Thunder @ Suns 3-3-17

[Mainstreet]

You knew what I meant. If the Suns purpose these remaining games is to play the youth and also get in position to have a top pick they have no reason to play Bled to close games. Kind of defeats the purpose dont you think? It does to me.

I was just answering your question during the heat of the game. No hidden motives for me. I don't think lose all the time.

 

[Mainstreet]

Well Mainstreet is a little bit on the fence. He wants the suns to win..But he doesn't mind if they lose...

Mainstreet are you a politician? Hehe

No, I'm not a politician. However, I can't root against the team when they are playing their heart out to win. Watson played the bench tonight. It was for the Thunder to win.

 

[pokerface]

No, I'm not a politician. However, I can't root against the team when they are playing their heart out to win. Watson played the bench tonight. It was for the Thunder to win.

Hey I don't fault you for that. Ive said it's hard for me to root against the suns when they play hard like they do.

Tanking is a messy business.. not everyone has the stomach for it!

 

[AzStevenCal]

No, I'm not a politician. However, I can't root against the team when they are playing their heart out to win. Watson played the bench tonight. It was for the Thunder to win.

I would have been fine with a loss, I know it's likely the best for us in the long run. However, I loved the fact we won tonight.

I think this win will pay dividends in many ways including the way the Suns are presented to the non-local public. Barkley got a chance to see the young guys in action and it will be a lot harder for him to sit in that TNT studio and make fun of this organization after watching and being a part of tonight. And we were never going to hold off the Lakers for that 2nd spot anyway so no real damage done. Yet.

 

[GatorAZ]

I don't mind a good team once a month. Let's get back to business though.

 

[pokerface]

Thanks for the sarcastic response.

Ya know... Mainstreet starts this thread and posts what's going on and is pleasent 99.9% of the time. He should be given a lot or leeway and benefit of the doubt for sure. If he stopped posting this board would go into the abyss!

This board is too serious in general IMO.

 

[Mainstreet]

I would have been fine with a loss, I know it's likely the best for us in the long run. However, I loved the fact we won tonight.

I think this win will pay dividends in many ways including the way the Suns are presented to the non-local public. Barkley got a chance to see the young guys in action and it will be a lot harder for him to sit in that TNT studio and make fun of this organization after watching and being a part of tonight. And we were never going to hold off the Lakers for that 2nd spot anyway so no real damage done. Yet.

I certainly thought the Suns would lose tonight and was simply prepared to watch the young players. However, when the bench brought them back into the game, I'm not going to root against them especially since I don't have control of the game anyway.

I agree, I think this game will pay dividends. Also the Suns players have not bought into a losing mentality and perhaps Watson's coaching is starting to work. When Derrick Jones Jr. stood up to Westbrook with a bloodied lip and refused to leave the game, this showed me something. Also, I think it showed his teammates something as well.

 

[pokerface]

I would have been fine with a loss, I know it's likely the best for us in the long run. However, I loved the fact we won tonight.

I think this win will pay dividends in many ways including the way the Suns are presented to the non-local public. Barkley got a chance to see the young guys in action and it will be a lot harder for him to sit in that TNT studio and make fun of this organization after watching and being a part of tonight. And we were never going to hold off the Lakers for that 2nd spot anyway so no real damage done. Yet.

Yeah since Orlando and Philly won and it was Al McCoy night I'm not too miffed on it.

The Suns Lakers game however....Don't get me going!

 

[Hoop Head]

I understand the philosophy of losing for a better lottery pick but what we may be watching over the last number of games is a head coach being developed in Earl Watson.

Watching Ulis, Jones Jr. and Alan Williams going full blast at the Thunder says something. The Suns have developed an attitude for better or worse, they are going to be in your face and not back down. Also, this happened while the Suns were playing their bench.

I think this is spot on. Watson is still a very young HC and it started in February but has kicked into high gear as far as playing the youngsters and sitting the vets, if they're not contributing like Knight. I imagine he relaxed and is now comfortable finding his groove now that winning isn't a major priority from the front office, neither is showcasing anyone like Tucker, Chandler, or Knight for a trade.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't watch SportsCenter very often anymore but I'll sometimes check it out after a Suns win to see what kind of coverage they give us. Tonight's effort might have been their most embarrassing. You wouldn't even know we were involved in the game, every clip (and there was something like a dozen of them) was Thunder oriented. I understand highlighting Westbrook but that was ridiculous.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think this is true but IT is a more polished player. Ulis is a rookie.

I wasn't comparing IT now, I was comparing IT as a rookie to Ulis now.

IT even as a rookie was a knock down shooter, he shot 38% from 3 while taking 3.5 per game. Ulis as a rookie averages 33% from 3 while taking .5 per game.

Now obviously IT got to play a lot more than Ulis did but even coming out of the draft, IT was actually known for his jumper while Ulis coming out of the draft was not known for his jumper.

 

[sunsfan88]

When the Lakers traded Lou Williams that completed the transaction.

I thought McD was attempting to counter this by trading away Tucker, the only half decent defender on the entire Suns roster.

 

[sunsfan88]

I don't watch SportsCenter very often anymore but I'll sometimes check it out after a Suns win to see what kind of coverage they give us. Tonight's effort might have been their most embarrassing. You wouldn't even know we were involved in the game, every clip (and there was something like a dozen of them) was Thunder oriented. I understand highlighting Westbrook but that was ridiculous.

Suns are a small market team without any superstars. They could beat the Warriors by 20 and they would probably only show Curry and Klay's misses and talk about how they struggled.

Westbrook is probably the 3rd or 4th most polarizing athlete in professional sports today so I can understand why they would only want to talk about him. I don't think most non Suns fans who are just casual sports fans are gonna know anyone on the Suns roster who played tonight besides Bledsoe and maybe Booker.

I'm fine with it. When we had Steve Nash during the SSOL era, we had plenty of spotlight on all national television channels and they gave Nash and Amare plenty of love and attention. It's not biased against the Suns, it's just biased against bad teams in small markets without any established stars.

 

[SweetD]

I have been enjoying watching these games lately. The team is learning how to play as a team and less one on one ball. Jones Jr is looking like a Terrance Ross type player that could develop as a nice player off the bench. The Suns need to keep Warren around he is going to be a great 3-4 option or 6th man ala AC Green, the dude has an ability to make almost every shot.

Ulis and AI again show they are solid pieces to the puzzle. Len again is showing less and less of a fit for this team. Would have loved to see Bender playing with this group to see if might be the missing piece at C.

 

[Mainstreet]

I thought McD was attempting to counter this by trading away Tucker, the only half decent defender on the entire Suns roster.

I agree, McDonough was trying to help counter the Lakers move but (IMO) Lou Williams was more important to the Lakers than Tucker was to the Suns especially since he Suns committed to the youth movement after the trade deadline.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Dudley with a killer 3 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Mr. Dudley you are proving me wrong.

It's just one game, he's had a couple of other good ones this season so I wouldn't take too much stock in it. However, you can see him starting to trim down and firm up. If he gets in as good of shape as he was when we signed him, he could really help the young guys over the next few years.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree, McDonough was trying to help counter the Lakers move but (IMO) Lou Williams was more important to the Lakers than Tucker was to the Suns especially since he Suns committed to the youth movement after the trade deadline.

Yeah, Williams was easily their most important player whereas Tucker hurt us almost as much as he helped us. But again, I blame that on coaching far more than PJ, it's not his fault that they kept overusing him.

 

[Mainstreet]

I wasn't comparing IT now, I was comparing IT as a rookie to Ulis now.

IT even as a rookie was a knock down shooter, he shot 38% from 3 while taking 3.5 per game. Ulis as a rookie averages 33% from 3 while taking .5 per game.

Now obviously IT got to play a lot more than Ulis did but even coming out of the draft, IT was actually known for his jumper while Ulis coming out of the draft was not known for his jumper.

You are right the comparison does not hold up except for perhaps their height, speed and the ability to run a team. IT is the better shooter and he has more ability to create his own shot. I'm hoping where the comparison does hold up is that Ulis will be a good player in a small package like IT.

 

[Mainstreet]

It's just one game, he's had a couple of other good ones this season so I wouldn't take too much stock in it. However, you can see him starting to trim down and firm up. If he gets in as good of shape as he was when we signed him, he could really help the young guys over the next few years.

I had to give Dudley some love because I had been critical of him. I want to be fair. He played well last night.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah, Williams was easily their most important player whereas Tucker hurt us almost as much as he helped us. But again, I blame that on coaching far more than PJ, it's not his fault that they kept overusing him.

I was kind of thinking the same thing about Barbosa last night akin to Tucker. He is a good complimentary player that made a good team better like GS. I'm thinking Tucker will do the same thing for the Raptors. Williams fits perfectly for the Rockets. Tucker is a win now player whereas the Suns are not in this mold. I can see where a coach could lean too much on a player like Tucker to remedy a weak defense.

 

[Ronin]

Doug Haller‏ @DougHaller
Pre-AS break: Suns' 18.6 assists per game tied for last in NBA. Post-break: With Ulis running 2nd unit, they average 26.6, which ranks 3rd.

 

[SirStefan32]

Doug Haller‏ @DougHaller
Pre-AS break: Suns' 18.6 assists per game tied for last in NBA. Post-break: With Ulis running 2nd unit, they average 26.6, which ranks 3rd.

Offense moves much better when Ulis is on the floor. That was always my biggest frustration with Bledsoe and Knight. Ball doesn't stick nearly as much, and the offense is just a lot more fluid. When basketball moves around, good things happen.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Offense moves much better when Ulis is on the floor. That was always my biggest frustration with Bledsoe and Knight. Ball doesn't stick nearly as much, and the offense is just a lot more fluid. When basketball moves around, good things happen.

It definitely moves better with Ulis out there but the absence of Knight has a lot to do with it too. Plus, there is just a better offensive flow without Tucker and Chandler in the lineup. It's very tough to create offense with Chandler clogging the lane and neither player a true threat to score. Len clogs the paint too but Williams gives us something we didn't have with the Tyson and Alex combo.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It definitely moves better with Ulis out there but the absence of Knight has a lot to do with it too. Plus, there is just a better offensive flow without Tucker and Chandler in the lineup. It's very tough to create offense with Chandler clogging the lane and neither player a true threat to score. Len clogs the paint too but Williams gives us something we didn't have with the Tyson and Alex combo.

The absence of Tucker and Knight and the addition of Ulis is key. But Williams' ability to score around the rim creates another passing target. Sauce is better at it than Chandler. I love how Sauce just moves immediately to his shot or the pass.