Suns @Nets Wednesday game thread 1-31-2024

[Mainstreet]

I liked the way the Suns were patient, getting Gordon the open three in the 4th quarter. He was 5-9 from that range.

 

[BirdGangThing]

Every quarter pretty even steven minus the 3rd

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[Covert Rain]

Nurk was playing with size tonight. They outscored us in the 4th but we kept pace. I guess it's not the dominate 4th I wanted but keeping up with the Nets was good enough.

 

[Chaplin]

Here's a stat. Durant has now played with Beal and Booker in MORE games than he did in the years in Brooklyn with Kyrie and Harden.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Also, the Nets are so screwed. That team has no future. They have three likely middling picks from us, none of their own and no one to actually build around. They are firmly stuck in complete and utter purgatory, that likely wont even include any lame 8th seeded first round exit any time soon.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Here's a stat. Durant has now played with Beal and Booker in MORE games than he did in the years in Brooklyn with Kyrie and Harden.

Now you’re just tempting fate…

 

[BirdGangThing]

Here's a stat. Durant has now played with Beal and Booker in MORE games than he did in the years in Brooklyn with Kyrie and Harden.

While playing at a top 5 in the league caliber

 

[Chaplin]

A little misleading, he's played in an equal amount of games.

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[BirdGangThing]

Also, the Nets are so screwed. That team has no future. They have three likely middling picks from us, none of their own and no one to actually build around. They are firmly stuck in complete and utter purgatory, that likely wont even include any lame 8th seeded first round exit any time soon.

I hope Mikal didn't sell his house - I think he did tho

 

[Mainstreet]

Devin having some fun but don't do that to Mikal.

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[CardsSunsDbacks]

Devin having some fun but don't do that to Mikal.

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Oh god those Nets jerseys really are that bad...

 

[Mainstreet]

Oh god those Nets jerseys really are that bad...

They look better when the Suns win.

 

[TJ]

This is everything

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[Mainstreet]

Here is where it's at... all love with the twins and Suns.

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[Chris_Sanders]

Also, the Nets are so screwed. That team has no future. They have three likely middling picks from us, none of their own and no one to actually build around. They are firmly stuck in complete and utter purgatory, that likely wont even include any lame 8th seeded first round exit any time soon.

There is talk they will move Bridges.

 

[Cheesebeef]

There is talk they will move Bridges.

They should. They’re going nowhere with him fast. He’s a number 3. Sell as high as possible and that’s right now while his next team would own his rights for at least another couple years.

 

[clyde2tw]

I'm glad Vogel adjusted and played Okogie more, as well as gave Gordon more rest before reentering the 4th qrt. They spread the floor a lot better now and exploited Nurk's size advantage. Book and EG need to improve defense. KBD also contributed nicely. Nets being a bad team notwithstanding.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

They should. They’re going nowhere with him fast. He’s a number 3. Sell as high as possible and that’s right now while his next team would own his rights for at least another couple years.

There was a mock ESPN trade article that said the Nets should trade Bridges for 5 first round picks hahaha. No way in the world he’s worth that much.

I’m thinking maybe 2 and a player potentially but is contract is actually very workable.

 

[Suns_fan69]

I liked the couple tweaks Vogel had with the lineup tonight. First, he got Book out with a few mins left in the third so that he could start the fourth to (theoretically) have a better offensive start to the quarter.

Second, I liked the KBD, Okogie, Drewbanks trio getting minutes together as a more defensive oriented high energy group.

 

[Phrazbit]

I’m sorry nobody is going to convince me Royce O’Neal is better than okogie.

Don't want O'Neal but Okogie is so maddeningly inconsistent.

One game he looks like an all-NBA defender with a really nice transition game and a real opportunist on the offensive glass. Then he will have a stretch where it looks like he's never touched a basketball before. Invisible on defense and impossibly bad on offense.

Of the minimum guys we've landed, he's been my biggest disappointment. He had some really good stretches last year, he stays knowing that he has a shot at really meaningful playing time, all he needs to do is not be terrible on offense, yet this season he has had a significant drop off.

He was a monster last season in Feb and much of March, hopefully he finds his stride again.

 

[Phrazbit]

They gotta consistently prove they won’t make us crazy in the fourth before the previous 4th Q PTSD can get put to bed.

Tonight helped doing so.

Atlanta, in Atlanta, used to give the CP3 teams fits. Hopefully that’s not the case Friday and we can end this roadie with two more Ws and get back home 5-2 when all’s said and done.

Yup. We've convincingly shown that the quality of competition has little to do with how badly we can fall apart in the 4th. The freaking Spurs came back from down like 20 on us... I was at that game and it didn't even cross my mind that a loss was possible until we were suddenly losing in the closing seconds.

It's up to Booker and Durant and the coaches to figure out how to keep up the pace and ball movement late.

 

[Phrazbit]

Also, the Nets are so screwed. That team has no future. They have three likely middling picks from us, none of their own and no one to actually build around. They are firmly stuck in complete and utter purgatory, that likely wont even include any lame 8th seeded first round exit any time soon.

There is talk they will move Bridges.

The Rockets own their draft for several more years.

Unless they are shipping Bridges to Houston, then hitting the reset button isn't going to help them much.

The Rockets still owe picks to OKC for Westbrook, the Nets owe picks to Houston for Harden, the Suns owe picks to the Nets for Durant. Quite the trail of destruction those 3 have reaped in recent years.

 

[Peter Sheldon]

More 4th qtr madness. If we don’t hit some of those 3s, it could have gotten really ugly. My biggest gripe is turnovers. I mean, these lazy passes that a high school team could pick off for instant 2 or 3 points are like a 4-5 point instant swing with no time off clock. Better off running 24 seconds off the clock with no shot attempt than that! As great as KD is, his passing is atrocious. Especially in 4th qtr.

 

[1982baskets]

The way we space the floor around KD is really a joy to watch. I like this team's ability to do that a lot. It's just unfortunate as a group/rotation of top 8 players we lack the defensive firepower to truly be elite.

On the fourth quarter issues, this team has to just get over this hurdle. They have the offense to get buckets even in those pressure situations. They just have to figure out how to deal with teams giving them those pressure defenses. Teams know we don't have a point guard and want to get us rattled. However if you look at it, it's really a bad tactic to overpressure star players. You saw it burn the Nets again and again. We kept getting wide open looks.

Main thing a good PG would do - not panic in those situations and make high IQ plays. That's not impossible for the big 3. They can make good plays even in the clutch. More than offense, this team needs defenders. Players that can defend well who are playable on offense. Our better higher motor defenders seem unplayable.

 

[SirStefan32]

Good game. They exploded in the third quarter, and held their own in the fourth, finally. Still seeing some silly turnovers in the fourth, but it was much better than in the past fourth quarters. Also, it's really nice to see Nurkic play like Shaq. I hope he can continue to do this.