From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

League Update: 11/12/18

By Sam Gray






Injuries:






Early Trends:



1. The Suns are the surprise of the league, 7-2 in their first nine games and being led by Omar Pope and Mario Hezonja, an unexpected dynamic duo. The Suns schedule is about to get much tougher as they face the Rockets, Pelicans, Jazz, and Knicks in the next four games — all teams with playoff aspirations. With injuries to Terry Rozier, Dante Exum, and Derrick Jones, the Suns are playing their deep bench which may end up costing them this early in the season.



2. The Knicks are in trouble. Sitting at 3-6, the New York team assembled to be a superstar laden challenged for the title has gotten off to a miserable start and looks lost on the court. The mesh between Butler, Walker, and Porzingis is “a work-in-progress” as one source close to the Knicks puts it. The New York media is having a field day and the Knicks front office is sweating as both Butler and Walker are free agents in the summer.



3. Speaking of Jimmy Butler, his former team — the T’Wolves — is equally perplexing as the squad is sitting at 3-7 and seem to be far worse off than they were with Butler and Wiggins. KAT is putting up nearly 23 and 12 on a nightly basis, but the Wolves backcourt of Teague and Hardaway are not performing well. If the Wolves have any shot of righting the ship, they’ll need to figure out how to get some better play from their guards.



Suns’ News:



1. Phoenix sits at 7-2, eager to prove to the world that an early (soft) schedule is not the only reason they have such a gleaming record. Omar Pope leads the team with 27.9 PPG, the dynamo that drives the Suns blistering attack. Second on the squad is Super Mario Hezonja, who has blossomed playing in Jason Kidd’s system (and next to Pope), scoring 15.5 PPG.



2. Terry Rozier is out for at least the next 6-8 weeks with a broken leg but the Suns’ starting PG may not be in Phoenix for long, as he’s informed the front office that he’s entering restricted free agency next summer; it was widely expected Rozier would test the market, though his reported contract demands (18M per year) will likely have to be lowered for any team to want try and sign him to an offer sheet. Phoenix may retain him or pass, depending on how the season works out and how Dante Exum — a player the front office and coaching staff are very high on — develops.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Rapid Reaction: Suns 105, Knicks 93

By Sam Gray

The Suns moved to 9-4 as the Knicks fell to 6-7 (without Jimmy Butler he recovers from a strained MCL) in a foul-infested game, with the officials calling 28 fouls between the two teams, much to the frustration of both squads. Porzingis led all players with 28 points but Pope got the better of him as his team won the day thanks to a big second quarter. Brian Hammons was named player of the game for coming off the bench and scoring 19 points as Serge Ibaka struggled massively.

[georgiafan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Heck of a start for suns and pope

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Heck of a start for suns and pope

Right?! The sim engine is being VERY KIND to me and I'm highly suspicious that I'll be suffering some devastating injuries by the time the all-star break hits. Pope, by overall, isn't good enough to carry a team to this record but the sim engine is treating him like a superstar (which is he is but still, in his first season?) and I'm a bit paranoid.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Rapid Reaction: Suns 110, Bucks 129

By Sam Gray







The Suns fell to the Bucks in Jason Kidd’s first game back in Milwaukee since his firing; Coach Kidd left with a loss as the team he helped build demolished the team he was trying to rebuild. Phoenix was led in scoring by Pope (30 points) and Ibaka (22 points) but its benched was soundly outplayed by the Bucks’ second unit. Adding to the Suns woes were their loose handles, as they tallied 13 turnovers unto to get a clean pass inside to save their lives. With the win the Bucks move to 8-8 as the Suns fall to 9-5.

[RMJH4]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Wow, great start! The Suns been laying the Smack Down on the NBA title contenders! Tough loss to Bucks, but way to compete in every game! You just can't predict the sim engine, I've had a good run with it too, hopefully it continues for both of us! Looking forward to seeing more from Pope and Super Mario. Hezonja is a video gamers dream, I'm a Magic fan and always use him well, unlike the real life Magic!

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Wow, great start! The Suns been laying the Smack Down on the NBA title contenders! Tough loss to Bucks, but way to compete in every game! You just can't predict the sim engine, I've had a good run with it too, hopefully it continues for both of us! Looking forward to seeing more from Pope and Super Mario. Hezonja is a video gamers dream, I'm a Magic fan and always use him well, unlike the real life Magic!

Hezonja is so much fun. He's BOLD on his shots, will just jack it up with a sliver of space and he looks like he's gonna make it nearly every time. Really excited to develop him, I think he's gonna be a big part of this squad going forward.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Rapid Reaction: Suns 119, Thunder 101

By Sam Gray

The Suns notched their 13th win of the year, now sitting at 13-10 as the Thunder fall to 18-8 after a game that showed Phoenix at its best. After an embarrassing 50 point loss three days ago in OKC, the Suns came out looking to prove that the loss was an aberration, not a trend. The Thunder were undone early thanks to Russell Westbrook morphing into Russell Westbrick for the first half, refusing to pass out of tough shots and missing most of them. The former MVP played poorly the first two quarters and the Thunder could never come back from the deficit.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Rapid Reaction: Suns 129, Celtics 142

By Sam Gray

The Suns suffered a loss against the stacked Celtics, as Irving, Hayward, Tatum, and Brown ran roughshod over the younger Phoenix team. Despite the loss, the night was historic as Omar Pope tossed in 55 points and joined the likes of Tom Chambers, Tony Delk, and Devin Booker in the top-five scoring all-time for the team. Pope had to score early and often as Noel and Hezonja both were in foul trouble all night — Noel riding the pine caused the Suns defense to fall apart. Phoenix falls to 14-11 as the Celtics improve to 12-13.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Rapid Reaction: Suns 108, Rockets 98

By Sam Gray








The Suns are now 18-11 after the win in Houston, but the bigger story is the injury to Omar Pope; the electric Suns rookie landed awkwardly after a mid-range jumper in the fourth and was immediately taken out of the game as he couldn’t even get off the floor by himself — the diagnosis is a severe ankle sprain, sidelining Pope for 6-8 weeks. Despite the injury, the Suns held on to win thanks to Mario Hezonja, who turned in one of his best games of the season on both offense and defense. With Pope out, Phoenix is now down two of its opening night starters (Rozier also being sidelined) — the Suns could in store for a tough stretch as they battle to remain above .500.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

League Update: Holiday Edition

By Sam Gray



Standings:







Injuries:







Trends:



1. The Raptors are the surprising leaders of the East — experts around the league predicted they’d be worse with the departure of DeRozan and the arrival of the disappointing Wiggins, but Toronto appears to have found a formula that works. Wiggins is having a much better year as he’s averaging 19.5 PPG on 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep — huge improvements over last season’s dismal campaign. As always with the Raptors, they look good in the regular season … but can they actually succeed in the postseason?



2. The top of the West is proving to be extremely competitive as the Thunder, Rockets, Warriors, and Jazz are all looking like potential first seeds; their are surprises after them, namely the Suns (who are likely to nosedive after the loss of Omar Pope for the month plus) and the Lakers being as poor as they are (a barely .500 team with LeBron is unheard of at this stage of his career). Trades should start to trickle in as the calendar flips to 2019 and a number of teams out West could make a move to leap up the standings.



3. The race for the first overall pick is on and the contenders are both familiar and surprising. Out West, the Spurs and Grizzlies are leading the pack and San Antonio can’t have expected they’d be THIS bad with the talent they acquired in the Leonard trade. The Grizzlies are tanking hard, as one would expect with the lack of top-end talent beyond an aging Gasol and Conley. Out East, the Bulls and Hawks are at the bottom of the conference — as are the Magic and Hornets.



Surprising, not the Heat, who are being led by a resurgent Melo (averaging 24.5 PPG on 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep) and Miami’s plan to bottom out seems to have backfired — though you won’t hear Pat Riley complaining as the godfather continues to preach that being competitive every game, every day, is the only way to win a title.



Suns’ News:



1. Phoenix is 18-12 but their last loss — a 126-89 shellacking by the Warriors — should clue Suns’ fans in to the stark reality of a team without Pope: It’s going to get ugly. Phoenix is down Pope and Rozier (expected back in early January) and the Suns younger talent doesn’t seem ready to carry the load Pope was. The timing of the injury is poor but if Phoenix can stay near .500 the Suns may still have a shot at a playoff spot — if the team is below that mark by the time the trade deadline rolls around, expect the Suns to auction off pieces and bottom out for the 2019 draft.

2. Out in Europe, the Suns’ second round pick Daniele Olivero is performing well, averaging a double-double on only 25 minutes a night. Phoenix scouts are confident Olivero will make the jump to the NBA next summer and that will present the Suns with an interesting conundrum. Harry Giles, picked in the disaster draft from the Kings, continues to perform well in practice and the Suns may have to decide which of the young centers to keep … assuming they don’t draft a top prospect in the upcoming draft or sign a veteran starter in the market this summer.

[RMJH4]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Pope and Rozier down now. Another disaster for the Suns franchise so soon. Lets hope they can hang on in. Pope was looking like league MVP over the first few months. Tough break losing him. Super Mario time!!

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Pope and Rozier down now. Another disaster for the Suns franchise so soon. Lets hope they can hang on in. Pope was looking like league MVP over the first few months. Tough break losing him. Super Mario time!!

Yeah, it's gonna be a tough stretch ... luckily the schedule is filled with a decent amount of bad teams, so I have a shot. Better now than later in the season anyway, at least I can survive a bad stretch and make it up post-deadline.

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Pope Returns in Suns Win

By Sam Gray










The Phoenix Suns survived the absence of their star rookie, just barely, and Omar Pope returned not a moment too soon — sitting at 26-24, seventh in the West, the Suns needed a shot in the arm as they were looking shaky; Pope was that shot, though it certainly didn’t look that way early on.



From the start, the game was filled with good defense or bad offense, depending on your view. Both teams struggled to consistently score and Pope had to work his way back into the Suns’ offense; the fit was awkward in the first half. Pope struggled with his shot, struggled to get separation, and looked like a player who had been sitting for weeks on end.




“I was pretty *hit in that first half,” said Pope. “Practice is one thing, real game action was another, and I wasn’t in rhythm … the team really picked up my slack.”



Indeed, the rest of the Suns were only marginally better as the biggest contributor for Phoenix in the first half was Brian Hammons, who entered the game midway through the first quarter and scored nine straight points on four shots, getting the crowd into it and giving the Suns some breathing room.



But in the second the Cavs continued to force the ball to Pope and Pope continued to shoot it, all the while Jordan Clarkson was lighting up the Suns’ defense with his mixture of jump shots and layups, making Phoenix seem ineffective at best and repulsed by the idea of defense at worst. At halftime, the Suns lead had evaporated and they were getting outplayed on both ends of the court.







“We were forcing everything and that led to nothing good,” said Coach Kidd. “We had to make changes, not in personnel but in mentality … everyone was trying to get Omar involved and we needed to stop that; the game was going to come to him but we had to play as a team.”



In the third, the Suns chastised by Kidd and the coaching staff at the half, Phoenix came out and recommitted to defense and getting efficient shots. The extra effort at both ends paid off in the third, giving the Suns’ a rare win in that quarter (Phoenix has struggled all year coming out of the half) and in the fourth the Suns utterly shut down Cleveland as their triples — missing most of the night — finally hit paydirt. With Pope playing more in control and looking more at ease, the Suns were able to run away with the game as Pope became a facilitator in the final frame.






“It was tough for him to sit there and watch us play all these weeks,” said Brian Hammons, fellow rookie and former teammate of Pope’s at Arizona. “He was tense and he was aggravated at being sidelined … but he came out tonight, worked through it, and I think he’s back. We need him and tonight he showed why.”

[trekfan]

Re: From the Ashes: A Phoenix Tale

Trade Deadline Review: Minor Deals Foreshadow Active Summer

By Sam Gray

The Trades:

The first deal of the day came between the Nuggets, Hawks, and 76ers — only Philly has any real hope of contending for a title but, with that in mind, they traded for veteran backup Omir Caspi and rid themselves of Kormaz, who has lost playing time over the last few weeks and has been vocal about his displeasure. The major pieces on the move were Lydon and Faried, both shipped to the Hawks (Lydon the piece Atlanta really wanted) while the Nuggets got back Kormaz, second rounders, and Muscala (possibly someone to retain); more importantly Denver ducked the luxury tax. With a losing record and their hopes of playoff basketball dimming, it’ll be an interesting summer for the Nuggets.

Trade number two featured a familiar pairing of teams — the Clippers and Pistons. Last year LA dealt “Clipper for Life” Blake Griffin to Detroit and this year they followed up the deal with dealing more of Blake’s former teammates to Detroit in Williams and Beverly — as the Pistons are just outside the playoffs looking in and desperate to see postseason basketball (and postseason gate revenue), they sent out Henry Ellenson, a second rounder, and expiring deals to get the players. Beverly is likely a one year rental, but Williams’ is the piece Detroit was eager to get as they could use more offense.

The final deal of the deal involved the Blazers, who are currently sitting outside the playoffs and have little way to improve as various players are dinged up. Portland traded fan-favorite Swanigan to Dallas for a second round pick and David Nwaba, who they plan to buy out to duck the luxury tax. It’s a minor move for the Blazers who are one again struggling in the West. This is likely the end of the Lillard/McCollum duo, as Portland is considering moving on from one of the stars in the offseason.

Suns’ News:

Phoenix stood pat at the deadline, taking no action. Owner Regina Culver was clear that she believes that the Suns are where they want to be.

“We’re competing for a playoff spot, we’ve fought through adversity these last two months … this team is together and we felt there was no need to distract our players with rumors or deals. We’re very pleased with how this year has gone so far and we look forward to a strong finish,” said Culver.

Meanwhile around the league there were a number of deals rumored that never materialized — the Blazers were rumored to be after Carmelo in Miami, but terms could not be agreed upon before the deadline passed. The Kings considered moving Willy Cauely-Stein, but got cold feet and instead extended his contract for 11M annually over the next three seasons. The Knicks put out feelers for MKG, but received little interest in the expensive, defensive-minded veteran.