In the past three years, the Suns' lineup has not been balanced.
Last season, the Suns had Booker, Grayson Allen, Bill and Eric Gordon at the four No. 2 positions. The centers were Nukic and the 206-centimeter Eubanks.
This summer, Maluachi was selected, and Mawei was acquired from the Hornets in exchange. Together with Richards and Iguodaro, it can be regarded as the four major centers making up a table of mahjong - and their guards can still make up two tables of mahjong.
Drought to death, waterlogging to death: This is generally the case for the reconstruction team.
After the turmoil when the Lakers replaced Ma Wei in the spring, everyone knew Ma Wei: 218 centimeters tall, 231 centimeters wingspan, two pairs of moves. The blocking data looks good, but the offense is better than the defense. Diligent, hard-working, and willing to make up for the outside, but the defensive details are not the best in large spaces. For example, when encountering a center with a basket, he will occasionally be teased.
The monster who blocks the screen and cuts in front of the board for throwing and dunking. He has good movement and pace, and is very good at using his height, arm length, and small hook. The free throw feel is very soft, there is a throw, and the finish is no problem.
However, injury history: He has had injuries to his back and feet.
The Suns got Mawei, who the Lakers almost got, and the Lakers got Ayton, who the Suns once had. A smile.
Maluachi doesn't run fast, and he can't jump very well. He can jump 24 inches unassisted and 30 inches during the approach - almost the same as Gobert.
But if you look at it from the perspective of "he has only been playing the game seriously for three years", he has many moving things:
His off-ball awareness is far beyond that of his peers, and he can keep up with - if passed to him - the breakthrough passes of Booker and Jaylen Green. He can lob the ball, wait for the ball in the dunk position, and finish with one or two dribbles. He has good hands.
He is willing to follow the fast break, and - here's the point - at least in the summer league, once he is in place, he will occupy it. His confrontation has not left the scope of "skinny boy who just left Africa and came to the United States." You can almost imagine him being pushed and staggered when he met Zubac, Jokic, Eddie, and others, but he stubbornly said "This is my place!"
Just like every stubborn kid who queues up to buy tickets at a train station and encounters someone who jumps in line.
In comparison, when Ayton first entered the NBA, he was like, "Ah, you want this position, okay, it's not impossible, let's sit side by side, okay? (putting his hands away) I won't touch you..."
During the Macau China Game, seeing Maluachi live, the feeling was different. He had a clumsy moment where "Ayton took a short mid-range shot in this position, and he still insisted on rushing to the basket." He was rough and ferocious, completely different from Ayton in his rookie year, and a bit like Eddie who arrived with the Grizzlies at the beginning of last season. The opponent will subconsciously say "This guy is rough, but we'd better stay away from him."
He has a long way to go, but he has a strong presence: the kind of presence that becomes more apparent the closer you sit to the court.
Digression: Maluachi is 218 centimeters tall, has a wingspan of 229 centimeters, and has a reach height of 9 feet 8 (basket 10 feet).
Mawei is 218 centimeters tall, has a wingspan of 231 centimeters, and has a reach height of 9 feet 9.
Twin tower horses.
Fleming said that he considers himself a defender: he can indeed switch defenses, and he can shoot smoothly with one hand; he can become Kamara: a power forward in college and a giant 3D in the NBA.
Iguodaro is smart, quick, rebounds, passes, and screens. He is very active. If he and Fleming were on the same court, the Suns' infinite defense would be extremely smooth. Unfortunately, his physique is too slim to even play the 4th position, let alone the 5th position.
Of course, young people may not be tough enough, and the Twin Towers will be thinner if injured.
But probably, Dillon Brooks will come over with Royce O'Neal from time to time to calm things down, "Have you been bullied? Are you looking down on our Ax Gang?"
Dillon can be the Artest of this team: in the Grizzlies and the Rockets, wherever he goes, the team has tough and rough defense. In every game, he was the most active in warming up; during the game, he was the most able to play the role of the asshole: "It's difficult? If it's difficult, don't do it!"
In the first game against the Nets in Macau, the Nets used the strategy of flanking Booker. When the Suns had no one available, Dillon was responsible for holding the ball in the secondary attack, followed by Gillespie: It seems that Gillespie can be expected to develop in the direction of McConnell, Pritchard or Jerome.
But do you really want to be on the scene? Jaylen Green still needs to step up.
Jaeger's shortcomings were obvious when he was with the Rockets: as an attacker, poor shot selection led to inefficiency; as an organizer, he had a narrow offensive vision in the half-court and was not able to hit the ball quickly; as a defender, he was able to defend alone but could not catch rebounds; as an off-ball teammate, he lacked off-ball routines except for fixed-point shooting. The seven games against the Warriors last season were extremely typical: in the second game, he scored 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting, and in the other six games combined, he scored 55 points on 12-of-61 shooting. Last season's regular season shooting percentage was less than 40% in 39 games.
But... yes, there are buts.
In January 2025, Jaeger averaged 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game for a whole month - that was the Rockets' fastest month.
In March 2024, Jaeger averaged 28 points per game for the entire month - the team did not have Shen Jing at the time and allowed him to start quickly.
What is Jaeger’s best style of play? Advance with the ball, use a super high screen in the half court to fend off the defender, and then he lowers his head and sneaks away, either going straight to the basket or forcing a three-pointer. Super elegant, smooth and gorgeous. At this moment, he combines the explosiveness of Edwards with the elegance of Wiggins. After hitting two such balls in a row, he would get excited on the defensive end and start to do some very solid individual defense - not stealing the ball or grabbing rebounds, just staring at the ball holder. At this time, you will think, "This kid really has a bit of Kobe..."
But under the Rockets system, he can't do this often.. He said last season that he hoped to play Murray and Shen Jing played Jokic, but Murray's style of play is based on changeable pick-and-rolls (as does Mitchell), while Jaeger seems to be less able to change the pick-and-roll.
Now he reaches the sun.
His speed increased, and two 218-cm-long blue-collar men played pick-and-roll with him. Booker did not have the strength to sustain all offensive rounds. so?
Theoretically, this is the environment that is most suitable for Jaeger. "Just run around and shoot randomly. Anyway, we will be satisfied with 35 wins this year." Would Jaeger be able to take off without Uduka watching him with a tigerish face?
Ideally, Jaeger should organize most of the Suns' non-positional battle points and punish the opponent when Booker is flanked, allowing Booker to retain enough energy to cope with all difficult situations. If it doesn't take off, Jaeger won't be able to take off.
Finally, Devin Booker.
He averaged 24 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists for the eighth consecutive season last season, but it was also the first time in five years that he missed the playoffs.
Many people across the league are imitating Kobe. The one who looks the most like him at the 2nd position is probably Booker - more like DeRozan. Unlike DeRozan, who is obsessed with mid-range shots, he can respond to whatever the opponent lets him play. Without the ball, holding the ball, dribbling away, mid-range shot, long shot, breakthrough, without thinking, smooth and exquisite.
When they first met nine years ago, Booker used Kobe's moves against Kobe in a game. Kobe smiled at that time. Later, Kobe told Booker, "Keep working hard and never stop in this league!... You have the pace, the basic skills are complete, and you have the qualifications to become a legend!"
But his fate was extremely strange:
After entering the industry, he went through reconstruction and scored 70 points in a single game, but could not win; then Paul came, and he entered the finals, leading the Bucks 2-0. If he wins the championship, he will be the favorite for the finals MVP.
Then they were reversed by the Bucks. In the following year's playoffs, they ranked first in the Western Conference in winning percentage, but were reversed by Luka. In 2023, his Suns once tied with the Nuggets 2-2, and then Jokic dominated everything.
But now, these seem to have passed. No one mentioned that he was very close to the MVP of the 2021 Finals. He was once the biggest favorite in 2022. He led the NBA in 2023 with an average of 34 points per game in the playoffs. In 2024, he also won the Olympic championship with the US team and was the best player on the team after the three senior players.
He now has to take the sun to start rebuilding at the second low point in his life.
Rebuilding, scoring 70 points in a single game, partnering with Paul to enter the Finals, being reversed, partnering with Durant, losing to Jokic, hitting a trough, rebuilding again - after experiencing so much, he is only 28 years old.
Who knows? Kobe was also the same age when he led the Lakers to rebuild and scored 81 points in a single game.
The Rockets start today: Amen + Jabari + Durant + Shen Jing + Adams.
One two-meter plus four two-meter one, can actually play from four outside - only Adams and Capela in the team did not shoot three-pointers.
Shen Jing has made 25 shots and 26 assists in the past three games: With Durant, he can focus on instigating.
Imagine the Rockets’ four two-meter-ones vs. the Thunder’s four 196 centimeters?
Yang Hansen's game today was not as good as the Kings (14 points in half a quarter), but it was better than the first game against the Warriors (4 points, 4 rebounds, 6 fouls).
The style of play is relatively simple: support from the high post, pick-and-roll, long-range shots; feed Sissoko for layups.
We have talked before: Yang Hansen’s good skills and golf skills vs. his physical weakness in mobility are suitable for him to play well with the starting lineup. He is easy to get hit when he rushes in turbulent flow. Today, his reading of the Warriors' offense and defense was clearer than in the first game.
By the way, let’s talk about Yang Hansen’s “stuck position”.
Since the beginning of the Summer League, Yang Hansen's rebounding has been unstable, and he is often described as "not blocking" visually - but the essence is:
For traditional long players, rim protection + blocking can often only occupy one position: Luo Luo and Hibbert can protect the rim but have few rebounds; Love grabs rebounds but can't count on protecting the rim; both rim protection and blocking, such as Duncan and Uncle Mu, are legends.
Modern long players also need to carry delaying blocks (KG, thick eyebrows) and even switch defenses.
It is difficult to balance Yang Hansen's movement and physical fitness. Most of the time, he has to protect the basket first. Therefore, against a team with a single play style, he can rely on prediction and protect the basket + rebounds. The Warriors are interspersed and there are threats from all directions. Yang Hansen has to watch six directions, unable to position himself for rebounding. For example, blocking TJD's ball in the end was a good way to protect the rim, but he couldn't take care of the Warriors' rebounds afterwards.
With the exception of Curry, everyone in the Warriors has average baskets at most and lacks the ability to contain damage; the collective defense is good, but there is little threat with the ball; Horford has a very high IQ, but after all, he is a little slow when going outside: he played the rhythm of "playing one game with all his strength, and then two games at a medium speed" with the Celtics last season.
Both Pojie and Moody are more suitable as substitutes. Just because the former has strong integration ability and the latter is diligent, they are placed in the starting lineup. The entire team's intelligence is on the line, but the athleticism -- including Will Richard's -- remains the same. So it is consistent with the previous imagination: besides Curry + Jimmy, a group of players who are smart and hard-working but not sharp enough.
The highlight of Kuminga's game: It seems that he has temporarily found what the Warriors need for him: he can play the ball faster, grab rebounds, and play smarter - before he finally got emotional...
source:Game 24h VN