Suns at Rockets 12-6-14

[BC867]

Heh, I yelled at the TV when he did that. In all fairness, he was what, 0-5 from the three-point range, but if you are wide-open, you HAVE to take that shot.
It's the same damn complaint I've had with Dragic since he was a rookie. It gets a little bit better every year, but he still has ways to go. IMO, his lack of assertiveness is what's keeping him from being a star.

Could that also be a symptom of this 3-Point Guard complex? Screw up one play and there are not one, but two, other star Point Guards to replace you at the next timeout.

Actually, I've asked a leading question. I believe that situation does lead to caution rather than aggressiveness on the part of Dragic, who is less of a free spirit than either Bledsoe or Thomas.

The Point Guard position, I would think, calls for less of a free spirit than any other position on the court. Steve Nash was in charge on the offense and everyone knew it. It had to have a steadying influence on the rest of the players.

The fact that Dragic went public with his displeasure with this situation seems to substantiate it.

 

[SirStefan32]

Could that also be a symptom of this 3-Point Guard complex? Screw up one play and there are not one, but two, other star Point Guards to replace you at the next timeout.

Actually, I've asked a leading question. I believe that situation does lead to caution rather than aggressiveness on the part of Dragic, who is less of a free spirit than either Bledsoe or Thomas.

The Point Guard position, I would think, calls for less of a free spirit than any other position on the court.

The fact that Dragic went public with his displeasure with that situation seems to substantiate it.

I don't know if this is a symptom of that. Honestly, that was an issue with him long before the other two showed up. He's become MUCH better at this (not letting a few missed shots stop him) but it still happens once in a while.

I honestly think Dragic prefers to facilitate. I've always felt that he wanted to be Steve Nash- take what the defense gives him, but not a whole lot more, and just focus on setting his teammates up.

I think you are correct in that he needs to be more assertive and confident, but having the other two PGs really doesn't help with that.

EDIT:
Just to clarify the last statement, I think that Dragic is the one who has the responsibility to work through this and take over. He will never be a GREAT player until he figures out how to do that.

 

[Phrazbit]

I don't think its that he prefers to facilitate, Goran is hardly a distributor and he never has been, the guy's first instinct is clearly to create his own shot. I think its that he likes to size up shots off his own dribble, not as a catch and release.

 

[sunsfan88]

Rockets also have twice as many rebounds and the coach has been playing Morris and Tolliver as PF/C combo.

Dragic is invisible.

There's really no good reason for Tolliver to get playing time. Warren makes more sense even if he's undersized at the PF position.

 

[95pro]

I don't think its that he prefers to facilitate, Goran is hardly a distributor and he never has been, the guy's first instinct is clearly to create his own shot. I think its that he likes to size up shots off his own dribble, not as a catch and release.

+1

 

[Suns_fan69]

There's really no good reason for Tolliver to get playing time. Warren makes more sense even if he's undersized at the PF position.

I agree, especially since TJ has shown flashes of being able to hit the 3 fairly well in his limited opportunities. If Tolliver showed something on the defensive end I'd be more inclined to stick with him but at least gauging by the eye test, he's been below average at best.

Much rather see that time developing TJ.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree, especially since TJ has shown flashes of being able to hit the 3 fairly well in his limited opportunities. If Tolliver showed something on the defensive end I'd be more inclined to stick with him but at least gauging by the eye test, he's been below average at best.

Much rather see that time developing TJ.

I see no reason to play Tolliver and lots of reasons to play Warren (or maybe even Goodwin. But Jeff, despite suggestions otherwise, is not a fool. There must be a reason for playing Tolliver. Maybe it's nothing more than not closing the door on future free agents by creating the impression we don't give them a fair chance to show what they can do. But I'm hoping we're looking to include him in a December trade and want to get him some positive stats in the meantime.

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

Agreed. Warren should get minutes over Tolliver. He is part of the future. Luckily the Suns do not have Tolliver on a bad contract.

 

[sunsfan88]

I agree, especially since TJ has shown flashes of being able to hit the 3 fairly well in his limited opportunities. If Tolliver showed something on the defensive end I'd be more inclined to stick with him but at least gauging by the eye test, he's been below average at best.

Much rather see that time developing TJ.

We need to be giving our young guys playing time. I hate that out of non playoff teams, we are the team that gives the least minutes to rookies and sophomores.

Only reason for it is because the Suns want to sell tickets and probably think people would rather watch mediocre vets than developing talented youngsters.

 

[Mainstreet]

We need to be giving our young guys playing time. I hate that out of non playoff teams, we are the team that gives the least minutes to rookies and sophomores.

Only reason for it is because the Suns want to sell tickets and probably think people would rather watch mediocre vets than developing talented youngsters.

I don't think Hornacek has given up on the playoffs this early in the season. A lot of basketball to be played and possible trades to be made.

 

[Hoop Head]

We need to be giving our young guys playing time. I hate that out of non playoff teams, we are the team that gives the least minutes to rookies and sophomores.

Only reason for it is because the Suns want to sell tickets and probably think people would rather watch mediocre vets than developing talented youngsters.

The Suns have been in the playoff picture virtually all season, granted they would be the 8th seed but it's better to be in than out. I think it was just last week all of the top 8 seeds in the west were separated by 2 or 3 games, Suns included. Right now the top 7 seeds are separated by 3 games and the Suns are in the 8th with a game and a half lead over the Kings in 9th place. They are 6 games back from the top seed in the conference though, not that I expect them to finish at the top of the conference but the West is an incredibly tight race this year. Until the Suns slide significantly in the standings or get overtaken by another hot team they need to continue playing like a playoff team. I'd like to see more of Warren, Len, and Goodwin but Len is the only one right now getting used somewhat regularly in the rotation. There is a reason the team hasn't thrown in the towel and started playing it's rookies and sophomores though, they either aren't ready or there isn't time right now. Hornacek has a deep team that he's still trying to get a set rotation out of, expecting Goodwin, Warren or Ennis to get 15-20 minutes a night just isn't going to happen given the players in front of them on the depth chart who are more proven.

Most of our wins haven't been pretty but the losses haven't been piling up either. It seems that most people only discuss the losses in detail and write the wins off as the Suns getting lucky or the other team playing poorly. It's never a case of the Suns playing to their potential. It's early in the season still, barely a quarter of the way through the schedule, and it seems that some people have given up hope on the playoffs this year altogether and are counting ping pong balls.

 

[BC867]

Most of our wins haven't been pretty but the losses haven't been piling up either. It seems that most people only discuss the losses in detail and write the wins off as the Suns getting lucky or the other team playing poorly. It's never a case of the Suns playing to their potential. It's early in the season still, barely a quarter of the way through the schedule, and it seems that some people have given up hope on the playoffs this year altogether and are counting ping pong balls.

I suggest that our (Point) Guard heavy roster and what has turned into our undersized Power positions, especially during 4th quarters, are more of an indication of our playoff hopes than our won-lost record during the first quarter of the season.

A closing lineup of Kieff and Tucker with either Green/Bledsoe/Dragic or all 3 Point Guards is not a playoff team. During the stretch run and in the post-season is when the refs' whistles disappear and the light speedy teams get eliminated. Especially with players' fatigue setting in. That is nothing new.

 

[sunsfan88]

I'd like Sarver to give Bledsoe this same advice and for Bledsoe to actually listen to him

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mave...ts-no-respect-from-refs?ex_cid=espnapi_public

 

[sunsfan88]

The Suns have been in the playoff picture virtually all season, granted they would be the 8th seed but it's better to be in than out. I think it was just last week all of the top 8 seeds in the west were separated by 2 or 3 games, Suns included. Right now the top 7 seeds are separated by 3 games and the Suns are in the 8th with a game and a half lead over the Kings in 9th place. They are 6 games back from the top seed in the conference though, not that I expect them to finish at the top of the conference but the West is an incredibly tight race this year. Until the Suns slide significantly in the standings or get overtaken by another hot team they need to continue playing like a playoff team. I'd like to see more of Warren, Len, and Goodwin but Len is the only one right now getting used somewhat regularly in the rotation. There is a reason the team hasn't thrown in the towel and started playing it's rookies and sophomores though, they either aren't ready or there isn't time right now. Hornacek has a deep team that he's still trying to get a set rotation out of, expecting Goodwin, Warren or Ennis to get 15-20 minutes a night just isn't going to happen given the players in front of them on the depth chart who are more proven.

Most of our wins haven't been pretty but the losses haven't been piling up either. It seems that most people only discuss the losses in detail and write the wins off as the Suns getting lucky or the other team playing poorly. It's never a case of the Suns playing to their potential. It's early in the season still, barely a quarter of the way through the schedule, and it seems that some people have given up hope on the playoffs this year altogether and are counting ping pong balls.

I don't think Hornacek has given up on the playoffs this early in the season. A lot of basketball to be played and possible trades to be made.

We can't be expecting playoffs based on a trade that may or may not happen. We play in the West, we had a miracle season last year and still missed playoffs.

We haven't made playoffs in over 4 years now.

This roster shaped right now won't make playoffs. It's not about giving hope, it's about common sense. Our defense is garbage, our rebounding is possibly even worse and offensively we're one of the most selfish teams in franchise history. We played better last year and missed playoffs, and the West certainly got stronger not weaker. It's gonna take a drastic trade for that to happen. Until that happens, give the youngsters playing time to develop. Nobody is saying they should get 40 mins a game but like about 15-20 for Warren and Ennis seem about right.

We aren't contendng for a freaking title. We need to find a superstar first, who knows if he have a hidden gem in Warren or Ennis? We need to find out instead of making them warm the bench.