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

Jdiddy701 · Post #281 » by **Jdiddy701** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 7:29 pm

I’m probably the only one who thinks this but I much rather have Yuta with the starting lineup than KBD. KBD reminds me of a taller Josh Okogie. I don’t trust him to hit the open shot. With Yuta, defenders can’t sag off anyone in our starting group. Yuta is not a good defender but he tries. I think he will get better on that end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Puff · Post #282 » by **Puff** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 7:57 pm

Saberestar wrote:
AtheJ415 wrote:
lilfishi22 wrote: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.

He Sucks

Puff · Post #283 » by **Puff** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 8:09 pm

RaisingArizona wrote:
Puff wrote:
grumpysaddle wrote:Booker is the one dude I wish wasn't missing games. :(

Don't you know that he was too busy polishing up his cars to do rehab so he could be ready too play tonight.

Yeah - and we call Anthony Davis - "Street Clothes"

Hell we now got three "Street Clothes" on our team. HOw do you rank them.

What is going to happen to Book when he turns 27, probably miss more games?

The guys is a fantastic player when available but his reliability is really in questions at this point.

Everyone blames Monty, Ayton and CP3 for our recent collapses, they ain't here, anymore.

What is the excuse now?

James Jones has to be the worst GM in the history of the NBA. How in the world could he put together this roster without at least one legit point guard. When Nurkic is you best passer, we are in real trouble and we are just getting started.

This team is awful to watch as a matter of fact it is fast becoming unwatchable.

Goodnight

He's been 27 all season and has played like 2 games out of 9. Sorry to rain on your rant.

To be clear he turned 27 on October 30th. That is after the season started.

Can't wait until he turns 28. He should have a whole line of duds to show off while sitting on the bench.

handsome salary · Post #284 » by **handsome salary** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 8:25 pm

I turned off the game during the last minute thinking great I just devoted over two hours to this. Just glad I avoided the ESPN feed and their Lebron nut kissing.

The team and coaching hasnt looked very good so far at all. I know some is because of injuries but the blown big leads translating to losses is a huge concern. Four losses to the Spurs and Lakers is the icing on a **** cake so far.

Right now I'll dvr games. If they win I'll go back to see how they played and if they lose then whatever. Very meh about of all it right now. Setting aside time from doing other things to watch them for me is a waste of time at the moment.

Post #285 » by **Qwigglez** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 9:51 pm

Jdiddy701 wrote:I’m probably the only one who thinks this but I much rather have Yuta with the starting lineup than KBD. KBD reminds me of a taller Josh Okogie. I don’t trust him to hit the open shot. With Yuta, defenders can’t sag off anyone in our starting group. Yuta is not a good defender but he tries. I think he will get better on that end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is not a bad idea actually.

enigmatics · Post #286 » by **enigmatics** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 10:19 pm

Jdiddy701 wrote:I’m probably the only one who thinks this but I much rather have Yuta with the starting lineup than KBD. KBD reminds me of a taller Josh Okogie. I don’t trust him to hit the open shot. With Yuta, defenders can’t sag off anyone in our starting group. Yuta is not a good defender but he tries. I think he will get better on that end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Absolutely not.

You're never gonna get an offensive game out of Yuta to offset what he gives up on the other end - the dude is on permaskates. There's a reason he stayed on the deep end of the Nets bench. A team with quality starters would be unrelenting in attacking him.

KBD's length and defensive abilities paired with KD's help to offset Nurk's lack of lateral quickness in the paint. It's a net positive even for games KBD might struggle with his outside shot. He literally shot 38% last year - we are not talking about an Okogie'ish offensive derelict.

Aside from the 3ball he has also shown he can get to the rack, so he's not a one dimensional player. Everything with Yuta is a jumper even the lone few times he was able to get in the paint.

Bogyo · Post #287 » by **Bogyo** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 10:19 pm

Jdiddy701 wrote:I’m probably the only one who thinks this but I much rather have Yuta with the starting lineup than KBD. KBD reminds me of a taller Josh Okogie. I don’t trust him to hit the open shot. With Yuta, defenders can’t sag off anyone in our starting group. Yuta is not a good defender but he tries. I think he will get better on that end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hm, intresting. I kinda have the opposite vibe. KBD should be better with the shot, as he has a track record of better shooting - even on worse teams with much more attention on him that he will have once our starting lineup is all back. Yuta on the other hand has maxed out his athletic abilities (good for him), so he can not be a much better player than he is now... Just my 2 c, and I think we have about the same chance of being right.

Post #288 » by **Qwigglez** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 11:54 pm

enigmatics wrote:
Jdiddy701 wrote:I’m probably the only one who thinks this but I much rather have Yuta with the starting lineup than KBD. KBD reminds me of a taller Josh Okogie. I don’t trust him to hit the open shot. With Yuta, defenders can’t sag off anyone in our starting group. Yuta is not a good defender but he tries. I think he will get better on that end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Absolutely not.

You're never gonna get an offensive game out of Yuta to offset when he gives up on the other end - the dude is on permaskates. There's a reason he stayed on the deep end of the Nets bench. A team with quality starters would be unrelenting in attacking him.

KBD's length and defensive abilities paired with KD's help to offset Nurk's lack of lateral quickness in the paint. It's a net positive even for games KBD might struggle with his outside shot. He literally shot 38% last year - we are not talking about an Okogie'ish offensive derelict.

Aside from the 3ball he has also shown he can get to the rack, so he's not a one dimensional player. Everything with Yuta is a jumper even the lone few times he was able to get in the paint.

Yeah, actually what I meant to say, was having Yuta to close out games if we have Booker, Beal, KD, and Nurkic if we need to open the floor more. I don't think starting KBD is the problem, it's our fourth quarter lineup. Same excuse as always... but, the players are still adjusting to each other. Vogel needs time as well. This is going to continue to be a problem until we have some continuity with our star players. Hopefully we see a fully healthy Booker, Beal, and KD sooner rather than later so the proper adjustments can be made, ideally before April.

Hitachi77 · Post #289 » by **Hitachi77** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 11:57 pm

The Duncan Spurs regularly lost series in the first round when they were missing one of their big 3, usually it was Ginobili. And that’s with Pop, considered the GOAT at adjusting for stuff like that. The reason was because everything was built around their 3, they had a bunch of 3 and D guys and a backup big. Sure they had a backup PG but it didn’t matter because he wasn’t the level of player to attract double teams. So they really couldn’t adjust.

I know it’s frustrating and I agree that we can do a lot better. But I think we can cut some slack for a team that just hasn’t played together a lot, and has been missing Booker for all but 2 games and Beal for all but 2 as well.

Also we have built a big lead in all but 1 game, @philly which every team would be an underdog in. I think that’s something to be encouraged about, even if we give it up later. I’d be much more worried if we were regularly losing games by 15 and need all of our 3 to be competitive.

Now should we be worried about the injuries themselves? Absolutely. But that was a concern anyway.

Puff · Post #290 » by **Puff** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 12:11 am

The Spurs would be 1 and 8 and the Lakers would be 2 and 7 if they would not have matched up against our......

Championship Coach

What a joke.

sunsfan1o1 · Post #291 » by **sunsfan1o1** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 1:07 am

Puff wrote:The Spurs would be 1 and 8 and the Lakers would be 2 and 7 if they would not have matched up against our......

Championship Coach

What a joke.

Why are you blaming the coach?
You don’t think it’s Booker’s mental untoughness that’s been the reason?

He’s missed all those games except 1 vs the spurs and Sochan locked him up. Put the clamps on him in the 4th.

Booker just isn’t serious about winning a championship.

As far as I’m concerned this is KDs team now. Booker relinquished his rights when he chose to miss games for minor injuries.

bullsaficianado · Post #292 » by **bullsaficianado** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 1:45 am

sunsfan1o1 wrote:
Puff wrote:The Spurs would be 1 and 8 and the Lakers would be 2 and 7 if they would not have matched up against our......

Championship Coach

What a joke.

Why are you blaming the coach?
You don’t think it’s Booker’s mental untoughness that’s been the reason?

He’s missed all those games except 1 vs the spurs and Sochan locked him up. Put the clamps on him in the 4th.

Booker just isn’t serious about winning a championship.

As far as I’m concerned this is KDs team now. Booker relinquished his rights when he chose to miss games for minor injuries.

Sorry with all due respect that is a load of crap. Booker wants to win a championship really bad. Better to make sure an injury is 100 percent better early in the season than later.

sunsfan1o1 · Post #293 » by **sunsfan1o1** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 1:54 am

bullsaficianado wrote:
sunsfan1o1 wrote:
Puff wrote:The Spurs would be 1 and 8 and the Lakers would be 2 and 7 if they would not have matched up against our......

Championship Coach

What a joke.

Why are you blaming the coach?
You don’t think it’s Booker’s mental untoughness that’s been the reason?

He’s missed all those games except 1 vs the spurs and Sochan locked him up. Put the clamps on him in the 4th.

Booker just isn’t serious about winning a championship.

As far as I’m concerned this is KDs team now. Booker relinquished his rights when he chose to miss games for minor injuries.

Sorry with all due respect that is a load of crap. Booker wants to win a championship really bad. Better to make sure an injury is 100 percent better early in the season than later.

Everyone wants to win a championship.
Everyone isn’t serious about it though.
Champions are mentally tough. They play through pain.

Post #294 » by **lilfishi22** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 2:26 am

Jdiddy701 wrote:I’m probably the only one who thinks this but I much rather have Yuta with the starting lineup than KBD. KBD reminds me of a taller Josh Okogie. I don’t trust him to hit the open shot. With Yuta, defenders can’t sag off anyone in our starting group. Yuta is not a good defender but he tries. I think he will get better on that end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yuta's defense is problematic. He's got decent length but he doesn't know how to use it. Either the defensive awareness is not where it needs tobe or he just gets too greedy but he just fouls too much and imo doesn't play enough actual impactful defense. And he's the guy I was probably most excited to bring on board.

KBD may not be the same level of pure shooter as Yuta is but he's more versatile, he attacks closeouts more often and I think he's just more fundamentally sound defensively.

Post #295 » by **lilfishi22** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 2:26 am

Slim Charless wrote:This^^^^

We have no idea what the real Suns will look like as we haven't had all 3 on the court at the same time. Plus this entire new collection of bench guys. This will take time. Better to go through these bumps now as opposed to later.

Indeed. When you have a system and role players built around having all 3 guys on the court, it's not gonna look great or what you expect when 1 or 2 of them aren't playing. Two years ago when the Warriors won it all, Draymond missed like 46 games and the Warriors went 19-17 without him. Without Steph, they were 8-10. They still had guys like Poole, a solid bench and an elite coach but they were still basically a .500 team without their key guys, which is to be expected.

Post #296 » by **lilfishi22** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 2:30 am

Puff wrote:The Spurs would be 1 and 8 and the Lakers would be 2 and 7 if they would not have matched up against our......

Championship Coach

What a joke.

Did the Lakers win a championship because 4-5 instead of 2-7?

Who cares

Ya'll care so much about the "optics" without acknowledging the NBA isn't a ****ing sprint, it's a marathon.

bullsaficianado · Post #297 » by **bullsaficianado** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 2:33 am

sunsfan1o1 wrote:
bullsaficianado wrote:
sunsfan1o1 wrote:Why are you blaming the coach?
You don’t think it’s Booker’s mental untoughness that’s been the reason?

He’s missed all those games except 1 vs the spurs and Sochan locked him up. Put the clamps on him in the 4th.

Booker just isn’t serious about winning a championship.

As far as I’m concerned this is KDs team now. Booker relinquished his rights when he chose to miss games for minor injuries.

Sorry with all due respect that is a load of crap. Booker wants to win a championship really bad. Better to make sure an injury is 100 percent better early in the season than later.

Everyone wants to win a championship.
Everyone isn’t serious about it though.
Champions are mentally tough. They play through pain.

Pretty sure if it was the playoffs Booker would be playing right now.

sunsfan1o1 · Post #298 » by **sunsfan1o1** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 2:40 am

bullsaficianado wrote:
sunsfan1o1 wrote:
bullsaficianado wrote:
Sorry with all due respect that is a load of crap. Booker wants to win a championship really bad. Better to make sure an injury is 100 percent better early in the season than later.

Everyone wants to win a championship.
Everyone isn’t serious about it though.
Champions are mentally tough. They play through pain.

Pretty sure if it was the playoffs Booker would be playing right now.

Exactly. You’re just proving my point. He’s not mentally tough enough and he’s showing it.
That’s the reason he chokes in elimination games.

KLEON · Post #299 » by **KLEON** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:29 am

bullsaficianado wrote:
sunsfan1o1 wrote:
Puff wrote:The Spurs would be 1 and 8 and the Lakers would be 2 and 7 if they would not have matched up against our......

Championship Coach

What a joke.

Why are you blaming the coach?
You don’t think it’s Booker’s mental untoughness that’s been the reason?

He’s missed all those games except 1 vs the spurs and Sochan locked him up. Put the clamps on him in the 4th.

Booker just isn’t serious about winning a championship.

As far as I’m concerned this is KDs team now. Booker relinquished his rights when he chose to miss games for minor injuries.

Sorry with all due respect that is a load of crap. Booker wants to win a championship really bad. Better to make sure an injury is 100 percent better early in the season than later.

I agree and it's also a calf injury. I really don't want him playing with that and then it leads to an achilles injury

Hitachi77 · Post #300 » by **Hitachi77** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:43 am

If it’s a choice between shooter who can’t play D or defensive guy who can’t shoot, I’ll take the former. Guys who are scared to shoot, or don’t shoot with confidence, or simply shoot a poor percentage when left open, are net negatives for this team. Why? Perimeter defense can be hidden more easily. You don’t have to put a poor defender on the opposing teams #1 or #2. Sure it means that KD or Book or Beal will have to play defense, but if they are all on the court then they should be able to maintain energy on that side.

The alternative is much worse. Defenses can leave poor shooters wide open all game long and then KD/Book/Beal have to deal with constant doubles.