Playoffs: Suns @ Clippers Thursday game thread 4-20-2023 - Game 3

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[Muggz]

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Wave Buh Bye to that record Chuckie.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[Proximo]

Bridges still can’t create his own shot.

That’s a joke right?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I also wish we could’ve kept Cam.

He’s had a nice series so far. Crazy to me to think he’ll be 28 next season. I think people forget how old he is when they talk about “our future.” He should be in his prime right now and he averaged 16 points per game post-trade. Not sure if there is more upside left to tap for him.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

KD’s tool-belt is missing a bunch of tools…

Which tools? He’s scoring, rebounding, assisting, shooting a higher percentage and defending at a high level. Just not scoring at an expected KD clip (which is an extraordinarily ridiculously high bar for any other player).

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Monty was utilizing him differently before he was traded. We didn't really get to see Booker and Mikal after Mikal filled in as the #1 scorer in Book's absence this season because as soon as Devin returned, Mikal was traded. So we started developing him into a primary option and in a way showcased him for Brooklyn. Once Ishbia took over there was no question of running it back, he made the KD deal. So we don't know how it could have turned out but I recall a lot of people saying we were now a legit contender and this was the move to bring a championship here but I'm not seeing a championship team. I'm seeing 1 star and 1 sidekick rather than 2 stars and the sidekick was supposed to be the superstar acquisition.

Only on ASFN is 27/7/7 considered a “sidekick.”

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I said that people in the East are going to start talking like he is right there with Book. I did NOT say he actually could be Book. I am assuming EC bias.

Listen. I love Mikal, but then there is reality.

Apologies. Didn’t mean to misstate. Was actually giving you credit for recognizing he could be a high volume leading scorer.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

We said before this game that this is just the type of game the Suns let down on.

They let down, and they still won. If you would have offered me a five point win before the game, I would have taken it. Powell played out of his mind. Westbrook can be effective when he's basically a one man show. He can keep it close but he can't win a lot.

The Suns have played like they have less than ten games or so together as a group. Oh yeah.

Yup. For all our teeth gnashing they are 10-1 with KD starting.

 

[Sparky16]

who would have thought that Craig would be the 3rd best player. Paul and DA went flaccid at the end. The Clippers just said F it and used the theory that the refs cant call everything and muddied up the game with hand checking and grabbing all night. KD was fouled EVERY TIME he touched the ball and the refs obliged until the 3rd qtr. Plus the Clips hit some stupid 3pt shots and the Brick was getting away with a ton of BS

 

[SirStefan32]

I agree with a lot of posters who expressed their concerns- this game should not have been close. At the same time, they won. CP3 was awful, as was Ayton. KD hit the side of the backboard two times, CP3 missed two free throws, as did Ayton. They still managed to win. I am not worried about KD- he is drawing doubles, allowing Book to play one on one. I am, however, worried about CP3 and Ayton. I love what Craig is doing, but if he is your third best player, you are in trouble.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Which tools? He’s scoring, rebounding, assisting, shooting a higher percentage and defending at a high level. Just not scoring at an expected KD clip (which is an extraordinarily ridiculously high bar for any other player).

Serious question: Is this the KD you expected? Did you expect that with KD, the Suns would struggle to the end to beat a team of Westbrook and a bunch of back-ups (Zubac played just 22 mins last night)?
KD had 28 against that line-up, 11 of which came from FT’s.
I dunno… is it “good!” Yea… it is. But is it KD good? I don’t see it.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Yup. For all our teeth gnashing they are 10-1 with KD starting.

They’re 2 & 1 in games that matter with KD…
Book is averaging 44 mins and 36 pts per game in those 3 games.
Is it right to expect that level of play the rest of the post season from Book? Don’t think so.
Is it right to expect that KD will need to become our #1 at some point? I think so…. I hope he still has it in him to do it.

 

[Proximo]

Serious question: Is this the KD you expected? Did you expect that with KD, the Suns would struggle to the end to beat a team of Westbrook and a bunch of back-ups (Zubac played just 22 mins last night)?
KD had 28 against that line-up, 11 of which came from FT’s.
I dunno… is it “good!” Yea… it is. But is it KD good? I don’t see it.

What I will say is his efficiency has been pretty close to normal, he's just not involved enough in the games is the main problem, which I blame on the coaching.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Serious question: Is this the KD you expected? Did you expect that with KD, the Suns would struggle to the end to beat a team of Westbrook and a bunch of back-ups (Zubac played just 22 mins last night)?
KD had 28 against that line-up, 11 of which came from FT’s.
I dunno… is it “good!” Yea… it is. But is it KD good? I don’t see it.

I am not following your criticism of KD. He made the right plays last night. He is taking what the defense gives him, ie. finding Craig in the corner for that huge 3 in the 4th. On a night where Book goes for 42, and given that there is only one basketball, what do you want KD to do? Book took 29 shots. Again, only one basketball. Back in 2012, KD and Westbrook put up 51 and 40 in a single game, but that is very rare. No one expects KD to put up those kind of numbers when Book drops 40+. If he pulled that off, it would have been a historic effort. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...stbrook-and-best-duo-performances-of-all-time

KD still put up 28 last night, shooting over 50% from the field, hitting all his free throws. His presence is drawing double teams which are opening things up for Book and others, and he still put up 28. He made the most critical pass of the game finding Craig in the corner for that 3. After DA and CP3 missed 4 straight free throws, KD iced the game with 4 straight free thows. I don't get it.

 

[elindholm]

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And Booker has done that in only 35 career playoff games. He's 10th all-time in playoff PPG.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I am not following your criticism of KD. He made the right plays last night. He is taking what the defense gives him, ie. finding Craig in the corner for that huge 3 in the 4th. On a night where Book goes for 42, and given that there is only one basketball, what do you want KD to do? Book took 29 shots. Again, only one basketball. Back in 2012, KD and Westbrook put up 51 and 40 in a single game, but that is very rare. No one expects KD to put up those kind of numbers when Book drops 40+. If he pulled that off, it would have been a historic effort. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...stbrook-and-best-duo-performances-of-all-time

KD still put up 28 last night, shooting over 50% from the field, hitting all his free throws. His presence is drawing double teams which are opening things up for Book and others, and he still put up 28. He made the most critical pass of the game finding Craig in the corner for that 3. After DA and CP3 missed 4 straight free throws, KD iced the game with 4 straight free thows. I don't get it.

All of that against a team that essentially played 1 legit NBA starter in Westbrook…
Look, if obtaining KD was simply a means to unleash Book, cool. It just seemed to me that the acquisition of KD was about more than crowing Book as a superstar.

 

[SirStefan32]

All of that against a team that essentially played 1 legit NBA starter in Westbrook…
Look, if obtaining KD was simply a means to unleash Book, cool. It just seemed to me that the acquisition of KD was about more than crowing Book as a superstar.

He still dropped 28 points on 15 shots last night. We are talking about KD having a "bad" game and he dropped 28 points on 15 shots while not allowing the opponent to double Booker. Stop and think about that for a moment. KD is not even remotely the problem here.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Serious question: Is this the KD you expected? Did you expect that with KD, the Suns would struggle to the end to beat a team of Westbrook and a bunch of back-ups (Zubac played just 22 mins last night)?
KD had 28 against that line-up, 11 of which came from FT’s.
I dunno… is it “good!” Yea… it is. But is it KD good? I don’t see it.

Looks to me like KD still has conditioning issues from being out for so much of the year.

 

[Russ Smith]

I would say a playoff win is a playoff win don't complain it wasn't good enough. NBA players are all good. Yes you don't expect Powell to go for 42 but he's been good for years. Booker is just on another level and from what I gather the game was close to double digits most of the 2nd half.

I missed most of your game watching the Warriors game man tons of FT's in this game. The weird play of the game is with the Suns up 7 in transition, Booker literally intentionally fouls Westbrook to stop the break, they don't call the foul, the ball goes out of bounds turnover Suns ball.

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[Vacard]

We just beat a team of old man Westbrick and a bunch of bench players… barely.

Btw Miami was blown out by the Bucks without Giannis

Lakers beat the Grizz with Ja then lost without him.

GS beat Sac without Green

Any given game. Playoffs are hard you take the win whenever it comes

 

[Cheesebeef]

Looks to me like KD still has conditioning issues from being out for so much of the year.

Same… and is playing the heaviest playoff minutes in the league right now also.

 

[elindholm]

I would say a playoff win is a playoff win don't complain it wasn't good enough. NBA players are all good. Yes you don't expect Powell to go for 42 but he's been good for years. Booker is just on another level and from what I gather the game was close to double digits most of the 2nd half.

I missed most of your game watching the Warriors game man tons of FT's in this game. The weird play of the game is with the Suns up 7 in transition, Booker literally intentionally fouls Westbrook to stop the break, they don't call the foul, the ball goes out of bounds turnover Suns ball.

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I think the call, not that I necessarily agree with it, was that Westbrook lost control of the ball before Booker fouled him. It's close.

Overall, the officiating was poor. In the first half, Zubac moved a lot on his screens and was never called, the Clippers (including Zubac) also committed a lot of traveling violations in the paint, and the Suns couldn't buy a whistle. In the second half, things swung too hard in the other direction. On the other hand, the Clippers were fouling on basically every play, so the main shock was that they started to get called for most of those fouls. Both sides got the benefit of foul calls when there was no contact -- the Suns probably got more than half of those, but they shouldn't happen for either team.