Suns @ Lakers Wednesday game thread 3-22-2023

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Interesting that okogie was essentially benched.

And WHY THE €£¥€ is Booker player 40 minutes tonight?!?

Monty talking about the discrepancy in free throws again... 46 vs 20.

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F you monty. I watched game. We are terrible defensively. Every call on us was legit. And you have a team full of guys that shy away from contact and your sets don’t have guys going to the rim hard.

 

[TJ]

Maybe swap Paul for Ben Simmons?

I can't believe I'd be ok with that deal. Not saying they should do it or even make the call but if the Nets called and made that offer, I'd take it as long as they give up at least the swap rights for the 2027 pick.

If you think Ayton lacks engagement, wait until you deal with Ben Simmons for a hot minute.

 

[dscher]

lol.. are we even gonna make the playoffs at this rate?

Epic franchise curse, if so..

 

[mjb21aztd]

Ugh 11 pm im out of 420 and suns playing like shiatttttt yea zzz gonna suck ton
.....

WIshing more heart vs kings ahhhh well is what it is

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

. But, it puts Jones under tremendous pressure to rebuild and replace guys like Bridges and Cam Johnson…on top of dumping the majority of the current bench.

This just isn’t true. Bridges and cam Johnson were starters this season. Crowder didn’t play a minute this season. So the only bench guy they traded was saric whose playtime and contributions were sporadic at best.

 

[dscher]

KD or bust for me with this current team. I can't stomach what we've seen so far without him.

 

[Joe Mama]

This is not rocket science guys . we don't have a deep team and there was like 45 points of efficient scoring sitting out tonight. And I'm not sure I would say we have a bunch of guys who avoid contact. We have one and he sat out tonight. We had a tough break on the Kevin Durant injury. Nobody's getting fired unless we under perform next season.

The real question is how many would still make the trade today? What about if we only had to give up a couple draft pics and a draft swap?

Joe

 

[TJ]

This is not rocket science guys . we don't have a deep team and there was like 45 points of efficient scoring sitting out tonight. And I'm not sure I would say we have a bunch of guys who avoid contact. We have one and he sat out tonight. We had a tough break on the Kevin Durant injury. Nobody's getting fired unless we under perform next season.

The real question is how many would still make the trade today? What about if we only had to give up a couple draft pics and a draft swap?

Joe

You still do the deal as constructed, and that isn’t even a real debate.

 

[Covert Rain]

This is not rocket science guys . we don't have a deep team and there was like 45 points of efficient scoring sitting out tonight. And I'm not sure I would say we have a bunch of guys who avoid contact. We have one and he sat out tonight. We had a tough break on the Kevin Durant injury. Nobody's getting fired unless we under perform next season.

The real question is how many would still make the trade today? What about if we only had to give up a couple draft pics and a draft swap?

Joe

I still do it because we still don’t know anything. We still don’t now how this turns out. We have not had a healthy team even without the Durant trade. We have no idea what this team can do healthy.

 

[AzStevenCal]

You still do the deal as constructed, and that isn’t even a real debate.

Well, sure it is. He's a walking poster boy for knee and ankle injuries and has been for several years. And he's 34 with a huge contract. If you can't debate the wisdom of giving up two starters, 4 unprotected picks and a pick swap for this version of KD then nothing is debatable. On top of this, I know I'm in the minority on this but I'm not alone in believing we were more than a KD trade away from winning it all given the decline of CP3.

I still believe the Nets were moving KD by the deadline, one way or the other. We should have held steady on some pick protection and Bridges, and if we had I believe they'd have caved. And that team would have had a decent chance of winning it all. And if they didn't cave, we should have moved on to the next best deal instead of overpaying for damaged goods.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I still do it because we still don’t know anything. We still don’t now how this turns out. We have not had a healthy team even without the Durant trade. We have no idea what this team can do healthy.

We know a lot but I guess your point is that we don't know anything more than we did when we traded for him and on that we agree. But I think we know what this team can do when healthy. I don't see a team in the West that this team healthy couldn't beat.

But I think we'd still come up short against Philly and Milwaukee and maybe Boston. We'd have the best two man combination in the league and the worst 3 through 8 of any contending team. I think that's too much to make up for. We'd have to hope that we could find a servicable point guard and add another starter caliber player for next season. Without tradable picks that's not going to be easy.

 

[nashman]

After the game is controlled in the first half and we're down 20 to 30 free throws, it's kind of easier for them to give us some after that," Booker said. "Like Chris said, I watch these games every night, so I kind of understand what's going on. I understand the agendas that are being pushed, and trying to just get that out of my head and go out there and compete”

Tell me these players don’t watch and know we are getting shafted and it definitely affects most, Book is good enough to overcome it but other not so much. Would be nice to play a game and not be getting totally jobbed with ticky tack on us but other teams hacking without much penalty…

 

[82CardsGrad]

This just isn’t true. Bridges and cam Johnson were starters this season. Crowder didn’t play a minute this season. So the only bench guy they traded was saric whose playtime and contributions were sporadic at best.

Umm… ok. Didn’t say Bridges and Johnson were bench guys…

 

[82CardsGrad]

Yeah, but a new NBA owner is much like a fan. It takes someone with experience to guide him. This is James Jones job.

So, you believe that it’s a slam dunk that no matter what, Ishbia would be totally reliant upon Jones’ guidance? You disregard the very likely possibility that Jones didn’t want to trade Bridges and made that crystal clear to Ishbia, but Ishbia said do the deal anyway?
Ok… I mean, you really have some sort of inflated idea about the power a GM has over an owner… but, ok. Jones screwed up by not being able to convince Ishbia to not trade Bridges…

 

[Chaplin]

Yes! Ish would’ve been the difference maker! We NEED more Ish! Give us more Ish Monty!!

Point. Missed. Thanks for playing.

 

[95pro]

Wow what a poop show, even after a long break between games in nba terms. We missed a lot of bunnies and aren't sharp/clutch. We get some steals, some wide open looks, bunnies...and just can't capitalize on those. We were in striking distance all game long. This game was there for the taking.

I'm still not liking Book playing 40 min and entire quarters. Monty can't even take him out for the last 30 seconds or 1 min of a quarter to get a bit of rest.

Our cast aren't world beaters but they have to make those shots. Payne and Shamet continued to shoot flat shots out there, and then we also missed free throws. Amazingly we are still in the 4th spot but two more losses could be the end of our run for a top 4 spot.

I did like Lee and Ish sitting, that was a positive. And Warren scored some but didn't see the ball after his two makes. Biz had some great blocks and broke up a lob play. AR15 continues to get calls, he even bumped cp3 for what should have been an and1. I hate all this probing the midrange stuff with overdribbling, just take the shot if you're open.

 

[Superbone]

Who gets more free throws tonight? Superstar Austin Reaves or that bum Devin Booker?

Advantage...Reaves. And that was with Booker getting more than half of our total free throw attempts.

 

[Mainstreet]

Maybe swap Paul for Ben Simmons?

I can't believe I'd be ok with that deal. Not saying they should do it or even make the call but if the Nets called and made that offer, I'd take it as long as they give up at least the swap rights for the 2027 pick.

I definitely wouldn't trade for Ben Simmons. The Suns should have already learned from the Nets mistakes, not keep repeating them.

 

[Mainstreet]

So, you believe that it’s a slam dunk that no matter what, Ishbia would be totally reliant upon Jones’ guidance? You disregard the very likely possibility that Jones didn’t want to trade Bridges and made that crystal clear to Ishbia, but Ishbia said do the deal anyway?
Ok… I mean, you really have some sort of inflated idea about the power a GM has over an owner… but, ok. Jones screwed up by not being able to convince Ishbia to not trade Bridges…

If I were James Jones, I would want to be on record of not supporting the Durant trade as formatted. The cost was too high.

I would hope Jones gave the owner this advice. If the owner disregards it, that's on him.

 

[Finito]

I definitely wouldn't trade for Ben Simmons. The Suns should have already learned from the Nets mistakes, not keep repeating them.

Kyrie is clearly the guy they are going after in the offseason

 

[Finito]

If I were James Jones, I would want to be on record of not supporting the Durant trade as formatted. The cost was too high.

I would hope Jones gave the owner this advice. If the owner disregards it, that's on him.

Oh god

 

[Bufalay]

That was an unwatchable game. The officiating was a mess. Two moving screen calls in the first couple minutes is some Tim Donaghy crap. That stuff has a real "butterfly effect" on the game. Early foul trouble for Biyombo, Lakers get into the bonus early and the Suns have to adjust their defense.

 

[AzStevenCal]

If I were James Jones, I would want to be on record of not supporting the Durant trade as formatted. The cost was too high.

I would hope Jones gave the owner this advice. If the owner disregards it, that's on him.

That would be the end of his Suns career and likely the end of his career in the NBA.

 

[Superbone]

That would be the end of his Suns career and likely the end of his career in the NBA.

All for one and one for all!

 

[Mainstreet]

This is not rocket science guys . we don't have a deep team and there was like 45 points of efficient scoring sitting out tonight. And I'm not sure I would say we have a bunch of guys who avoid contact. We have one and he sat out tonight. We had a tough break on the Kevin Durant injury. Nobody's getting fired unless we under perform next season.

The real question is how many would still make the trade today? What about if we only had to give up a couple draft pics and a draft swap?

Joe

The discussion has always been about how much a team would trade for Durant.

Almost every team in the NBA would have traded for Durant at the right price. I don't think fans disagree about this.

However, there are limits of how much a team should trade for him. The Suns simply paid too much for my taste.

The clear braking point for me was including Mikal Bridges.