By Hammo @sirhammo @sunsplanetpod
Strong Start Defensively
After an edge of your seat win over the Wizards, we really wanted an easy game against Portland.
Well, we came out so strong in the first quarter. 3-odd steals/interceptions in a few possessions. Initially, it looked like we were going to cruise to an easy win. I was a little bit worried though…… I was wondering if we could sustain this momentum.
Nas and Grayson Allen showing amazing defense from the start. Booker showing his energy early with transition blocks/rebounds and then dunking it home on the other end.
Hard to try and match the speed of Scoot Henderson. His speed is incredible.
With 33.9 seconds to go in the 1st, Suns have 6 steals. Blazers with 2. Suns 36-20 Portland.
Booker, KD, Nurk, Grayson all having well rounded games. Asking myself has Coach Vogel found the way to light the fire on the team? What are the Suns being inspired by tonight?
Next minute we are only ahead by 2 with 05:30ish to go in the 2nd.
Ok, So What Happened?
Our shots started not falling. Our passing started failing, either hitting shoes on floor passes or way too high on overhead passing. Our perimeter defense got sloppy. Blazers are 27th in league for 3pts and we let them put 8/16 with time still left in the 3rd. Seemed like we were just throwing shots up. It wasn’t working.
Camara lit up as did Simons (despite only hitting 2-7 from 3). Brogden was even a pest. Even in a game where Kevin Durant can score 40 on 16-28, how do we get taken down by a team that we shouldn’t?
Grayson Allen was our spark when we needed it with 04:19 to go in the 3rd he had 7 Pts 6 Reb 2 Stls.
Bookers 1-on-1 defense has increased so many XP levels in the last 12 months. People always critiqued him for his “bad” defense. Can’t say that anymore. His defense is damn good.
Ayton with a better stat game than Nurk tonight but I still would not take back that trade. Drew Eubanks with some huge, big boy blocks late in the game, proving why he is on this roster, whilst also filling that backup Centre role very well. Glimmers of hope a little to late in the game.
Overall, this was a very disappointing game for Suns fans. We know that we are better than this.
What’s It Going To Take?
I still believe that everything Coach Vogel does is for a reason, and it will work out in the end. A kind of subterfuge of sorts.
I can’t really imagine what this team is going to look like when our “Big 3” is full time, healthy and on the court for consecutive games.
Vogel has shown recently he is willing to mess around with rotations by putting Bol Bol into the first quarter the other day. He is not afraid to try different things and see if they work.
Our team is solid. Don’t forget tonight we did not have Josh Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, Saban Lee, Bol Bol and Damion Lee. That’s a lot of defensive and offensive firepower when its altogether.
Next, we are onto Sacramento and the Kings. This will be a tough game. No doubt about it. At the time of writing, we are 10th maybe now 11th in the Western Conference. Sac-Town is sitting at 4th. With the young team the Kings have, this is going to be almost impossible if we keep playing this way.
Have faith Suns fans. The sun always shines through the darkness.
Be sure to tune into the @sunsplanetpod this weekend for more up to date news.
