a worse home record advantage and most of that has been a result of AD missing so much time and them going on a slide at home right after.

I was shooting from the hip and mostly going by the Suns this year when I posted that, but it turns out that, as of a month ago at least, it is true.

Typically NBA teams have the strongest home court edge of any sport, this season is on pace for the worst home court record in league history.

https://slate.com/culture/2021/02/coronavirus-home-field-advantage-causes-bubbles-fans-refs.html

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/feb/02/not-much-home-court-advantage-in-the-nba-these-day/

The NBA as a whole typically wins 57-60% + of home games, as of the linked article home teams are winning a mere 51.7% of games.

In the bubble last year home teams won only 46% of their playoff games when typically they win 65%. Granted that was the bubble so travel isn't a factor.

But this year travel is different and so are home games. Fans or no, teams virtually never used to play back to backs at home, where road back to back games were common, so home teams were often more rested. This season the Suns have played 4 home backs... I suspect that is more back to back home dates than the last few decades combined. Worth noting, they've also played 4 road back to backs.

So the advantage of home rest is substantially mitigated, the crowd advantage is basically non-existent at the moment.

Eyeballing the rest of our schedule... it actually doesn't look that bad. I am more worried about how condensed it is (we have 3 more games than most teams) and guys getting banged up than teams and locations.

Also, while typing that last part I looked at the records around the league... good lord the East still freaking blows. How is Atlanta in 4th with a record of 22-20? Pathetic.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I was shooting from the hip and mostly going by the Suns this year when I posted that, but it turns out that, as of a month ago at least, it is true.

Typically NBA teams have the strongest home court edge of any sport, this season is on pace for the worst home court record in league history.

https://slate.com/culture/2021/02/coronavirus-home-field-advantage-causes-bubbles-fans-refs.html

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/feb/02/not-much-home-court-advantage-in-the-nba-these-day/

The NBA as a whole typically wins 57-60% + of home games, as of the linked article home teams are winning a mere 51.7% of games.

In the bubble last year home teams won only 46% of their playoff games when typically they win 65%. Granted that was the bubble so travel isn't a factor.

But this year travel is different and so are home games. Fans or no, teams virtually never used to play back to backs at home, where road back to back games were common, so home teams were often more rested. This season the Suns have played 4 home backs... I suspect that is more back to back home dates than the last few decades combined. Worth noting, they've also played 4 road back to backs.

So the advantage of home rest is substantially mitigated, the crowd advantage is basically non-existent at the moment.

Eyeballing the rest of our schedule... it actually doesn't look that bad. I am more worried about how condensed it is (we have 3 more games than most teams) and guys getting banged up than teams and locations.

Also, while typing that last part I looked at the records around the league... good lord the East still freaking blows. How is Atlanta in 4th with a record of 22-20? Pathetic.

okay... but I wasn’t talking about the rest of the league. the best teams in the league it’s still absolutely true that it’s making a difference and those are the teams we’re competing with for playoff seeding and will be hopefully playing in the playoffs.

 

[Ronin]

Magic Number update?