RedDawg#8

I'm worried (not really worried) about this considering that the games he has had 10+ assists, he hasn't been scoring as much, and the games he scored a lot, his assists drop below double digits. Playing next to Murray will likely reduce his opportunities for 30 and 10 games because Murray will rack up a ton of assists for himself. Not that it matters as long as we are winning.

That’s easy Nate. Play AJ, go from 9 to 10-man. Also, Dre is only getting 30 mins a game, I think he can handle a few more.

We have shown that we could play good defense under Nate, it usually just happens in stretches at the end of the season. Glad that we are coming out of the gates strong on that end. We will have to keep it up while our shooting comes around.

If AJ plays he wont give his spot back up easily.

They wouldn’t. Plus, Green is all of 6’6. We don’t need an undersized center that can’t shoot.

My problem with pre-set rotations and a rigid 9-man unit is that AH, JH, and JJ are at best only marginally better than AJ, Vit, Martin, and Frank. They should not have any guaranteed anything, especially if they are struggling and we need a spark. Nate let these guys sink without throwing them a lifesaver. Our starters are our starters, and we are committed to getting OO more playing time. After that, dudes need to prove themselves every second out on the court. We watched guys with nothing going get killed out on the court. That’s not coaching to win.

I don’t think we should continue to commit to the 12 min stretches of play for Trae and DJM each quarter. I think we need to look at shorter runs and more breaks for both. We left Trae out there with 2 fouls just because of the pre set “rotation” and he proceeded to not play any defense after that and still picked up a soft 3rd foul. Now our whole gameplan is out of whack because he had to sit before the end if the quarter. Conversely, DJM is struggling to find a rhythm offensively, imagine if he wasn’t being asked to carry the defensive load for the entire 2nd & 4th quarter without a breather. If we want better 2-way play out of our top players, we should spell them more during the game. They can go harder on both ends in shorter bursts.

Bruh, who gave Holiday this green light? Dude really needs to slow his roll. I can’t wait for Bogi to come back and get those looks.

So much for OO being a PF anytime soon. That jumper is a knuckle ball right now.

Over. The way this has been dragging all summer I'm guessing closer to Christmas. Whenever he graduates to on the court we can talk, until then, the time-table is at least a month of on-court ramp up. (1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3, and then full court 5 on 5 which doesn't happen much during the season).

Our guards did a great job finding him coming off those curls. I think having the added vision of Murray will help us get the ball to him (and JC) more often. He still has to execute and stay aggressive, but he should see an increase in quality looks and opportunities.

Notice, we didn’t see a ton of 1-5 lobs to CC. Looks very intentional that we were getting JC and Dre involved. People forget just how good JC was before Clint came and took away is touches. We may now be asking Clint to sacrifice for the team this season.

I think that Trae is still our best player, especially until I see Murray take over in clutch situations. More importantly though, is that Trae sees Murray as an equal and respects him as a leader. Like MJ and Scottie, or Isiah and Dumars. Trae cannot do it on his own and he needs that running mate who can keep up with him on the court, and push him to be better off of it. Murray is the voice we have needed that doesn’t mind being tough because he can back it up with his game. Trae will have a completely different reaction to Murray’s criticism than he would to JC. And there is nothing better than a guy who can motivate your best player. This is Trae’s team, but Murray could easily be our most valuable player when it’s said and done.

That’s like asking who was better, Horford or Milsap? They both were well rounded, all star level players, with intangibles to boot. They still had their own style and impact on the court though and would find ways to win us games whether it was their night or not. This is my hope for Trae and DJM. I hope Murray becomes that defensive playmaker and tough guy that we need. Trae will always be a walking 30-10 guy. His impact will open up things for everyone include Murray. I don’t know yet that Murray could have the kind of gravity that would make Trae’s life significantly easier. He can take pressure off of Trae, but teams will always gameplan for Trae first. Murray’s defensive impact is what closes the gap on overall impact. And because those strengths are so different, I don’t think it’s even worth comparing who is better. They just need to do them and we will benefit as a team. They are the perfect compliment to each other.

I can see our identity take shape: Twin playmaker All-Stars Twin Mid-Post Forwards that can both hit three’s and middy’s. Twin Bigs that own the lane on both ends A rag tag gang off the bench that plays hard defense. All we are missing is Bogi’s X-Factor scoring off the bench. Just imagine having him get the looks J Holiday was getting. Stay scrappy Hawks, A-AHHH!!!

Murray reminds me of Paul Milsap. Workman, no-nonsense, do it all on the court. He is going to push our guys to play hard and do what it takes to win. Filled up the stat sheet tonight. Great debut.

In before top-off. Praying for good health and safety for all of our guys this season. We need angels to watch over us and help change our injury luck. Hoping for all the good things this season. Amen

But but but Zion and Ja are who the kids want to see. They can dunk remember!

And #1 just happens to be a 6-6 F/C named Draymond Green

Cam Johnson too? PHX must really hate negotiating contracts

Dre is the X-factor There is a role for him as a go-to guy, replacing those Gallo sets, he just has to capitalize on it. More minutes and usage could see him jump to a 18 & 5 guy if he takes advantage of the opportunity.

Am I the only one binge-watching Hunter highlights right now as if this was a brand new FA signing? lol

So he basically signed for the contract that JC was offered/turned down? I like it. I like it a lot. We got our squad locked up baybeee!

Jae Crowder is inconsequential, can we stop treating him as if he’s the missing piece?

I agree that would have to be the only reason. I'm bullish on Bogi because of his potential to provide borderline All-Star level play, off the dribble shot creation, and go absolutely nuclear from 3. When he is not on, he can be a waste of space, but when he is on he is a game changer. You cannot say the same for Crowder. He is a name guy that we think will give us some toughness.