Pelicans @ Suns Tuesday game thread 12-29-2020

jagu

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The good thing about this team so far that is that it isn't one person reliant. Off nights from everyone is rare. They have so much depth and a few of them will have good games every night and then there will be nights where it's all Booker. Hopefully they can avoid some major injuries.
 

Matt L

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Pelicans look like the Suns of the last 10 years.

I'm happy with the win but I would like to see a lot more from Doninayton
 

Cheesebeef

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HOLY CRAP!

just watched on delay. Jesus that was an impressive ass-kicking.

like most of you, my favorite play wasn’t a basket or defensive play, it was Ayton getting dirty, diving for the ball and coming up with it for a pass for a bucket.

3-1 as we figured out who we are. Pretty damn sweet so far.
 

Suns_fan69

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I'm really impressed with the team's collective ball movement. I had a fear that with CP3 on the team that he'd just pound the air out of the ball when he's in but the ball is moving freely and quickly. It really helps set up those hard attacks on closeouts we're seeing by Bridges, Johnson and Cam Payne.

I guess it also helps that those guys are also making shots at a pretty good clip.
 

Johninromania

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Missed this game as being overseas I’ve only been able to see the second half the Mavericks game. But one of my boys back home in Phx, told me that DA real influence is his improved defense. Said it’s the same old same old with his lack of killer instinct on the offensive end but on the defensive end it’s a different story. Can any of you knowledgeable fellows confirm this?
 
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Mainstreet

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Missed this game as being overseas I’ve only been able to see the second half the Mavericks game. But one of my boys back home in Phx, told me that DA real influence is his improved defense. Said it’s the same old same old with his lack of killer instinct on the offensive end but on the defensive end it’s a different story. Can any of you knowledgeable fellows confirm this?

Suns are deep and playing team basketball. I think we are going to see stats down for a lot of players this season. Ayton played solid team defense tonight and took what the offense gave him. Suns are multi-dimensional as a team. I will take that over a couple of players having big stats.
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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Suns are deep and playing team basketball. I think we are going to see stats down for a lot of players this season. Ayton played solid team defense tonight and took what the offense gave him. Suns are multi-dimensional this season. I will take that over a couple of players having big stats.
Yeah I would guess Booker will still lead the points, but he may average as little as like 22-23 this year. Ayton will likely average 13-15, Paul 12-15, Cam Johnson 12-15, Bridges 12-15, Saric about 10, Crowder around 10 and rest of the bench about 15-18.
 
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Mainstreet

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Yeah I would guess Booker will still lead the points, but he may average as little as like 22-23 this year. Ayton will likely average 13-15, Paul 12-15, Cam Johnson 12-15, Bridges 12-15, Saric about 10, Crowder around 10 and rest of the bench about 15-18.

Sounds about right. Cam Payne will likely be in double figures as well.
 

Muggz

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To me this is the first game we played as a team and its only gonna get better as we jell. Book had an off night again but he kept shooting which is the only way to get out of a slump. I was very impressed by both Cams and Dario who hasn't played much ball since the bubble. Paul could lead the league in assists this year with 20 min a game if Cam P doesn't outshine him. DA didn't have a great night but was a presence in the paint with Zion only getting 2 rebounds.
 

WhyAlwaysMe

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Can’t wait for Utah game. Bridges on Mitchell and Booker on O’Neal please!

Payne-Clarkson
Johnson-Ingles
Saric-Favors

so many intriguing matchups!
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Extremely impressive.

ball movement was fantastic. I love that this team is known now for being a league leader in assist last year and this.

bridges has become close to a full package. His play has been brilliant. And he runs around grinning like a big kid the whole time.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get over how wrong i was on cam johnson. I expected him to be an okay shooter. I didn’t expect him to be bullseye and so well rounded already.

best game by Ayton this season. Loved the hustle and defense. I’ll leave it at that.

really confounded by book’s being outta sorts. Seems to be struggling with his role all season so far. Really odd.

saric and crowder are such important role players and glue guys.

early in the game when Paul drew the foul falling down I got the strong Danny ainge/Mario elie feeling. You just know you hate Paul if he’s not on your team. But when he’s your guy you just giggle at his BS as it works. And you kind of just keep giggling about it, like you’re getting away with a fast one.

finally, we won’t always get this production from our bench, but health providing, I think it will be a versatile difference maker all season.
 

CardsSunsDbacks

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Extremely impressive.

ball movement was fantastic. I love that this team is known now for being a league leader in assist last year and this.

bridges has become close to a full package. His play has been brilliant. And he runs around grinning like a big kid the whole time.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get over how wrong i was on cam johnson. I expected him to be an okay shooter. I didn’t expect him to be bullseye and so well rounded already.

best game by Ayton this season. Loved the hustle and defense. I’ll leave it at that.

really confounded by book’s being outta sorts. Seems to be struggling with his role all season so far. Really odd.

saric and crowder and such important role players and glue guys.

early in the game when Paul drew the foul falling down I got the strong Danny ainge/Mario elite feeling. You just know you hate Paul if he’s not on your team. But when he’s your guy you just giggle at his BS as it works. And you kind of just keep giggling about it, like you’re getting away with a fast one.

finally, we won’t always get this production from our bench, but health providing, I think it will be a versatile difference maker all season.
I think Booker is trying very hard to get other guys going in the first half and then will look for his own offense later on.

It appears to be working for his teammates (especially in the last 2 games), but Booker is going to have to figure out how to get others going while also getting himself into a rhythm.
 

Carolinacacti

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Booker has had the stats, I think he would rather win. He knows when the game is on the line he will be the man. Well he might be.
 

82CardsGrad

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I have zero concerns about Book... With the addition of CP3, Book has totally deferred to Paul and is trying to fit into a flow that is largely dictated by Paul when he’s on the court. That’s natural and is expected. Meanwhile, the team is winning and improving with each passing game!
Book will continue to gain comfort and confidence when on the court with CP3. The great news is Book no longer needs to be a super hero on a nightly basis - as was clearly illustrated last night! That said, I can’t even imagine what this team will be doing once Book gets totally comfy!

My biggest concern right now is what we have as a backup to Ayton.
Deandre is proving that even when he isn’t scoring, he is impacting the game.
But when he’s on the bench, just how big of a risk do we take and how much do we let teams back into the game, or worse, extend a lead they might already have??
We don’t have a viable #2 Center...
Not sure how this might hold this team back going forward, but I’m very concerned about it.
 
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