Suns @ Bucks Tuesday Finals game thread 7-20-2021 - Game 6

[FB94]

See, as disappointed and frustrated as I get with Ayton I still wouldn’t trade him.

First I don’t think we would a dollar for dollar return on potential.

second, he’s definitely got the material to be very good. He’s just got to find the drive to unleash it. He has to want it. He has to NEED it the way Booker does. Right now I think he just likes what basketball brings him. I’m not even sure he really really likes basketball much less loves it much less lives for it.

Maybe. Just don’t see it in his personality. Ayton has a lot of Awe Shucks” in him. Booker has all F U in him, big difference

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Monty congratulates the Bucks. He says it made him a better coach and the Suns a better team.

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Monty is a class guy. I’m not sure that’s the response I want from my head coach. Would belicheck do that? No way. Monty is sad right now. I’d prefer for my coach to be pissed.

 

[1Sun]

Monty is a class guy. I’m not sure that’s the response I want from my head coach. Would belicheck do that? No way. Monty is sad right now. I’d prefer for my coach to be pissed.

For better and for worse, Monty has a lot of Lute Olson in him...

 

[Covert Rain]

This isn't about mistakes. It is about effort, heart and intensity...in the freaking NBA Finals. I don't know that those things can change at this point.

I call bull. I know it’s sometimes easy to question a person’s heart when they don’t play well but I call bull regardless if you are talking about a bad game from any of these guys. They all wanted to win this. Mental lapses? Sure.

 

[Bufalay]

All the stuff you’re all saying about Ayton and Bridges could be said about holiday and Middleton. Those guys are frustrating and inconsistent too.

These are championship level players.

Ayton and Bridges are both still getting better and could continue to add to their games for the next several years.

 

[Big D]

It didn't help that their best player had a significant injury that got worse as the series progressed.

I hear what you’re saying but at the same time I don’t really want to hear it my guy. Nothing against you at all.

I’m sure we’ll hear about torn ligaments in one hand and the same or a sprain or strained ligaments or some crap in the other hand. If you have a supposedly ATG out there playing and getting credit in the games that you win, I can’t all of a sudden grade the games you lose on a curve tho

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

My god. Did you even watch this series? It all went through Giannis. They let him decide to shoot or pass. That’s nothing like our offense which runs through our guards.

Giannis and Ayton have two completely different roles in their respective offenses despite them having some of the same responsibilities.

A) I did. It wasn’t an inside-out offense. Giannis didn’t beat us in the post. Did YOU watch the finals?

B) I’m not asking for Ayton to become a driving whirling dervish. That’s not what ANY of us are saying. Literally NO ONE has said Ayton has to become giannis. In fact no one has said he has to play anything like him. I think I’m right in speaking for a lot of posters when I say he should be able to effectively post up 6’3 and 6’7 guards and punish them in the post.

let’s not move the goalposts.

 

[Covert Rain]

All the stuff you’re all saying about Ayton and Bridges could be said about holiday and Middleton.

These are championship level players.

Ayton and Bridges are both still getting better and could continue to add to their games for the next several years.

That’s where I have hope. Bridges will get better. Ayton will get better. I think Booker will get better. Guys like Crowder and Paul you get what you get.

 

[Cheesebeef]

For better and for worse, Monty has a lot of Lute Olson in him...

Lute won a title. Got to another Title Game... all after turning a nothing program into of college basketball’s Elite for decades. If you’re not going to get one of the best coaches of all time, getting a Lute would be a pretty good consolation.

I don’t know what Monty is. He’s a good coach. Probably a very good coach, but a championship coach? Time will tell.

 

[Mainstreet]

monty may be too nice for his own good.

man, toughest thing about tonight’s game is we just flat out choked. Giannis was amazing, but the Bucks didn’t play well. We missed so many wide open threes, a dunk, a breakaway layup to Cam that Book airmailed and Book just wasn’t good in a game that mattered most.

The Suns didn't choke. Giannis was insanely good tonight as well as the Bucks defense. He was a force offensively and defensively. He impacted everything the Suns did. I'm not saying the Suns couldn't win on a given night.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That’s where I have hope. Bridges will get better. Ayton will get better. I think Booker will get better. Guys like Crowder and Paul you get what you get.

That’s where all of our hope lies. I don’t think book has a lot of growth left. And I’m unsure Bridges ever becomes a guy that consistently create for himself or others. Ayton has the greatest upside. But I think he also has the lowest internal drive.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That’s where I have hope. Bridges will get better. Ayton will get better. I think Booker will get better. Guys like Crowder and Paul you get what you get.

how will Bridges get better? Remember, he was drafted because he was “the most NBA ready” and is already 25.

 

[Covert Rain]

A) I did. It wasn’t an inside-out offense. Giannis didn’t beat us in the post. Did YOU watch the finals?

B) I’m not asking for Ayton to become a driving whirling dervish. That’s not what ANY of us are saying. Literally NO ONE has said Ayton has to become giannis. In fact no one has said he has to play anything like him. I think I’m right in speaking for a lot of posters when I say he should be able to effectively post up 6’3 and 6’7 guards and punish them in the post.

let’s not move the goalposts.

Now you are being obtuse. When I get a chance I will pull up the shot charts for both teams. Everything ran through Giannis verse everything running through our guards the vast majority. That’s because they asked Giannisnto make decisions that go through guards on our team. Two completely different types of offenses.

Can we give Ayton a full season where he is a featured option before asking him to magically develop every part of his game?

 

[1Sun]

I call bull. I know it’s sometimes easy to question a person’s heart when they don’t play well but I call bull regardless if you are talking about a bad game from any of these guys. They all wanted to win this. Mental lapses? Sure.

You must not have seen him constantly avoid the screens he was supposed to be setting in Game 5.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The Suns didn't choke. Giannis was insanely good tonight as well as the Bucks defense. He was a force offensively and defensively. He impacted everything the Suns did. I'm not saying the Suns couldn't win on a given night.

I don’t know if the defense was that great. We got a lot of open shots, and layups and opportunities and just couldn’t finish.

 

[Covert Rain]

how will Bridges get better? Remember, he was drafted because he was “the most NBA ready” and is already 25.

I think he can. Players usually peak after 25 no?

 

[Bufalay]

Lute won a title. Got to another Title Game... all after turning a nothing program into of college basketball’s Elite for decades. If you’re not going to get one of the best coaches of all time, getting a Lute would be a pretty good consolation.

I don’t know what Monty is. He’s a good coach. Probably a very good coach, but a championship coach? Time will tell.

“Championship coach” seems meaningless to me.

If Giannis’ knee wasn’t made of rubber and he missed the series the Suns would’ve won. would that have changed your opinion of Monty?

 

[Cheesebeef]

The Suns didn't choke. Giannis was insanely good tonight as well as the Bucks defense. He was a force offensively and defensively. He impacted everything the Suns did. I'm not saying the Suns couldn't win on a given night.

disagree. We played like trash tonight on offense. Booker was terrible shooting the ball. He wasn’t being defended by Giannis. Neither were our shooters on wide open threes all night. We missed dunks and layups too.

the Bucks got an amazing game out of Giannis, but this game was there for the taking if we could shoot the ball.

 

[1Sun]

A) I did. It wasn’t an inside-out offense. Giannis didn’t beat us in the post. Did YOU watch the finals?

B) I’m not asking for Ayton to become a driving whirling dervish. That’s not what ANY of us are saying. Literally NO ONE has said Ayton has to become giannis. In fact no one has said he has to play anything like him. I think I’m right in speaking for a lot of posters when I say he should be able to effectively post up 6’3 and 6’7 guards and punish them in the post.

let’s not move the goalposts.

Or at least willingly body them up and box them out for rebounds and wilingly screen them...

 

[Mainstreet]

Monty is a class guy. I’m not sure that’s the response I want from my head coach. Would belicheck do that? No way. Monty is sad right now. I’d prefer for my coach to be pissed.

This is who Monty is. He gave everything he had. That's why the players respect him and a huge reason the Suns reached the Finals.

 

[Covert Rain]

I don’t know if the defense was that great. We got a lot of open shots, and layups and opportunities and just couldn’t finish.

Not sure if it was them or our guards but they did a pretty good job at times taking away mid-range in critical parts of the game. Plus they forced a ton of turnovers playing passing lanes.

 

[Bufalay]

I think he can. Players usually peak after 25 no?

Damian Lillard was an old rookie. I Don’t think he’s peaked yet.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think he can. Players usually peak after 25 no?

how is he going to get better? Is he going to get taller? More explosive? He’s 25 and has developed ZERO handles and in the playoffs showed more shrinkage than George Costanza getting out of the Maine ocean.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Now you are being obtuse. When I get a chance I will pull up the shot charts for both teams. Everything ran through Giannis verse everything running through our guards the vast majority. That’s because they asked Giannisnto make decisions that go through guards on our team. Two completely different types of offenses.

Can we give Ayton a full season where he is a featured option before asking him to magically develop every part of his game?

No, that’s silly. Now I’m starting to believe you didn’t watch the game. The shot chart shows where the shot was taken, not where it originated from. Giannis wasn’t posting up. He was driving. Newsflash, his drives end up at the basket where they show up on the shot chart. That wasn’t a post up offense and to pretend it was is frankly being dishonest.

and again, it’s 2021, we will likely never see a post-initiated and heavy offense again. So I guess by your logic Ayton will never be capable of posting up 6’3 and 6’7 guards. See how silly your argument sounds?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

It didn't help that their best player had a significant injury that got worse as the series progressed.

Been hearing all playoffs long how injuries are part of the game.