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[BC867]

BTW, in case you haven't noticed, Bridges has gone completely into the tank since he was benched after his career night in Boston, culminating with the worst game of his career tonight.

In the three games starting with the benching, Bridges is a poor 8-24 from the field (2-12 tonight), a ghastly 2-12 from three point range (1-7 tonight), and a minus-18 total (minus-12 tonight). Yuck.

Yes, there is an idiom in sports that you go with the hot hand unless and until he fades.

From that perspective alone, Bridges and Oubre should be the starting Forwards
after Bridges' breakout game. Even if Bridges gets the same amount of minutes.

Not to mention how it deflates a young player to have his best NBA game, as a
starter, then immediately get benched.

And an indication that the Head Coach has a short attention span.

Put it all together and it makes Monty a disappointment in that regard.

Unless Sarver is still calling the starting lineup shots as he did with
Hornacek, in which case, whoever is coaching wouldn't make a difference,
because Sarver's hires/promotes subordinates who are ... subordinate,
even if they hold key positions.

Our only hope is that Larry Fitzgerald, his friend, will also be a friend of
Suns fans and bolster Sarver's ego while getting him to back off from
day to day decisions. With Sarver's attention-getting ego, I'm hoping
that Fitz can manipulate him, for the good of the team.

In private industry, the public would never know the difference. In
sports, the results are there for all to see.

 

[JerkFace]

BTW, in case you haven't noticed, Bridges has gone completely into the tank since he was benched after his career night in Boston, culminating with the worst game of his career tonight.

In the three games starting with the benching, Bridges is a poor 8-24 from the field (2-12 tonight), a ghastly 2-12 from three point range (1-7 tonight), and a minus-18 total (minus-12 tonight). Yuck.

First of all, don’t be dramatic, he wasn’t benched, he was filling in for an injured Oubre and then went back to his role. Second, you seem to leave out the fact that he also started in New York and scored 7 points. And third, has he gone in the tank or has he just gone back to what he been doing all season long? He had a great game in Boston, but there is plenty of evidence to show that currently, that game was an outlier... hopefully a sneak peak, but not his current offensive norm. He has been offensively inconsistent all season long. To claim that his current offensive output (which mirrors his season long offensive output) is due solely to returning to the bench is myopic at best. I would personally start Bridges over Saric, but if he stays in the 6th man role I am quite confident that his gameplay won’t be negatively affected.

 

[BC867]

First of all, don’t be dramatic, he wasn’t benched, he was filling in for an injured Oubre and then went back to his role. Second, you seem to leave out the fact that he also started in New York and scored 7 points. And third, has he gone in the tank or has he just gone back to what he been doing all season long? He had a great game in Boston, but there is plenty of evidence to show that currently, that game was an outlier... hopefully a sneak peak, but not his current offensive norm. He has been offensively inconsistent all season long. To claim that his current offensive output (which mirrors his season long offensive output) is due solely to returning to the bench is myopic at best. I would personally start Bridges over Saric, but if he stays in the 6th man role I am quite confident that his gameplay won’t be negatively affected.

Why look for reasons to not improve? The kid had a breakout game. What did the disappointing Suns
have to lose by giving Bridges a chance to show what he can do . . . at the expense of moving the
very inconsistent Saric to backup?

The Suns are lacking an innovator. Or are stifling potential innovators. As I posted in the thread about
Larry Fitzgerald possibly influencing Sarver to change the status quo, when you're failing, why not
give fresh ideas a chance?

Such as giving Bridges a chance to follow up his breakout game before deciding that he is not ready
for the next step. Development! Especially on a failing team. We see what running the Suns like a
bank has produced.

 

[Chaplin]

Why look for reasons to not improve? The kid had a breakout game. What did the disappointing Suns
have to lose by giving Bridges a chance to show what he can do . . . at the expense of moving the
very inconsistent Saric to backup?

The Suns are lacking an innovator. Or are stifling potential innovators. As I posted in the thread about
Larry Fitzgerald possibly influencing Sarver to change the status quo, when you're failing, why not
give fresh ideas a chance?

Such as giving Bridges a chance to follow up his breakout game before deciding that he is not ready
for the next step. Development! Especially on a failing team. We see what running the Suns like a
bank has produced.

Using that philosophy you should apply that to Saric right now, right?
I like Bridges, but not enough to think Boston was his “breakout” game when he hasn’t come close to replicating since.

The board this year tends to underrate Saric and overrate Bridges, breakout game or no.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Using that philosophy you should apply that to Saric right now, right?
I like Bridges, but not enough to think Boston was his “breakout” game when he hasn’t come close to replicating since.

The board this year tends to underrate Saric and overrate Bridges, breakout game or no.

I like Saric more than most here. He works hard in all phases, blocks out, plays fundamentally sound ball. His three pointer has been inconsistent recently which is why he is getting the hate I guess. He is our weakest starter, but lots of teams have someone worse than Saric starting.

 

[JerkFace]

Why look for reasons to not improve? The kid had a breakout game. What did the disappointing Suns
have to lose by giving Bridges a chance to show what he can do . . . at the expense of moving the
very inconsistent Saric to backup?

The Suns are lacking an innovator. Or are stifling potential innovators. As I posted in the thread about
Larry Fitzgerald possibly influencing Sarver to change the status quo, when you're failing, why not
give fresh ideas a chance?

Such as giving Bridges a chance to follow up his breakout game before deciding that he is not ready
for the next step. Development! Especially on a failing team. We see what running the Suns like a
bank has produced.

I personally would be all for starting him over Saric. I just don’t believe that returning Bridges to his 6th man role has negatively impacted him. Monty has stated that he prefers to bring Bridges off the bench because it gives him more flexibility. He can bring him in for any one of the other players depending on how the game is going. Having a player that can be the first off the bench and sub in for any of the 5 starters is quite valuable. Once again, I would start Bridges, but I can at least understand Montys thought process.

 

[1Sun]

I personally would be all for starting him over Saric. I just don’t believe that returning Bridges to his 6th man role has negatively impacted him. Monty has stated that he prefers to bring Bridges off the bench because it gives him more flexibility. He can bring him in for any one of the other players depending on how the game is going. Having a player that can be the first off the bench and sub in for any of the 5 starters is quite valuable. Once again, I would start Bridges, but I can at least understand Montys thought process.

Except Oubre can sub in for the exact same positions (SF, PF, SG) Bridges can...

 

[JerkFace]

Except Oubre can sub in for the exact same positions (SF, PF, SG) Bridges can...

If you are so convinced that moving Bridges back to the bench has destroyed his confidence and psyche after starting for a whole 2 games, why would you think it would not have more extreme effects on Oubre who has started all season long?

 

[SirStefan32]

Using that philosophy you should apply that to Saric right now, right?
I like Bridges, but not enough to think Boston was his “breakout” game when he hasn’t come close to replicating since.

The board this year tends to underrate Saric and overrate Bridges, breakout game or no.

I like Saric more than most here. He works hard in all phases, blocks out, plays fundamentally sound ball. His three pointer has been inconsistent recently which is why he is getting the hate I guess. He is our weakest starter, but lots of teams have someone worse than Saric starting.

I'd disagree that we "overrate" Bridges, but I do agree that we underrate Saric. Saric has no athleticism, but he plays solid defense, he blocks out, passes the ball well, has the ability to score in multiple ways. He is by far the weakest link in the starting lineup, but I think a team with depth could get away starting Saric. I really think if they had a legitimate backup point guard and an average long, athletic backup for Ayton, they would be performing much better and Dario would look better.

 

[1Sun]

If you are so convinced that moving Bridges back to the bench has destroyed his confidence and psyche after starting for a whole 2 games, why would you think it would not have more extreme effects on Oubre who has started all season long?

Because Oubre has far more confidence, has been in the league for far longer, and would actually have MORE scoring opportunities and have MORE ability to have the offense revolve around him off the bench. More significant, Oubre is far more capable of creating his own offense, whereas Bridges is far better suited to a complimentary role where he can be a shut down defender, and others can be relied upon to create offense and shooting opportunities for him, since Bridges, unlike Oubre, is incapable of putting the ball on the floor and creating his own offense or creating for others.

It's not only about ego and confidence, though for Bridges they are certainly a significant part of the equation. It is about fit with the role. It is no coincidence that Bridges is far more effective offensively, and therefore more confident and effective defensively, when he has Booker, Rubio and Ayton creating opportunities for him than when he is stuck paired with the likes of Okobo, Jerome, Diallo, Tyler Johnson, Saric, etc.

Also, having Oubre start on the bench gives Ayton more opportunity to get in the flow of the offense and get fed inside, since much of Oubre's offense comes at Ayton's expense.

This isn't rocket science. It is about putting the players in the best position to succeed given their relative strengths and needs.

 

[1Sun]

I'd disagree that we "overrate" Bridges, but I do agree that we underrate Saric. Saric has no athleticism, but he plays solid defense, he blocks out, passes the ball well, has the ability to score in multiple ways. He is by far the weakest link in the starting lineup, but I think a team with depth could get away starting Saric. I really think if they had a legitimate backup point guard and an average long, athletic backup for Ayton, they would be performing much better and Dario would look better.

He is in the 300s out of 400+ NBA players in defensive rating. His defense is awful, not due to lack of effort or desire, but due to having no athleticism. He can't get off the ground, he can't shuffle his feet, he has no lateral quickness, he has no straight line speed, he has no strength, and he has very poor reflexes/reaction time. Last night's game aside, his ceiling is Doug McDermott, an erratic deep bench scorer who really can't consistently be counted on to do anything other than occasionally shoot from outside.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I'd disagree that we "overrate" Bridges, but I do agree that we underrate Saric. Saric has no athleticism, but he plays solid defense, he blocks out, passes the ball well, has the ability to score in multiple ways. He is by far the weakest link in the starting lineup, but I think a team with depth could get away starting Saric. I really think if they had a legitimate backup point guard and an average long, athletic backup for Ayton, they would be performing much better and Dario would look better.

I agree. In fact, I think Dario would look better with just a better back up pg and bringing Baynes back.

 

[1Sun]

I agree. In fact, I think Dario would look better with just a better back up pg and bringing Baynes back.

One good game, and the guy is suddenly a worthy starter.

Un-freaking-believable.

Perhaps management continues to roll out crappy rosters because too many fans don't expect more out of them...

 

[BC867]

If you are so convinced that moving Bridges back to the bench has destroyed his confidence and psyche after starting for a whole 2 games, why would you think it would not have more extreme effects on Oubre who has started all season long?

It is the inconsistent Saric who would be better coming off the bench.

Saric, not Oubre.

 

[1Sun]

It is the inconsistent Saric who would be better coming off the bench.

Saric, not Oubre.

I concur, but I also think there is a very good case to be made for Oubre coming off the bench as well. Bridges is the LAST guy of the three who should be coming off the bench.

 

[JerkFace]

It is the inconsistent Saric who would be better coming off the bench.

Saric, not Oubre.

I 100% agree that Bridges should start of Saric. I was just responding to the notion of benching Oubre.

 

[BC867]

I concur, but I also think there is a very good case to be made for Oubre coming off the bench as well. Bridges is the LAST guy of the three who should be coming off the bench.

On our drab team, we need Oubre in the starting lineup. Not just because he is our second top scorer,
but because he our very obvious spark plug. It would be a mistake for morale to move him to the bench.

 

[sinsay]

Last game Carter plus-minus was a 1

Okobo was a -8

Dillo was a 6

Daric was a -10

Suns need to bench and or trade Okobo
Carter helps the suns win games

 

[Hoop Head]

Last game Carter plus-minus was a 1

Okobo was a -8

Dillo was a 6

Daric was a -10

Suns need to bench and or trade Okobo
Carter helps the suns win games

I prefer Okobo to Tyler Johnson by a large margin. I'd rather not see Okobo traded but I have a feeling that is why he's been in the rotation more than other guards over the last month, building some value. He won't net much of a return but if they can flip him for a big with potential, sort of like another Diallo, then I can live with that.

 

[elindholm]

lots of teams have someone worse than Saric starting.

Really? Could you name, like, five? I doubt it.

 

[BC867]

...lots of teams have someone worse than Saric starting.

How does that help the Suns? "We're not the worst. We're not the worst."?

Suns fans deserve better!

 

[95pro]

Really wish Okobo would sit less and Diallo would get more burn. I'm not sure why this pattern continues to happen.

 

[1Sun]

Really wish Okobo would sit less and Diallo would get more burn. I'm not sure why this pattern continues to happen.

Can't answer for Diallo, but Okobo just flat out sucks.

 

[Mainstreet]

Really wish Okobo would sit less and Diallo would get more burn. I'm not sure why this pattern continues to happen.

I can see Jevon Carter starting. With the injuries the Suns do not have much left to choose from at point guard.

After Carter, there is Okobo, Harper and Lecque.

I'd like to see more of Diallo.

 

[95pro]

I can see Jevon Carter starting. With the injuries the Suns do not have much left to choose from at point guard.

After Carter, there is Okobo, Harper and Lecque.

I'd like to see more of Diallo.

I didn't realize how small Harper was. I dont think at this point, since there seems to be no sight of the playoffs and a trade happening, it would hurt to give Lecque some more playing time.


Diallo will go on a good little run then get pulled.