Suns@Wizards

[Mainstreet]

Hornacek is not this stupid. Something is up. When they went with the "no scoring but Knight" lineup, I told my kids it was over. They would lose again in the same fashion as last night.
And Bledsoe is not having an all-star year. Assist to TO is terrible for him, and Knights isn't much better.

I certainly hope so. If the Suns keep losing they will play themselves out of the playoff race. This is the Suns 7th loss in the last 8 games. The Suns play Memphis and Chicago next.

 

[JS22]

*Needs a 3 to tie.

*Doesn't have Booker, Leuer, Teletovic, or hell even Warren in the game.

*Designs a play for Tucker in the post.

*Tucker travels.

I give up.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

It has been so long since I've seen anything even vaguely resembling evidence that horny is a competent coach that what glimmers remain must surely be my faulty memory. He sucks. This team is a disappointment. Again.

 

[Phrazbit]

Two years ago I had high hopes on McDonough. Now I am starting to believe he is just another below average GM. I hate the fact that the Suns of the last five years are so content with mediocrity.

I guess people don't get pissed off much with the Cardinals doing so well..

I have no problem with McDonough, IMO he has done a very good job, especially considering the shape the team was in when he took the job.

Hornacek though... these rotations are horrible.

 

[slinslin]

Hornacek is not this stupid. Something is up. When they went with the "no scoring but Knight" lineup, I told my kids it was over. They would lose again in the same fashion as last night.
And Bledsoe is not having an all-star year. Assist to TO is terrible for him, and Knights isn't much better.

Of course he is , Assist to Turnover is the only area where he is not putting up elite numbers.

Overall his numbers are stellar. He is #20 in PER. Curry, Westbrook, Harden, Lowry and Paul are the only guards ahead of him.

 

[hcsilla]

Hornacek just SUCKS. Every game he is playing scrubs in the 4th quarter and loses the lead.

Price is a freaking -12 this game and Hornacek kept playing him.

Why in the world would he play small ball against a **** small ball team like the Wizards and then try to go to Tucker in the post. Ridiculous.

Len and Leuer had solid games in the first half and basically did not play in the 2nd half.

Hornacek is a joke. What is his game plan? Where is his strategy?

Agreed.

Additionally, the Suns didn't play any defense in the whole game. Sessions scored at least 10 points by very simple drives, couldn't stop Beal, Wall, Neal, not even Temple. Not having any players on the floor even with minimal rim protecting abilities did not help either.

Stupid mistake after stupid mistake, Morris and Knight are the leaders in this category. The terribly undersized Wizards outrebounded completely the Suns.

I just can not describe how embarassing that loss was.

 

[JS22]

Suns need to bring in McD's Boston buddy Thibs ASAP.

Hell, bring EJ out of the booth. He seems pretty frustrated with Hornacek's rotations but has to contain himself behind the mic.

Anything is better at this point.

 

[95pro]

Suns need to bring in McD's Boston buddy Thibs ASAP.

Hell, bring EJ out of the booth. He seems pretty frustrated with Hornacek's rotations but has to contain himself behind the mic.

Anything is better at this point.

Chambers too. He points out the rotations and maybe who should be out there. But holds back before he goes on a rant.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Suns need to bring in McD's Boston buddy Thibs ASAP.

Hell, bring EJ out of the booth. He seems pretty frustrated with Hornacek's rotations but has to contain himself behind the mic.

Anything is better at this point.

A lot of "Suns" media people seem pretty frustrated with the direction of this team but have to refrain in saying anything negative. Tim kempton wouldnt say $h!# if he had a mouthful. And I wish when Horny's on his 98.7 show he'd be interviewed by Gambo and not those softballers Doug & Wolf.

 

[Catlover]

The rotations are so obviously flawed that I can't help but believe that Jeff has a mandate beyond just winning. All we can do know is hope that December 15th tells us a little about why we're doing what we're doing. Why did we extend Goodwin and then forget about him? Why do we continue to play Markieff even though he has clearly forgotten how to play basketball? Why aren't our shooters out there when we need shooters?

 

[Phrazbit]

The rotations are so obviously flawed that I can't help but believe that Jeff has a mandate beyond just winning. All we can do know is hope that December 15th tells us a little about why we're doing what we're doing. Why did we extend Goodwin and then forget about him? Why do we continue to play Markieff even though he has clearly forgotten how to play basketball? Why aren't our shooters out there when we need shooters?

I can see Markieff's PT being a mandate from the front office but I doubt he has to use him in the clutch, but the Tucker minutes... I don't see any reason why the organization would require Horny to feature Tucker. He is a reserve quality player on a reserve contract who never has had or will have high trade value but he is currently getting insane playing time despite being absolutely wretched.

 

[BC867]

I can see Markieff's PT being a mandate from the front office but I doubt he has to use him in the clutch, but the Tucker minutes... I don't see any reason why the organization would require Horny to feature Tucker. He is a reserve quality player on a reserve contract who never has had or will have high trade value but he is currently getting insane playing time despite being absolutely wretched.

Agree! I think Jeffy's problem . . . . . . is Jeffy.

As an NBA head coach competing with the best, he is in over his head.

Even the wishy-washy way he second guessed his own coaching in the most recent game does not build confidence in his potential.

He has become his own worst detractor. Like hoping the Front Office will hear his cries for relief.

When I was a young Operations manager, I was very much aware of the Peter Principle. "In a hierarchy, every employee tends to reach his level of incompetence."

It's a tough situation. But the Front Office needs to react.

 

[Mainstreet]

The rotations are so obviously flawed that I can't help but believe that Jeff has a mandate beyond just winning. All we can do know is hope that December 15th tells us a little about why we're doing what we're doing. Why did we extend Goodwin and then forget about him? Why do we continue to play Markieff even though he has clearly forgotten how to play basketball? Why aren't our shooters out there when we need shooters?

All good points. Maybe December 15th tells us something. However, the Morris twins court case is still pending which could be a factor. I don't think a trade will cure the rotation problems unless both Markieff and Tucker are both traded. Didn't the Suns do this type trade last season? It's hard for me to see Hornacek righting the ship unless he is being told specifically how to coach which I doubt unless it pertains to Markieff.

 

[bwgood77]

The rotations are so obviously flawed that I can't help but believe that Jeff has a mandate beyond just winning. All we can do know is hope that December 15th tells us a little about why we're doing what we're doing. Why did we extend Goodwin and then forget about him? Why do we continue to play Markieff even though he has clearly forgotten how to play basketball? Why aren't our shooters out there when we need shooters?

I feel he has that mandate too and it puts him in an extremely bad situation. The FO has really seemed to put him in a bad situation each of the last two years, creating situations that leave players disgruntled, and then probably telling him to play guys he wants to trade.

That being said, I don't really understand why Ronnie Price as in at the end last night. I wish he would just trust Booker down the stretch (try it once!). And Kieff doesn't need to be in at the even if there are demands to play him.

I really wish Hornacek would be given the chance to coach a squad without Markieff and Tucker...I don't mind Tucker because I think he mostly plays hard, but sometimes it seems he gets way too many minutes. In the Pistons game it made a little sense, since he was the only one capable of blocking out Drummond.

But Hornacek needs a complete McD squad...no old players that were inherited by McD and see how he can do with no FO mandates. If you are not trying to create trade value for players, you can focus on doing the right things to win.

I did expect us to go 2-4 on this road trip, and had I just looked at final box scores, I would actually have been surprised we were in every game with Tyson, and beat Toronto. But watching the last three and how everything played out, it certainly hurts.

 

[Catlover]

I feel he has that mandate too and it puts him in an extremely bad situation. The FO has really seemed to put him in a bad situation each of the last two years, creating situations that leave players disgruntled, and then probably telling him to play guys he wants to trade.

That being said, I don't really understand why Ronnie Price as in at the end last night. I wish he would just trust Booker down the stretch (try it once!). And Kieff doesn't need to be in at the even if there are demands to play him.

I really wish Hornacek would be given the chance to coach a squad without Markieff and Tucker...I don't mind Tucker because I think he mostly plays hard, but sometimes it seems he gets way too many minutes. In the Pistons game it made a little sense, since he was the only one capable of blocking out Drummond.

But Hornacek needs a complete McD squad...no old players that were inherited by McD and see how he can do with no FO mandates. If you are not trying to create trade value for players, you can focus on doing the right things to win.

I did expect us to go 2-4 on this road trip, and had I just looked at final box scores, I would actually have been surprised we were in every game with Tyson, and beat Toronto. But watching the last three and how everything played out, it certainly hurts.

I agree with pretty much everything you've said here. I know Price can help us for short stretches but I don't like him out there at the end of games either. He defends well but once the other team adjusts to his presence he's mostly just a liability.

I've been impressed with how competitive we've been this season considering how poorly our starting frontcourt has played. But I'm even more dismayed by how poorly we've closed out games and I don't see a solution on the horizon.

I'd play Booker instead of Price or Tucker down the stretch even though I doubt it will make us better in the short run. He's so easy to bait and he's so easy to bully right now. But he's not like Goodwin in his rookie year, he already understands how to play basketball. He just needs to adapt to the NBA game and that will only happen with court time (and some physical growth).

 

[Catlover]

All good points. Maybe December 15th tells us something. However, the Morris twins court case is still pending which could be a factor. I don't think a trade will cure the rotation problems unless both Markieff and Tucker are both traded. Didn't the Suns do this type trade last season? It's hard for me to see Hornacek righting the ship unless he is being told specifically how to coach which I doubt unless it pertains to Markieff.

I really don't know why it would be that big of a deal. From all accounts, Markieff was less involved in it than his evil twin and we were able to move that guy. And that was before we found out that he'd fathered a child with his cousin (who turned out to be his aunt) while he was still in a coma. Sorry, wrong soap opera. Anyway, if Marcus is movable it would seem the same should be true of Markieff. Especially since the asking price can't be much different after his horrendous play thus far.

I think Jeff can afford to have 1 Tucker type player in the starting lineup. With Chandler, we already have our allotted Tucker. Adding the original Tucker and Markieff, who is now a non-defending version of Tucker, gives us 3 Tuckers in the starting lineup. One way or another, 2 of them have to come out of the starting lineup.

 

[Mainstreet]

I really don't know why it would be that big of a deal. From all accounts, Markieff was less involved in it than his evil twin and we were able to move that guy. And that was before we found out that he'd fathered a child with his cousin (who turned out to be his aunt) while he was still in a coma. Sorry, wrong soap opera. Anyway, if Marcus is movable it would seem the same should be true of Markieff. Especially since the asking price can't be much different after his horrendous play thus far.

I think Jeff can afford to have 1 Tucker type player in the starting lineup. With Chandler, we already have our allotted Tucker. Adding the original Tucker and Markieff, who is now a non-defending version of Tucker, gives us 3 Tuckers in the starting lineup. One way or another, 2 of them have to come out of the starting lineup.

A second round pick? I think the Suns will get more in a trade. They could have this right now.

I agree the Suns need a stronger starting lineup.

 

[Catlover]

A second round pick? I think the Suns will get more in a trade. They could have this right now.

I agree the Suns need a stronger starting lineup.

This year I wouldn't even give up a 2nd round pick for Markieff Morris. Would you? His PER is below 10, although, on the plus side at least he beats out Tucker by more than a full point.

I could see Detroit thinking he might be worth pursuing. But anyone else would have to worry that he'd never play to his potential without his brother. I was hoping that we were waiting until the middle of the month to swap Markieff and Goodwin (plus maybe Tucker and an unwanted Detroit player) for Stanley Johnson and Ersan.

 

[hcsilla]

I was hoping that we were waiting until the middle of the month to swap Markieff and Goodwin (plus maybe Tucker and an unwanted Detroit player) for Stanley Johnson and Ersan.

That was my dream scenario as well, but every second that passed by this season the probability of this trade happening decreased and it was quite low even at the start.

 

[Catlover]

That was my dream scenario as well, but every second that passed by this season the probability of this trade happening decreased and it was quite low even at the start.

Probably true.