That’s a wrap on the night! Story submitted and sound uploaded. I hope this was at least moderately interesting for a few of you. See ya later on on here.

Easier to find a spot postgame for sure.

We are wrapped at the podium. Was able to walk-and-talk out with Jones so that’s 5-for-5 on the Flagg story. That’s big time. Next up is postgame hit and then wrapping the sound/story

Back in presser room. Bud will be here in 10-15 minutes, so that’s time to write. Locker room will open shortly after he’s done. 1-2 players will be at podium so it’s a dance between this room and the locker room.

Halftime! I skedaddled down to go to the bathroom during the last minute (yikes), grabbed caffeine, watched that back and am now tidying up 1H thoughts.

I'll make the call on if I want to write enough that may have to change later and I'm going for it with the way this is trending.

Another example of using time wisely — @geraldbourguet.bsky.social is sifting through the Suns’ misses this year before tip to look at how teams are doubling Booker ahead of what we’ll see tonight. It takes a lot beyond just one watch of a game to break things down like he does.

From now until the game ends, it's about crafting together what I can writing on deadline so I don't leave a ton for me to do postgame. That's been tougher to do with all the close games lately but it's part of the job.

Here's the blurbs I have done before the game starts and notes to watch.

This is when most people eat. I’m on a tight diet so I brought my own food but not at as a disservice to the setup! Ishbia treats us well. Meal is now free under new ownership and there are additional snacks provided throughout the night. Halftime setup has hot dogs, nachos, etc.

Still figuring out where works best. I found a corner of the suite level last week that worked nice but for whatever reason the sound system is extremely LOUD tonight so gonna find a different spot Wednesday. Time to head down, lineups drop in 5 minutes.

I’ve gotta get a video in for our social pre and post, so it’s an easy choice pre.

New court!

I asked about the great energy and buy-in yesterday for the unique gameplan. Encouraging response! (Sorry I one-handed this)

Bud is here!

Pregame is mostly about any news that has happened since he last talked, leftover takeaways from the last game or catching up after the team was on the road for a bit. Not many quotes you’ll use but good to keep track and tabs on things in this time.

Oso handle work!

Individual work pregame is like summer league. You can learn small things but using it for any major takeaway is unwise. For example, Oso can handle a bit! Should he be bringing the ball up, though? Probably not! Worth pocketing watching him develop, at least.

Doors open 2.5 hours before tip for media. Bud speaks 1.75 hours before, which is the first real item on the agenda.

I like to get here before the arena fills up to see guys work. Despite the awesome access, not a ton of pure basketball stuff we get to see. This is some of it!

Mina's motto on bluesky