Suns Win Streak! And Another Trade! Edit: Make that TWO Trades!

Excitement Reaching Fever Pitch In The Desert

Otto Porter led the Suns in scoring in both victories

Sure, it was a pair of home victories against fellow bottom-dwellers Toronto and Orlando. But that didn't stop the Phoenix faithful, still dizzy from the breathless blockbuster news that will see a radical reconstruction of the Suns, from celebrating their first win streak of the year, a pair of triumphs that literally doubled the team's win total (Stop us if you're getting deja vu from Jestor's first half-season. We'll let you sit down and take a breather).

In Game 1, the host team prevailed over the Andrew Wiggins-led Magic in a highlight reel-filled showdown between Wiggins and Otto Porter. The two duked it out all night, with the end lines as follows:

Andrew Wiggins - 5/13, 2/5 from 3 point - 15 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks
Otto Porter - 8/16, 1/2 from 3 point - 24 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover (Player of the Game)

Yes, that's right. Porter bested the most glittering prospect since Anthony Davis on the evening. Assisting him was Mitch McGary with a narrow double-double miss of 19 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks (70% shooting), and an admittedly chucking 7 of 18, 1 of 4 behind the arc from Anthony Bennett for 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Kendrick Perkins paced the bench with 12 points in 12 minutes on 5/9 shooting, as the Suns outshot the Magic 49.4% to 42.9%


Mitch McGary owned the paint against Toronto

And then came the new lineup and offensive system look for the game against the Toronto Raptors, who were sitting Al Jefferson due to trade. The abrupt changes on both sides led to mass confusion and some terrible basketball. But in the end, the Suns ground down the Raptors in an 89-75 triumph and never lost the lead after the Raptors scored the first bucket. Phoenix shot better - 39.4% to 32% - and were led by Mitch McGary's 18 points and 18 rebounds despite drawing a tough defender in Kevin Seraphin, and 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals from Otto Porter, who drew his own difficult opponent in Victor Oladipo, yet dominated the smaller guard and held him to to just 5 points on 2/11 shooting. All five starters scored double-digits for the victors.

And then came the trade.


J.J. Redick will be counted on to slang threes

Mere hours after signing off on the Kendall Marshall blockbuster, the Suns submitted another deal - one that sent Kendrick Perkins' $9 million+ expiring contract to the Los Angeles Lakers for J.J. Redick and the Lakers' 2017 1st round pick (Top 5 protected). The trade adds a veteran guard to Phoenix's backcourt and opens up numerous intriguing possibilities for the sharpshooting gunner. Do the Suns want to run a Marshall/Redick backcourt and once again put Otto Porter at the 3? Do they stick with the original plan of a Marshall/Porter/Bennett/Sullinger/McGary lineup and have Redick slide in for backup minutes at the 2? Does Kendall Williams then become Kendall Marshall's backup for a glory of Kendalls?

It's suddenly become a very, very good problem to have, and Phoenix now has another shiny first, plus considerable injury insurance. Oh, and did we forget to metion Redick's superior handles? Although the team doesn't yet have the ballthieves and shotblockers to create turnover disruption and thoroughly maximize the possession advantage that is so critical to Jestorball, by adding Marshall and Redick, they've immediately upgraded their ball security in a major way.

What's interesting is that this deal was actually proposed before by the Lakers, but the Suns turned it down due to still owning their pick and having the Lakers' first this season. Then, with the first earth-shattering trade, this one suddenly made a lot more sense in Phoenix's quest to become as relevant as possible without making a huge sacrifice of their financial future. They also added another asset in the bargain.

Kendrick Perkins started last season after coming from the Lakers, but this year found himself pushed to the bench by the offseason arrivals by Mitch McGary and Anthony Bennett. He performed well during his tenure, although he did struggle with his shooting this year. His departure leaves a gaping hole in terms of the Suns' post defense and someone who can draw contact inside.

***BREAKING NEWS!!!****

A Second Trade

Greg Oden will work his defensive post magic for the Suns

Literally minutes after the trade with the Lakers was posted, the Suns received a call from the San Antonio Spurs. Phoenix had inquired about Kawhi Leonard and Greg Oden in recent weeks, and quickly moved the discussion to Oden alone, offering their 2nd round pick this year for the oldest looking young big in the entire CSL. The Spurs initially rejected the offer, but after working out a blockbuster trade of their own with the Sacramento Kings, called back to accept the deal. Phoenix, which had the aforementioned major void following the Redick trade, immediately agreed and flat-out sprinted to submit the paperwork to league offices.

"Greg is somebody we've wanted for a very long time," Suns GM Jestor said. "He's a classic post-oriented big man who shoots 60% or better, plays defense like few in the game, is instantly our best shotblocker, and knows how to draw a foul better than anyone else on our roster. Ball don't lie, and neither does that 0.7 PA/SF. We're absolutely thrilled to get him, and in all likelihood, we pick up his team option for next season."

What does all of this mean? Let's review the rotations we saw from today's earlier blockbuster:

Original
PG Beno Udrih
SG Kendall Williams (PG/SG)
SF Otto Porter
PF Anthony Bennett
CE Mitch McGary
Alessandro Gentile (SG)
Royce White (SF)
Kelly Olynk (PF)
Kendrick Perkins (CE)

New
PG Kendall Marshall
SG Otto Porter
SF Anthony Bennett
PF Jared Sullinger
CE Mitch McGary
Beno Udrih (PG)
Kendall Williams (PG/SG)
Kelly Olynk (PF/CE)
Royce White (SF)
Kendrick Perkins (CE)

And now?

Really New
PG Kendall Marshall
SG Otto Porter (or maybe J.J. Redick)
SF Anthony Bennett (or maybe Otto Porter)
PF Mitch McGary (or maybe Jared Sullinger)
CE Greg Oden (or maybe Mitch McGary)
J.J Redick (SG)
Beno Udrih (PG)
Kendall Williams (PG/SG)
Royce White (SF)
Jared Sullinger (PF)
Kelly Olynk (PF/CE)

It's going to be a difficult call - on the one hand, Jared Sullinger is the Suns' best defensive rebounder. On the other hand, Oden is the best defender, shot blocker, shooter, and contact drawer. One potential scenario from a source familiar with Jestorball says that Mitch McGary will play both PF and CE, thereby giving Jared Sullinger close to starter level minutes at PF, and reducing Kelly Olynyk's minutes to garbage time. This would keep at least one strong rebounder on the court at all times for the Suns, and at times run with two boarders in the post, in addition to running three high percentage shooting bigs.

No matter how you cut it, with those last two trades, the Suns have just gotten deeper, more versatile, and ever closer to Jestorball ideals. And they still have three first round picks in the upcoming draft as trade pieces.

I originally targeted this game as one we had a good chance in but I just had to sit him for the trade as an injury probably kills it. It also killed any chance we had of getting the win unfortunately.

Nice set of trades. You beat me to the punch on the Redick deal. I had just opened the lines when it was done.

Yep. My guess is we probably would have gotten the win anyway, because Seraphin didn't even faze McGary, but it would have been a hell of a lot closer than what it was.

SS may even be regretting that trade already, I mean, for real, your team suddenly looks more deep and much better. Don't think you're going to reach PO's (TBH not even you think you have a chance) but you certainly have all the tools to improve and give a pick in the 9-12 range.
If not for that bad start your team with the right system would be a candidate for PO's.

Yeah that always sucks when that happens.  I remember once or twice when I traded for a pick that looked a lotto lock - then the team goes and makes a ton of trades and *bam* goes from lotto to playoff team and it's like... fuck.  IOW, what the Spurs just did to me. Edit: Well, not quite - when we made the original trade, I knew Utah's pick was actually going to be better than the Spurs', or at least have a real good shot at it - dapralbe knows DDS 3 better than I do, and as well as Jamal - but I didn't expect the Spurs to nosedive to lottery like they have with their early start either.

Very true, but OTOH, without that bad start, we don't land Marshall, so it all works out in the end.

Nice moves, I really like the way your team has taken form in just a couple of trades.

Marshall and Redick (who CHA maybe shoulda targeted instead of Afflalo) is a nice duo imo, both leaders, one floor general, one shooter/ spacer will make things easier offensively for Porter and Co and Oden is a nice defensive big to hold down the paint with these guys.

Yeah I might try a Marshall/Redick backcourt and flex Porter at SG/SF to open up enough development minutes for Bennett at backup SF similar to how I'll flex McGary at PF/CE to give Sully more backup PF minutes.

Then that just leaves me the Udrih vs. Williams debate at backup PG - Udrih is a much better floor general right now, but Williams is a better defender. I forget how to calculate TS% to see who is better overall there.

Jestor (PHX) wrote:Yeah I might try a Marshall/Redick backcourt and flex Porter at SG/SF to open up enough development minutes for Bennett at backup SF similar to how I'll flex McGary at PF/CE to give Sully more backup PF minutes.

Then that just leaves me the Udrih vs. Williams debate at backup PG - Udrih is a much better floor general right now, but Williams is a better defender.  I forget how to calculate TS% to see who is better overall there.

I think the game shows TS% in game metrics. APBRLeague Metrics I mean, at office page

Marcos_Beck (OKC) wrote:

Jestor (PHX) wrote:Yeah I might try a Marshall/Redick backcourt and flex Porter at SG/SF to open up enough development minutes for Bennett at backup SF similar to how I'll flex McGary at PF/CE to give Sully more backup PF minutes.

Then that just leaves me the Udrih vs. Williams debate at backup PG - Udrih is a much better floor general right now, but Williams is a better defender.  I forget how to calculate TS% to see who is better overall there.

I think the game shows TS% in game metrics. APBRLeague Metrics I mean, at office page

Okay, now *you've* taught me something. Thanks! I never knew that existed before. I was thinking guys were calculating TS% and RB% by hand.

I though too until someone (I though it was OP when he was explaining why he payed 12M to IT) mentioned Thomas PER. I know that to calculate PER you have to have league averages in scoring, rebounding, assists, team averages, lots of things.. And it would be impossible to someone keep track of all those statistics without being paid properly to do so LOL
then I decided to search where was that info at the game till I found those players metrics. It's helped a lot my team, I could even see that Josh Smith's usage is actually much lower than I though at 14% and it's still decreasing, so he's not actually losing games for us. In fact he's helped us win some games like today's one against the Spurs

I've always used the roster pages to look at PER, but looking at the rest of these stats, it's clear Udrih should be the backup PG if I want to maximize my wins total. But that has to be balanced against the W Kendall's need for development time.

This may be my new favorite screen, and I'm delighted to see my Ronny Turiaf vibe off Greg Oden is looking correct.

Jestor (PHX) wrote:I've always used the roster pages to look at PER, but looking at the rest of these stats, it's clear Udrih should be the backup PG if I want to maximize my wins total.  But that has to be balanced against the W Kendall's need for development time.

This may be my new favorite screen, and I'm delighted to see my Ronny Turiaf vibe off Greg Oden is looking correct.

What you have in Roster pages is not PER, it's efficiency. It's +- the same thing but PER takes account of lots of league average such as player's scoring boarding playmaking stealing and also teams pace scoring assisting rebounding.. it's just a real though formula, once I found it but I don't know where, it's very complex.
Efficiency while it shows how good a player has been to your team, is not that much complicate to calculate.
I think efficiency was what was showed at nba.com page (before they switched to PIE%) and PER is what is shown at ESPN.com page. I tend to trust PIE% more, than PER, than efficiency.. Just do not ask me why but it PIE% tend to be the most accurate stat, and then PER..