Suns at Thunder 12-31-31

[hcsilla]

Maybe but he's logged a lot of minutes as the primary point guard. Some fans complain that Bledsoe is selfish and I disagree, I just don't think he has great vision or judgement as for when to take over a game and when to let it come to him. But I think Knight has tunnel vision, he's far more focused on scoring than on setting up his teammates.

I don't think his game is going to change much, at least not in style. IMO he is what he is although I do expect him to keep improving overall if not as a distributor. When he's on he's a one man scoring machine and I'd much rather take advantage of that ability and use him as a 6th man. And let Booker close out the games with Bledsoe unless Knight is tearing it up that game.

I agree but having Knight as a(n expensive) 6th man may evoke the chemistry problems caused by benching of Isaiah Thomas.

So trading Knight is still an option, the question is only which team is looking for a player like him.

 

[sunsfan88]

If you are going to go with a two pg offense or a two combo guard offense, it's really nice if one of them is a big guard.

Can't figure out Knight. He is a really smart person-straight A student. But he plays so dumb. Hopefully it's just adjustment.

Being book smart doesn't always translate to on the court play. An example could be Jeremy Lin. I remember Charles Barkley once said about him "I want my account from Harvard, not my point guard".

Now obviously Knight went to Kentucky and not Harvard but I hope you get the point.

General knowledge IQ doesn't translate to Bball IQ.

But thing about Knight from what I've heard is that he's a very coachable player. I don't understand how coaches like Kidd and Hornacek haven't been able to him to stop making as many dumb plays.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think we may just need to keep Tucker at PF with Warren starting at SF even once Leuer comes back.

The spacing seems better with that lineup than the one with Leuer.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Just watched the ESPN highlights online. You know the ones that show the opposing teams scoring, but never show the Suns score a bucket? Anyway, I love Booker, but man, Westbrook made him look like a rookie on D. That's right, he is a rookie, but oh my gosh. Booker has the potential to be an excellent defender, hopefully he will keep working at it.

 

[Catlover]

Being book smart doesn't always translate to on the court play. An example could be Jeremy Lin. I remember Charles Barkley once said about him "I want my account from Harvard, not my point guard".

Now obviously Knight went to Kentucky and not Harvard but I hope you get the point.

General knowledge IQ doesn't translate to Bball IQ.

But thing about Knight from what I've heard is that he's a very coachable player. I don't understand how coaches like Kidd and Hornacek haven't been able to him to stop making as many dumb plays.

Actually I don't believe your point and Barkley's were quite the same. I'm pretty sure he was talking about Harvard developing great minds not great athletes (or great basketball players). In general, Ivy League athletes have mastered the intracracies of the game (whether it's basketball, football etc.) but failed on the physical side. But I agree that basketball smarts have little to do with intellect.

 

[Catlover]

Just watched the ESPN highlights online. You know the ones that show the opposing teams scoring, but never show the Suns score a bucket? Anyway, I love Booker, but man, Westbrook made him look like a rookie on D. That's right, he is a rookie, but oh my gosh. Booker has the potential to be an excellent defender, hopefully he will keep working at it.

Westbrook can score on anyone. A better example of Booker's shortcomings defensively came during the Spurs game. His closeouts were late, sloppy and exploited regularly. They must have used his momentum against him a dozen times in that game. He also gets manhandled and when he tries to match their physicality the whistle blows. He needs to get stronger, react quicker and learn the tricks. But he's going to be somewhere between good and great IMO.

 

[Ronin]

Too bad the Suns could not have come with the last rebound before the Kevin Durant Dunk. I would have liked to see the Suns with the last second shot...but oh well.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm finally coming to life on New Year's Day.

Going back to the OKC game, was there any mention of why Hornacek did not play Markieff? Personally I think the Suns played better without him. However, I know Marcus took some new jabs at the Suns. I couldn't help but wonder if Markieff's DNP was somehow related. Sunsfan88 made mention of the comments in another thread.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor.../?hootPostID=8a5c4c7efd424013c6a68d75e79c0354

 

[sunsfan88]

Too bad the Suns could not have come with the last rebound before the Kevin Durant Dunk. I would have liked to see the Suns with the last second shot...but oh well.

If you really wanted to know, I think it would have more likely been a Brandon Knight iso contested jumper had the Suns gotten a last second shot.

 

[Catlover]

I'm finally coming to life on New Year's Day.

Going back to the OKC game, was there any mention of why Hornacek did not play Markieff? Personally I think the Suns played better without him. However, I know Marcus took some new jabs at the Suns. I couldn't help but wonder if Markieff's DNP was somehow related. Sunsfan88 made mention of the comments in another thread.

I don't think that was it. I believe it was the reaction from Markieff and his group upon hearing that the organization wanted a public apology from him and a promise to improve his attitude and his work routine. His camp reportedly felt it was unnecessary since he'd already offered a weak apology via social media.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't think that was it. I believe it was the reaction from Markieff and his group upon hearing that the organization wanted a public apology from him and a promise to improve his attitude and his work routine. His camp reportedly felt it was unnecessary since he'd already offered a weak apology via social media.

I found it interesting that Markieff did not get any playing time last night with Leuer out. If Markieff said the right things to the Suns, I would think he would have played. I can't help but wonder if more things are going on with a new round of Marcus comments.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I'm finally coming to life on New Year's Day.

Going back to the OKC game, was there any mention of why Hornacek did not play Markieff? Personally I think the Suns played better without him. However, I know Marcus took some new jabs at the Suns. I couldn't help but wonder if Markieff's DNP was somehow related. Sunsfan88 made mention of the comments in another thread.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor.../?hootPostID=8a5c4c7efd424013c6a68d75e79c0354

They are joined at the hip. They think of themselves as one. Maybe someone told Markieff that he had better tell Marcus to shut his pie hole because every time he pops off, Keef is getting a DNPCD.

Seems cold blooded, but might as well be.

 

[Mainstreet]

They are joined at the hip. They think of themselves as one. Maybe someone told Markieff that he had better tell Marcus to shut his pie hole because every time he pops off, Keef is getting a DNPCD.

Seems cold blooded, but might as well be.

I think there must be more. I do not believe the Suns would sit Markieff if he was exhibiting appropriate behavior regardless of what Marcus said. So, IMO, there must be more.

It's sort of like that saying, I wish I could be a fly on the wall.

 

[frankeegee1]

What's the old saying? don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Catlover]

I found it interesting that Markieff did not get any playing time last night with Leuer out. If Markieff said the right things to the Suns, I would think he would have played. I can't help but wonder if more things are going on with a new round of Marcus comments.

I haven't heard anything about whether he followed through on the team's demands. Here's a quote from the article I referenced earlier (Marc J Spears - Yahoo Sports):

Suns general manager Ryan McDonough has asked Morris to briefly meet with him, Hornacek and team president Lon Babby prior to Tuesday's practice, the source said. Morris has been told he will be asked to apologize to his Suns coaches and teammates, make a renewed commitment to the team for games, practices, weight-training sessions and treatment sessions and attend all NBA and Suns community appearances, the source said.

A couple of things jumped out at me from this article. Is Babby back to functioning as Team President? And just how slack has Markieff been in his training regimen? If he's really not been doing the basics I could see them holding him out until they see actual commitment from him and not just lip service.

 

[Mainstreet]

I haven't heard anything about whether he followed through on the team's demands. Here's a quote from the article I referenced earlier (Marc J Spears - Yahoo Sports):



A couple of things jumped out at me from this article. Is Babby back to functioning as Team President? And just how slack has Markieff been in his training regimen? If he's really not been doing the basics I could see them holding him out until they see actual commitment from him and not just lip service.

It's hard to keep score anymore regarding Markieff but I thought he fulfilled all his requirements on Tuesday.

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2015/12/31/markieff-morris-apologizes-to-suns-teammates-coaches-and-fans/

 

[JCSunsfan]

I haven't heard anything about whether he followed through on the team's demands. Here's a quote from the article I referenced earlier (Marc J Spears - Yahoo Sports):



A couple of things jumped out at me from this article. Is Babby back to functioning as Team President? And just how slack has Markieff been in his training regimen? If he's really not been doing the basics I could see them holding him out until they see actual commitment from him and not just lip service.

Yes. If he is refusing to follow training regimen etc, then he is not fulfilling the requirements of his contract and he should be suspended without pay indefinitely. They cant get the cap space back, but at least they do not have to pay the money.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It's hard to keep score anymore regarding Markieff but I thought he fulfilled all his requirements on Tuesday.

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2015/12/31/markieff-morris-apologizes-to-suns-teammates-coaches-and-fans/

Its a start.

 

[Catlover]

It's hard to keep score anymore regarding Markieff but I thought he fulfilled all his requirements on Tuesday.

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2015/12/31/markieff-morris-apologizes-to-suns-teammates-coaches-and-fans/

I'm getting old, somehow I completely forgot there was a game in between his return and yesterday's game and that Markieff played in it. Or maybe it's not age, maybe it's the mind protecting itself by wiping out horrible memories that it's not prepared to deal with (otherwise known as the Spurs game). So you're right, he sat for a reason other than the one I offered. Maybe it was the freshness of another Marcus comment about him wanting out or maybe it was just his overall performance/conditioning to date.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm getting old, somehow I completely forgot there was a game in between his return and yesterday's game and that Markieff played in it. Or maybe it's not age, maybe it's the mind protecting itself by wiping out horrible memories that it's not prepared to deal with (otherwise known as the Spurs game). So you're right, he sat for a reason other than the one I offered. Maybe it was the freshness of another Marcus comment about him wanting out or maybe it was just his overall performance/conditioning to date.

I think you nailed it for a lot of fans. I keep waiting for McDonough to pull a magical trade out of the air to make the season less than a nightmare.

 

[leclerc]

I like the line-up of Len/Chandler, PJ, Warren, Booker and Knight! Hope we'll see that the next game as well.

 

[leclerc]

I believe Booker and Warren can replace Bledsoe's scoring in the starting line-up but do we have enough bench scoring from Len, Teletovich, Leuer and Price? I wish Goodwin could be a scoring threat solar sub if he worked harder on defence and took FT's seriously.