Preseason: Suns at Blazers

[Mainstreet]

Anyone have trouble with the the streaming during the game? I had to switch streaming sites several times and still missed the closing seconds of the game.

 

[ProdigalSun]

yeah i did. And the feed was super annoying replaying every Blazer basket so that you wouldn't see any of the Sun's possessions and then also overlapping the jumbotron feed with the live feed. Watching the 2nd half you would have thought the Blazer's won by 30

 

[AzStevenCal]

Marshall had a very Marshall-like game. 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and a -11 in less than 10 minutes of play.

Steve

 

[ProdigalSun]

Marshall had a very Marshall-like game. 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and a -11 in less than 10 minutes of play.

Steve

Yeah he played most of the 4th and singlehandedly almost blew a 16 pt lead. He's the one player that doesn't seem to fit what this team is trying to do

 

[Errntknght]

I had nothing but trouble with the stream I watched... about a third of the 2 quarters where I did have a picture the center half of the screen was covered by a message telling me I had to download a plugin - which I repeatedly tried to download. I'm new to streaming. At least I got see bits and pieces of the action. The best video was during the Portland comeback in the 2nd quarter - we looked pretty crappy in that stretch.

 

[elindholm]

I didn't watch anything, but it's great to see that Frye is back playing. Let's hope he ends his career on his own terms, no matter which team it's with.

 

[Mainstreet]

I had nothing but trouble with the stream I watched... about a third of the 2 quarters where I did have a picture the center half of the screen was covered by a message telling me I had to download a plugin - which I repeatedly tried to download. I'm new to streaming. At least I got see bits and pieces of the action. The best video was during the Portland comeback in the 2nd quarter - we looked pretty crappy in that stretch.

One rule I use, I never download what they are spamming. Usually if it is going to play, waiting it out for a few minutes for the commercials to end will do it. If an optional numeric link is offered I may try it.

Anyway these are my thoughts. No downloads unless I check it out through CNET.

 

[Superbone]

But way over the top, IMO.

Definitely. He was just making crap up.

 

[sunsfan88]

Bledsoe's lack of FT attempts is extremely alarming.

He's not gonna take the next step as a basketball player if he can't consistently get to the line. I really wish Goodwin would teach Bledsoe how to get to the FT line and in return, Bledsoe can teach Goodwin how to play great defense.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think McDonough's only mistake in about a dozen or so moves so far may be Len. I want him to succeed and I can see the upside but man....I just don't know.

I won't hate McDonough for it cause like I said, every other move has been great by him. He has the leeway to botch a move or two.

 

[Errntknght]

Thnks Mainstreet. It seemed a bit strange that I was lacking a plugin since the video was in fact playing - I thought it might have something to do with watching it in HD which was part of the identifying info about the plugin. I was probably lucky I couldn't download it... or maybe I have 30 copies of a virus.

 

[95pro]

I think McDonough's only mistake in about a dozen or so moves so far may be Len. I want him to succeed and I can see the upside but man....I just don't know.

I won't hate McDonough for it cause like I said, every other move has been great by him. He has the leeway to botch a move or two.

it's still pretty early for him. as a big he is so young. he still needs to fill out, and on top of that is that he's coming off of leg surgeries. so he can still add some overall strength.

it's wayyy to early to be calling Len a mistake.

 

[sunsfan88]

it's still pretty early for him. as a big he is so young. he still needs to fill out, and on top of that is that he's coming off of leg surgeries. so he can still add some overall strength.

it's wayyy to early to be calling Len a mistake.

Right, I'm not calling him a mistake either. I'm just saying out of all the moves he's made, I think that one has the highest chance to back fire.

 

[95pro]

Right, I'm not calling him a mistake either. I'm just saying out of all the moves he's made, I think that one has the highest chance to back fire.

definitely, as all his other moves can be mitigated due to the fact that players aren't being highly overpaid or locked into long contracts. something that our previous gm crippled us with.

 

[Neo]

The notion that Goran Dragic is not one of the 50 best basketball players in the NBA is absurd.

Last season Dragic was 164th in the league in Win Shares/48. He was 79th in P.E.R, 349th on Defensive Rating, While statistics may not tell the whole story, and there is an argument that he is one of the top 50 players I would not say that it is absurd to say he is not one of the top 50.

He will always be one of my favorite Suns of all time because of that amazing one quarter stretch against the Spurs in the playoffs. He can often play at an amazingly high level. However, that high level is not consistently there.

ESPN player rank puts him at 107th, Sports Illustrated at 88th. I think that he is better than that, but I don't think it is unreasonable to say that he is not a top 50 player.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Last season Dragic was 164th in the league in Win Shares/48. He was 79th in P.E.R, 349th on Defensive Rating, While statistics may not tell the whole story, and there is an argument that he is one of the top 50 players I would not say that it is absurd to say he is not one of the top 50.

He will always be one of my favorite Suns of all time because of that amazing one quarter stretch against the Spurs in the playoffs. He can often play at an amazingly high level. However, that high level is not consistently there.

ESPN player rank puts him at 107th, Sports Illustrated at 88th. I think that he is better than that, but I don't think it is unreasonable to say that he is not a top 50 player.

I think it is very unreasonable to say he has been a top 50 player, not even the eye test supports that claim. But I do think he is capable of being the 2nd best player on a very good team which is roughly what top 50 means. I don't really have a problem with the SI or the ESPN ranking, I'd put him somewhere around top 100 too. I'm hoping with a better cast around him that he'll be able to move up that list a bit. I'm also hoping that we've given him a better cast this year but that remains to be seen.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

it's still pretty early for him. as a big he is so young. he still needs to fill out, and on top of that is that he's coming off of leg surgeries. so he can still add some overall strength.

it's wayyy to early to be calling Len a mistake.

I agree. It will take at least a couple of seasons before one can start to evaluate Len. I believe it is a mistake to expect too much from him early in his career. The same with Goodwin. These are very young players.

 

[JS22]

I had nothing but trouble with the stream I watched... about a third of the 2 quarters where I did have a picture the center half of the screen was covered by a message telling me I had to download a plugin - which I repeatedly tried to download. I'm new to streaming. At least I got see bits and pieces of the action. The best video was during the Portland comeback in the 2nd quarter - we looked pretty crappy in that stretch.

Those streaming sites are a nightmare without an ad blocker.

 

[JS22]

I think McDonough's only mistake in about a dozen or so moves so far may be Len. I want him to succeed and I can see the upside but man....I just don't know.

I won't hate McDonough for it cause like I said, every other move has been great by him. He has the leeway to botch a move or two.

It's the second game of the preseason and he's actually back a lot sooner than most anticipated. Pump the breaks. Far too soon to be worried.

 

[sunsfan88]

Dragic's defense is what holds him from being that top 50 player imo. Opposing PGs were lighting him up last year. Even scrub PGs had career highs vs Dragix.

 

[Errntknght]

I think McDonough's only mistake in about a dozen or so moves so far may be Len. I want him to succeed and I can see the upside but man....I just don't know.

I won't hate McDonough for it cause like I said, every other move has been great by him. He has the leeway to botch a move or two.

Whoa. 'Tis true, most anything can happen, but Len being a mistake is a pretty low probability. He might also prove to be McD's best move to date and the odds are somewhat better for that. If not for picking Goodwin at #29, the odds would higher it will be his best one.

If one considers the high risk that goes with picking centers at any pick below #3, Len would probably have to be worse than someone like Joel Przybilla to be classified as a mistake. Was Okafor a mistake? If I was a GM I think I'd pick as many C's as possible even in the second round because they nearly are all such gambles - especially now that they get drafted so young.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I think it is very unreasonable to say he has been a top 50 player, not even the eye test supports that claim. But I do think he is capable of being the 2nd best player on a very good team which is roughly what top 50 means. I don't really have a problem with the SI or the ESPN ranking, I'd put him somewhere around top 100 too. I'm hoping with a better cast around him that he'll be able to move up that list a bit. I'm also hoping that we've given him a better cast this year but that remains to be seen.

Steve

Man, 2nd best player on a very good team is an extreme stretch for Goran. The 2nd best player on a very good team (championship contender, or at least top 6-8 team) is almost always a star, and certainly someone who has/will make multiple all star teams. Goran hasn't even come close to that.

I see him as 4th best option on a team with plans to seriously compete, maybe a weak 3rd at best.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Man, 2nd best player on a very good team is an extreme stretch for Goran. The 2nd best player on a very good team (championship contender, or at least top 6-8 team) is almost always a star, and certainly someone who has/will make multiple all star teams. Goran hasn't even come close to that.

I see him as 4th best option on a team with plans to seriously compete, maybe a weak 3rd at best.

agreed.

I look at the very good teams in the league as:

Memphis - with Z-Bo, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley's Jr.
Indy - Paul George, Roy Hibbert and David West
Houston - James Harden, Dwight Howard
SA - Parker and Duncan
Golden State - Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Iggy
MAYBE the Knicks - Melo...and not much else.
Nets - Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Lopez

Then there's your heavy weights:

Heat - Big Three
Clippers - Chris Paul, Blake Griffin
OKC - Westbrook, Durant
Chicago (probably belongs up above) - Rose, Deng, Noah...and I guess Boozer.

And I think you really have to stretch to compare Goran to any of the second bananas on any of those teams...and it's even a stretch to compare him to some of the third bananas as well.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Man, 2nd best player on a very good team is an extreme stretch for Goran. The 2nd best player on a very good team (championship contender, or at least top 6-8 team) is almost always a star, and certainly someone who has/will make multiple all star teams. Goran hasn't even come close to that.

I see him as 4th best option on a team with plans to seriously compete, maybe a weak 3rd at best.

That's about where I see him. I figure a really good 4th best or a below average 3rd best which puts him somewhere around 85th - 105th best player. I just think he has the ability to become a top 50 player and he started the season last year playing much nearer that level than he did for the rest of the season. I'm hoping that he'll revert to that form now that Beasley isn't the star he's playing alongside.

Steve

 

[Suns_fan69]

I think everyone agrees that Dragic has shown that he CAN be the 2nd best player on a contending team, it's just that he isn't nearly consistent enough to really warrant that placing.