Pelicans @ Suns Tuesday game thread 11-2-2021

[Covert Rain]

I think Frank played great/good position defense or however you want to term it on Valanciunas. Otherwise he was scoring easily inside. Frank made him work for his baskets. The outcome would have been different without him.

This. Valanciunas had 5 turnovers and they were -1 with him on the floor. So our bigs made him work for the points he got and forced some turnovers with pressure.

 

[Finito]

When Shamet was on the floor they were +8. Nader -5 and Payton -4. Payton and Nader on the floor together is scary.

I think Shamet will have his moments but I think we are going to see ups and downs from him.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah it was interesting, I thought frank did a better job than did McGee on valanciunus. It might be one of those odd scenarios where the athlete (McGee) can be faked off his feet (for blocks) by a more earthbound player where’s frank isn’t going to block shots so he stays grounded and in better position.

I really didn't think Frank was capable of playing such good defense. Maybe it was because Valanciunas isn't an elite athlete and he was able to stay with him on defense. I really like how Frank positioned himself. He was not giving up easy shots.

 

[Mainstreet]

That’s interesting . . . and an enormous problem. And a weird one. There’s little to no reason why that should be the case. Wonder if that’s mental by book. Should be easy to test the theory - just weigh a bunch of them.

I think it's more about the grip on the ball but if a person thinks something that can become their reality.

 

[95pro]

McGee is best on limited minutes. Extend his minutes and you get more of that goofy dribbling fiasco we witnessed.

That happened to Stix too in the Cavs game, i mainly blame the second unit for that.

 

[Mainstreet]

This. Valanciunas had 5 turnovers and they were -1 with him on the floor. So our bigs made him work for the points he got and forced some turnovers with pressure.

Yeah, Frank got his body between Valanciunas and the basket and made who shoot over the top of his long arms.

 

[Mainstreet]

When Shamet was on the floor they were +8. Nader -5 and Payton -4. Payton and Nader on the floor together is scary.

I don't think the Suns are going to invest much playing time in Smith since they didn't pick up his option but he is better than Nader.

Shamet is not bringing the passing and shooting which I hoped he would. His foot speed sort of reminds me of Jeff Hornacek. Actually I think this is what the Suns hoped he would bring to the table, a version of Hornacek 2.0.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Pelicans report Herbert Jones suffered a concussion. Tough break for the rookie. He was playing well.

Herbert Jones medical update

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that forward Herbert Jones sustained a concussion during the third quarter of last night’s game against the Phoenix Suns and has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.

www.nba.com

 

[AzStevenCal]

Agreed. We’ve given up some big leads.

That said, this season feels way worse than being at .500 after six games. So I think we are actually in a little better position than it feels like. After all, we were .500 further into the start of last season too.

Yeah considering how poorly we've played, splitting our first 6 games is great. Hopefully we're just seeing the results of a very shortened offseason, plus international ball for Booker followed by Covid for our starting guards. But if those are just excuses, we're in trouble.

 

[Mainstreet]

What I think has happened, the Suns have forgotten how much hard work it takes to be good.

Last year's team had a strong work ethic. They will need to relearn it because in the NBA a team can't just show up and win.

 

[Mainstreet]

Come on, Frank doesn't foul.

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[Mainstreet]

Tough crowd. Some boos were heard.

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[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I will say though that once Ayton is back and he settles into his role? He could have a big impact this season. He seems well equipped to continue pick and roll type plays on offense. Last year that inside part of our game went POOF when Ayton went to the bench. We should could have used some of that in the finals.

Agreed. He will keep the roll pressure high when Ayton sits. And he’ll get a block or two and have drivers wary of his presence. He’s just got to better learn our defensive rotations.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That happened to Stix too in the Cavs game, i mainly blame the second unit for that.

But McGee is MUCH more skilled than stix

 

[Cheesebeef]

this season has a little of the 1995-96 season stink on it so far. If anyone remembers, the previous year was the 3-1 series lead lost to Houston in the Conference Semis. We traded away Blunder Dan for Hot Rod, drafted Michael Finley who was a steal at 24, didn't bring back Danny Ainge (a huge glue guy, IMO) and thought that we found the missing pieces for another title run... and a lot of pre-season mags believed the same. And then we were just kinda... limp all season. You could see it right from the jump. Something was different but was tough to put your finger on it. I get the same feeling watching this team so far.

BUT... it's VERY EARLY and this definitely could change. I mean, we're not the only pre-season contender struggling. The Bucks are 4-4, the Nets and Hawks are only 4-3. It's just frustrating because we have everyone pretty healthy for the most part and with the core intact, we all believed that we'd be better suited to hit the ground running this year, kinda like the Jazz have. But maybe there's a bit of a Finals hangover this team needs to shake itself out of and the contract issues probably play a little bit into the team chemistry angle.

 

[AzStevenCal]

this season has a little of the 1995-96 season stink on it so far. If anyone remembers, the previous year was the 3-1 series lead lost to Houston in the Conference Semis. We traded away Blunder Dan for Hot Rod, drafted Michael Finley who was a steal at 24, didn't bring back Danny Ainge (a huge glue guy, IMO) and thought that we found the missing pieces for another title run... and a lot of pre-season mags believed the same. And then we were just kinda... limp all season. You could see it right from the jump. Something was different but was tough to put your finger on it. I get the same feeling watching this team so far.

BUT... it's VERY EARLY and this definitely could change. I mean, we're not the only pre-season contender struggling. The Bucks are 4-4, the Nets and Hawks are only 4-3. It's just frustrating because we have everyone pretty healthy for the most part and with the core intact, we all believed that we'd be better suited to hit the ground running this year, kinda like the Jazz have. But maybe there's a bit of a Finals hangover this team needs to shake itself out of and the contract issues probably play a little bit into the team chemistry angle.

Whether it's the typical finals hangover or not, I think the finals has something to do with it. Going back to the year you used, Chicago played their last game on June 16th and started their next season on the 1st of November. That's 137 days in between for them, which is 46 more days then we had this year.

When you consider Paul's age, Booker's international play and the impact of Covid on each of them, that's not much time to rest, relax and refresh.

 

[Mainstreet]

Whistle "Sweet Georgia Brown" and all the fatigue goes away.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Glad least suns takin care of not so good rebuildin nba teams pelicans rockets u cant lose those gms.....

Still little worried on suns with sarver bs goin on and ayton contract dispute

Good to be above .500 again forgot how bein under .500 feels as a fan lol

And cant forget mornin toke hit with coffee to suns w hope many more to follow!!