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The Problem with the Phoenix Suns…



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The reason the Suns are down 0-2 might be simpler than you expect.

50 Comments

  1. Mid range really should just be used in the clutch and to maybe spark some offense if the team is cold.

  2. 3 of the last 4 champs were lead by mid range/inside shooters in Tor (Klaw and P), Lakers (Bron and AD) and Bucks (Giannis). Phx just needs depth and D which will be an easy fix next year. Just flip Ayton into better stuff this summer and use a pick to flip CP3. Kinda what the Lakers have just done.

  3. So I did the numbers a few years ago, at the time it was better for a team to have the worst shooter in the league take a corner three than it was the best shooter in the league take an elbow jumper.

    At the time I couldn't believe it and it really opened my eyes as to how powerful the three point shot is. Like it was literally better to have some scrub chucking corner threes than someone like KD getting a jumper from the corner key, as in you would get more points with the scrub. That's bonkers. Like if you ever hear talk about a 4 point line, just say NO.

  4. The issue is that the role players are shitty three point shooters. Lack of spacing contributes to low quality midrange shot and no outlets for anyone other than
    Book and Durant

  5. Hey Rusty good video man. One thing i wanna tell is they are mostly up till 3rd quarter but then they start to lose their gas. Maybe because KD and Paul are now old. That is also a major issue. The KD is not that guy anymore who can play 40 min consistently everygame. He need to understand that. because his tiredness is affecting the suns in big way. Same case with Chris Paul but i think he already knows about that and he wont be playying the next 2 matches because of Groin Injury.

    Just something to consider i think

  6. I honestly mourn for the midrange game. You might love Steph and I do too, but what he started led the league to finally embrace the maths behind the three point shot and that has made the game of basketball materially worse. You don't understand how much craft there was in scoring back in the day, it was more art than science.

    I miss post games, I miss IsoBall and I miss midrange fadeaways.

    I am not saying the modern game is easier/less skilled, it is just less varied as teams drill down ever harder on which shots have value and which don't.

    Take a personal favourite and someone you all love. Kobe. I'm telling you now he wouldn't have had half the career he did in the modern NBA. I don't know what he would have looked like if he has to develop in the modern league – maybe something like Book – but it definitely wouldn't have been the mercurial, varied and comprehensive player he ended up as in period.

  7. Teams need to stop sacrificing the depth of their role players to try to make super teams. They don’t work.

  8. I would’ve bet CP3 would’ve retired the year after they play the Bucks in the finals if they win cause now he just does not seem to be the same

  9. If suns don’t go cold in the 4th and go 6-23 they win game 2 and all this heat is irrelevant. Game 1 Denver played out if their mind so that’s just a gimme game for them. I think this series is a lot closer than ppl think. If phx ties the series at home all this is gonna make y’all look silly

  10. Guess chuck was right back in the day when he said jump shooting teams can't win. He was just talkin bout if they shoot middys

  11. They lack consistency from their depth/bench and their coach makes non-adjustments or his rotational lineups bein questionable.. that was the flip side of the deal/coin when they went after KD, you get what you bought/trade for

  12. See that jersey behind me? *points at the poster face of three pointers while advocating for mid range *

  13. The problem lies with the fact that, Jokic scores those 2 points for his team WAY easier than Book and KD. They're either focused on Jokic and letting guys open, or they let Jokic go 1 on 1 and pray he misses and/or doesn't get fouled.

    NOW if Jokic isn't hitting his shots and threes are contested… They have two players in Murray and Gordon who play DRASTICALLY different and you still have to cover them both individually… which leaves Jokic wide open to facilitate again.

    Suns have 0 depth and their best option is the worst shot in basketball. Their best chances are with both Booker and KD getting hot from, again, worst shot in basketball, and if that doesn't happen…

    They realistically barely won against Clippers without their 2 best players, and the 2 players in Powell and Westbrook torched and exposed their defense both inside the paint and beyond the arc. Now add depth and Jokic to that equasion.

    They need a good defensive system to stop all the shooters, Gordon and Jokic in the paint, and Murray who is an above average iso player when his team needs it. Aaaaand their best defensive player is KD.

  14. Nuggets seems like a pretty deep team. Suns outside of the top 4, they're left with rotational players… Or in fantasy terms, dudes on waviers

  15. The problem with PHX is that they thought KD was ever on the same level as lebron, kpbe or MJ. The guy is the most overrated player in nba history and has never led a team to success.

  16. So maybe they should make KD strictly a 3 point shooter or slasher and leave the mid-range shooting to CP3 and Booker

  17. Suns need to play tall guys like Ross and Warren, no other way they win anything.

  18. Not shooting enough threes + Not getting to the rim enough + often times having to rely on KD & Booker being their 2 best defenders while also completely relying on them to create offense

  19. Game 1 Suns Bench score 24 Points Game 2 Suns bench score 4 Points. If your Bench cant score more then 40+ points you're screwed unless your starters are doing really good.

  20. I think it’s fair to say they have a math problem but the also just have a Denver Nuggets problem. Give credit to an improved Denver Defense that is making it as hard as possible on D Book and KD. What’s even more impressive Denver hasn’t even looked their best offensively. I know the series can flip by Sunday but to this point the Nuggets have been great

  21. Hey Rusty. I hear there’s a vicious catfish going around the NBA/2k community. Please don’t get manti teo’d🙏 I heard it’s so bad😭

  22. Simple math between shooting a 3 vs a 2 means you have to shoot 33% higher fg % on 2s to equal a 3.

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