Suns @ Grizzlies Monday game thread 3-10-2025

[Yuma]

Watched on DVR. Man, some really stupid turnovers by Book, Plumlee and Grayson down the stretch. I don't fault them for wanting KD to take that last shot but I wish there was a tad more time to work it into a better shot. I also think they stuck with Plumlee way too long. Plumlee does some good things but every single time he has the ball in the paint towards to the top of the key he can't do anything. He ends up passing it out. It bogs down the offense because he has no driving moves.

Brendon Kleen said the advanced metrics for Nick Richards are why he's not playing in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Evidently his defense sucks.

 

[Yuma]

And the Suns even had to get rid of Nurkic less a replacement in a salary dump.

Arguably, if I am going into a fight and I am waiting for Nurkic to jump in, I'm not really feeling confident. He's not the answer as a tough guy enforcer.

 

[Covert Rain]

Brendon Kleen said the advanced metrics for Nick Richards are why he's not playing in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Evidently his defense sucks.

Interesting because Plumlee blocks NOTHING. Nobody is afraid to go up against him. Richards has a habit of making stupid fouls too which pulls him out of the game.

 

[Mainstreet]

Arguably, if I am going into a fight and I am waiting for Nurkic to jump in, I'm not really feeling confident. He's not the answer as a tough guy enforcer.

Nurkic is more likely to step up in an altercation than some other Suns players.

Maybe he stood up to the coaching too much as well, so he's gone?

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[AzStevenCal]

Brendon Kleen said the advanced metrics for Nick Richards are why he's not playing in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Evidently his defense sucks.

His team defense does suck, always has. But so did Nurk's.

 

[Yuma]

Nurkic is more likely to step up in an altercation than some other Suns players.

Maybe he stood up to the coaching too much as well, so he's gone?

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I think it was his poor play. He dropped off his normal play for whatever reason.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think it was his poor play. He dropped off his normal play for whatever reason.

Nurkic was in the Suns doghouse for whatever reason. They lacked quality depth at center all season.

Since they replaced Nurkic with players who do not fill a need, and who will likely be off the books next season, it smells of a salary dump.

Also, goodbye 1st round pick.

It feels like the Suns threw in the towel at the trade deadline, which was unexpected. What happened to this season?

Maybe the Suns finally found their identity… quitting.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Nurkic was in the Suns doghouse for whatever reason. They lacked quality depth at center all season.

Since they replaced Nurkic with players who do not fill a need, and who will likely be off the books next season, it smells of a salary dump.

Also, goodbye 1st round pick.

It feels like the Suns threw in the towel at the trade deadline, which was unexpected. What happened to this season?

Maybe the Suns finally found their identity… quitting.

Pretty sure they found that back in Game 7 of the Dallas series in 2022 when they didn’t even bother showing up and got down 40 AT HOME at one point in the most humiliating (LITERALLY!) Game 7 home loss in NBA history.

 

[Mainstreet]

Pretty sure they found that back in Game 7 of the Dallas series in 2022 when they didn’t even bother showing up and got down 40 AT HOME at one point in the most humiliating (LITERALLY!) Game 7 home loss in NBA history.

And that's when the Suns were RELEVANT.

No danger of this team getting 64 wins. They have gone the opposite direction under new ownership.

Now they are just a losing team and an easy win on the opponent's schedule.

 

[Cheesebeef]

And that's when the Suns were RELEVANT.

Nah. That was the day they stopped being relevant and all those 64 wins ceased to matter. When you become the joke of the NBA playoffs, that means you’re no longer relevant. Then Booker and Durant followed the 2022 humiliation with ANOTHER final playoff game by 30 points while ALSO being down 40 at home at one point.

Lose by 30 at home in 2022 with the 64 wins, lose at home in 2023 by 30 in the second round without ‘em.

But, as I’ve agreed.. at least we’d still have our picks and be able to try and get better. But the second CP3 went in the crapper, that version of the Suns became irrelevant.

 

[Mainstreet]

Nah. That was the day they stopped being relevant and all those 64 wins ceased to matter. When you become the joke of the NBA playoffs, that means you’re no longer relevant. Then Booker and Durant followed the 2022 humiliation with ANOTHER final playoff game by 30 points while ALSO being down 40 at home at one point.

Lose by 30 at home in 2022 with the 64 wins, lose at home in 2023 by 30 in the second round without ‘em.

But, as I’ve agreed.. at least we’d still have our picks and be able to try and get better. But the second CP3 went in the crapper, that version of the Suns became irrelevant.

The Suns stopped being relevant leading up to the trade deadline in 2023 when James Jones and Mat Ishbia proverbially threw the baby out with the bathwater.

They didn't have to flush the roster. Almost every move thereafter has been a disaster.

 

[Covert Rain]

Nah. That was the day they stopped being relevant and all those 64 wins ceased to matter. When you become the joke of the NBA playoffs, that means you’re no longer relevant. Then Booker and Durant followed the 2022 humiliation with ANOTHER final playoff game by 30 points while ALSO being down 40 at home at one point.

Lose by 30 at home in 2022 with the 64 wins, lose at home in 2023 by 30 in the second round without ‘em.

But, as I’ve agreed.. at least we’d still have our picks and be able to try and get better. But the second CP3 went in the crapper, that version of the Suns became irrelevant.

It started with a historic loss in the finals, then followed that up with a useless/wasted 64 win season. Not a team in the NBA cared about the Suns after getting bounced in the playoffs. Those teams don't care what our regular season win total was. They may have compounded things with the trades (especially the Beal trade) but you are right it started way before the trades.

 

[Yuma]

It started with a historic loss in the finals, then followed that up with a useless/wasted 64 win season. Not a team in the NBA cared about the Suns after getting bounced in the playoffs. Those teams don't care what our regular season win total was. They may have compounded things with the trades (especially the Beal trade) but you are right it started way before the trades.

Nah, it started with losing a coin flip.........

 

[Suns_fan69]

Interesting because Plumlee blocks NOTHING. Nobody is afraid to go up against him. Richards has a habit of making stupid fouls too which pulls him out of the game.

Defense is more than blocks though, Mason has a bit more mobility which makes him slightly less of a liability on the perimeter, and also means he is slightly better at recovering when dropping back on PnRs. Don't get me wrong, it's still not great, but it's slightly better than Nick Richards.

 

[Covert Rain]

Defense is more than blocks though, Mason has a bit more mobility which makes him slightly less of a liability on the perimeter, and also means he is slightly better at recovering when dropping back on PnRs. Don't get me wrong, it's still not great, but it's slightly better than Nick Richards.

Oh he is terrible. He is always late to the rotations and is especially bad running to perimeter shooting. He just doesn't intimidate anybody. People just drive right by him. That's why I am saying it might have more to do with stupid fouls Richards makes all the time than Plumlee actually being a better defender.

 

[Mainstreet]

It started with a historic loss in the finals, then followed that up with a useless/wasted 64 win season. Not a team in the NBA cared about the Suns after getting bounced in the playoffs. Those teams don't care what our regular season win total was. They may have compounded things with the trades (especially the Beal trade) but you are right it started way before the trades.

Those were the good old days, compared to now.

A Finals appearance and a 64 win season back-to-back looks like a miracle since the Suns acquired Durant.

The Suns roster needed to be tweaked back then, but an overhaul was not necessary.

 

[Covert Rain]

Those were the good old days, compared to now.

A Finals appearance and a 64 win season back-to-back looks like a miracle since the Suns acquired Durant.

The Suns roster needed to be tweaked back then, but an overhaul was not necessary.

Results are exactly the same. No titles and that team was going nowhere in the playoffs. I think the KD trade would have worked had they not made the Beal trade and instead waiting to get a legit big man instead. Book needs a #1 to play next to. Period. This team will never win a title with Book as your #1. It took CP3 playing at a high level to get the Suns to the finals but he broke down. That's why a move was necessary.

 

[Mainstreet]

Results are exactly the same. No titles and that team was going nowhere in the playoffs. I think the KD trade would have worked had they not made the Beal trade and instead waiting to get a legit big man instead. Book needs a #1 to play next to. Period. This team will never win a title with Book as your #1. That's why a move was necessary.

The results are not the same. Do the math. If the goal is a championship, the Suns are farther away than ever.

An aging and off insured Durant wasn't a #1. We've already seen that.

Time to quit portraying Booker as the boogeyman and fix the problem wherever it lies. Too bad, the Suns sold the farm and are now living out of an RV.

 

[Covert Rain]

The results are not the same. Do the math. If the goal is a championship, the Suns are farther away than ever.

An aging and off insured Durant wasn't a #1. We've already seen that.

Time to quit portraying Booker as the boogeyman and fix the problem wherever it lies. Too bad, the Suns sold the farm and are now living out of an RV.

The math is ZERO. Zero titles. This isn't horseshoes. You either win a title or you don't. That's why there isn't a basketball HOF section for teams that almost got there. None of that matters.

I never said Book was a boogeyman. I said Book can't be your #1. Book never would have sniffed the finals if not for CP3.

 

[Mainstreet]

The math is ZERO. Zero titles. This isn't horseshoes. You either win a title or you don't. That's why there isn't a basketball HOF section for teams that almost got there. None of that matters.

I never said Book was a boogeyman. I said Book can't be your #1. Book never would have sniffed the finals if not for CP3.

If you are only counting championships, then you are going to be waiting a long time. Personally, I enjoy watching good basketball and this is not it.

You said Booker needed a #1. Well, at least we should agree, Durant is not it.

 

[Phrazbit]

I feel bad for fans that got so wrapped up in the KD trade that they have to trash on the team and the success that the Suns had prior to it.

Those teams were far more fun, far more competitive and generally better in every single aspect of the game, including when Chris Paul wasn't even on the court.

The KD trade is one of the biggest self sabotages in NBA history, it is so bad that it very well might cost us Booker too, just to undo PART of the damage.

 

[Covert Rain]

If you are only counting championships, then you are going to be waiting a long time. Personally, I enjoy watching good basketball and this is not it.

You said Booker needed a #1. Well, at least we should agree, Durant is not it.

If we were a perennial title contender I would agree. This franchise is 57 Years plus in with zero titles. One of the oldest franchises in all of sports without a title. The only goal is a title.

Again, I don't think Durant is the MAIN problem. He has been the best player at times on both ends more than Book has. To me this all went south with the Beal trade IMO. You traded for a redundant player that didn't shore up the one area we needed the most help. FC. The team had a razor thin margin of error after giving up so much for Durant. They screwed the pooch building this team around Book and KD IMO. There didn't seem to be a solid plan outside of getting KD.

This team stupidly thought you could throw Book and KD together and the rest really didn't matter.

 

[Mainstreet]

If we were a perennial title contender I would agree. This franchise is 57 Years plus in with zero titles. One of the oldest franchises in all of sports without a title. The only goal is a title.

Again, I don't think Durant is the problem. He has been the best player at time on both ends more than Book has. To me this all went sound with the Beal trade IMO.

Let's just agree Durant is not a #1 for the Suns.

 

[Covert Rain]

Let's just agree Durant is not a #1 for the Suns.

Yeah we don't agree. I think Durant could have been the right #1 if they had a better plan to build around Book and KD. KD isn't the same player he was 10 years ago for sure and has his own issues but they did a piss poor job building this team around the two of them.

You and I both have been shouting for what 3 seasons to get a legit big man in here? Imagine what this team might have been able to do if instead of Beal they had traded for a beast in the FC. That would have shored up rebounding, defense and reduced 2nd chance points. Some of our biggest issues. Beal helps with NONE of that.

 

[Phrazbit]

There didn't seem to be a solid plan outside of getting KD.

This team stupidly thought you could throw Book and KD together and the rest really didn't matter.

It's been said repeatedly, but the price we paid for KD made that inevitable.

It was a ruinous price to pay with basically zero chance of success.