Loved what I saw from Scoot. I can’t wait till he and DA develop more chemistry in lob and passing connections. It’s going to be fun to watch.
TheLetterOh
This is literally the most inexperienced we are going to see Scoot. The future is bright.
Would like to see Ayton get a few more touches, but these dudes are so new playing with each other and so young. It’s gonna be fun to see how this team looks by the end of the year.
Piano9717
Game 2: honestly a lot to like compared to last game, despite the scoreboard. I was typing a lot of this up at the end of the 4th quarter so I didn’t really get to watch the deep bench guys that much unfortunately. But here are my takeaways from the rest of the game:
* Wow Scoot is FAST in the open court. His shot also doesn’t look broken and I like seeing him take and make his open threes. and he has great change-of-pace on drives as well – so many young quick guards play at only one speed (Westbrook is the prime example of this, but guys like Jaden Ivey and Coby White are also guilty of this as well) and I don’t see that at all from Scoot. * I love the fast pace after misses. So refreshing seeing them run out after misses after years of watching grind-it-out halfcourt basketball. * The 3-guard lineup: Sharpe starting was a great call by Chauncey – Scoot can set him up with better quality shots, and Sharpe/Scoot are both more transition oriented and a much better pairing than Sharpe/Brogdon (who’s much more of a slow halfcourt player). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Sharpe looked much more engaged and involved in the offense in the first quarter compared to last game. People have PTSD with the 3-guard lineups we used to run, but honestly if we aren’t going to be competitive anyways we should start Sharpe – it will be much better for his development than having him come off the bench without a real PG. * I also liked the action they ran several times where they had Sharpe curl off a pindown screen and then get the ball – it lets him catch the ball on the move and attack open space, and he’s great at choosing good angles off screens. More of that please, and less standing in the corner. However, I do REALLY wish they set the screen higher so he can curl into a 3-pointer because right now they’re setting the screen so low that Sharpe curls into a 20-foot jumper. Setting the screen higher not only allows Sharpe to get a 3 (why are we running plays designed to get guys open for a long 2???) and it also gives Sharpe more of a runway to accelerate and attack the retreating big (as we’ve seen Sharpe thrives in those situations where he can load up and use his hangtime to finish over guys). * Ayton was much better in the short roll today. He did a much better job being patient and finding the open guy (kicked it out multiple times to an open shooter on the wing behind him which is the hardest pass for a big in the short roll to make) instead of forcing up shots over two defenders. He also was much more decisive attacking open space going towards the rim which is what you need when you attack the short roll. I also liked that he kicked the ball out to Ant twice when he got doubled on postups – that’s great to see. * Anfernee did a much better job getting rid of the ball quickly when he got blitzed instead of trying to dribble through traps going towards halfcourt like he did last game(which was a bad habit Dame had early in his career too). * Brogdon looks healthy and his shot looks fine – his elbow was apparently busted last season so good to see that it looks fine. Good for the trade value (don’t forget he got traded for a first round pick at last year’s deadline but the Clippers backed out of the trade because his elbow was so fucked) * Ant/Brogdon taking turns running the second unit, and the Scoot/Sharpe pairing in the first unit was great today. Scoot and Sharpe both thrive in transition so this was a much better fit than Sharpe in the second unit languishing away watching Brogdon pound the ball.
The negatives:
* Brogdon’s decision making as the PG – he slowed the tempo to a crawl, very methodical, and isn’t really a natural facilitator/table-setter. I like him a lot better as a secondary ballhandler when he can focus on attacking and making basic passes, as opposed to a PG role where he feels obligated to get guys involved and loses the best aspects of his game. * Moses Brown plays defense like his feet are stuck in cement. He refuses to leave the paint on defense and just gives up tons of wide open space for the ballhandler. I understand he’s a center, he’s supposed to protect the rim, etc. etc. etc. but on most defensive possessions he just sits under the basket with both feet in the restricted area. He had a couple nice dunks and a good block, but he also gave up about 10 wide open jumpers to Booker/KD coming off screens when he refused to leave the paint. That’s just not a winning strategy in the modern NBA unless you’re a Brook Lopez level shot-blocker. I like him as a 3rd big, but I have a REALLY hard time see him as anything more than that. * While Sharpe looked engaged in the offense in the first quarter and was looking to push the ball, I’d still like to see him get some more on-ball reps as a creator in the halfcourt offense. Last year he was used almost exclusively as a play-finisher (catching lobs, shooting open threes, etc). but I want to see how he looks in more of a creation role. He showed a lot of flashes on our tank squad and I wonder how much of that is replicable. I don’t mean bringing the ball up the court necessarily, but more DHO actions or actions that let him catch the ball on the move and do something with it, as opposed to catch-and-shoot or catch-and-dunk. * Same with Ayton. We’re rebuilding anyways, and the entire point of the trade was to see if Ayton had some other level in his game that Phoenix just didn’t unlock because they couldn’t afford to throw away games developing Ayton when they were trying to win now with Booker and CP3. Why not throw him the ball a few times a game and see what he does with it? Realistically, Ayton is never going to be worth that max contract if he is only a play-finisher (catching lobs with the occasional midrange shot off a pick-and-pop) who plays above-average but not spectacular defense. Why not just see what other sorts of things he can do with the ball? Not like we are going to be winning too many games anyways. * Gonna be a lot of growing pains and stagnant possessions in our halfcourt offense this year. I think we’ve been spoiled by watching Dame make a lot of magic from nothing, but there are going to be a LOT of turnovers and ugly looking possessions when we can’t run out in transition. * My “no more Jerami Grant mid-post ISO” is going to be like Cato the Elder and “Carthago delenda est.” We just don’t need any of that and it’s bad offense unless it’s late in the shot clock or against a mismatch. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t but it’s stagnant, ugly, and Grant isn’t good enough of a passer out of the post to run any actions out of it, so 99% of the time it just results in a contested long two. Gross. * Here’s my totally biased and very reactionary take, but I’ve probably been Nurk’s biggest defender in this subreddit the last few years, and the way he’s been used by Chauncey the last 2 years is just criminal. We needed to move on and trading him was definitely the right move, but I really think he’ll have a career year in Phoenix this year.
ripcitybandwagon
The good news is the tank is off to a good start
Alternative-Minute76
Man is billups using the nurk playbook for ayton or what?
bljh7
Scoot slashing to the rim is fun to watch.
Boxinggandhi
Grant looks like a weird fit.
Bieberkinz
That was a fun first quarter and half until Suns started to do that thing where their best players score buckets.
Scoot is certainly THE guy here already.
NachoMuncher420
Can’t really take a ton from a preseason game but this team has a ton of raw talent. Scoot is gonna be amazing. 19, and he already belongs. Obviously Chauncey is experimenting with lineups etc. Gonna lose a ton of games this season but that’s part of a rebuild.
burndestroywreckkill
Sc000000t game high and his drives to the rim look amazing! Put it in my veins
toadtruck
Ant needs to be off ball I’m sorry
PrudentWerewolf12
Ant and Scoot both looked very good
iWr1techky12
Scoot looks like the real deal. Shaedon looks like he hasn’t improved at all unfortunately. He’s got a long way to go.
ripcitybandwagon
At least Jerami Grant had 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 blocks, and 1 assist
redwheelbarrow_
Scoot is really good. Need to see some plays for Ayton though and it’s nice to see Jerami getting his shot. Also, Matisse can shoot!
Longjumping-Ad6293
Suns fan coming to tell you guys that Ayton is never, ever going to be the optimistic version of what you guys want and envision him to be.
I know that’s how going to sound like hate and I fully expect the downvotes but just know that statement is based on watching every game of his for the last 5 years.
On the other hand, Scoot looks like a fuckin beast. Totally in control, has a great looking jumper, and plays with high energy. His game will game DAs lack of motivation even more apparent.
GGs
sean_buttcannon
Loveeeee scoot. He looks just as advertised. The Turnovers are a bit misleading as a few could be attributed to mistakes by others and just generally being a team not used to each other yet.
Chauncey needs to find a way to get ayton involved more. Way too much iso from grant and ant. Like. The whole center piece of the deal was ayton. Let’s use him what’re we doing.
Get rid of the god damn zone. IT DOESNT WORK. this isn’t high school or college ball. Teams and players can and will break it down instantly.
TheeBacksideOfWater
Solid performance from Scoot. I’m looking forward to watching his game develop but he’s already so polished out there!
Nurk looked good in a Suns jersey. 😭 I hope he has a great season.
Bring back Jez!!!
trebbihm
What happened with RWIII? I looked away and looked back, and now he’s listed as played but with no stats.
Happy295
Ayton is making the most money on this team. Make him the #1 option, idgaf.
tommyphammy
I really hope they do something about the screen time with Tom. The delay makes the conversation terrible and they just talk over each other or have a really long silence. Oh yeah and Scoot was awesome!
natural_lawg
The ~~Bosnian~~ Brogdon Beast
ZombiesTMS
Just got home from the game.
The first quarter was WILD and the energy was strong. Same with the first half of the second.
Sc00t can fuckin MOVE. It hits different seeing it in person
thetrueTrueDetective
Scoot is crazy fast . When coach and the team move to a non dame style of basketball we have a shot to grow . Grants gonna go at the deadline . Brogdon is better than Heart and Ant needs to shoot or move quicker
highway_vigilante
Went to the game. Brogdon continues to impress me, he was a great pickup. Was preseason so everything I saw I took with a grain of salt.
Durant and Booker were in street clothes by halftime. Scoot looked like he had some nerves, turned ball over too much with just “lazy” plays, and he fouled out. Towards end of game he started turning it on however and his drives are nearly unstoppable. I think he’s the real deal, just needs to settle into his role, get used to the game at this level. Shaedon. Like I said, this is preseason but here goes: his defense, especially against Watanabe, wasn’t good, he was very nonchalant about his defense it seemed (again this is preseason).
Ayton – I liked what I saw and I didn’t like some of it. Again:preseason, will leave that one alone until I see more.
Moses Brown: I never really watched this kid play much. His wingspan on D under the key is something to behold, and he got after it! I like this kid, a lot.
Was great seeing them all play, yes Dame was missed but this is a new era.
25 Comments
Loved what I saw from Scoot. I can’t wait till he and DA develop more chemistry in lob and passing connections. It’s going to be fun to watch.
This is literally the most inexperienced we are going to see Scoot. The future is bright.
Would like to see Ayton get a few more touches, but these dudes are so new playing with each other and so young. It’s gonna be fun to see how this team looks by the end of the year.
Game 2: honestly a lot to like compared to last game, despite the scoreboard. I was typing a lot of this up at the end of the 4th quarter so I didn’t really get to watch the deep bench guys that much unfortunately. But here are my takeaways from the rest of the game:
* Wow Scoot is FAST in the open court. His shot also doesn’t look broken and I like seeing him take and make his open threes. and he has great change-of-pace on drives as well – so many young quick guards play at only one speed (Westbrook is the prime example of this, but guys like Jaden Ivey and Coby White are also guilty of this as well) and I don’t see that at all from Scoot.
* I love the fast pace after misses. So refreshing seeing them run out after misses after years of watching grind-it-out halfcourt basketball.
* The 3-guard lineup: Sharpe starting was a great call by Chauncey – Scoot can set him up with better quality shots, and Sharpe/Scoot are both more transition oriented and a much better pairing than Sharpe/Brogdon (who’s much more of a slow halfcourt player). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Sharpe looked much more engaged and involved in the offense in the first quarter compared to last game. People have PTSD with the 3-guard lineups we used to run, but honestly if we aren’t going to be competitive anyways we should start Sharpe – it will be much better for his development than having him come off the bench without a real PG.
* I also liked the action they ran several times where they had Sharpe curl off a pindown screen and then get the ball – it lets him catch the ball on the move and attack open space, and he’s great at choosing good angles off screens. More of that please, and less standing in the corner. However, I do REALLY wish they set the screen higher so he can curl into a 3-pointer because right now they’re setting the screen so low that Sharpe curls into a 20-foot jumper. Setting the screen higher not only allows Sharpe to get a 3 (why are we running plays designed to get guys open for a long 2???) and it also gives Sharpe more of a runway to accelerate and attack the retreating big (as we’ve seen Sharpe thrives in those situations where he can load up and use his hangtime to finish over guys).
* Ayton was much better in the short roll today. He did a much better job being patient and finding the open guy (kicked it out multiple times to an open shooter on the wing behind him which is the hardest pass for a big in the short roll to make) instead of forcing up shots over two defenders. He also was much more decisive attacking open space going towards the rim which is what you need when you attack the short roll. I also liked that he kicked the ball out to Ant twice when he got doubled on postups – that’s great to see.
* Anfernee did a much better job getting rid of the ball quickly when he got blitzed instead of trying to dribble through traps going towards halfcourt like he did last game(which was a bad habit Dame had early in his career too).
* Brogdon looks healthy and his shot looks fine – his elbow was apparently busted last season so good to see that it looks fine. Good for the trade value (don’t forget he got traded for a first round pick at last year’s deadline but the Clippers backed out of the trade because his elbow was so fucked)
* Ant/Brogdon taking turns running the second unit, and the Scoot/Sharpe pairing in the first unit was great today. Scoot and Sharpe both thrive in transition so this was a much better fit than Sharpe in the second unit languishing away watching Brogdon pound the ball.
The negatives:
* Brogdon’s decision making as the PG – he slowed the tempo to a crawl, very methodical, and isn’t really a natural facilitator/table-setter. I like him a lot better as a secondary ballhandler when he can focus on attacking and making basic passes, as opposed to a PG role where he feels obligated to get guys involved and loses the best aspects of his game.
* Moses Brown plays defense like his feet are stuck in cement. He refuses to leave the paint on defense and just gives up tons of wide open space for the ballhandler. I understand he’s a center, he’s supposed to protect the rim, etc. etc. etc. but on most defensive possessions he just sits under the basket with both feet in the restricted area. He had a couple nice dunks and a good block, but he also gave up about 10 wide open jumpers to Booker/KD coming off screens when he refused to leave the paint. That’s just not a winning strategy in the modern NBA unless you’re a Brook Lopez level shot-blocker. I like him as a 3rd big, but I have a REALLY hard time see him as anything more than that.
* While Sharpe looked engaged in the offense in the first quarter and was looking to push the ball, I’d still like to see him get some more on-ball reps as a creator in the halfcourt offense. Last year he was used almost exclusively as a play-finisher (catching lobs, shooting open threes, etc). but I want to see how he looks in more of a creation role. He showed a lot of flashes on our tank squad and I wonder how much of that is replicable. I don’t mean bringing the ball up the court necessarily, but more DHO actions or actions that let him catch the ball on the move and do something with it, as opposed to catch-and-shoot or catch-and-dunk.
* Same with Ayton. We’re rebuilding anyways, and the entire point of the trade was to see if Ayton had some other level in his game that Phoenix just didn’t unlock because they couldn’t afford to throw away games developing Ayton when they were trying to win now with Booker and CP3. Why not throw him the ball a few times a game and see what he does with it? Realistically, Ayton is never going to be worth that max contract if he is only a play-finisher (catching lobs with the occasional midrange shot off a pick-and-pop) who plays above-average but not spectacular defense. Why not just see what other sorts of things he can do with the ball? Not like we are going to be winning too many games anyways.
* Gonna be a lot of growing pains and stagnant possessions in our halfcourt offense this year. I think we’ve been spoiled by watching Dame make a lot of magic from nothing, but there are going to be a LOT of turnovers and ugly looking possessions when we can’t run out in transition.
* My “no more Jerami Grant mid-post ISO” is going to be like Cato the Elder and “Carthago delenda est.” We just don’t need any of that and it’s bad offense unless it’s late in the shot clock or against a mismatch. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t but it’s stagnant, ugly, and Grant isn’t good enough of a passer out of the post to run any actions out of it, so 99% of the time it just results in a contested long two. Gross.
* Here’s my totally biased and very reactionary take, but I’ve probably been Nurk’s biggest defender in this subreddit the last few years, and the way he’s been used by Chauncey the last 2 years is just criminal. We needed to move on and trading him was definitely the right move, but I really think he’ll have a career year in Phoenix this year.
The good news is the tank is off to a good start
Man is billups using the nurk playbook for ayton or what?
Scoot slashing to the rim is fun to watch.
Grant looks like a weird fit.
That was a fun first quarter and half until Suns started to do that thing where their best players score buckets.
Scoot is certainly THE guy here already.
Can’t really take a ton from a preseason game but this team has a ton of raw talent. Scoot is gonna be amazing. 19, and he already belongs. Obviously Chauncey is experimenting with lineups etc. Gonna lose a ton of games this season but that’s part of a rebuild.
Sc000000t game high and his drives to the rim look amazing! Put it in my veins
Ant needs to be off ball I’m sorry
Ant and Scoot both looked very good
Scoot looks like the real deal. Shaedon looks like he hasn’t improved at all unfortunately. He’s got a long way to go.
At least Jerami Grant had 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 blocks, and 1 assist
Scoot is really good. Need to see some plays for Ayton though and it’s nice to see Jerami getting his shot. Also, Matisse can shoot!
Suns fan coming to tell you guys that Ayton is never, ever going to be the optimistic version of what you guys want and envision him to be.
I know that’s how going to sound like hate and I fully expect the downvotes but just know that statement is based on watching every game of his for the last 5 years.
On the other hand, Scoot looks like a fuckin beast. Totally in control, has a great looking jumper, and plays with high energy. His game will game DAs lack of motivation even more apparent.
GGs
Loveeeee scoot. He looks just as advertised. The Turnovers are a bit misleading as a few could be attributed to mistakes by others and just generally being a team not used to each other yet.
Chauncey needs to find a way to get ayton involved more. Way too much iso from grant and ant. Like. The whole center piece of the deal was ayton. Let’s use him what’re we doing.
Get rid of the god damn zone. IT DOESNT WORK. this isn’t high school or college ball. Teams and players can and will break it down instantly.
Solid performance from Scoot. I’m looking forward to watching his game develop but he’s already so polished out there!
Nurk looked good in a Suns jersey. 😭 I hope he has a great season.
Bring back Jez!!!
What happened with RWIII? I looked away and looked back, and now he’s listed as played but with no stats.
Ayton is making the most money on this team. Make him the #1 option, idgaf.
I really hope they do something about the screen time with Tom. The delay makes the conversation terrible and they just talk over each other or have a really long silence. Oh yeah and Scoot was awesome!
The ~~Bosnian~~ Brogdon Beast
Just got home from the game.
The first quarter was WILD and the energy was strong. Same with the first half of the second.
Sc00t can fuckin MOVE. It hits different seeing it in person
Scoot is crazy fast . When coach and the team move to a non dame style of basketball we have a shot to grow . Grants gonna go at the deadline . Brogdon is better than Heart and Ant needs to shoot or move quicker
Went to the game. Brogdon continues to impress me, he was a great pickup. Was preseason so everything I saw I took with a grain of salt.
Durant and Booker were in street clothes by halftime. Scoot looked like he had some nerves, turned ball over too much with just “lazy” plays, and he fouled out. Towards end of game he started turning it on however and his drives are nearly unstoppable. I think he’s the real deal, just needs to settle into his role, get used to the game at this level.
Shaedon. Like I said, this is preseason but here goes: his defense, especially against Watanabe, wasn’t good, he was very nonchalant about his defense it seemed (again this is preseason).
Ayton – I liked what I saw and I didn’t like some of it. Again:preseason, will leave that one alone until I see more.
Moses Brown: I never really watched this kid play much. His wingspan on D under the key is something to behold, and he got after it! I like this kid, a lot.
Was great seeing them all play, yes Dame was missed but this is a new era.