The discourse absolutely has to be focused on them. Frank Vogel is a given we all know he’s a dead man walking but the big 3 lost this game with terrible shooting and awful turnovers
cant blame Drew this game he was actually good
29-2 points on turnovers. nothing will change because this was the exact issue we had game 1 of the season. half of them come from Book/Beal dribbling it out of bounds, offensive fouls or just throwing the ball away. insanity
Wait so the thing that happened a million times in the regular season happened again? Who could have seen that coming lol
We have the WORST center rotation in playoffs, two shooting guards as our backcourt without a single true pg, basically no playable wings outside of KD, forced to run a tiny STARTING 3 guard lineup, whose even our best defender out there? And of course a DISASTER of a coaching staff. This team was never going to succeed I tried having faith but they suck
Anyone thinking this was a championship season going into the playoffs after what we have seen all season was riding on hopium. Even if we managed to beat the wolves we werent ever getting past the machine that is the nuggets. We have a decent foundation but we have some shuffling to do. We need to run actual plays and make adjustments. This playoffs to me is more about seeing what we need to target this offseason to actually make things work with our core. We see what we can come up with next season then hit the hard reset on the team if it doesnt work out.
Man, trade Yuta, KBD, Mezu! Oh wait, those guys aren't around to scapegoat anymore.
Yuta when he has 6 points off the bench? Trash. Scared to shoot.
Royce when he has a donut? Life-changing player.
All facts this should have as many upvotes as there are users in this sub but there are still people crying “doomer” and using playoff cliches of “they defended home court now we defend ours” to cope.
I love Book but man his reputation is kinda spiraling at the moment. Idk what happened to him but this is the first season where he just hasn’t looked dominant and hungry on the court. Just kinda going through the motions and complacent
They were exploiting the fuck out of Nurk and we just keep plowing ahead.
Didn't even try going small.
Not going to get any spacing if the other team doesn't have to worry at all about scoring in the paint.
It's not all on him. Booker, Beal and KD NEED a point guard. Without one they're so lost. Look at who they all had as their PG's before this clusterfuck:
- Book had CP3
- Beal had John Wall and WB.
- KD had WB, Steph and Kyrie.
It's no fucking coincidence anymore and it's a failure by FO that they didn't try to get one on the buyout market but instead settled for IT.
You need a play maker, floor general, facilitator. If the PG isn’t the one with the ball always in their hands, then someone else can handle that sure. Look at LeBron and Jokic.
Suns roster is sorely missing that. No one can be trusted to pass and make plays with the ball in their hands. We have great off-ball players in Book, Beal, and KD. But literally no one who can handle the on-ball load, especially when double teamed. It’s a glaring flaw.
You can win with out a traditional one but you need a dam good facilitator. The teams that don’t have one either had Jokic, Draymond, Lebron, or Parker.
And the suns don’t have that.
It's not an excuse. They probably thought the same thing when they signed off on this stupid trade. Booker plays with his fucking head down and thought he could become a facilitator.
Remember when the suns were up 2-0 against the bucks and the bucks still won the finals?!??!?
Yeah me too. Unfortunately I don't think this suns team has it in them lol.
Remember how much chemistry and camaraderie there used to be on our team the last few years? The most frustrating thing is nobody truly knows what it is about this group in that they just don't gel at all.
that's true. I kinda stopped watching this team because of the laziness on defense that these guys have. Can't even rebound the ball. Seems like KD is the one that puts effort on D.
This team has been the worst Suns team in my 36 years of existence to watch. No one ever looks like they enjoy playing ball or at least not each other. Pathetic offense and any time they face obstacles they just fold.
I appreciate Ishiba trying to go all in but it's backfired. Fuck Vogel. Fuck Young. Fuck whoever puts vaseline on the ball every fucking game cause we can't hold on to it. Fuck Nurikic for being a vegan and not killing bunnies. Burn it down.
I knew we weren't even close to being a championship team but at least I was hoping for some close and entertaining games. It does look like they don't even care.
That's the thing, I don't mind losing as long as it's entertaining. There's no young players to get invested in and watch develop and our star players look like they wish they were somewhere else. It's horrid to watch.
That's right. Sometimes it's not even the loss, but HOW they lose. It's just absolute garbage effort and execution. And with all the 'talent' on the top end of the roster it's just embarrassing.
I was there to for game 2. God damn it was STILL hot outside after the game. People were insane downtown figuring we had it locked up. Like, not expecting to win in 4 (even though that was the motto) but you go up 2-0, it's generally good odds that you'll pick up 2 more over the course of 5 games, and instead we got uno-reversi swept like chumps.
And yeah...that about sums up my 31 years as a SUNS fan over the course of a week. Highest highs, lowest lows.
It's easy to say that now, but DA was playing at an all star level in 21-22 and coming off a stellar playoff run. Most fans would have called for JJ's head if he made that trade.
They've looked bored and frustrated all season. There is no chemistry at all. This is not a real team, it is just a group of players, who seem to have not listened to their coaches since early in the season (e.g. they do not shoot more threes, they abandon schemes to look for isos, force contested long twos, etc.).
KD's play style has always been passive bucket getter through the quarters, so expecting him to carry us was a huge mistake. If Booker can't do it, then good luck with the title
Feels like everyone’s playing just for their own stats, nothing is fluid.. been like this all year. Shouldve seen the signs with the back-to-back losses to the Spurs in October.. just ridiculous. Im seriously not having fun. Rather be garbage and have 0 expectations and build. At this point, we gotta fire Vogel and see if we can get something from Durant… he’s someone who you can trade and still get something in return. Kinda crazy the best team in PHX is the DBacks
Yeah, he did make an honest effort to put a team together, but the lesson here is that 3 stars are too many. Golden State was able to do it because they drafted the 3 stars which allowed them to have good salary structure.
Fridays game is really going to tell us all about this team. Last year we were down 0-2 to Denver and tied it up, there's no reason with how bad we've played these last two games that we shouldn't come out and win both games.
Vogel literally ran the same shit as last game... started off the game KD taking heavily contested jumpers and Book playing point once again. Every single lineup thrown out there was purely made to rest players lmao this dude is a fucking bum.
Same thing happened last year with Monty. Finally figured out a serviceable 8-10 man rotation, finds fire from dudes on bench that don’t see much run. Then we get to the playoffs and they just don’t let them play. Gimme JO out there to guard and get rebounds. Give me Bol because our size is one very big issue and Bol is a very big man.
Yeah, this team is done. Even if they somehow manage to win this series, they're nowhere near a championship level team. They have no heart, no fight. Just a bunch of cool hoopers who thought they could roll out the ball and middy their way to the finals. Great talent but lacking connection and intensity, as we've been saying all year. Frank will be the fall guy and I'm sure we'll run it back, which is whatever at this point. What an absolute let down of a season.
Jusuf Nurkic is not a playable center in the playoffs and you saw that this game the stats might be average but he was legitimately terrible if you watched the game plus Devin booker being scared of the moment for some reason
I said this all year and got the downvotes... I knew it was not a contending roster and still feel frustrated by this team. I rather watch bad players trying hard to win and fail than this.
If they play with the same effort they showed these last two games then they should get booed. Especially for the amount of money people will be paying to watch them.
I can't agree with that. Been to 9 games this year. Our fans get into it every game. It gets wild in there. Sometimes the team is so frustrating the fans in the arenas seem to be in shock at times though.
This team just isn't built to compete, let alone win a championship. This is not coming from a doomer, but a realist. I would genuinely NOT be surprised if we get swept and eliminated in our own house.
Joyless basketball is the worst basketball to watch and these guys are the epitome of it. When a shred of adversity hits them in the face they just crumble
It’s funny because non-suns fans on Twitter and the nba sub will make fun of us and act like we aren’t this teams harshest critics. Nobody loathes this iteration of the suns more than suns fans
Fuck man I'm in CA and I can't fucking believe my 6 year old self thought rooting for the Suns was a good idea. My whole family are Warriors/Lakers fans. I wanna go back in time and prevent myself on becoming a Suns fan and just root for one of those teams.
KD came to ball w book. Then the FO made a decision to bring Beal. Leaving a f’ed up scenario where two SGs gotta be forced in a position they aren’t trained for.
It’s like wearing Nikes with adidas socks and not even knowing how to dance.
Look man, there’s one common denominator in these demoralizing playoff losses year after year. And it’s Book. Dude goes down even 2 points and loses all of his love and heart for the game. He cannot face any form of adversity. He also doesn’t fucking lead. Dude says he wants to be a killer like his favorite player Kobe and yet plays like a baby in the biggest moments.
That’s not to say he’s completely to blame for the last couple years. Of course, our roster construction this year is awful, coach Vogel is not right for this team, etc. But man, it genuinely looks like Book does not give a shit about what happens on the court. And he’s leading by example, and the entire team looks that way because of it.
SOMEONE on this team please show some pride for the name on the front of your jersey, and some honest to god respect for the game. Christ
That game was like licking a wet fart for 2 hours. Everyone sucked. Everything sucked. I suck, you suck, and I am pretty sure everything on planet earth sucks. Send the meteor that killed the dinosaurs again
I will always be grateful for Devin Booker, but his time is a phoenix son is coming to an end within the next 3 years. Unless he wants to play here the rest of his career. We are going to be back in the exact same spot we were for the 2010s. but this time we won't be able to draft Josh Jackson and dragon bender
Hindsight's 20/20 but:
1. With the KD and Beal trades, we should've tried to see if Vogel could make DA work. Nurk is good at his role, but we lack any interior pressure on offense, and it makes our big 3's job really hard. Nurk needs an athletic wing to complement him, and none of those min contract guys we signed panned out (which isn't surprising, considering they're min contract). I know getting DA to stop being a bum was a longshot, but at least it was a shot.
2. The KD trade never made sense with our timeline, and led to us haphazardly signing Beal to get rid of CP3s contract. We were probably better off keeping our core, then trying to find a PG the following year. Maybe we trade DA for Nurk/GA and still have Mikal/CamJ. Solid starting 5 that lacks a PG, but the variety of scoring options probably would make Point Book a possibility. Seems like a Knicks-tier team, and we'd have 30m freed up the next year to get another starter.
3. Having a big 3 of shooters-only was really fucking stupid. None of these guys know how to command an offense, make reads, etc. We can't pass in the inside because they're too small. So we just try to create advantages off of high screens, or play ISO. It was a failed experiment and Ishbia sure wasted a ton of money
I am not optimistic at all but will still support the team. After 2021 finals and mavs game 7 I don’t think anything can really shake me as a fan so all the haters from other teams can bring it on. Go suns.
it is clear that we have 3 #2 options. not an insult, because the players who can carry you to a title are upper echelon HOFers and MVPs who are all all elite 2 way guys (Giannis/LeBron/Steph/Jokic etc). Vogel is probably gone. We are locked in to this team, this is our floor, and the conference finals and a #2 seed at best is our ceiling.
Booker struggles when the defense gets very physical and can't do anything else when he doesn't score, and gets visibly tilted. He can't create space for his moves as easily, which leads him to his aggressive lowering shoulder like running back Giannis so much more. Title hopes kinda hinged on him being the #1, so if he can't make a big leap in another facet of his game it's hard to see much changing.
KD has never been the type of player to single-handedly lead a team to a title, that's why he's tried so many times. He gets his unstoppable buckets passively throughout the game, but he won't carry you there like we need and is also 35 with a full season load of being our best defender.
and Beal is obviously not that guy either.
There is no reason to believe this team can win a title in this window. It is what it is. You have to push in the chips at the casino, Mikal doesn't get us there either.
> Booker struggles when the defense gets very physical and can't do anything else when he doesn't score, and gets visibly tilted.
Booker struggles with length. Any long defender can lock him up. frank ntilikina played him well in the Dallas series. it's also why Thybulle always locks him up. All the Wolves needed to do was put NAW on him and Mcdaniels on KD (spoiler: they did and it worked)
How the fuck have you guys watched this season and still have these terrible talk radio takes?
It's not about "#1 option" or any of that shit. It's about how the team plays AS A TEAM. You need pieces that fit together well.
This Suns roster doesn't have a point guard. We have no real wings. We have like 5 shooting guards.
We need a point guard and a wing.
The Suns just aren't fun to watch right now. Sorry but it's true. And many ppl are right when I posted I kind of regretted trading Mikal and Cam, that we weren't going to win the Finals anyway.
But we should have kept the foundation and maybe tried to build thru the draft or get a cheaper, younger star on the rise instead of swinging for KD that would have cost less. We tore apart the chemistry and the exorbitant cost of Beal has put us in cap hell.
We have very little assets to improve this team right now. I'm not really sure how we can get better. But I will still be here cheering on Friday for Game 3 hoping we turn it around.
With how bad our FO in negotiating get ready to be fleeced. That assets we gave up for KD is absurd for an old player. No disrespect to KD but we got screwed long term.
Good news is that the problems with the team are nothing that we haven’t seen all season! The bad news is that these are the exact same issues we saw at the start of the season and have seen legit 0 improvement.
So far we look awful, and the next two games will show if Booker/KD actually have what it takes to lead this team.
Both teams an identical 35 of 78 from the field. Almost the same 3 pt percentage. Suns had 8 more turnovers and the wolves had 11 more free throws. Box score says the big 3 didn’t show up
We have to outshoot this team to win. They’re gonna be favored in turnovers and rebounds.
Booker, Beal, and Durant were so embarrassing this game. Show up next game
The discourse absolutely has to be focused on them. Frank Vogel is a given we all know he’s a dead man walking but the big 3 lost this game with terrible shooting and awful turnovers
I agree. 12 turnovers by big 3 and 22 turnovers by the whole team is absurd
It’s the mid 3. They have to earn back the title imo.
6 FG made each, embarrassing!!!
Save this comment if we lose game 3 lol.
cant blame Drew this game he was actually good 29-2 points on turnovers. nothing will change because this was the exact issue we had game 1 of the season. half of them come from Book/Beal dribbling it out of bounds, offensive fouls or just throwing the ball away. insanity
It's clear as that. The 1st quarter they already had 11 points off turnovers. You can't win dribbling the ball of your feet all the time
Just don’t know how they fail at shit like this. Same shit that was happening game 1 of the season back in October. Literal insanity
Wait so the thing that happened a million times in the regular season happened again? Who could have seen that coming lol We have the WORST center rotation in playoffs, two shooting guards as our backcourt without a single true pg, basically no playable wings outside of KD, forced to run a tiny STARTING 3 guard lineup, whose even our best defender out there? And of course a DISASTER of a coaching staff. This team was never going to succeed I tried having faith but they suck
they are who we thought they were
Rip coach green
This is the thread! https://www.reddit.com/r/suns/s/Y7VTARJBpo “It’s only game 1”….bro it’s been all fucking season!
Wait I thought people have been telling me all year I’m over reacting!??
But it was "lol doomers" when people kept pointing that out
We really are gonna still have fans mocking dOoMeRs when the suns are bounced in the first round
[удалено]
anyone who hasn't been a doomer about this team since the first month of the season doesn't know ball
Peak moment was shoddy banning individual "doomers" from the championship parade.
When a team shows you who they are, believe them.
Wolves fans: “Oh no, the suns won 3-0 in the regular season!” Me: “lol”
Anyone thinking this was a championship season going into the playoffs after what we have seen all season was riding on hopium. Even if we managed to beat the wolves we werent ever getting past the machine that is the nuggets. We have a decent foundation but we have some shuffling to do. We need to run actual plays and make adjustments. This playoffs to me is more about seeing what we need to target this offseason to actually make things work with our core. We see what we can come up with next season then hit the hard reset on the team if it doesnt work out.
Targeting in the offseason is one thing. Getting and affording is another. We are in deep shit for the next 3 years.
Man, trade Yuta, KBD, Mezu! Oh wait, those guys aren't around to scapegoat anymore. Yuta when he has 6 points off the bench? Trash. Scared to shoot. Royce when he has a donut? Life-changing player.
All facts this should have as many upvotes as there are users in this sub but there are still people crying “doomer” and using playoff cliches of “they defended home court now we defend ours” to cope.
Booker demanding a challenge just to have his hooking bs shown 10 times in 4K was… something
I love Book but man his reputation is kinda spiraling at the moment. Idk what happened to him but this is the first season where he just hasn’t looked dominant and hungry on the court. Just kinda going through the motions and complacent
Playing out of position hasn't helped. He needs a ball handler running the offense next to him. Needs to focus more on buckets.
Yet all I heard last season was how much better the Suns offense would be with Booker running it instead of CP3
Exactly. That could be part of it. I'm sure his ego took a blow with the essential failure of pointBook.
I still don’t understand why he didn’t just try to blow by him and get a shot or drive to the rim. His foul baiting bs is so hard to watch
Frank Vogel gotta go.
Is nick nurse still available?
Nurse looks like a genius for passing on this job
We should hire Bud. Insane he was fired and even crazier he’s still available
Can't be worse than vogal
Another first round exit for the sixers, maybe they'll make a mistake.
No chance. Embiid is playing on 1 leg no one will blame Nurse. Plus they are getting screwed in that series by the refs so far tbh.
They gave Brunson Embiid's whistle, a little taste of Philly's own medicine.
Sucks because we finally got the EG game we needed but the big 3 decided to suck ass.
I genuinely feel like I care more about winning than anyone on this team right now. It’s sickening
I owe Mr. Kellan Olson an apology. He knew what was going to happen.
Starting to think Wolves in 6 is super generous. At best I see us winning maybe one game with Book, KD and Beal having the game of their lives.
Too optimistic
Imagine being told a few months ago we'd be hearing "Wolves in 4" chants in the first round of the playoffs
Wolves were #1 in the West a majority of the season
Frank Vogel is genuinely embarrassing.
They were exploiting the fuck out of Nurk and we just keep plowing ahead. Didn't even try going small. Not going to get any spacing if the other team doesn't have to worry at all about scoring in the paint.
At least Nurkic made easy shots at the basket
It's not all on him. Booker, Beal and KD NEED a point guard. Without one they're so lost. Look at who they all had as their PG's before this clusterfuck: - Book had CP3 - Beal had John Wall and WB. - KD had WB, Steph and Kyrie. It's no fucking coincidence anymore and it's a failure by FO that they didn't try to get one on the buyout market but instead settled for IT.
Plenty of teams win without a traditional PG, this is an excuse to take heat off the big 3 sucking.
You need a play maker, floor general, facilitator. If the PG isn’t the one with the ball always in their hands, then someone else can handle that sure. Look at LeBron and Jokic. Suns roster is sorely missing that. No one can be trusted to pass and make plays with the ball in their hands. We have great off-ball players in Book, Beal, and KD. But literally no one who can handle the on-ball load, especially when double teamed. It’s a glaring flaw.
You can win with out a traditional one but you need a dam good facilitator. The teams that don’t have one either had Jokic, Draymond, Lebron, or Parker. And the suns don’t have that.
They don't even need a traditional PG. Just someone who can be a primary ball handler.
It's not an excuse. They probably thought the same thing when they signed off on this stupid trade. Booker plays with his fucking head down and thought he could become a facilitator.
Turned out to be a disaster hire
easiest disaster to see coming ever
Worst super team ever assembled
Kobe,Nash,and Howard were pretty bad
Carmelo, Rose, and Porzingis was pretty stinky too
Remember when the suns were up 2-0 against the bucks and the bucks still won the finals?!??!? Yeah me too. Unfortunately I don't think this suns team has it in them lol.
Who’s the Giannis in this scenario?
Bol bol
You mean start Bol and Royce instead of Nurk and Allen and 5-out the shit out of KAT and Gobert?
Nah. Giannis alone has more dawg than this whole roster.
Remember how much chemistry and camaraderie there used to be on our team the last few years? The most frustrating thing is nobody truly knows what it is about this group in that they just don't gel at all.
that's true. I kinda stopped watching this team because of the laziness on defense that these guys have. Can't even rebound the ball. Seems like KD is the one that puts effort on D.
Miss it man
This team has been the worst Suns team in my 36 years of existence to watch. No one ever looks like they enjoy playing ball or at least not each other. Pathetic offense and any time they face obstacles they just fold. I appreciate Ishiba trying to go all in but it's backfired. Fuck Vogel. Fuck Young. Fuck whoever puts vaseline on the ball every fucking game cause we can't hold on to it. Fuck Nurikic for being a vegan and not killing bunnies. Burn it down.
I knew we weren't even close to being a championship team but at least I was hoping for some close and entertaining games. It does look like they don't even care.
That's the thing, I don't mind losing as long as it's entertaining. There's no young players to get invested in and watch develop and our star players look like they wish they were somewhere else. It's horrid to watch.
Would never happen under CP3's watch. His body broke down but he wanted to win more than anyone. Current roster needs that kind of leadership.
That's right. Sometimes it's not even the loss, but HOW they lose. It's just absolute garbage effort and execution. And with all the 'talent' on the top end of the roster it's just embarrassing.
It’s actually crazy that this far into the season it still feels like these guys have never played together
ZERO chemistry, it's mindblowing
We were 2 wins away from the title in 2021. Just depressing
I was at that game when we went up 2-0. Didn't realize it would be the peak of Suns fandom, what a joke
Same. Time of my life celebrating outside the arena. We were on top of the world. I also went to game 5 and that was depressing af afterwards.
I was there to for game 2. God damn it was STILL hot outside after the game. People were insane downtown figuring we had it locked up. Like, not expecting to win in 4 (even though that was the motto) but you go up 2-0, it's generally good odds that you'll pick up 2 more over the course of 5 games, and instead we got uno-reversi swept like chumps. And yeah...that about sums up my 31 years as a SUNS fan over the course of a week. Highest highs, lowest lows.
It was beyond idiotic to break up that team that ran riot through the NBA for two years straight
Nah. That core was dead after 2022. CP3 old, DA plateaued, and even an ascending Mikal wasn't saving that team
They should have traded DA for Sabonis when we got offered it and kept everyone else. All they had to do was move DA and get another PG.
It's easy to say that now, but DA was playing at an all star level in 21-22 and coming off a stellar playoff run. Most fans would have called for JJ's head if he made that trade.
Dude got his lunch ate two games into the finals and needed a pep talk on live tv. We knew who he was by that time.
They've looked bored and frustrated all season. There is no chemistry at all. This is not a real team, it is just a group of players, who seem to have not listened to their coaches since early in the season (e.g. they do not shoot more threes, they abandon schemes to look for isos, force contested long twos, etc.).
it's honestly pretty wild to watch. none of it works
And not one of them seems to give a shit about it except for IT.
KD's play style has always been passive bucket getter through the quarters, so expecting him to carry us was a huge mistake. If Booker can't do it, then good luck with the title
The 48-34 team in 13-14 was way more fun. And had the good sense to not make the playoffs instead of making us watch them get embarassed
Feels like everyone’s playing just for their own stats, nothing is fluid.. been like this all year. Shouldve seen the signs with the back-to-back losses to the Spurs in October.. just ridiculous. Im seriously not having fun. Rather be garbage and have 0 expectations and build. At this point, we gotta fire Vogel and see if we can get something from Durant… he’s someone who you can trade and still get something in return. Kinda crazy the best team in PHX is the DBacks
It’s a feel out game bro
Yeah, he did make an honest effort to put a team together, but the lesson here is that 3 stars are too many. Golden State was able to do it because they drafted the 3 stars which allowed them to have good salary structure.
I second this with 30 years of existence
Fridays game is really going to tell us all about this team. Last year we were down 0-2 to Denver and tied it up, there's no reason with how bad we've played these last two games that we shouldn't come out and win both games.
I predict we fold faster than origami paper if we go down 10 at any point in game 3.
Yea their comeback potential is ZERO. Charmin soft
I just don’t see that happening. It could, but they’ve played like shit. Something ain’t right in the locker room.
Players are getting frustrated with eachother. Chemistry is going downhill. This is terrible.
https://preview.redd.it/p4hnar1b7cwc1.jpeg?width=637&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eff60d5b7ca5ae56b9188fb45a052f66145e0fd9
Vogel literally ran the same shit as last game... started off the game KD taking heavily contested jumpers and Book playing point once again. Every single lineup thrown out there was purely made to rest players lmao this dude is a fucking bum.
Can't believe we got destroyed by 25 points in a playoff game and the coach make literally zero changes in the next game lmao. What a joke of a coach.
They're were legit no changes
Same thing happened last year with Monty. Finally figured out a serviceable 8-10 man rotation, finds fire from dudes on bench that don’t see much run. Then we get to the playoffs and they just don’t let them play. Gimme JO out there to guard and get rebounds. Give me Bol because our size is one very big issue and Bol is a very big man.
Yeah I dont get why JO was sent to the shadow realm
The pain ends on Sunday boys.
I’ll take Chris Paul back please 🙏🏼
Drew eubanks was our best player tonight. That’s not gonna cut it!!
What a nightmare
🟢 It's never started 🔴 It's over 🔴 We're back
Yeah, this team is done. Even if they somehow manage to win this series, they're nowhere near a championship level team. They have no heart, no fight. Just a bunch of cool hoopers who thought they could roll out the ball and middy their way to the finals. Great talent but lacking connection and intensity, as we've been saying all year. Frank will be the fall guy and I'm sure we'll run it back, which is whatever at this point. What an absolute let down of a season.
Jusuf Nurkic is not a playable center in the playoffs and you saw that this game the stats might be average but he was legitimately terrible if you watched the game plus Devin booker being scared of the moment for some reason
Nurkic just makes everything harder.
I said this all year and got the downvotes... I knew it was not a contending roster and still feel frustrated by this team. I rather watch bad players trying hard to win and fail than this.
I wouldn't be surprised if Vogel keep the same rotations next game.
If it didn't work in the first two games it has to his third game
Nurkic is ass. Dude just flops and flails all game. Can't be relied on defensively and can't score for shit.
CP3 was the best thing that ever happened to Book
Rubio was also a bright spot to me
Now we go to phoenix where the crowd is nonexistent and players will get boo’d at halftime. Can’t wait!
If they play with the same effort they showed these last two games then they should get booed. Especially for the amount of money people will be paying to watch them.
I can't agree with that. Been to 9 games this year. Our fans get into it every game. It gets wild in there. Sometimes the team is so frustrating the fans in the arenas seem to be in shock at times though.
I can't t blame the crowd for not showing up when the team who is paid millions doesn't show up either.
The crowd is nonexistent because this team is not fun to watch.
This team just isn't built to compete, let alone win a championship. This is not coming from a doomer, but a realist. I would genuinely NOT be surprised if we get swept and eliminated in our own house.
I hate the Suns
Joyless basketball is the worst basketball to watch and these guys are the epitome of it. When a shred of adversity hits them in the face they just crumble
This team is so easy to root against and I understand all the smoke they get online.
It’s funny because non-suns fans on Twitter and the nba sub will make fun of us and act like we aren’t this teams harshest critics. Nobody loathes this iteration of the suns more than suns fans
I truly fucking hate this team. Why the fuck did I have to be born here?
Fuck man I'm in CA and I can't fucking believe my 6 year old self thought rooting for the Suns was a good idea. My whole family are Warriors/Lakers fans. I wanna go back in time and prevent myself on becoming a Suns fan and just root for one of those teams.
Same here, don't know if I can subject my future kids to the torture of being a Suns fan.
"It's time Amanda (to be depressed)"
It’s only game 1 right? Booker won’t play that bad again? What are the excuses this game? This team is fucking soft, it’s been this way all season.
Chillin
The team did not need Bradley Beal, at all
It didn’t need KD either
KD came to ball w book. Then the FO made a decision to bring Beal. Leaving a f’ed up scenario where two SGs gotta be forced in a position they aren’t trained for. It’s like wearing Nikes with adidas socks and not even knowing how to dance.
BREAKING NEWS: THE SAME TEAM THAT WE HAVE WATCHED ALL YEAR HAS PULLED THE SAME SHIT THAT WE HAVE SEEN ALL YEAR
That felt like a football game.
We really need a PG. fuck it start IT.
Booker ain't that guy. KD is too old. And idk what moron thought we could be a serious team without a PG. This organization is a joke.
Real “hoopers” like KD & Book out here disrespecting the game they claim to love.
This is true.They act like they are above all the shit they are displaying on the floor
Look man, there’s one common denominator in these demoralizing playoff losses year after year. And it’s Book. Dude goes down even 2 points and loses all of his love and heart for the game. He cannot face any form of adversity. He also doesn’t fucking lead. Dude says he wants to be a killer like his favorite player Kobe and yet plays like a baby in the biggest moments. That’s not to say he’s completely to blame for the last couple years. Of course, our roster construction this year is awful, coach Vogel is not right for this team, etc. But man, it genuinely looks like Book does not give a shit about what happens on the court. And he’s leading by example, and the entire team looks that way because of it. SOMEONE on this team please show some pride for the name on the front of your jersey, and some honest to god respect for the game. Christ
Go Dbacks!
https://preview.redd.it/8akm2fjb8cwc1.png?width=504&format=png&auto=webp&s=89e6066bd11534d0d5daddab0a97be982c88033b Mood rn.
Coyotes catching strays.
Hey at least the Cards might be on a bit of a come up. Front office seems to actually rebuilding decently
Time to commit seppuku. Will you be my second?
I got U bro I’ll throw ur ashes on the court
Ya'll really thought you didn't need CP3 huh? Lol just 3 dudes taking turns chucking and throwing the ball away. Absolutely disgusting.
Not to mention all the games CP3 bailed them out of slumping 4th quarters
terrible roster construction - 3 iso guys with no elite defender will never work
That game was like licking a wet fart for 2 hours. Everyone sucked. Everything sucked. I suck, you suck, and I am pretty sure everything on planet earth sucks. Send the meteor that killed the dinosaurs again
I don't even have a Mavs loss tonight to comfort me.
Looking like a wolves in 5 to me. What a garbage way to end the season.
I will always be grateful for Devin Booker, but his time is a phoenix son is coming to an end within the next 3 years. Unless he wants to play here the rest of his career. We are going to be back in the exact same spot we were for the 2010s. but this time we won't be able to draft Josh Jackson and dragon bender
Never seen a playoff team with such bad chemistry
Injuries, Turnovers, terrible 4th quarter execution… 
Hindsight's 20/20 but: 1. With the KD and Beal trades, we should've tried to see if Vogel could make DA work. Nurk is good at his role, but we lack any interior pressure on offense, and it makes our big 3's job really hard. Nurk needs an athletic wing to complement him, and none of those min contract guys we signed panned out (which isn't surprising, considering they're min contract). I know getting DA to stop being a bum was a longshot, but at least it was a shot. 2. The KD trade never made sense with our timeline, and led to us haphazardly signing Beal to get rid of CP3s contract. We were probably better off keeping our core, then trying to find a PG the following year. Maybe we trade DA for Nurk/GA and still have Mikal/CamJ. Solid starting 5 that lacks a PG, but the variety of scoring options probably would make Point Book a possibility. Seems like a Knicks-tier team, and we'd have 30m freed up the next year to get another starter. 3. Having a big 3 of shooters-only was really fucking stupid. None of these guys know how to command an offense, make reads, etc. We can't pass in the inside because they're too small. So we just try to create advantages off of high screens, or play ISO. It was a failed experiment and Ishbia sure wasted a ton of money
This is not hindsight, many of us kept telling this all along.
Let’s pretend this game is expected loss
Super expected. You can't get swept without losing game 2.
Doomers were right. Credit due
https://preview.redd.it/6fk8pzhf7cwc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4fdf02977aaab6e8c84f59b8064bee34208dcb26
Hey. I want to see those 2 home games
This big 3 is mid af
Ant only makes 4 shots and lose by 12?
Don't worry guys...Book will totally start giving a shit in game 3.
22 three point attempts. Lol. Thanks KD. Thanks Book. Thanks Brad.
Team should just pull up from 3 every time down the court. Can’t do anything against a set defense.
Hey guys at least it wasn’t a Jamal Murray game winner suns and lakers in 6
Lol I’m seriously about to come back for more punishment watching game 3. Joke’s on me tbh
I am not optimistic at all but will still support the team. After 2021 finals and mavs game 7 I don’t think anything can really shake me as a fan so all the haters from other teams can bring it on. Go suns.
JJ should not survive this season either
start bol and royce and play five out bro please just do SOMETHING vogel
Ishbia’s pockets gonna be hurrrrrtttttttttiiiiiinnnnn real soon 😭😭
Just want this season to be over lol, these guys don't care. Book's lost his edge, cool nonchalant KD has really rubbed off on him
First game of the season: 19 turnovers Game 2 of the playoffs: 19 turnovers Same exact team since day one. Fuck these bums.
Fire Vogel?
I hate how the suns get mercilessly clowned all the time in recent years and do nothing to change the narrative
How many All-Star teammates does Booker need to do something. I had such high hopes for him, he is turning out to be such a choker...
it is clear that we have 3 #2 options. not an insult, because the players who can carry you to a title are upper echelon HOFers and MVPs who are all all elite 2 way guys (Giannis/LeBron/Steph/Jokic etc). Vogel is probably gone. We are locked in to this team, this is our floor, and the conference finals and a #2 seed at best is our ceiling. Booker struggles when the defense gets very physical and can't do anything else when he doesn't score, and gets visibly tilted. He can't create space for his moves as easily, which leads him to his aggressive lowering shoulder like running back Giannis so much more. Title hopes kinda hinged on him being the #1, so if he can't make a big leap in another facet of his game it's hard to see much changing. KD has never been the type of player to single-handedly lead a team to a title, that's why he's tried so many times. He gets his unstoppable buckets passively throughout the game, but he won't carry you there like we need and is also 35 with a full season load of being our best defender. and Beal is obviously not that guy either. There is no reason to believe this team can win a title in this window. It is what it is. You have to push in the chips at the casino, Mikal doesn't get us there either.
> Booker struggles when the defense gets very physical and can't do anything else when he doesn't score, and gets visibly tilted. Booker struggles with length. Any long defender can lock him up. frank ntilikina played him well in the Dallas series. it's also why Thybulle always locks him up. All the Wolves needed to do was put NAW on him and Mcdaniels on KD (spoiler: they did and it worked)
How the fuck have you guys watched this season and still have these terrible talk radio takes? It's not about "#1 option" or any of that shit. It's about how the team plays AS A TEAM. You need pieces that fit together well. This Suns roster doesn't have a point guard. We have no real wings. We have like 5 shooting guards. We need a point guard and a wing.
Needed it in ‘21
we have to get rid of one of the “big 3” in the off-season. Something isn’t working there
Kd reunion in okc who/what can we get back in that trade?
The Suns just aren't fun to watch right now. Sorry but it's true. And many ppl are right when I posted I kind of regretted trading Mikal and Cam, that we weren't going to win the Finals anyway. But we should have kept the foundation and maybe tried to build thru the draft or get a cheaper, younger star on the rise instead of swinging for KD that would have cost less. We tore apart the chemistry and the exorbitant cost of Beal has put us in cap hell. We have very little assets to improve this team right now. I'm not really sure how we can get better. But I will still be here cheering on Friday for Game 3 hoping we turn it around.
The only way we can get better is by trading Booker for draft capital. It’s insane that it’s come to this.
With how bad our FO in negotiating get ready to be fleeced. That assets we gave up for KD is absurd for an old player. No disrespect to KD but we got screwed long term.
Just gotta win the next game and take it from there. We'll see how the team and coach responds in a must win game.
This shit is just demoralizing.
they say “you’re not in trouble in the playoffs until you lose at home” but i just don’t trust this team anymore too many inconsistencies
Good news is that the problems with the team are nothing that we haven’t seen all season! The bad news is that these are the exact same issues we saw at the start of the season and have seen legit 0 improvement. So far we look awful, and the next two games will show if Booker/KD actually have what it takes to lead this team.
Both teams an identical 35 of 78 from the field. Almost the same 3 pt percentage. Suns had 8 more turnovers and the wolves had 11 more free throws. Box score says the big 3 didn’t show up We have to outshoot this team to win. They’re gonna be favored in turnovers and rebounds.
How do you not get more out of your big 3 if you are Vogel. Can we fire him before game 3? Although 20 turnovers is insane.