April 24th - New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns - GAME 4 - 1-2

‼️�� https://t.co/vNj5538IPQ

— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) April 25, 2022

They know

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

I think arguably two of his best career games have come in the play-in/playoff combined so far. You can find things to complain about but you'd have to be seriously looking: overall he's been fantastic. Really impressive performances from him. People can say that yeah, Booker is missing, yeah the Clippers had no Kawhi, etc etc, but the reality is that BI can only play the team in front of him and he's doing that to an extremely high standard.

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Based on what I've seen of him with the Lakers, and here with the Pels.. I saw his potential/ceiling as a number 2 guy on a championship team. He's looking like a 1b guy on a championship team. 1b meaning, he's just as valuable and productive as another franchise 1a player. On any given night with that franchise player he might be the better player. Sort of like a Kobe, Shaq.. situation.

pic.twitter.com/3GozL0xAZR

— Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) April 25, 2022

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

And 4-2 in the first six games so far as well. Its always better when you can gain experience AND win at the same time!

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Folks really trying to compare this to moving up a few % points for the lottery. Brandon Ingram needed to be here to show his stuff.

If you're that desperate for a lotto pick you've got a very long way to go. This team doesn't.

Thankfully it doesn't matter cos we getting both. :hihi:

Playoff game in which multiple rookies, including second rounders and UDFAs, have been vital parts of winning. And not for the first time this series.

That's special.

Personally, Jose picking CP3's pocket after Chris called him out in game 1 for even thinking about it was the best moment. Second would be when he forced CP3 into an 8 second violation.

Career low 4 points in a playoff game for CP3. As many fouls as points.

Herb has become one of my favorite players in the league.. He's got Ron Artest upside.

I feel like CP3 may have injured his hand though.

Apparently the Suns staff were taking a look at it at halftime and briefly on the bench, and he couldn't stop flexing it for most of the second half. It's got to be at least partly why he played so much offball.

On the one hand, sucks for the Suns if they have another major injury to another of their best players.

On the other hand, that is a risk you accept with a CP3 based team - especially at this point in his career - and we can't really get sentimental about it. Gotta win.

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Originally Posted by Nichols

Herb has become one of my favorite players in the league.. He's got Ron Artest upside.

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Scottie Pippen.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comment...tm_medium=mweb

Lol

CJ McCollum on Herb Jones:

"He'll be First-Team All-Defense once they start watching Pelicans games."

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) April 25, 2022

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

Personally, Jose picking CP3's pocket after Chris called him out in game 1 for even thinking about it was the best moment. Second would be when he forced CP3 into an 8 second violation.

Career low 4 points in a playoff game for CP3. As many fouls as points.

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It was about time they FINALLY called an 8 second violation on CP3. He has had at least 12-15 in the 3 games that have not been called. That one was so obvious that they had to call it.

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Originally Posted by luckyman

Scottie Pippen.

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Wow.. Scottie? Scottie was a guy that orchestrated offense while being a pretty good scorer and open court player. I think Herb can end up being a better shooter than Scottie, but I'm not sure about being a better facilitator of offense.

https://twitter.com/ScottDKushner/st...63735374954497

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Originally Posted by HoustonRox

Monty Williams just unloaded into the officiating.

? Evan Sidery (@esidery) April 25, 2022

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I hope he took a moment to unload on his team not driving to the basket, and settling for mid range shots (that didn?t fall).

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

I hope he took a moment to unload on his team not driving to the basket, and settling for mid range shots (that didn?t fall).

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:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by luckyman

Folks really trying to compare this to moving up a few % points for the lottery. Brandon Ingram needed to be here to show his stuff.

If you're that desperate for a lotto pick you've got a very long way to go. This team doesn't.

Thankfully it doesn't matter cos we getting both. :hihi:

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To be fair, things always get worse before it gets better.

I think the "it would be better to lose the playin" mindset is the last gasp of toxicity from a losing franchise before taking the leap into budding dynasty.

Monty is absolutely going to get fined for his comments. The Suns are playing the Legion of Boom strategy of "if we foul every play, the refs won't call them all". We finally had a crew that didn't allow it as much. I'm hoping his comments don't bully the refs into submission in Phoenix on Tue.

The Suns are a dirty team that routinely flops and cries to the refs for phantom fouls while arguing actual fouls they commit. They routinely get phantom foul calls because of this. People have been ignoring that fact since they have CP3.

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

I hope he took a moment to unload on his team not driving to the basket, and settling for mid range shots (that didn?t fall).

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This keeps up we may have to bump the Fire Monty thread:hihi:

He preeching like his job is on the line? Truther?

"Coaches shouldn't have to come up to the microphone and feel like they're gonna get their heads cut off for speaking the truth."

Monty Williams had a lot to say about tonight's foul disparity. pic.twitter.com/agoLz0RTM5

— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) April 25, 2022

One day our game day threads will be 47 pages long

https://www.arizonasportsfans.com/fo...478275/page-47

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

One day our game day threads will be 47 pages long

https://www.arizonasportsfans.com/fo...478275/page-47

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Most fans post on other Pel boards

I realize results-based analysis has completely taken over this fanbase but yes there were merits on both sides of the tank vs playoff discussions. However, there's no reason to re-litigate the situation especially if your only intent is to take insanely dishonest victory laps lol.

Did CP3 hurt his hand???

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Did CP3 hurt his hand???

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It seemed like it. I didn't see any official confirmation but the Suns team were looking at it on the bench a few times throughout the second half, he basically avoided dribbling with his dominant hand at all, and he spent most of the second half off ball whenever he was in. He was also flexing it constantly, as if trying out how it felt.

Might be nothing, but worth noting.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

It seemed like it. I didn't see any official confirmation but the Suns team were looking at it on the bench a few times throughout the second half, he basically avoided dribbling with his dominant hand at all, and he spent most of the second half off ball whenever he was in. He was also flexing it constantly, as if trying out how it felt.

Might be nothing, but worth noting.

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Did you watch this game on LP? As I didn't see that at all. Just what I read/heard.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Did CP3 hurt his hand???

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Probably from flopping too much

Pelicans adjustments after Game 3 that ought to be retained for Game 5:
1) More lineups with 2 bigs, more work for CP3, Ayton, McGee
2) More full-court pressure and trapping, tired out CP3 along with the 2-days gap instead of 3.
3) More drives to the basket, so more free throws for us. Less 3-point attempts.
4) Jonas sprinting back on defense more often to make Ayton work harder. Let others offensive rebound.

Adjustments that remain available for Game 5:
a) Mke CP3 guard somebody on more possessions instead of letting him play zone defense. Drive on him with Herb, Jaxson, or whoever he is supposedly guarding. More fouls, more tired CP3.
b) A few minutes of early Alvarado, aggravate CP3 more. That's just fun!
c) More swing-through action to force fouls on Crowder and CP3 when they reach. Stop avoiding contact outside the 3-point line.
d) Make our free throws!!!

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Originally Posted by NOEngineer

Pelicans adjustments after Game 3 that ought to be retained for Game 5:
1) More lineups with 2 bigs, more work for CP3, Ayton, McGee
2) More full-court pressure and trapping, tired out CP3 along with the 2-days gap instead of 3.
3) More drives to the basket, so more free throws for us. Less 3-point attempts.
4) Jonas sprinting back on defense more often to make Ayton work harder. Let others offensive rebound.

Adjustments that remain available for Game 5:
a) Mke CP3 guard somebody on more possessions instead of letting him play zone defense. Drive on him with Herb, Jaxson, or whoever he is supposedly guarding. More fouls, more tired CP3.
b) A few minutes of early Alvarado, aggravate CP3 more. That's just fun!
c) More swing-through action to force fouls on Crowder and CP3 when they reach. Stop avoiding contact outside the 3-point line.
d) Make our free throws!!!

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I think I'd move d) up to a) on this list. Good list.

If we do somehow pull this series out, I almost want DAL to beat Utah, even though Luca is back. These late starts are killing me! Regardless of who would win the GSW/DEN series, they would probably get the late game.


Not sure if this is a sign of anything, but the Suns had a week of rest before Game 1, and two days of rest before Game 3. The won both games.
They only had one day of rest before Game 2 and Game 4, and lost both. And both of those had no travel involved.
Now, the rest of the way, they only have one day rest, AND they have to travel. Could be good for us.

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Originally Posted by NOEngineer

Adjustments that remain available for Game 5:
a) Mke CP3 guard somebody on more possessions instead of letting him play zone defense. Drive on him with Herb, Jaxson, or whoever he is supposedly guarding. More fouls, more tired CP3.
b) A few minutes of early Alvarado, aggravate CP3 more. That's just fun!
c) More swing-through action to force fouls on Crowder and CP3 when they reach. Stop avoiding contact outside the 3-point line.
d) Make our free throws!!!

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I agree especially 'a'.

1. Pull everybody out of the paint five to eight times a game and post the man Paul is guarding (JAX/Herb/CJ) and dare him to stop the post up. He could never stand up; he's not stopping those three in a post up. Hell, I question if he could stop Jose'.

2. Also, run the PnR with BI and whoever he is guarding. I would love to see some jackhammer jams in Paul's face by BI or JAX (or in the paint pull-ups over him)

SIMPLY MAKE THAT SUCKER WORK!!!

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Originally Posted by RobertM320

If we do somehow pull this series out, I almost want DAL to beat Utah, even though Luca is back. These late starts are killing me! Regardless of who would win the GSW/DEN series, they would probably get the late game.


Not sure if this is a sign of anything, but the Suns had a week of rest before Game 1, and two days of rest before Game 3. The won both games.
They only had one day of rest before Game 2 and Game 4, and lost both. And both of those had no travel involved.
Now, the rest of the way, they only have one day rest, AND they have to travel. Could be good for us.

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That's a good point, expecially in regards to CP3. When he's had a lot of rest he's looked like he's in his prime. Only one day rest, not so much.

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Originally Posted by NOEngineer

Pelicans adjustments after Game 3 that ought to be retained for Game 5:


Adjustments that remain available for Game 5:
a) Mke CP3 guard somebody on more possessions instead of letting him play zone defense. Drive on him with Herb, Jaxson, or whoever he is supposedly guarding. More fouls, more tired CP3.
b) A few minutes of early Alvarado, aggravate CP3 more. That's just fun!
c) More swing-through action to force fouls on Crowder and CP3 when they reach. Stop avoiding contact outside the 3-point line.
d) Make our free throws!!!

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a) We're going to stick with our bread and butter especially in the 4th. The ball is mainly going through three guys hands: BI, CJ, and Jonas. And that's probably the way it should be.
b) Maybe, but my feeling is that they want to blitz CP3 in the second half and wear him down. So they want to bring Jose in fresh and not in foul trouble. I'm ok with that strategy. Also the longer you do something the greater the opportunity for the opposing players to figure out how to counter it on the court. When you blitz them with something in the second half that they didn't see in the first half it gives you the element of surprise.
c) The Pels have never really had players that have taken advantage of that rule. Maybe CJ. You would think with how handsy opponents are with BI that he might be able to get a few calls with the swing through, but I never really recalled him using it to his advantage.
d) Obviously. We're definitely not going to get as many calls in Phoenix so we really have to take advantage of the ones we do get.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

One day our game day threads will be 47 pages long

https://www.arizonasportsfans.com/fo...478275/page-47

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Yeah as soon as yall start caring about playoff games like you do draft picks

Not that happy with how Herb bowled over CP3. It was basically the same move as Jax did but with 0 consequences

https://youtu.be/6KmZbM3UGIQ

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Originally Posted by Darkhorse985

The Suns are a dirty team that routinely flops and cries to the refs for phantom fouls while arguing actual fouls they commit. They routinely get phantom foul calls because of this. People have been ignoring that fact since they have CP3.

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As much as I like CP3, he clearly has taught the rest of the team to play that way. It is frustrating to watch the constant flopping and whining. Not sure if it shows up on TV, but the whining and complaining coming from Booker is sickening. He mouths off with our players on the court and runs to the refs to complain at EVERY timeout.

Over on Phoenix Reddit board, they are calling us the dirty team

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Originally Posted by PELICANSFAN

It was about time they FINALLY called an 8 second violation on CP3. He has had at least 12-15 in the 3 games that have not been called. That one was so obvious that they had to call it.

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you called for it and got it...good call lol..

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Originally Posted by AusPel

Not that happy with how Herb bowled over CP3. It was basically the same move as Jax did but with 0 consequences

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Which play are you talking about?

the coaches and players need to adjust in game whenever cp3 is guarding jax in the paint and get the ball to him....one play jax had cp3 pinned down in the paint and was calling for the ball and no one got him the ball but CJ got the foul on that possession......we cant let cp3 rest on defense against mismatches...

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Originally Posted by PELICANSFAN

Which play are you talking about?

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https://old.reddit.com/r/suns/commen...ed_even_by_tv/

CP3 started it, but I think Herb shouldn't have clotheslined

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Originally Posted by 6warddude

the coaches and players need to adjust in game whenever cp3 is guarding jax in the paint and get the ball to him....one play jax had cp3 pinned down in the paint and was calling for the ball and no one got him the ball but CJ got the foul on that possession......we cant let cp3 rest on defense against mismatches...

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My sentiments entirely. Whether or not JAX can convert is not as important has making Paul work and expend energy rather than sitting in the corner guarding a non-factor.

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Originally Posted by AusPel

https://old.reddit.com/r/suns/commen...ed_even_by_tv/

CP3 started it, but I think Herb shouldn't have clotheslined

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That was not a clothesline by Herb, definitely a shove in the torso area not the neck. And CP3 shoved Herb first, but Herb did not get moved much as he is the bigger guy. Herb gave CP3 a similar shove and CP3 embellished it to draw the ref's attention. Fortunately, the ref saw the WHOLE sequence and didn't reward CP3 for the embellishment.

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Originally Posted by AusPel

https://old.reddit.com/r/suns/commen...ed_even_by_tv/

CP3 started it, but I think Herb shouldn't have clotheslined

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That's a clean shoulder bump. Paul fell down

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Originally Posted by Taker597

That's a clean shoulder bump. Paul fell down

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Clothesline isn't the right term, but it was still egregious

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Originally Posted by AusPel

https://old.reddit.com/r/suns/commen...ed_even_by_tv/

CP3 started it, but I think Herb shouldn't have clotheslined

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I'm pretty sure if they started swinging, the ref was just going to sit back and enjoy the show, he wasn't calling anything.

He could have called the elbow Chris Paul hit Herb with and then the shoulder block. But he was just, nah, playoffs.

I would be embarrassed if I were a Suns fan. The only time that the Suns could even get even on the scoreboard was because of a bunch of flops by Crowder and Paul. They jump into you on shots, or throw their off arm into you while you are standing in a normal defensive position. And if you watch the replay on the screen where Crowder ran into Jonas...he was looking right at Jonas shoulder and slams his face into it on purpose. I mean, the acting is so bad, and the refs are officiating these fake reactions. It's not even basketball anymore with the Suns. They have given up trying to play with skill and now just cry that every play is a foul and they they deserve to win just because they are the 1 seed.

At any rate, my god I love watch Jose and Herb annoy CP. This is my favorite Pels team of all time. I can't beleive I'm saying that after this seasons start. Amazing.

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Originally Posted by hornetsrebirth

thats why i love the strategy of having Jose full court press and harass CP3 while he is bringing the ball up the court. Its got to wear on him physically and it definitely got him frustrated mentally.

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Just as important is that if CP3 spends the time coming up the court focused on fending off Jose or Herb, he isn't able to focus on a quick pass. It's giving them a good 6 seconds less to run offense