Game 9 (In-Season Tournament): Lakers (3-5) @ Phoenix Suns (4-4) | Friday | 8:00 PM

[AtheJ415]

Fk you Vogel. Take your lover Gordon with you.

Vogel can’t step on the court and rebound or close out that’s on players. KBD makes big difference on the glass

This logic means no coach is ever accountable for his team. Not ever. Reality is we are a strategic **** show due to our head coach.

[Hitachi77]

To me it’s more about having 2 guys who can create on the court at any given time, that’s why we kinda need all 3 guys. That’s how all 3 guys can play less minutes too. Would be nice to have a 4th though, but we traded Payne for basically no reason at all.

We know we need all 3 in the playoffs anyway, and that’s when the rotations shrink. I feel like losing/blowing reg season games due to resting guys is expected, but I’m hoping we improve in these high leverage situations.

How many teams have that? Do the Spurs? Do the Lakers?

Not many. But that’s how we are built. No one can create outside of the top 3. A lot of teams do have 2 starters and a 6th man who attract attention. We have 3 starters who do that.

[AtheJ415]

3 losses in a row at home against really bad teams. This is awful.

2 of them with commanding leads and overwhleming talent advantages also. We are a joke. Booker will make us forget this for a bit but this lack of focus and the consistent strategic lapses will kill us in the playoffs. We have to have overwhelming talent to make up for the disaster of a coach we have. I hope we end up with Brogdon or Bogdonavich or something. We need more weapons somehow despite having the most talent in the NBA.

[AtheJ415]

Used to own the Lakers. Not this season I guess. Turned down to their scrubs(Reddish) hitting 3s while Suns scrubs(Okogie, Goodwin, KBD) couldn't. We are as top heavy as they come, which is bad with Booker out. At least Beal looked good in this one.

We repeatedly unnecessarily double or get lost on defense in the 4th. Gordon is the main culprit. I get pissed off watching him in transition immediately give up the dunk rather than attempting to do ANYTHING AT ALL. He's lazy on that end and our coach cannot motivate him to focus defensively. He's getting picked on. Same for Nurkic on that end. He's constantly lost off the ball.

[Revived]

KD cannot continue playing all of the 3rd quarters. He’s gassed. He needs to play half the 3rd and all of the 4th qtr. Or give him a quick 1-2 min breaker in the 4th if needed.

[AtheJ415]

4th time we've lost from last quarter drought?

That's what happens when you keep your stars benched for half the 4th quarter - hell just your starting 5 in general.

It's as if our head coach does not understand which quarter is the most important one. You can also use your timeouts to break up the quarter to rest KD while playing him. Or run an actual offense when he sits. We run the most basic offense I have seen ever in an NBA setting, and our guys seem unsure what they are even doing.

[Revived]

Used to own the Lakers. Not this season I guess. Turned down to their scrubs(Reddish) hitting 3s while Suns scrubs(Okogie, Goodwin, KBD) couldn't. We are as top heavy as they come, which is bad with Booker out. At least Beal looked good in this one.

Used to own the Spurs too. Now it’s back to them and Lakers having the Suns number. Feels like the 2000s again.

[AtheJ415]

we've blown so many leads without our best player. tough because we could be like 6-3 instead of 4-5 but that's how it is.

If we had a remotely competent head coach we would be 7-2. There is not another team in the entire league with more than 1 of these giant blown leads this season.

[AtheJ415]

That lineup we started the 4th quarter was atrocious. No way we should be having Okogie, Goodwin, and Eubanks all on the floor at the same time. No one could score for **** and Vogel took forever to bring KD and it was too late by that time.

You cannot play Okogie and Goodwin together. The defense overhelps and forces them into a 3. And we do not put them into a position to do ANYTHING else (they are never in a driving role when this help happens). What I have seen all season is a coach who has no clue what he is doing. Booker will make him look way better but he is an absolute fraud.

[Revived]

I know Eric Gordon had some good scoring performances last years playoffs but one thing I noticed in the Suns series against the Clippers was how awful he is defensively and Booker and Suns really took advantage of that many times. Clippers had no choice but to keep playing him even after that cause they were so injury strapped.

I was a little surprised that the Suns still signed Gordon even after seeing that. Like Gordon is far worse than CP3 on defense and certainly this season. Gordon can’t guard on-ball and he can’t help either.

And how the hell is Jordan Goodwin this awful of a basketball player? People were saying he’s a steal in the Beal trade. He shot 45% from the field last season. He’s shooting 31% with the Suns this season. Did he break his god damn hand in the off season or something.

[RaisingArizona]

Should've hired Pringles. And JJ pulled a McD and left the team without a PG. Fireable offense.

[lilfishi22]

Probably because Vogel told them to as if it were going to help.

Doubt it

If the players don't know where they are supposed to be, whose fault is that?

If the players are in the wrong places, why are they getting PT?

There is 1 common denominator to our unbelievable underachieving this season and it's Vogel

Rewatched that sequence and I'm fine with where they were. KD loves to go left so they packed the right side of the court with shooters to reduce the help on the left side of the court. Not ideal for EG and Beal to be so close in the corner but as soon as KD made his move, everyone on that side started to rotate to fill KD's spot and give him options to pass to.

[AtheJ415]

Doubt it

If the players don't know where they are supposed to be, whose fault is that?

If the players are in the wrong places, why are they getting PT?

There is 1 common denominator to our unbelievable underachieving this season and it's Vogel

Rewatched that sequence and I'm fine with where they were. KD loves to go left so they packed the right side of the court with shooters to reduce the help on the left side of the court. Not ideal for EG and Beal to be so close in the corner but as soon as KD made his move, everyone on that side started to rotate to fill KD's spot and give him options to pass to.

You might be the only person in Maerica who is happy with our offensive schemes in the 4th quarters this season.

[Revived]

Read on Twitter

Man this is pretty worrisome with what Vogel says at the end there. KD’s iso ball should not be the Suns “best offense”, it should be ball movement and open shots. Did he not watch how the Nuggets won a title?

I miss the 2021 Suns team that was spreading the ball around everywhere and finding the open guys. Like this current Suns team will never in their lives have a play like below

https://youtu.be/1iDQD4Mleqk?si=t_-3yMuLpy_RXPfE

[AtheJ415]

I know Eric Gordon had some good scoring performances last years playoffs but one thing I noticed in the Suns series against the Clippers was how awful he is defensively and Booker and Suns really took advantage of that many times. Clippers had no choice but to keep playing him even after that cause they were so injury strapped.

I was a little surprised that the Suns still signed Gordon even after seeing that. Like Gordon is far worse than CP3 on defense and certainly this season. Gordon can’t guard on-ball and he can’t help either.

And how the hell is Jordan Goodwin this awful of a basketball player? People were saying he’s a steal in the Beal trade. He shot 45% from the field last season. He’s shooting 31% with the Suns this season. Did he break his god damn hand in the off season or something.

The lack of effot he puts in on defense is inexcusable. Play Yuta or something. I just don't understand how the laziness has not been fixed. It's one thing to be bad, it's another to half heartedly barely move and randomly double / help a covered player so that you put no pressure on the ball while also leaving guys WIDE OPEN. Even Monty is currently sitting Jaden Ivy for this type of thing. You cannot be this undisciplined on both ends of the court, and Vogel seems to not enforce any discipline.

[AtheJ415]

Read on Twitter

Man this is pretty worrisome with what Vogel says at the end there. KD’s iso ball should not be the Suns “best offense”, it should be ball movement and open shots. Did he not watch how the Nuggets won a title?

I miss the 2021 Suns team that was spreading the ball around everywhere and finding the open guys. Like this current Suns team will never in their lives have a play like below

https://youtu.be/1iDQD4Mleqk?si=t_-3yMuLpy_RXPfE

Yeah. This type of offense also simply takes KD shooting as a threat out of the game, because you are inviting the double. This is how he gets 1 shot in the 4th quarter in Chicago and how Beal got no shots tonight in the 4th. A contested KD jumper is still better offense for us than an Okogie or Goodwin 3. Okogie and Goodwin shouldn't be shut out but they should be getting the ball in positions to succeed when rotated out of double teams, and that would be diving to the rim -- not shooting from 3.

[garrick]

Should've hired Pringles. And JJ pulled a McD and left the team without a PG. Fireable offense.

I wouldn't be surprised if JJ is gone after this season or just hands off GM duties to Josh Bartelstein. At this point he's just a yes man for Mat Ishbia who seems to be calling all the shots when it comes to player transactions.

[Saberestar]

If the players don't know where they are supposed to be, whose fault is that?

If the players are in the wrong places, why are they getting PT?

There is 1 common denominator to our unbelievable underachieving this season and it's Vogel

Rewatched that sequence and I'm fine with where they were. KD loves to go left so they packed the right side of the court with shooters to reduce the help on the left side of the court. Not ideal for EG and Beal to be so close in the corner but as soon as KD made his move, everyone on that side started to rotate to fill KD's spot and give him options to pass to.

You might be the only person in Maerica who is happy with our offensive schemes in the 4th quarters this season.

The offensive schemes are OK, most teams in the league play about the same sets with some tweaks here and there depending on the players involved in those schemes. Better players = better execution.

Vogel is a really good HC, we have played only 9 games and there are 73 left yet. Those sets will work pretty well with Book in the lineup.

[lilfishi22]

If the players don't know where they are supposed to be, whose fault is that?

If the players are in the wrong places, why are they getting PT?

There is 1 common denominator to our unbelievable underachieving this season and it's Vogel

Rewatched that sequence and I'm fine with where they were. KD loves to go left so they packed the right side of the court with shooters to reduce the help on the left side of the court. Not ideal for EG and Beal to be so close in the corner but as soon as KD made his move, everyone on that side started to rotate to fill KD's spot and give him options to pass to.

You might be the only person in Maerica who is happy with our offensive schemes in the 4th quarters this season.

Never said I was happy. A lot to improve on

[lilfishi22]

Used to own the Lakers. Not this season I guess. Turned down to their scrubs(Reddish) hitting 3s while Suns scrubs(Okogie, Goodwin, KBD) couldn't. We are as top heavy as they come, which is bad with Booker out. At least Beal looked good in this one.

Used to own the Spurs too. Now it’s back to them and Lakers having the Suns number. Feels like the 2000s again.

Everything is cyclical