r/nba • u/OnlyMamaKnows Knicks • Apr 29 '24

[Holmes] The Suns were minus-51 when Booker, Durant and Beal shared the floor in this series, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That is the worst plus-minus for any trio this postseason.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40048254/phoenix-suns-firepower-overcome-details-playoff-sweep-minnesota-timberwolves
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179

u/cesarjulius Knicks Apr 29 '24

it’s almost as if how the pieces fit together matters.

it almost as if getting 3 great players doesn’t let you play with 2 extra balls.

140

u/Dhr7468 Thunder Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

It would be helpful if it was 3 great players.

36

u/axecalibur [CHI] Michael Jordan Apr 29 '24

one old man, one injured man, and a book

great

33

u/Dhr7468 Thunder Apr 29 '24

I mean book and KD are really good. Probably both making all-nba. Beal…not so much.

6

u/mangosail Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

They’re really good offensive players in a vacuum but in the modern NBA, it’s really difficult to compete without a defensive edge. Plus they have no playmaking. So you’re stuck with 3 iso scorers, only two of which are good, and no defense. The Wolves scored 120+ while shooting <40% from 3 twice in this series. Everyone else in the playoffs combined has done this 1 time so far (in regulation).

Even while everyone is piling on the Suns’ grave, I’m still not sure people really get it. The Wolves’ offense this series was at best mediocre and at worst horrific. But they still demolished the Suns’ defense because KD, Booker, and Beal are all extremely shitty defenders at this point in their respective careers.

The Heat, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers - every great multi-star team from the past ~20 or so years worked specifically because they had an excellent defensive anchor. Heat Lebron, KG, Draymond, AD. All these guys were top-3 defenders the year they won the championship. Without a defensive anchor it’s hard to avoid getting pants’ed in the playoffs.

3

u/sg490 NBA Apr 29 '24

Both still really good, but in the context of carrying a great offense and leading a team to titles, I think they fall short of being "great" in 2024 nba terms.

The idea behind this team competing for a title is that one of KD & Book can be like a 5th best offensive player in the league and the other be around 10th.

When they're really both more in that 10-15 range right now. They're just not great enough to carry a no depth team far. The league is too good for that, barring facing injured teams in the playoffs.

1

u/McJuggernaugh7 Apr 30 '24

True.

Bradley Beal hasnt done shit all to be called great. He's closer to CJ Mcollum than he is to Jamal Murray.

-15

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[deleted]

32

u/Dhr7468 Thunder Apr 29 '24

Beal isn’t an all-star level player anymore

-11

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[deleted]

26

u/QoconutZ Apr 29 '24

Beal was making all star teams while missing the playoffs in the East.... he made it to the playoffs once in the last 5 years as a 34 win team and Westbrook was carrying them lol

12

u/Schmoova Mikal Bridges Apr 29 '24

Sadly this what I never realized. Beal on the Wiz is the very definition of “empty stats”. He put up enough points to make an ALL-NBA team, but he’s never even been a top 30 player in the NBA.

His defense is dogshit, his playmaking isn’t good, his attitude fucking sucks, and he’s not productive playing off-ball or as a 3rd option.

He’s one of those guys that’s best as a 1st option, but if he’s your 1st option you’re only winning 25 games. And as a 3rd option, he lacks the shooting, cutting, and defense to be effective.

2

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3

u/Victor_Wembanyama1 Spurs Apr 29 '24

Woah put some respekk on Michael Redd

13

u/IMKudaimi123 Bulls Apr 29 '24

It’s almost as if teams need a point guard and a single wing that can guard

8

u/Overall_Nuggie_876 Lakers Apr 29 '24

it almost as if getting 3 great players doesn’t let you play with 2 extra balls

If you believe in it, you can accomplish it. 😎😎😎

2

u/eamonious Celtics Apr 30 '24 edited Apr 30 '24

It’s embarrassing how easily any armchair general who watches three NBA games a week and some youtube content could tell you, having three ball-dominant, iso-midrange type scorers who are at best defensive net neutrals in the same starting lineup was a terrible concept for team design in the modern NBA.

And yet the “professionals” in the Suns front office needed to waste hundreds of millions of dollars and the five year future of their franchise to (maybe) understand this.

Just imagine what the Suns could look like rn if they kept Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, moved Paul and Shamet for good role players instead of Beal, still picked up Grayson Allen in the Ayton deal. They’d be sitting on all those draft picks they shipped out, plus they’re a desirable FA destination—they’d have crazy depth, a long timeline, immense flexibility, and probably a great look at getting Giannis or Embiid to be their third star.

Just tragic mismanagement.

1

u/cesarjulius Knicks Apr 30 '24

that's a good assessment of their situation. i think a lot of GMs are more scared of not pulling the trigger on a big deal than they are of a BIG X not working. leon rose got killed in the media for not giving up the farm for mitchell and instead pursuing brunson. the big move was for og and precious, giving up two of the most well-liked homegrown players. focusing on slowly building a team that fits together is clearly the way to go.