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

[1Sun]

Luca had 32p 8r 5a. That's not the numbers of someone who was defended well. I love Bridges and he did a good job but let's stop acting like he shut him down.

We played like a team that hasn't had time to gell yet. It will get better.

I too am not impressed with Paul and ist kinda what I expected it would be, but he's a Sun now and there's nothing we can do about but hope. 40+mil is not was you pay for 5 assists a game or an OFF the floor general. Can we stop acting like he's some kind of saviour until he does some damn thing.

Disagree on Bridges, considering what Luka had to do to get his stats and that the Mavs' entire offensive flow, which goes through Luka, was disrupted.

Agree 100% on Paul. It's still early, but thus far his on-court performance is quite disconcerting and discouraging. He looks like someone in his final decline where that final decline is like falling off a cliff...not unlike the end of Allen Iverson's career.

 

[Ronin]

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[JCSunsfan]

I will say it again. Cam Johnson’s emergence might be the turning point factor. He plays such smart basketball on both sides of the floor. He is an excellent finisher running the floor even in heavy traffic. And he seems VERY athletic which is very surprising since his athleticism was the knock on him in the draft.

Also Cam Payne seems to be the real deal. He is a competent backup pg. Galloway is a scorer who can create his own offense off the bench. That is an important weapon that had concerned us.

I think I would still prefer Rubio on this team. He was young and improving while Paul is older and has to be beginning a decline. But I am still rooting for Paul since he is now a Sun.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I will say it again. Cam Johnson’s emergence might be the turning point factor. He plays such smart basketball on both sides of the floor. He is an excellent finisher running the floor even in heavy traffic. And he seems VERY athletic which is very surprising since his athleticism was the knock on him in the draft.

Also Cam Payne seems to be the real deal. He is a competent backup pg. Galloway is a scorer who can create his own offense off the bench. That is an important weapon that had concerned us.

I think I would still prefer Rubio on this team. He was young and improving while Paul is older and has to be beginning a decline. But I am still rooting for Paul since he is now a Sun.

Uh Rubio is 30.

 

[GatorAZ]

I’m dying to eat crow regarding Payne and I feel like I’m going to soon. He’s got an unintentional swag about him.

 

[Mainstreet]

I’m dying to eat crow regarding Payne and I feel like I’m going to soon. He’s got an unintentional swag about him.

I wish the Suns had signed him with some team option years.

 

[Superbone]

Is this Dave Pache?

Yes, that was Phoenix-based announcer Dave Pasch on the play by play for ESPN.

 

[notdeadyet]

Chris Paul worked his way to the shot that broke a string of Maverick's baskets near the end of the game. Next time down, he saw Booker open and fed him for another Suns score. Damn nice leadership, and key moments in the game as it looked like the game might be slipping away from us. And, I liked seeing Jalen Smith get that late offensive board, and instead of forcing up a shot himself, which most rookie big men would do, he fed a teammate for a late 3. Another good moment! For a first game with little time to get prepared for the season, I liked what I saw...

 

[JCSunsfan]

Chris Paul worked his way to the shot that broke a string of Maverick's baskets near the end of the game. Next time down, he saw Booker open and fed him for another Suns score. Damn nice leadership, and key moments in the game as it looked like the game might be slipping away from us. And, I liked seeing Jalen Smith get that late offensive board, and instead of forcing up a shot himself, which most rookie big men would do, he fed a teammate for a late 3. Another good moment! For a first game with little time to get prepared for the season, I liked what I saw...

I am hoping that what Chris Paul is doing is leading the team rather than trying to be the star. Many players would try to put up numbers that validate that 40 mil salary, it trying that won’t help. Play solid D, distribute, show leadership in the locker room and on the court, help build winning culture, get some clutch shots when necessary, and stay healthy.

 

[1Sun]

I am hoping that what Chris Paul is doing is leading the team rather than trying to be the star. Many players would try to put up numbers that validate that 40 mil salary, it trying that won’t help. Play solid D, distribute, show leadership in the locker room and on the court, help build winning culture, get some clutch shots when necessary, and stay healthy.

While that might explain his shot volume, it doesn't explain why his shooting is putrid, his assist to turnover ratio is bad, and his man defense is no longer effective.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

While that might explain his shot volume, it doesn't explain why his shooting is putrid, his assist to turnover ratio is bad, and his man defense is no longer effective.

You know it’s funny. You’ll be more than willing to use a really small sample to prove your point, but will you completely flip your argument if he has a good game today? I doubt it.

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

While that might explain his shot volume, it doesn't explain why his shooting is putrid, his assist to turnover ratio is bad, and his man defense is no longer effective.

It's game 1. I'm finally giving in and blocking you

 

[1Sun]

You know it’s funny. You’ll be more than willing to use a really small sample to prove your point, but will you completely flip your argument if he has a good game today? I doubt it.

I will gladly lay off if he ever has a good game with the Suns. Thus far he has had three bad games and has been hurt for the other two.

Again, my concern is that I don't see even a remote sign that we will ever see the Chris Paul of last season again.

 

[AzStevenCal]

While that might explain his shot volume, it doesn't explain why his shooting is putrid, his assist to turnover ratio is bad, and his man defense is no longer effective.

It's too early to worry about his shooting, his man defense has been very overrated for awhile but his passing has surprised me. Not just his turnover ratio but how poorly he's passed in general in the 3 or 4 games he's played in. I've seen at least a dozen passes that probably would have led to assists if his teammates didn't have to jump, bend, slide or pray to catch the ball. But even still, I'm not overly concerned. It's not like that's a skill that typically erodes overnight. I just figure he's a little out of shape and very rusty.

 

[Mainstreet]

We are looking for leadership from Chris Paul. This will usually not be measured in points but rather in how he distributes the ball, clutch shots and making the right plays at the end of games.

The last time I checked, preseason games do not count.

 

[Mainstreet]

In his first game with the Suns, Paul gave the Suns 8 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. For starters, I will take it.

 

[gimpy]

I’m sorry, it’s just one (the first) game.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Again, Paul’s presence on the floor (and even the bench and in practice) cannot be divorced from the degree of professionalism which the team carries itself, particularly on defense.

 

[JCSunsfan]

While that might explain his shot volume, it doesn't explain why his shooting is putrid, his assist to turnover ratio is bad, and his man defense is no longer effective.

Cmon. How about more than one game before these types of extreme generalizations. That’s where you lose credibility. You WAAAAAAAAAY overstate your case. It’s like when you say that Jalen has NO LOWER BODY STRength. You make him sound like he is in a wheel chair. Yes, he looks like he skips leg day, but cmon.

 

[BC867]

Meanwhile, as an afterthought to our game vs. the Mavs . . .

We beat Luca . . .

Then he beat the Lakers.

Ergo . . .

 

[AzStevenCal]

Meanwhile, as an afterthought to our game vs. the Mavs . . .

We beat Luca . . .

Then he beat the Lakers.

Ergo . . .

I'm not sure what you're thinking of but I'm pretty sure the Lakers trounced the Mavericks on Christmas Day.

 

[BC867]

I'm not sure what you're thinking of but I'm pretty sure the Lakers trounced the Mavericks on Christmas Day.

I was going by this headline.

https://sports.yahoo.com/luka-doncic-buzzer-beater-vs-034600149.html

 

[BC867]

I was going by this headline and short description.


https://sports.yahoo.com/luka-doncic-buzzer-beater-vs-034600149.html

Oops, I guess it beat the buzzer in the 1st quarter. My bad!

 

[AzStevenCal]

Oops, I guess it beat the buzzer in the 1st quarter. My bad!

Yeah, he made a layup in the final second of the first quarter to bring his team within 3. So, of course it's big news and worthy of a headline. I mean, something like that only happens a dozen times or more each week during the season.

 

[Mainstreet]

Oops, I guess it beat the buzzer in the 1st quarter. My bad!

The headline was misleading to say the least.