Orlando: Suns restart 2019-20 season

[Chaplin]

If the Suns are going to win any games in Orlando. Ayton needs to double his stats from the season. I'm still scratching my head about Kelly not playing.

So you think that Ayton needs to average 38ppg, 24rpg and 4apg for the Suns to win any games? Really?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

So you think that Ayton needs to average 38ppg, 24rpg and 4apg for the Suns to win any games? Really?

Just my opinion, but I think that would help.

 

[Chaplin]

Just my opinion, but I think that would help.

I'm not sure if you are calling me stupid or what here... but I'll bite. Yes, it would help. But if he doesn't average that, will it be impossible for us to win a game?

 

[Mainstreet]

There is still a chance Kelly Oubre may play in Orlando.

From Arizona Sports By Kevin Zimmerman:


“You can’t come to the gym, you can’t go into the therapy clinics, you can’t get on the court,” Jones said of Oubre’s slowed rehab after coronavirus shut down the season on March 11.

The GM left the door open for Oubre to still play for the Suns, insinuating the forward could travel to Florida at some point.

“Kelly’s been here … he’s been rehabbing and so my expectations for him are the the same as every other player,” Jones said. “Come in every day, practice with the team, work and compete and get yourself in position to play — and hopefully that’s before Orlando ends.”

It appears the Suns could be holding players in Phoenix either because they are in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus or they are continuing rehab.


https://arizonasports.com/story/231...d-out-not-all-suns-heading-to-bubble-tuesday/

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is James Jones discussing some topics before Suns depart for Orlando.

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[Mainstreet]

The bulk of the Suns roster will leave for Orlando on Tuesday but some may travel later.

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[Hoop Head]

How is he disappointing? He's improved in year 2, and IMO, improved A LOT on the defensive end. That is a huge step for a center to make in his 2nd year, while also dealing with a 25-game suspension. I'm not sure what else you want at this point.

We live in an era that has already seen Shaq and Dwight Howard dominate the position. OF COURSE he's going to talk about wanting to be the next great center. I'd be more concerned if he didn't have at least a little bravado.

I just don't see the problem here. He's improving and that's what matters.

His defense has improved but that doesn't mean there isn't more room for growth. He needs to learn to work in the post and create his own shot so our guards don't need to feed him so low and he's not so dependent on others getting him going. He's talked about how he'll come in and take over yet we haven't seen anything close to that so far. Surely he's capable of envisioning it but actually carrying out that plan is another story. If he can't do that then he needs to quit saying he's going to do it. He also needs to learn to finish through contact as well as initiate contact on his inside shots so he can get to the FT stripe more often and get the opposing team in foul trouble.

Sure he was suspended but that's no excuse. If anything I blame him for the teams record since he couldn't properly manage and control what he put in his body. He let his teammates, the organization, and the fanbase down by doing so. I hope he learned his lesson but I won't allow his 25 missed games to be an excuse as to why he might not be where we'd hope. If he suffered an injury that sidelined him for that long, I'd cut him more slack but his suspension shouldn't be compared to an injury as far as time missed. He was healthy for that time off and should have been working hard on improving while he was away from the team. I think he did work during that time but I'm not sure how hard he hit it. I know he didn't take the league by storm when he returned, like he said he would.

Another issue with his suspension is it started with more empty words from him. Right when it was announced Ayton tried getting in front of it by denying wrong doing and saying he'll appeal it. He even seemed to convince the players union to back him for that with talk of it being fast tracked. As we know now, that didn't happen. He said after he returned that he decided to take his suspension, which is fine, but it says nothing about his comments about appealing it and how he was done wrong.

He was a #1 overall pick like Howard and Shaq and he has all of the physical gifts and IQ to be as good as they were in their primes but he has to learn to channel his aggression on the floor and dominate a game. I want him to live up to being a #1 overall pick in that I want other teams to be jealous the Suns have him and covet him. I want him to look like an All-Star now since there have already been 2 other players from his draft class that have earned those honors.

 

[Carolinacacti]

So you think that Ayton needs to average 38ppg, 24rpg and 4apg for the Suns to win any games? Really?

No, AYTON needs 45-20-3 for the Suns to win.

 

[Chaplin]

His defense has improved but that doesn't mean there isn't more room for growth. He needs to learn to work in the post and create his own shot so our guards don't need to feed him so low and he's not so dependent on others getting him going. He's talked about how he'll come in and take over yet we haven't seen anything close to that so far. Surely he's capable of envisioning it but actually carrying out that plan is another story. If he can't do that then he needs to quit saying he's going to do it. He also needs to learn to finish through contact as well as initiate contact on his inside shots so he can get to the FT stripe more often and get the opposing team in foul trouble.

Sure he was suspended but that's no excuse. If anything I blame him for the teams record since he couldn't properly manage and control what he put in his body. He let his teammates, the organization, and the fanbase down by doing so. I hope he learned his lesson but I won't allow his 25 missed games to be an excuse as to why he might not be where we'd hope. If he suffered an injury that sidelined him for that long, I'd cut him more slack but his suspension shouldn't be compared to an injury as far as time missed. He was healthy for that time off and should have been working hard on improving while he was away from the team. I think he did work during that time but I'm not sure how hard he hit it. I know he didn't take the league by storm when he returned, like he said he would.

Another issue with his suspension is it started with more empty words from him. Right when it was announced Ayton tried getting in front of it by denying wrong doing and saying he'll appeal it. He even seemed to convince the players union to back him for that with talk of it being fast tracked. As we know now, that didn't happen. He said after he returned that he decided to take his suspension, which is fine, but it says nothing about his comments about appealing it and how he was done wrong.

He was a #1 overall pick like Howard and Shaq and he has all of the physical gifts and IQ to be as good as they were in their primes but he has to learn to channel his aggression on the floor and dominate a game. I want him to live up to being a #1 overall pick in that I want other teams to be jealous the Suns have him and covet him. I want him to look like an All-Star now since there have already been 2 other players from his draft class that have earned those honors.

Stop listening to him. He’s going to say whatever the hell he wants because he’s that kind of person. Again, stop listening to him. If he can’t live up to his own inflated sense of worth, that’s on him. I only care about what is on the court.

And the fact that you accused me of thinking there is no room for growth makes me wonder what you’re reading.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'm not sure if you are calling me stupid or what here... but I'll bite. Yes, it would help. But if he doesn't average that, will it be impossible for us to win a game?

I wasn’t calling you anything. I was just being goofy.

 

[Hoop Head]

Stop listening to him. He’s going to say whatever the hell he wants because he’s that kind of person. Again, stop listening to him. If he can’t live up to his own inflated sense of worth, that’s on him. I only care about what is on the court.

And the fact that you accused me of thinking there is no room for growth makes me wonder what you’re reading.

I never accused you of thinking there is no more room for growth, not sure where you're getting that. I can see that you're high on him and his development so far and I'm only slightly higher on him than I was prior to the draft. His defense is better than I thought it would be by this point but his offense isn't as fluid as I'd hoped it would be. His offense isn't as far from where I thought it would be, if he knocking down 1 or 2 3's a game to go with 2 or 3 FT's then he'd be about where I'd hoped he would be.

As far as not listening to him, sure that's an option but I can't think of a time when I ignored one of my favorite team's players outright. That seems odd. One of the most frustrating aspects of listening to him is knowing he has all the tools to do what he says he will but he just doesn't follow through. It's not like he's a dumb guy either with a low BB-IQ. He does have a pretty high BB-IQ for a 7 footer and is wise beyond his years given he's only played basketball for about 7 years now. You can tell he understands the nuances of the game when he's breaking down defending other stars in the league so hearing him be so wrong when he discusses his own game is a bit mind boggling.

I'm not as satisfied with his growth as you are. I'm not willing to overlook some of his shortcomings because he does a number of things well. I'd say he does more well than he doesn't but he needs to be more realistic in his view of his own game to help his development along. If he thinks he's really playing at a dominant level then he's sadly mistaken and I'm worried if he'll ever reach that level in reality.

 

[Chaplin]

I never accused you of thinking there is no more room for growth, not sure where you're getting that. I can see that you're high on him and his development so far and I'm only slightly higher on him than I was prior to the draft. His defense is better than I thought it would be by this point but his offense isn't as fluid as I'd hoped it would be. His offense isn't as far from where I thought it would be, if he knocking down 1 or 2 3's a game to go with 2 or 3 FT's then he'd be about where I'd hoped he would be.

As far as not listening to him, sure that's an option but I can't think of a time when I ignored one of my favorite team's players outright. That seems odd. One of the most frustrating aspects of listening to him is knowing he has all the tools to do what he says he will but he just doesn't follow through. It's not like he's a dumb guy either with a low BB-IQ. He does have a pretty high BB-IQ for a 7 footer and is wise beyond his years given he's only played basketball for about 7 years now. You can tell he understands the nuances of the game when he's breaking down defending other stars in the league so hearing him be so wrong when he discusses his own game is a bit mind boggling.

I'm not as satisfied with his growth as you are. I'm not willing to overlook some of his shortcomings because he does a number of things well. I'd say he does more well than he doesn't but he needs to be more realistic in his view of his own game to help his development along. If he thinks he's really playing at a dominant level then he's sadly mistaken and I'm worried if he'll ever reach that level in reality.

The very first sentence of your previous post!!

And if you’re not satisfied with his growth that’s on you, considering he only has what—100 games on his resume. AND he’s a center, a position that historically is difficult to automatically become a superstar in.

There is so much to be unhappy about with this franchise over the past 10 years, this is certainly not one of them.

I’m done with this useless and redundant conversation.

 

[Mainstreet]

This makes a statement about the Suns finally having players that want to be a part of the franchise.

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[Hoop Head]

The very first sentence of your previous post!!

And if you’re not satisfied with his growth that’s on you, considering he only has what—100 games on his resume. AND he’s a center, a position that historically is difficult to automatically become a superstar in.

There is so much to be unhappy about with this franchise over the past 10 years, this is certainly not one of them.

I’m done with this useless and redundant conversation.

Oh, the first sentence that says "His defense has improved but that doesn't mean there isn't more room for growth." That isn't saying you don't think he has more growth, is a finished product, or is who he'll always be. Quit trying to spin things.

I never said Ayton's play was one of the biggest problems with the team either, there are plenty of issues. Ayton happens to be who is being discussed and I gave my take on him. You don't have to agree but don't take what I say and twist it into something else.

 

[Mainstreet]

@Hoop Head

Have you thought about subscribing to Gina Mizell's newsletter "Valley Tales?" I'm not ready to do it just yet. Hopefully she has a good following.

 

[Chaplin]

@Hoop Head

Have you thought about subscribing to Gina Mizell's newsletter "Valley Tales?" I'm not ready to do it just yet. Hopefully she has a good following.

It's free until the games start, so why aren't you subscribing?

 

[Mainstreet]

It's free until the games start, so why aren't you subscribing?

I didn't read The Athletic much when I had a paid subscription. Don't want to build up false hope that I will become a subscriber when pay for read applies.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The very first sentence of your previous post!!

And if you’re not satisfied with his growth that’s on you, considering he only has what—100 games on his resume. AND he’s a center, a position that historically is difficult to automatically become a superstar in.

not sure I totally agree with your last statement, especially for highly picked, number 1 pick centers? Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, Mourning, Robinson all became stars immediately and all had their teams in the playoffs in year 2 and some of them even pushed their teams to the Finals by year 2 or 3. there are obviously others who took a while to become stars (Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard) but it doesn't seem to me from my recollection that it's a really tough transition as opposed to other positions, especially for those guys taken at the very top of the draft.

 

[Mainstreet]

Looks like Oubre and Booker are in Orlando.

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[TJ]

No, AYTON needs 45-20-3 for the Suns to win.

60-30-15 or he's a bust

 

[Mainstreet]

Kellan Olson
@KellanOlson

With the Suns in Orlando, everyone who arrived is required to stay isolated in their rooms until they have two negative PCR tests that are separated by at least 24 hours.

Group workouts/practice and such begin on Monday.
5:15 PM · Jul 7, 2020

 

[Mainstreet]

Kellan Olson
@KellanOlson

The window they really want to hit is July 21, when social activities outside of self-isolation will be allowed and scrimmages starting the day after. That's where it'll get tricky if positive tests come in for those who were able to arrive on time after being cleared at home.
5:18 PM · Jul 7, 2020

 

[Mainstreet]

Kellan Olson
@KellanOlson

At least in my opinion, that's when we get off and running with no turning back. Because if you get a positive test after that, there's so much contact tracing to do that you can't nail it down to just one team. You'd have to put everything on pause or just shut down.
5:21 PM · Jul 7, 2020

 

[Superbone]

60-30-15 or he's a bust

Plus, we might win a few games.

 

[Hoop Head]

@Hoop Head

Have you thought about subscribing to Gina Mizell's newsletter "Valley Tales?" I'm not ready to do it just yet. Hopefully she has a good following.

No, I was a bit disappointed she's going with a pay model. I'll probably check it out next season but I've been happy with ESPN Insider so far. That's given me just enough extra content that paying for something else would probably be too much.