Playoffs: Nuggets @ Suns Thursday game thread 5-11-2023 - Game 6

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That's not a superstar!

Offensive efficiency is what MAKES Durant a superstar! When he's not efficient, he no longer plays like a superstar.

With roster we have around them there’s no way the suns make it to the second round and take two games from the #1 seed if book and kd werent playing like superstars.

 

[TJ]

I don't care that he eventually scores enough points - he's completely inefficient, turning the ball over, and an average defender.

Whatever KD has brought to the table so far has been incredibly underwhelming. We gave up a ton of assets for what we expected to be an MVP level player. Still waiting to see that player.

Kind of a bitter pill to swallow, but it may take an offseason to see the full value of KD in Phoenix. It’s obvious that this team is incredibly disjointed and has little flow to it if Booker isn’t scoring at a torrid pace. I imagine much of it is trying to establish a consistent role for him in the offense. Could also be that Monty sucks

I still do that trade 10/10 times

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Personally, I liked the Suns team before they traded the farm away.

They had an open window to win a championship for many years to come.

No they didnt

 

[Ronin]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Hoop Head]

No they didnt

Yes, they did. That team went to the finals and was growing together, with 80% of their starting lineup not having hit their prime yet. To claim their window was closed is incredibly short sighted. If that team didn't have a chance at a title then this pencil thin version definitely doesn't stand a chance.

 

[Ronin]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Covert Rain]

No they didnt

The definitly didn't. That window shut the year the didn't finish off the Bucks.

 

[BirdGangThing]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I freakin knew it

 

[Hoop Head]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I'm surprised CP3 is still out. I would have expected him to be doubtful at most, so there's some possibility. Ruling him out already is surprising.

 

[Covert Rain]

I'm surprised CP3 is still out. I would have expected him to be doubtful at most, so there's some possibility. Ruling him out already is surprising.

Yeah I am shocked. I thought for sure by Game 6 even if he wasn't 100%. Odds are slipping fast.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The definitly didn't. That window shut the year the didn't finish off the Bucks.

Definitely? Not hardly. Highly unlikely, yes. Just like it is now.

I bought the hype (without watching the Nets much) that Durant was back to his old self but it seems to me he looks a lot like the guy that lost to Boston in last year's playoffs. Lots of stats but nowhere near Durant the all time great, more like Durant the very good.

I called it a horrible trade when we made it, it looks even worse today. We needed to improve in order to have a good chance to win it all, we didn't improve and now we'll be much worse in the years to come.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yes, they did. That team went to the finals and was growing together, with 80% of their starting lineup not having hit their prime yet. To claim their window was closed is incredibly short sighted. If that team didn't have a chance at a title then this pencil thin version definitely doesn't stand a chance.

Cam Johnson is 27. That’s pretty much in his prime and about to get paid. Bridges is turning 27 this summer. So he’ll be in his prime. Ayton has clearly shown he will not reach his prime. Or that it was two years ago. A core of max book, max Ayton, bridges and cam Johnson wasn’t going to be contender. They would’ve been a playoff regular but would’ve maybe made one WCFs in the next 5-6 years. They weren’t talented enough.

 

[JosiahLee]

Man, I love and hate CP3. If Suns are gonna win this series they are gonna have to do it without him. But let’s be honest, that ain’t happening.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'm surprised CP3 is still out. I would have expected him to be doubtful at most, so there's some possibility. Ruling him out already is surprising.

38 year old groins don’t bounce back quickly.

 

[JosiahLee]

Bracing myself for a loss in game 6 so I don’t get my irrational hopes up for an unlikely game 7 win.

If we lose this series the KD trade was a colossal failure. I would have done the trade 10 out of 10 times, but it’s still gotta go down as a huge bust, especially considering how old he suddenly looks.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Cam Johnson is 27. That’s pretty much in his prime and about to get paid. Bridges is turning 27 this summer. So he’ll be in his prime. Ayton has clearly shown he will not reach his prime. Or that it was two years ago. A core of max book, max Ayton, bridges and cam Johnson wasn’t going to be contender. They would’ve been a playoff regular but would’ve maybe made one WCFs in the next 5-6 years. They weren’t talented enough.

But "in his prime" doesn't mean they can't continue to improve. Sure, it won't be by leaps and bounds but the better players continue to add to their game even once their bodies start their inevitable decline. Regardless, I don't believe our pre-KD team was a true contender nor has it been since we lost to Milwaukee. But getting rid of 4 players while bringing in Durant and TJ isn't going to make us a contender either.

To me, we've dug our hole even deeper than it had been and I have no idea how we'll recover. But I thought the same was true for the New Jersey Nets when they made a deal that I thought was almost as horrible as the one we just did. And they went young after it failed and gradually built up a nice roster. Granted, they threw it all away again but at least it gives me a little hope.

Unfortunately, IMO, our best way forward probably involves divesting ourselves of everyone with much value. We can gamble another season but I suspect by the trade deadline next season, the picture will be clear.

 

[JosiahLee]

But "in his prime" doesn't mean they can't continue to improve. Sure, it won't be by leaps and bounds but the better players continue to add to their game even once their bodies start their inevitable decline. Regardless, I don't believe our pre-KD team was a true contender nor has it been since we lost to Milwaukee. But getting rid of 4 players while bringing in Durant and TJ isn't going to make us a contender either.

To me, we've dug our hole even deeper than it had been and I have no idea how we'll recover. But I thought the same was true for the New Jersey Nets when they made a deal that I thought was almost as horrible as the one we just did. And they went young after it failed and gradually built up a nice roster. Granted, they threw it all away again but at least it gives me a little hope.

Unfortunately, IMO, our best way forward probably involves divesting ourselves of everyone with much value. We can gamble another season but I suspect by the trade deadline next season, the picture will be clear.

We’ll always have Booker, but beyond that we may be in for some bleak years again.

 

[Hoop Head]

Cam Johnson is 27. That’s pretty much in his prime and about to get paid. Bridges is turning 27 this summer. So he’ll be in his prime. Ayton has clearly shown he will not reach his prime. Or that it was two years ago. A core of max book, max Ayton, bridges and cam Johnson wasn’t going to be contender. They would’ve been a playoff regular but would’ve maybe made one WCFs in the next 5-6 years. They weren’t talented enough.

And we're in a better spot now with no tradable draft picks and replacing those 2 forwards that were 26 & 27 years old with an injury plagued 35 year old? Yeah, not seeing it. Especially when that 35 year is making more annually than the Twins would combined. Like I said, the previous team went to finals and had assets to replace Chris Paul. This team is in a hole in the 2nd round and has no easy way to replace Paul without trading away Ayton.

 

[AzStevenCal]

We’ll always have Booker, but beyond that we may be in for some bleak years again.

That's the thing, it looks to me that because of this trade we will soon be better off without him in the long run. He's a great player but he can't carry a bad team anywhere and we are about to be a bad team (sometime over the next 2 years). Durant has very little left, CP3 has nothing left, Ayton has little value and then there's the rest of the team.

We have an outside chance of trading DA this summer for a pair of solid rotation players which would give us a longshot chance of competing for a title next year. But that's the rosiest picture I can paint.

 

[Phrazbit]

Cam Johnson is 27. That’s pretty much in his prime and about to get paid. Bridges is turning 27 this summer. So he’ll be in his prime. Ayton has clearly shown he will not reach his prime. Or that it was two years ago. A core of max book, max Ayton, bridges and cam Johnson wasn’t going to be contender. They would’ve been a playoff regular but would’ve maybe made one WCFs in the next 5-6 years. They weren’t talented enough.

They had all their picks and a ton of flexibility to make other deals.

I've yet to see a sign we're any more talented now than we were. The parts certainly don't seem to fit as well together as they used to and adding actual talent to this team is going to take a minor miracle.

 

[Phrazbit]

We play so much iso and have such awful outside shooting that we can't put runs on anyone. We have to grind it out, just to stay with teams and if the opposition gets hot we can't keep up and then are stuck trying to catch up.

We can spend 2 quarters, slowly grinding up a 10-15 point lead and see it wiped out in 2 minutes if the opposition makes a few shots... Or, like yesterday, we will fall behind early, slowly grind our way back into the game and then get the doors blown off us when one guy has a brief hot stretch.

 

[Vacard]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

What happened to Ayton, his heart failed? It wasn’t working that good previously so it just finally gave out?

 

[AzStevenCal]

What happened to Ayton, his heart failed? It wasn’t working that good previously so it just finally gave out?

He took a hard hit to the ribs.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The deal might end up being a dud. We certainly did trade away a bunch. But here’s how I see things:

Most teams these days win with stars. Ensembles rarely win. We were stuck in ensemble zone. KD is still star. If he wasn’t we wouldn’t be only be down a single game in a series where each team has held court at home.

I loved me some cam Johnson. I also recognized he is an older guy that’s never risen to anywhere close to all star level. He regularly gets overpowered. He’s a nice player. He doesn’t make it break anything.

Until he proves otherwise I am going believe bridges is also a nice player. Nicer than cam. I don’t think he ever makes an all star game. Maybe one-in-a-career all star game if there’s a dearth talent one year. He’s an overrated man defender and excellent team defender. He also shriveled in the playoffs. He wasn’t going to lift us.

Dario and crowder are big nothings. Crowder because he really fell off in the playoffs last year and didn’t play a second this year. Dario because he was an earthbound, high IQ, defensive liability.

Both squads would’ve been pretty limited in what they could add to their cores next season. But if you’re trying to attract low cost talent to a team, book/KD is going to attract more than book/bridges/cam.

Many of you act like we traded all of our draft picks. We still have every other year.

Lots of people calling the trade terrible after we’ve only seen KD on the team for 20 games, coming off injury, no design for his skills. Seems premature to me.

 

[Chaplin]

The deal might end up being a dud. We certainly did trade away a bunch. But here’s how I see things:

Most teams these days win with stars. Ensembles rarely win. We were stuck in ensemble zone. KD is still star. If he wasn’t we wouldn’t be only be down a single game in a series where each team has held court at home.

I loved me some cam Johnson. I also recognized he is an older guy that’s never risen to anywhere close to all star level. He regularly gets overpowered. He’s a nice player. He doesn’t make it break anything.

Until he proves otherwise I am going believe bridges is also a nice player. Nicer than cam. I don’t think he ever makes an all star game. Maybe one-in-a-career all star game if there’s a dearth talent one year. He’s an overrated man defender and excellent team defender. He also shriveled in the playoffs. He wasn’t going to lift us.

Dario and crowder are big nothings. Crowder because he really fell off in the playoffs last year and didn’t play a second this year. Dario because he was an earthbound, high IQ, defensive liability.

Both squads would’ve been pretty limited in what they could add to their cores next season. But if you’re trying to attract low cost talent to a team, book/KD is going to attract more than book/bridges/cam.

Many of you act like we traded all of our draft picks. We still have every other year.

Lots of people calling the trade terrible after we’ve only seen KD on the team for 20 games, coming off injury, no design for his skills. Seems premature to me.

Especially when we don’t know what’s happening this summer.