Suns @ Warriors 3-12-16

[SirStefan32]

That was a good game. Len lost his rhythm when he got that fifth foul and never recovered. Booker was running out of gas which affected his shot, nobody stepped up off the bench, but we still managed to hang in there until the last few minutes. Let's not forget that we are missing two big-time scorers. This team could be scary next year.

 

[Catlover]

Hope we don't bring Teletovic back, 1-trick pony and a total sieve on defense.

I hope we bring Teletovic back as long as it's a reasonable contract. He's hardly a 1-trick pony but even if that were true, his trick is what the game is all about. Having someone like him coming off the bench is a necessity in today's game.

 

[AfroSuns]

Great Effort by the Suns!

 

[SirStefan32]

I hope we bring Teletovic back as long as it's a reasonable contract. He's hardly a 1-trick pony but even if that were true, his trick is what the game is all about. Having someone like him coming off the bench is a necessity in today's game.

I agree. Mirza is a good role-player off the bench.

 

[Catlover]

The scary thing about our lottery position is that with quality officiating we could very well have won this game. But we're still probably safe because realistically, Knight might not play this well again this season.

 

[sunsfan88]

Okay, so we now have one game that shows Knight can be a good player in this league when he's playing next to decent players (as opposed to what he was surrounded by after Bledsoe first went down). I think that's all we need to see. If he'll take the backup spot, keep him. If not, trade him. Either way, sit him for the rest of the season. We don't need the wins.

Eh, he's had plenty of game short stints where had good games then reverted back to his old ways. Let's see if this was just on of those stints.

 

[nashman]

It's looking like the Suns are gonna finish strong and screw themselves. We don't need to win any games...zero! Stop screwing around Suns you've lost your way into a great pick if you don't screw it up! With what we've had to endure this season we deserve a good pick, so for god sakes stop trying to win games.

 

[sunsfan88]

I'm waiting for someone to lay out Curry one of these days, the guy has become so cocky.

If you are as good as Curry, then you can do whatever the hell you want.

I mean seriously, how many in the league do you see do this routinely? He doesn't wait for half a second to see if it goes through

https://vine.co/v/iwB0ltM96bI

 

[Catlover]

Eh, he's had plenty of game short stints where had good games then reverted back to his old ways. Let's see if this was just on of those stints.

You missed the point. I meant he's shown a little so now we can move him in the offseason if he's unwilling to play second fiddle to both Booker and Bledsoe. He'd played so poorly after Bledsoe went down that it might have been difficult to trade him if that was the last image the league had of him. Now we've got one game of proof that he's still capable of being the almost all star of last year. It's not really that simple but the main point was I don't want him playing us out of our draft position.

 

[sunsfan88]

You missed the point. I meant he's shown a little so now we can move him in the offseason if he's unwilling to play second fiddle to both Booker and Bledsoe. He'd played so poorly after Bledsoe went down that it might have been difficult to trade him if that was the last image the league had of him. Now we've got one game of proof that he's still capable of being the almost all star of last year. It's not really that simple but the main point was I don't want him playing us out of our draft position.

I don't think this one game will change his image all that much to other league managers. At the end of day, it's still one game. I hope you are right though.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Great game by the Suns. There will be some tough decisions to make next year when Bledsoe is healthy. Would be nice if someone could swallow their ego a bit, but that is highly unlikely. More bad chemistry or another trade could be on the horizon. And what happens if the BPA in the draft is another guard?

 

[devilalum]

Okay, so we now have one game that shows Knight can be a good player in this league when he's playing next to decent players (as opposed to what he was surrounded by after Bledsoe first went down). I think that's all we need to see. If he'll take the backup spot, keep him. If not, trade him. Either way, sit him for the rest of the season. We don't need the wins.

IMO him averaging about 20 a game the rest of the way might increase his trade value.

 

[Catlover]

Great game by the Suns. There will be some tough decisions to make next year when Bledsoe is healthy. Would be nice if someone could swallow their ego a bit, but that is highly unlikely. More bad chemistry or another trade could be on the horizon. And what happens if the BPA in the draft is another guard?

I'd guess it's really not a problem. BPA is such a soft target when you're talking about college to the NBA that you can pretty much grab any one of several players and still call it BPA. If they really drafted BPA it would almost always be an upperclassman.

Occasionally you have a Lebron James but most of the time in the NBA draft it just means who do you project will develop into the best player. In a room of several people you likely have several different candidates that are being touted as BPA. And if you have a guard that is unquestionably the best prospect, you take him no matter what your positional needs are because you always need a superstar.

 

[devilalum]

I'd like to bring Mirza back as a bench player whose shooting can spread the court. Also he plays hard.

I'm pretty sure Mirza's role was to spot up and shoot 3s when Bledsoe drove and kicked. He has had a few good games but he doesn't get a lot of wide open looks in the current situation.

 

[devilalum]

If you are as good as Curry, then you can do whatever the hell you want.

I mean seriously, how many in the league do you see do this routinely? He doesn't wait for half a second to see if it goes through

https://vine.co/v/iwB0ltM96bI

Would have been better if he didn't look back.

 

[leclerc]

Knight has to be the sixth man next year or be gone. I hope he gets dealt.

For the rest of the season I'd like to see Goodwin as the backup pg instead of playing Price. Better to keep developing a 22 year old talent than playing a proven 3rd string pg. Don't know what they're thinking...

I also hope they bring down Bookers playing time. No need to run him into the ground on a lost season.

Eye on the #3 spot.

 

[devilalum]

Knight has to be the sixth man next year or be gone. I hope he gets dealt.

For the rest of the season I'd like to see Goodwin as the backup pg instead of playing Price. Better to keep developing a 22 year old talent than playing a proven 3rd string pg. Don't know what they're thinking...

I also hope they bring down Bookers playing time. No need to run him into the ground on a lost season.

Eye on the #3 spot.

Guards that can't shoot are useless. (Unless you're Jason Kidd)

 

[sunsfan88]

Guards that can't shoot are useless. (Unless you're Jason Kidd)

This isn't really true. None of Wade, DeRozan, Westbrook, Wall etc can shoot and yet their not deemed useless. On a lesser scale, guys like Ish Smith, MCW, Rondo, Payton etc can't shoot either and their deemed useless either. Not saying Goodwin is as good as any of these guys cause he's not, and these players are skilled at other parts of the game to make up for their lack of shooting. Goodwin is still only 21 years old, we can't say he's gonna be useless because he can't shoot. He can make a difference if he gets better in other parts of the game.

 

[Phrazbit]

This isn't really true. None of Wade, DeRozan, Westbrook, Wall etc can shoot and yet their not deemed useless. On a lesser scale, guys like Ish Smith, MCW, Rondo, Payton etc can't shoot either and their deemed useless either. Not saying Goodwin is as good as any of these guys cause he's not, and these players are skilled at other parts of the game to make up for their lack of shooting. Goodwin is still only 21 years old, we can't say he's gonna be useless because he can't shoot. He can make a difference if he gets better in other parts of the game.

Those guys are not good from distance, but many of them excel at and around the basket. Goodwin meanwhile is well below the league average from every distance.

He also can't pass or defend.

Furthermore, IMO the biggest reason for Booker's recent resurgence after a rough February is because Goodwin moved back to the bench and Booker spends less time with him.

 

[SirStefan32]

I am not a huge Goodwin fan, but that's a bit harsh. In my opinion, to be successful as a role-player, one must be VERY good at one thing, whether it's shooting, defending, driving to the hoop, rebounding, etc. Archie is very good at getting to the hoop, which should keep him in the league as a deep-bench player for a number of years.

I would rather give Bogdanovic a shot, but saying that Goodwin is useless is just silly.

 

[Catlover]

Those guys are not good from distance, but many of them excel at and around the basket. Goodwin meanwhile is well below the league average from every distance.

He also can't pass or defend.

Furthermore, IMO the biggest reason for Booker's recent resurgence after a rough February is because Goodwin moved back to the bench and Booker spends less time with him.

I don't know if it was a factor or if it's just coincidence. The timing of Booker's resurgence is certainly suspicious but it might also have been him adjusting to the defensive attention he's now getting or maybe him finding a second wind after hitting the rookie wall? But yes, it could well have been moving Goodwin to the bench.

 

[sunsfan88]

I am not a huge Goodwin fan, but that's a bit harsh. In my opinion, to be successful as a role-player, one must be VERY good at one thing, whether it's shooting, defending, driving to the hoop, rebounding, etc. Archie is very good at getting to the hoop, which should keep him in the league as a deep-bench player for a number of years.
I would rather give Bogdanovic a shot, but saying that Goodwin is useless is just silly.

Yup and that's at the very least. Like I said before, he's barely 21 so he's only likely to improve from here on out. If he could work on his defense and work on his shot some more then he can have a Kent Bazemore type role in the league.

 

[sunsfan88]

I don't know if it was a factor or if it's just coincidence. The timing of Booker's resurgence is certainly suspicious but it might also have been him adjusting to the defensive attention he's now getting or maybe him finding a second wind after hitting the rookie wall? But yes, it could well have been moving Goodwin to the bench.

That wouldn't be true because Booker played very well with Goodwin before he went on that slump in February. I even remember saying during the slump that the Suns should put Goodwin back as starter over Price because Booker played better with Goodwin than he did Price.

For most of Booker's slump, he was playing with Price as starting, not Goodwin who was coming off the bench already.

 

[BC867]

Knight has to be the sixth man next year or be gone. I hope he gets dealt.

Twice during Knight's hot spell during the game, EJ referred to him as streaky.

Much better for a sixth man. Not good at all for a Point Guard whose play affects the rest of the guys on the court.

 

[leclerc]

Well if we keep both Bledsoe and Knight I'm afraid we'll see Knight as the pg because chances are Bledsoe will miss games. Do we really want Knight at pg? I don't. There must be a decent _rotation_ pg to be found with picks or by trading Knight & others.