Suns @ Trail Blazers Friday game thread 10-21-2022

[mjb21aztd]

Was out l n couldn't watch gm..... but kind of glad missed ending

Well can't win every close gm good effort by book from what I saw on boxscore

but man Lillard is a special player I find it awesome he stuck with Portland shows a ton of leadership

Hope suns outcome better next gm fingers crossed.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I mean we didn’t look good the last month of last season. He was up and down in the playoffs and then he fell off a cliff last year.

He made some very alarming comments last year during that Mavs series about it not being life and death it’s just basketball

Now a guy who’s always taken his career as serious as anyone we’ve ever seen is 37 and showed up in probably the worst shape of his career. That’s not alarming to you guys? 37 year olds shouldn’t be trying to play themselves into shape.

I know it’s hard but it really looks like the writing is on the wall.

Actually I've seen him come to camp in that shape before, just not since he changed his diet. But yeah, I'm concerned about him and I was much of last year too. If it hadn't been for his frequent late game heroics I'd have figured we were seeing the last decent season from CP. And I agree, he might be on a slippery decline slope, I'm just not writing him off quite yet.

As for his comments, I'm hoping they were the result of the frustration he was feeling as a result of once again being injured or ill when it mattered most. I mean, what do you say in his situation that will be taken well by the fans short of coming clean about his health? And we know he's not going to do that. Anyway, I think it's a little bit like the fox who, having realized the grapes were out of his reach, decides they must be sour anyway. He wants to win so badly that the only way he can deal with it is to downplay the importance of winning.

 

[GatorAZ]

I texted my brother the same thing. I was like damn Paul looks fat af.

He’s been hefty since leaving LA. I bet he’s one of those vegans who eats a lot of processed crap that qualifies as “plant based”. Just my 2¢

 

[Finito]

Yup nothing wrong with Paul

Nothing to see here.

 

[Superbone]

Can’t blame me.. I wasn’t watching the game..

Damn you! We would have won if you had watched.

 

[Covert Rain]

It kinda was on booker, he had at least two game winning shot attempts he missed

No it wasn't. If you team does the job all game long you don't have to rely ON ANYBODY to come to the rescue.

Maybe I'm the only one but I don't think Chris Paul looks done.

He had 10 points on 5-11 shooting, 4 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 steals. Those are solid numbers.

IMO, the Suns didn't defer to him enough. However, spreading the play making around was the plan this season.

My eyes look towards the free throw disparity (Suns 15-21) and Trail Blazers (31-36).

I also look at obvious weaknesses. The Suns didn't fix the backup point guard position, Washington has potential, but Monty likely won't play him. The lack of depth at power forward is even more obvious.

CP3 was our clutch play leader all season long last season. You can limit his minutes elsewhere. Why bother having CP3 on your team if you are going to limit his minutes so much, he isn't effective?

 

[Mainstreet]

So your saying the Suns are intentionally taking the ball out of Paul’s hands at the end of the game?

Riiiiight

The last 5 minutes should be the only time you need him. It should be the opposite of what your saying.

I'm saying the Suns are trying to spread out the ball handling chores so the Suns are not so dependent on Paul in the playoffs.

It comes at a cost.

 

[1tinsoldier]

interesting:

if Payne gave us 10 points at 46%, 12 assists, 5 steals, and sound decision making
wouldn't most be applauding Payne for giving us "just what we need" this season?
but instead, i'm hearing a lot of Chris Paul is "done"
(which people have been saying for 5 years now)

and despite the bias of that i'm not hearing any "you're just a Chris Paul hater" razzing

 

[Covert Rain]

interesting:

if Payne gave us 10 points at 46%, 12 assists, 5 steals, and sound decision making
wouldn't most be applauding Payne for giving us "just what we need" this season?
but instead, i'm hearing a lot of Chris Paul is "done"
(which people have been saying for 5 years now)

and despite the bias of that i'm not hearing any "you're just a Chris Paul hater" razzing

First off Payne is not and has never been the leader that Paul is. The expectations of one player are not even comparable to the other. Not a very good comparison.

 

[Finito]

interesting:

if Payne gave us 10 points at 46%, 12 assists, 5 steals, and sound decision making
wouldn't most be applauding Payne for giving us "just what we need" this season?
but instead, i'm hearing a lot of Chris Paul is "done"
(which people have been saying for 5 years now)

and despite the bias of that i'm not hearing any "you're just a Chris Paul hater" razzing

Oh those two are on completely different talent levels and held to very very different standards.

 

[1tinsoldier]

yes, that's exactly my point, gentlemen

Paul is being criticized based on different "expectations" and "standards" -- which is fair as an evaluation of him from the career perspective, but it's a distortion of his usefulness to the Suns

someone said the loss was all about Paul
several said he's done and several proposed trading him

performance wise (with the risk assessment aside)
2 games in, there's no reason to jump to any conclusion but that he's still the best man for the job this season

we all want Paul playing less minutes and not pushing too hard
so, last night should be par for the course for him
but there's surely reason for concern about us getting enough from the point guard position for 48 minutes if we want to get back to the Finals

 

[Sparky16]

I mean we didn’t look good the last month of last season. He was up and down in the playoffs and then he fell off a cliff last year.

He made some very alarming comments last year during that Mavs series about it not being life and death it’s just basketball

Now a guy who’s always taken his career as serious as anyone we’ve ever seen is 37 and showed up in probably the worst shape of his career. That’s not alarming to you guys? 37 year olds shouldn’t be trying to play themselves into shape.

I know it’s hard but it really looks like the writing is on the wall.

37 years olds dont ever play themselves into shape... he maybe just cashing a check now.

 

[Carolinacacti]

I'm saying the Suns are trying to spread out the ball handling chores so the Suns are not so dependent on Paul in the playoffs.

It comes at a cost.

THIS people

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm saying the Suns are trying to spread out the ball handling chores so the Suns are not so dependent on Paul in the playoffs.

It comes at a cost.

Except, that wasn’t really the case at the end of the games as far as I watched. They weren’t giving the ball to Bridges and try to let him cook, or go down to Ayton on the block or a face up. It was just Booker ball, which we’ve already seen for a couple years at the end of quarters and games.

 

[Mainstreet]

Except, that wasn’t really the case at the end of the games as far as I watched. They weren’t giving the ball to Bridges and try to let him cook, or go down to Ayton on the block or a face up. It was just Booker ball, which we’ve already seen for a couple years at the end of quarters and games.

This is the storyline I have read coming into the season.

However, Paul wasn't getting his usual opportunities, especially in overtime. There needs to be a compromise because stat wise, Paul had a solid game. His shooting is a bit off early.