What McD is looking for in player

[AzStevenCal]

I'm not counting much on Tolliver. I think we start the season with Warren backing up Tucker and Marcus backing up Markieff. I don't think we'll see the little Morris play much small forward at all this season unless Warren struggles. I think if Tolliver starts seeing major minutes it will be a sign that either Tucker can no longer hit that corner 3 or the twins have failed to adjust to their new roles. If the twins fail we're in trouble and we're going to see a lot of that small ball that so many people love here. <sarcasm>

Steve

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm not counting much on Tolliver. I think we start the season with Warren backing up Tucker and Marcus backing up Markieff. I don't think we'll see the little Morris play much small forward at all this season unless Warren struggles. I think if Tolliver starts seeing major minutes it will be a sign that either Tucker can no longer hit that corner 3 or the twins have failed to adjust to their new roles. If the twins fail we're in trouble and we're going to see a lot of that small ball that so many people love here. <sarcasm>

Steve

If the Suns centers do not impress such as Plumlee going to the bench early and Len still feeling his way (or injured), I can see Markieff getting time again at center and Tolliver getting more minutes than expected at PF (no sarcasm).

 

[AzStevenCal]

If the Suns centers do not impress such as Plumlee going to the bench early and Len still feeling his way (or injured), I can see Markieff getting time again at center and Tolliver getting more minutes than expected at PF (no sarcasm).

I can see this happening too. As for the sarcasm, I just meant the idea that people loved small ball. We both know that it was hated by several posters.

Steve

 

[Covert Rain]

If the Suns centers do not impress such as Plumlee going to the bench early and Len still feeling his way (or injured), I can see Markieff getting time again at center and Tolliver getting more minutes than expected at PF (no sarcasm).

Let's hope we see growth at the position.

 

[Mainstreet]

Let's hope we see growth at the position.

So we have another happy customer of small ball (sarcasm).

 

[Mainstreet]

I can see this happening too. As for the sarcasm, I just meant the idea that people loved small ball. We both know that it was hated by several posters.

Steve

I think I see one now and then.

 

[BC867]

So we have another happy customer of small ball (sarcasm).

As the season wears on, refs don't like it in the paint either.

 

[3rdside]

you keep repeating this, but it isn't true. Just because the guy is 6'8" tall doesn't mean he is undersized for power forward. His standing reach at the time he was drafted was 8'11.5", and he weighed 242 pounds. I'd be shocked if that isn't well above the league average for power forwards. His natural position is power forward, and my guess is that his rebounding numbers will go up as he gets back to that position.

Was going to post the exact same thing.

Funny story - I stood next to Blake griffin the other day (at a night club in Hvar, Croatia) and my friend asked on my behalf (I wouldn't have bothered personally) if we could get a photo together..I'm 6'6" (without shoes so I guess that makes me 6'7.5" with shoes, or 6'8" if we're rounding) and we were standing on a very small slope with me on the higher side of it. I said as a joke - check it out, I'm taller than Blake griffin! He didn't like the comment (sort of seriously funnily enough) and made me change places with him before the photo could be taken.

In other words - he's no where near 6'10". If I had to guess I'd say he's 6'8" absolute max (without shoes) but far, far more like 6'7".

Funniest part about the night? I kept getting mistaken for an nba player - Matt Barnes and deandre Jordan were there also - and at one point a bar attendant came up to me and said: excuse me sir your bottle of tequila is waiting for you in the VIP area. So I go over to the VIP area with a couple of friends trying to capitalise (feeling a a bit stupid thinking there's no way I can pull this off) and who do I see? Blake griffin, with a cigarette in one hand and a euro50 note in the other trying to bribe the door guy to let him in.

Sensibility prevailed however as he got bailed in and I got told to take off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sunsfan88]

Was going to post the exact same thing.

Funny story - I stood next to Blake griffin the other day (at a night club in Hvar, Croatia) and my friend asked on my behalf (I wouldn't have bothered personally) if we could get a photo together..I'm 6'6" (without shoes so I guess that makes me 6'7.5" with shoes, or 6'8" if we're rounding) and we were standing on a very small slope with me on the higher side of it. I said as a joke - check it out, I'm taller than Blake griffin! He didn't like the comment (sort of seriously funnily enough) and made me change places with him before the photo could be taken.

In other words - he's no where near 6'10". If I had to guess I'd say he's 6'8" absolute max (without shoes) but far, far more like 6'7".

Funniest part about the night? I kept getting mistaken for an nba player - Matt Barnes and deandre Jordan were there also - and at one point a bar attendant came up to me and said: excuse me sir your bottle of tequila is waiting for you in the VIP area. So I go over to the VIP area with a couple of friends trying to capitalise (feeling a a bit stupid thinking there's no way I can pull this off) and who do I see? Blake griffin, with a cigarette in one hand and a euro50 note in the other trying to bribe the door guy to let him in.

Sensibility prevailed however as he got bailed in and I got told to take off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is a difference between Blake Griffin being undersized and Anthony Tolliver being undersized. Griffin has the athleticism to make up for his lack of height while Tolliver doesn't.

Griffin is 6'10 in shoes anyway so its a moot point. Tolliver is 6'8 in shoes. I think our rookie SF TJ Warren may even be taller than Tolliver.

 

[3rdside]

Griffin is 6'10 in shoes anyway so its a moot point.

If you say so

 

[Phoenix219]

I can see this happening too. As for the sarcasm, I just meant the idea that people loved small ball. We both know that it was hated by several posters.

Steve

I love small ball. Fast break, run n gun, 3 pointers, fluidity, teamwork, passing.... to me, thats all part of the Suns identity, and have been for 2 decades i've been watching. Thats what gets me going, the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the energy of it all...

*THAT* is how I want to see Phoenix win a championship... on those terms.

I like size and big guys, but only if they are talented, can move, and pass, and ignite the fast break. I'm not a fan of inherently smaller players, but I would not want to go for different sized and types of players if it meant losing our identity in the process.

 

[AzStevenCal]

There is a difference between Blake Griffin being undersized and Anthony Tolliver being undersized. Griffin has the athleticism to make up for his lack of height while Tolliver doesn't.

Griffin is 6'10 in shoes anyway so its a moot point. Tolliver is 6'8 in shoes. I think our rookie SF TJ Warren may even be taller than Tolliver.

Does he play in heels? Nobody plays in shoes that add 1.5 inches to their height. That's why so many people make fun of the "in shoes" measurement. Anyway, look at him on the court. There is no way he's 6'10 out there. But you're right, there's a big difference in the way those two guys play and Blake has the athleticism to play that position.

Steve

 

[AzStevenCal]

I love small ball. Fast break, run n gun, 3 pointers, fluidity, teamwork, passing.... to me, thats all part of the Suns identity, and have been for 2 decades i've been watching. Thats what gets me going, the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the energy of it all...

*THAT* is how I want to see Phoenix win a championship... on those terms.

I like size and big guys, but only if they are talented, can move, and pass, and ignite the fast break. I'm not a fan of inherently smaller players, but I would not want to go for different sized and types of players if it meant losing our identity in the process.

I love this too but I don't think you have to play small ball to do all of this. I'd just like to see a more well rounded team than we've typically been. We don't have to be a defensive juggernaut but I'd like to see us defend at least as well as we did in the early part of last season.

Steve

 

[3rdside]

Does he play in heels? Nobody plays in shoes that add 1.5 inches to their height.

Steve

It's the generally accepted way of measuring height in the NBA. If a guy is listed at 6'10" (e.g Blake Griffin) then you can assume he's 6'8" or 6'8.5" without shoes.

Only in Blake's case he's not even that; i'd heard rumblings his whole career he's been masking the truth, and now i know this for fact having seen it first hand.

 

[3rdside]

I love small ball. Fast break, run n gun, 3 pointers, fluidity, teamwork, passing.... to me, thats all part of the Suns identity, and have been for 2 decades i've been watching. Thats what gets me going, the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the energy of it all...

*THAT* is how I want to see Phoenix win a championship... on those terms.

I like size and big guys, but only if they are talented, can move, and pass, and ignite the fast break. I'm not a fan of inherently smaller players, but I would not want to go for different sized and types of players if it meant losing our identity in the process.

Big time - it's in our DNA. By the time the league wakes up and realises it's the best way to play and watch (which they are starting to), we'll be in a great position to capitalise (there's that word again) as...it's in our DNA.

Beeg Jake, Shaq, Gortat - ugh, somebody shoot me.

 

[Phoenix219]

I'll agree on 2 of the 3.... Gortat was very solid for us, ran a great pick and roll with Nash... he wasn't just another stiff.

Honestly, we never even saw what Shaq could have done for us, since Porter (ew) took us away from our identity, and 3 games into Gentry's run, Amare hurt his eye. Those 3 days with Shaq playing OUR way, we looked *dominant.*

 

[3rdside]

I'll agree on 2 of the 3.... Gortat was very solid for us, ran a great pick and roll with Nash... he wasn't just another stiff.

Honestly, we never even saw what Shaq could have done for us, since Porter (ew) took us away from our identity, and 3 games into Gentry's run, Amare hurt his eye. Those 3 days with Shaq playing OUR way, we looked *dominant.*

I see your point and will add one more; that seems to be where this organisation has gone wrong. They do what they know best - run and gun - it doesn't materialise into a championship, they then think 'we've got to become more normal' with prototypical 1-5 positions and we turn into a disgrace. Stick to what we know best and let's make it work (while waiting for the league to realise our style is what's best for it).

 

[AzStevenCal]

It's the generally accepted way of measuring height in the NBA. If a guy is listed at 6'10" (e.g Blake Griffin) then you can assume he's 6'8" or 6'8.5" without shoes.

Only in Blake's case he's not even that; i'd heard rumblings his whole career he's been masking the truth, and now i know this for fact having seen it first hand.

I know but it's silly IMO. Some people play it legit, and they only go up by half an inch or thereabouts but some people, such as Kevin Love, gain a good couple of inches.

Steve

 

[3rdside]

There is a difference between Blake Griffin being undersized and Anthony Tolliver being undersized. Griffin has the athleticism to make up for his lack of height while Tolliver doesn't.

You don't need uber athleticism to guard players, you need a similar height and weight (or in Barkley's case a huge a$$ to create a lower centre of gravity that prevents being pushed over; it's why Amare was no good at defence or rebounding as he had a 32 inch waist, broad shoulders and therefore easily pushed out the way due to his very high centre of gravity) and, most importantly, long arms. Tolliver's wing span (to add to Joe's standing reach stat) is 7'2.5". Huge.



As for offense, Tolliver is here to shoot threes and you don't need uber athleticism for that either. Long arms and a decent height helps this also.

 

[BC867]

I love small ball. Fast break, run n gun, 3 pointers, fluidity, teamwork, passing.... to me, thats all part of the Suns identity, and have been for 2 decades i've been watching. Thats what gets me going, the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the energy of it all...

*THAT* is how I want to see Phoenix win a championship... on those terms.

I like size and big guys, but only if they are talented, can move, and pass, and ignite the fast break. I'm not a fan of inherently smaller players, but I would not want to go for different sized and types of players if it meant losing our identity in the process.

But in 46 seasons of the Suns "identity", they have had one Cinderella finals appearance and one legitimate appearance.

Those are the terms on which you want to see the Suns win a championship?

All of us are entitled to our opinions, but what you said just doesn't jive. Over a pretty good sample size history. 46 seasons!

If you drive off a cliff for 46 straight years and your car is totaled each year, sooner or later, you decide that driving off a cliff is not getting you where you want to go.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Was going to post the exact same thing.

Funny story - I stood next to Blake griffin the other day (at a night club in Hvar, Croatia) and my friend asked on my behalf (I wouldn't have bothered personally) if we could get a photo together..I'm 6'6" (without shoes so I guess that makes me 6'7.5" with shoes, or 6'8" if we're rounding) and we were standing on a very small slope with me on the higher side of it. I said as a joke - check it out, I'm taller than Blake griffin! He didn't like the comment (sort of seriously funnily enough) and made me change places with him before the photo could be taken.

In other words - he's no where near 6'10". If I had to guess I'd say he's 6'8" absolute max (without shoes) but far, far more like 6'7".

Funniest part about the night? I kept getting mistaken for an nba player - Matt Barnes and deandre Jordan were there also - and at one point a bar attendant came up to me and said: excuse me sir your bottle of tequila is waiting for you in the VIP area. So I go over to the VIP area with a couple of friends trying to capitalise (feeling a a bit stupid thinking there's no way I can pull this off) and who do I see? Blake griffin, with a cigarette in one hand and a euro50 note in the other trying to bribe the door guy to let him in.

Sensibility prevailed however as he got bailed in and I got told to take off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Most amazing part of this story: nba players smoking?

 

[3rdside]

Most amazing part of this story: nba players smoking?

It happens across all sports unfortunately (albeit very rarely from what i can tell); they're not robots even though it's a pretty stupid / totally unprofessional thing to do.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I remember that Divac was a chain smoker, but I thought that was just more of an Eastern European thing. Blake Griffen smoking just seems odd.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I remember that Divac was a chain smoker, but I thought that was just more of an Eastern European thing. Blake Griffen smoking just seems odd.

Many years ago (circa 1992), my wife, son and I went to Disneyland with a group of families and I was the only smoker. I sat down on the sidewalk to enjoy a smoke and watch all the people walk by and about two minutes later, a young Vlade Divac sat down next to me and lit up a very nasty smelling cigarette. We each smoked two cigarettes before going our separate ways. We didn't talk but we shared quite a moment. I'm sure it was just as special for him, to be that close to a diehard Suns fan.

Steve

 

[SirStefan32]

I don't know if he was doing this in the NBA, but prior to the NBA, he and Zarko Paspalj would have a couple of smokes during halftime.