Suns @ Lakers Wednesday game thread 1-1-20

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I stopped watching when they were down 25 in the first. Can’t believe they almost battled back. Weird team. Glad they’re not last years white flag squad. But now no Rubio. So we’ll suck again.

my prognostication for the season . . . we will keep sucking as we get injuries and then players are playing their way back into shape. At the end of the year we will win a spat of meaningless games to hurt our lottery position. Then we will drop further in the lottery. Then we’ll draft an unathletic 23 year old kid.

 

[Superbone]

The lakers announcers are unbearable

Agreed. It's almost as if they were intentionally punishing Suns fans that were forced to listen to them.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I stopped watching when they were down 25 in the first. Can’t believe they almost battled back. Weird team. Glad they’re not last years white flag squad. But now no Rubio. So we’ll suck again.

my prognostication for the season . . . we will keep sucking as we get injuries and then players are playing their way back into shape. At the end of the year we will win a spat of meaningless games to hurt our lottery position. Then we will drop further in the lottery. Then we’ll draft an unathletic 23 year old kid.

They significantly outplayed the Lakers in the second half. It is as the bench that got most of it done and Tyler was a catalyst. Bridges made a huge difference too.

 

[82CardsGrad]

The team once again showed its’ grit and desire to fight.
Ayton continues the progress of tossing off rust. He once again played a fantastic 4th quarter.
Oubre is such a damn stud and emotionally, he is at the core of the team.
As for Booker - he never lacks for effort. He was a huge reason we got back to within striking distance . 32 pts. 7 assists. But the number that NEEDS to improve is Turnovers. He had 6 more last night. He’s got to be more disciplined and cut down on the TO’s...

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The team once again showed its’ grit and desire to fight.
Ayton continues the progress of tossing off rust. He once again played a fantastic 4th quarter.
Oubre is such a damn stud and emotionally, he is at the core of the team.
As for Booker - he never lacks for effort. He was a huge reason we got back to within striking distance . 32 pts. 7 assists. But the number that NEEDS to improve is Turnovers. He had 6 more last night. He’s got to be more disciplined and cut down on the TO’s...

Yes agreed. And it shouldn’t that difficult due to the fact that usually 2-4 of tgg f r turnovers tend to be of the awful variety. Like his brain suddenly turns off.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

Yes agreed. And it shouldn’t that difficult due to the fact that usually 2-4 of tgg f r turnovers tend to be of the awful variety. Like his brain suddenly turns off.

 

[Mainstreet]

Rubio has what is described as a hip injury.


Gina Mizell‏Verified account @ginamizell


Rubio said the injury is to his hip. He is waking around with a slight limp, but not nearly as bad as when he left the court. Did not know about his status for Friday’s game or beyond. #Suns

10:33 PM - 1 Jan 2020

 

[devilalum]

I stopped watching at the end of the first quarter but this morning I went back and watched the second half. They got back into it by playing the frenetic hustle defense that got them off to the fast start the first 8 games.

If Russell Westbrook was 5 years younger I'd trade Booker for him in a second. Even now he'd be perfect with Oubre and Bridges. The length and energy of those 2 would be a perfect match with Westbrook. Add in Ayton and that would be a scary nucleus.

Book doesn't have that kind of energy.

 

[Chaplin]

And it’s comments like this that frustrate me to no end when you don’t read what I actually posted... I was talking about the 4th qtr. He was trash when the game was in striking distance. Multiple momentum killing plays; 1 on 3 fastbreak clanker with Rubio down? Stupid tech when barely touched, multiple easy misses probably from frustration bleeding over. Can’t have that crap from our star player.

We wouldn't have been in that situation if we didn't have that star player.

 

[devilalum]

Slight moral victory. LBJ and Davis both played 38 minutes.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns were stunned and rattled early with the Lakers onslaught reminiscent of the Showtime Lakers.

The Lakers used to be known for that. No excuses... Suns were not ready to match their intensity.

 

[leclerc]

Tyler Johnson sucks

Hush, we need to inflate his trade value.

Next game we've got to come out blazing. If Monty has big cajunes he'll start Rubio/Carter, Booker, Bridges, Oubre, Ayton. I think they've earned it and you've got to send a message that this sloppy play is not tolerated.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

Hush, we need to inflate his trade value.

Next game we've got to come out blazing. If Monty has big cajunes he'll start Rubio/Carter, Booker, Bridges, Oubre, Ayton. I think they've earned it and you've got to send a message that this sloppy play is not tolerated.

Sure, but not Carter. He has really regressed. His defense (what little it seems to be now) does not make up for the offensive loss. I would go Okobo (still not great, but an improvement over Carter) if Rubio is hurt.

 

[95pro]

Tyler is and has been our best option to backup Rubio. He’s not a pg but can still execute passes and get hot a bit. He’s proven to some sort, he’s been in the league and has played significant minutes before. Jerome, Carter and Okobo still have a way to go. But they’ve all digressed it some way, the random rotation isn’t helping anyone especially at point guard.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Well now past the Lakers there are winnable gms coming up must take advantage especially with ayton back no excuse now

Goid to see they tried to come back vs la but to much star power

Why i really wish suns try hard to get towns

Lets see if valleyboys is really back lol

 

[95pro]

Hush, we need to inflate his trade value.

Next game we've got to come out blazing. If Monty has big cajunes he'll start Rubio/Carter, Booker, Bridges, Oubre, Ayton. I think they've earned it and you've got to send a message that this sloppy play is not tolerated.

I thought the first round of substitutions was going to be Ayton and Bridges for Baynes and Saric last night.

 

[Hoop Head]

The only upside to a Rubio injury is it could allow Tyler Johnson to rebuild some trade value before the deadline. He's likely to see increased minutes over the next couple of games, play him and hope he plays within himself. He can be a chucker at times and if he starts throwing up bad shots then he should be yanked right away.

 

[Sunburn]

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Can't believe this wasn't called. I can't follow the NBA if they're just going to pre-determine the outcome of games with officiating.

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Here's another example of Lebron favoritism that just seems outrageous to me.

 

[Raze]

Sure, but not Carter. He has really regressed. His defense (what little it seems to be now) does not make up for the offensive loss. I would go Okobo (still not great, but an improvement over Carter) if Rubio is hurt.

I agree.

However, I don't think Carter has regressed, rather he's playing out of position and his confidence has plummeted. He's not a PG. He has zero ability to create plays for others. That has been painfully obvious this year. However, I wish we would play to his strengths like we did against Portland. That is, play him as a 3&D SG. Tell him he has two jobs: Shoot 3's and shut down a G. He can do that. He cannot run an offense AND do those other things well.

I LOVE Monty, but I'm puzzled about his handling of Elie. He was fantastic against OKC and Houston in his 45 combined minutes, and then stunningly was only given 30 minutes total in the next 4 games. He's repeatedly shown great strides and then unexplicitly shown the bench. I'm not sure why.

I'd give Elie the back up PG minutes. He's earned them. Carter should get some back up SG minutes exclusively as a 3&D guy. But he needs to stop passing up open shots. I'd tell him, "If you don't shoot, you don't play". I wouldn't play either Tyler or Ty.

 

[1Sun]

I agree.

However, I don't think Carter has regressed, rather he's playing out of position and his confidence has plummeted. He's not a PG. He has zero ability to create plays for others. That has been painfully obvious this year. However, I wish we would play to his strengths like we did against Portland. That is, play him as a 3&D SG. Tell him he has two jobs: Shoot 3's and shut down a G. He can do that. He cannot run an offense AND do those other things well.

I LOVE Monty, but I'm puzzled about his handling of Elie. He was fantastic against OKC and Houston in his 45 combined minutes, and then stunningly was only given 30 minutes total in the next 4 games. He's repeatedly shown great strides and then unexplicitly shown the bench. I'm not sure why.

I'd give Elie the back up PG minutes. He's earned them. Carter should get some back up SG minutes exclusively as a 3&D guy. But he needs to stop passing up open shots. I'd tell him, "If you don't shoot, you don't play". I wouldn't play either Tyler or Ty.

Elie's issue has been defense, or lack thereof.

 

[Mainstreet]

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Can't believe this wasn't called. I can't follow the NBA if they're just going to pre-determine the outcome of games with officiating.

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Here's another example of Lebron favoritism that just seems outrageous to me.

No harm no foul when it comes to the Lakers though.

On the last video I think Carter did have minor contact but I didn't see anything where a foul should be called. Can't believe how Lebron went flying.

 

[95pro]

Also last night, there was an 8 second back court violation that should have been called but they just decided not to call it or look for it. Guess who had the ball? There were a couple of other close ones.

 

[leclerc]

I'm so sick of the star treatment. The league should address this. Can't remember MJ, Magic and Bird having it that easy.

I agree that Monty is inconsistent. Hopefully there's internal logic that we the fans can't see. Good point to simplify things for Carter.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I'm so sick of the star treatment. The league should address this. Can't remember MJ, Magic and Bird having it that easy.

I agree that Monty is inconsistent. Hopefully there's internal logic that we the fans can't see. Good point to simplify things for Carter.

Oh, they did. Might have been worse then.

 

[95pro]

Lakers gave up a huge lead to the Pelicans tonight.