Mavericks @ Suns Wednesday game thread 12-23-2020 (Season Opener)

[JerkFace]

It wasn’t a pretty game, but getting a win against a team like Dallas, even though we were out of sorts at times, is big.

 

[95pro]

Ayton is awful still. He’s more LA than any other big, even then LA is more physical. Aytons go to move, the fadeaway, does this guy think he’s Mj?

Bridges was the man tonight. Good shooting but shot a bit too much in the first half IMO.

I’d like to maybe see Galloway in for CP3 off the bench first. The guy is a flame thrower.

when Payne and Carter are in at the same time they are active and disruptive. Great energy from them.

Cam put up a quiet but solid stat sheet tonight.
Overall, Ayton blows and will be our limiting factor, CP3 will come around as he gets in better shape, Booker is ready and last we have a lot of depth.

kudos to Smith for stepping in for Ayton and Jones. He will keep developing as the game slows down for him.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Great win considering Book all but disappeared in the 2nd half, Ayton got into a bit of BS foul trouble (but looked complacent regardless) and Paul did not impress in his debut. Agree with Raze, Bridges was 100% the player of the game. Without him it would have been an ugly loss.

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Get used to ugly wins. We have a scrappy bench that really yucks the game up. The starters were not in synch offensively but they will improve.

 

[Evil Ash]

It wasn’t a pretty game, but getting a win against a team like Dallas, even though we were out of sorts at times, is big.

Especially with our big 3 just playing ok. You know Paul and book will play better from this point (ayton is more of a hope).

Huge game by bridges and the bench

 

[Mainstreet]

Kings beat the Nuggets 124-122 in Denver. This weekend games at the Kings could be tough.

Haliburton had 12 points and 4 assists.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

 

[BC867]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

'Sorry to hear about your COVID-19, JC.

I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[SirStefan32]

That was an ugly game, but they won- and they have to win ugly games. Well, it was ugly on offense. Defensively they played extremely well.

Few things that stood out to me:

Great to see Bridges play some offense in addition to his great defense. I hope he can keep this up. Also, he played as good of defense as I've ever seen anyone play on Luka.

I love the new Cam Johnson- I was surprised when he took it to the hoop the first time, did a double-take when he did the second one, and said, "Wow" when he did it again. I am impressed, and I really hope he keeps doing this.

Payne played extremely well as the backup PG.

Galloway did a great job as well.

Depth is important. Starters all had bellow average games (aside from Bridges), but they had three guys score almost 40 points off the bench.

It is really nice to have two closers. Neither Paul nor Book were on fire, but they both scored exactly when they needed to.

It is really nice to see the Suns play some good defense.
Keep playing defense, take advantage of the depth, and utilize the two closers.

Go Suns!

 

[Cheesebeef]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

oy... sorry to hear that JC. Hope it passes quickly and without too much struggle.

 

[Hoop Head]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

Good point on Cam. He's not the defender JJ was but he's provided more offense than he ever did and isn't bad on the defensive end.

Ayton is the only knucklehead left and I think his issue is maturity more than anything. He's finally being held accountable for a change and he's struggled with that but hopefully it clicks. Having the same coach this year for him is a positive, plus CP3 to help as a coach on the floor.

Hope you're able to beat it with little to no issue. Will keep you in my thoughts. Hope you're able to have a good Christmas regardless.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Love that on a day I vociferously argued that it would be shocking if Bridges ever became a 20 ppg scorer that he comes out and scores 15 in the first half.

Lol and then scores 3 in the second half, to miss the 20 threshold.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

Get well soon!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Fantastic win. Okay to win ugly. Lots of improvement ahead. Shockingly love our depth.

 

[Hoop Head]

Etwaun Moore didn't play. I believe he was healthy so just a straight DNP-Coach's Decision. I thought he would be ahead of Galloway on the depth chart but I guess since Galloway was hitting his shots, that ate up those minutes.

 

[Dback Jon]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

Speedy recovery

 

[Carolinacacti]

Good the bad and the Ugly anybody.
Good Cam, Bridges bench
Ugly DA Suns will not have to pay him the Max

 

[Mainstreet]

Ok. Some observations. The real turnaround for this team coincides with the emergence of Cam Johnson. He is what we wanted from Josh Jackson.

It’s nice to have a team with no knuckleheads.

Good teams win these types of games.

cp3 had more impact positive on this game than it seemed. He is a steadying influence.

while I miss the excitement of Oubre, I like cam and Mikal with his minutes.

night.

btw. Down with Covid now. Christmas in quarantine.

Sending you positive thoughts. Hope you get well soon.

 

[Mainstreet]

There were lots of pleasant surprises.

When Cam Johnson faced up and shot over a defender it took me by surprise. He also showed the ability to drive to the basket. No more just waiting for an open jump shot.

Cam Payne looked dynamic out there with his defense. On a couple of plays he guarded Doncic as well as I have seen. On one play close to the basket he guarded Doncic move-for-move and on another play he caused him to miss a layup on a drive to the basket with a head fake. Also Payne is one of those players who can create a bit when he has too. He can shake and bake a bit.

Bridges just keeps improving every season on offense and defense as his confidence grows. The Suns need both. This could be the season he takes the next step.

Booker will be Booker. He brings it every night. When he only scores 22 points that is a low number.

Galloway is instant offense. I like that quick set-up jumper.

Jalen Smith gave the Suns minutes they needed them. He looks promising for a rookie and doesn't back down.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Etwaun Moore didn't play. I believe he was healthy so just a straight DNP-Coach's Decision. I thought he would be ahead of Galloway on the depth chart but I guess since Galloway was hitting his shots, that ate up those minutes.

Cam Payne made Monty’s decision regarding EM for him with his play.

 

[Germz249]

I love how the announcers and the commercials were all Luka is the MVP favorite.. Luka is a legend.. but was shooting 0-8.. 2-11.. he is just having a bad start.. he makes a basket and oh he is heating up!!

but its crickets on how Bridges locked him down..

 

[Chaplin]

I love how the announcers and the commercials were all Luka is the MVP favorite.. Luka is a legend.. but was shooting 0-8.. 2-11.. he is just having a bad start.. he makes a basket and oh he is heating up!!

but its crickets on how Bridges locked him down..

Like it or not, Luka is one of THE faces of the league. The NBA probably tells their announcers to hype him up as much as they can.

 

[1Sun]

Phone died during Halftime.

The good: Booker overall, Bridges, the Cams, Galloway, Jalen Smith, Crowder's energy and hustle, and of course the win.

The bad: Ayton, Carter, Booker's turnovers and 4th quarter (other than his score at the end), Crowder's plus-minus and shooting.

The ugly: Jones and especially Paul. Outside of one late jumpshot (after having missed a number of others), I see nothing promising in how CP3 has played with the Suns. I still can't help but think we would be better off with Rubio and spending the extra money on the front court.

 

[Germz249]

Like it or not, Luka is one of THE faces of the league. The NBA probably tells their announcers to hype him up as much as they can.

oh I know league pushes him a lot. The NBA I feel has their agendas. They want to push these European players hard to get more fans from that market. They already got China.

 

[cwamjn]

What I liked:

DA played very aggressive at times. If he keeps that up I think he can even exceed expectations.

Love our wings. 3&d guys that just hustle their backsides off. Got 33 points from them.

DBook hits the dagger with 41 seconds left. Guy is a killer. Bridges with that OR was the real nail in the coffin, love his hustle.

I like Jalen Smith as well, expect solid energy from him throughout the year.

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk