Saying that Phoenix isn't a champiionship contender is insane. When the team has the best point guard in the league in Steve Nash, anything is possible, and once Amare is healthy again, it will be all over. To rule out the Suns this early in the season is crazy, it's just a matter of time until they get all of their players back.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">God post, the Suns are very good this year. I think they are better than last year because they've improved their defense and depth. I'd say they are contenders but Amare may not be the same Amare we saw last year. He relied very heavliy on his athleticism and if he isnt as explosive this year he may struggle a bit more.</div> That's always a valid concern for any player coming off an injury. But knowing Amare's on-court personality, as long as the injury itself isn't physically holding him back, I really don't think he'll hold back at all mentally. Which ultimately is just as important as the physical side of things. Suns fans saw it last year with Zarko after his injury, he just wasn't as confident around the hoop after that. After having seen him this season on his new team he's doing a bit better, but it apparently took awhile. But I don't think that will happen to Amare, he wants to win too much to let it get in his way.
Players are not always the same right after an injury. Amare is a strong player and will come back from this injury but not right away. He is going to have to come back slow and steady so he doesn't get hurt again.
I'd really like to see the suns games. I love the gorgeous offence. But honestly, your defence is not the champion-kind. But i will see how they will be in the postseason.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dingking:</div><div class="quote_post">I'd really like to see the suns games. I love the gorgeous offence. But honestly, your defence is not the champion-kind. But i will see how they will be in the postseason.</div> Uh. You said you'd like to see the games, indicating that you haven't. Then you make a sweeping generalization. As I mentioned before, the suns defense is one of the better in the league this season. Their point differential is a good indicator of that and watching the games you will see it. Especially from Bell and Thomas, but the rest of the guys seem to be picking up energy and enthusiasm from them because they've all upped their defense, including Nash who has done real well the last few weeks in particular. Marion and Diaw have done really well on rebounding and shot blocking, especially at critical times (Diaw with that nice block on Duncan recently). James Jones has also put in a lot of energy defensively. So until you actually know what you're talking about, I recommend keeping quiet.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GiantMidget:</div><div class="quote_post">^ Right. However, its not as if the Suns didnt lose anything...and i think alot of people fail/refuse to see this. The Suns offense this year,even if its still good, is NOWEHERE NEAR the offense they had last year. They were one of the best offensive teams to ever play in my opinion. So lets realize that the Suns made a significant sacrifice. With that said, are the Suns better than they were last year? I know I dont think so.</div> Statistically the suns are scoring more than any other team in the NBA right now. (I know its not as good as last year) The Suns D is also better than last year, statistically. This is without their number one player who dominated San Antonio during the playoffs. Steve Nash is again proving he is the MVP of the league because he has taken almost a completely different team and turned them into a 50+ win team. The suns are a contender and IF The Man Child can come back full strength, I feel sorry for San Antonio because its going to be a tough series for them. I am more worried about the pistons than San Antonio because I think we can make it past San Antonio, but the pistons...that's another story.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting unbeliever:</div><div class="quote_post">So lets recap. Reasons for Phoenix not being a Contender: - They aren't tough defensively -- Oops, they're #2 in the league for point differential (+6.3) - They don't have the same high-powered offense as last year -- Guess what? They're #1 in the league in ppg (105) without Amare - They couldn't do it last year, they can't do it this time -- Hello? They have 7 new players, they're a different team. And only a few games behind the Spurs w/out their all-star/mvp quality Amare and dont' discount the loss of Barbosa either. My advice? Try watching the Suns play. Try some critical thinking and don't let some espn drone shortcut your brain. Then come back and back up any of your statements with, oh I dunno, some facts or stats?</div> I think that PHX/DET/MIA are going to win the championship. PHX is gonna score like 110 ppg and allow like 90 when amare gets back, they gonna be hawt
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting unbeliever:</div><div class="quote_post">Uh. You said you'd like to see the games, indicating that you haven't. Then you make a sweeping generalization. As I mentioned before, the suns defense is one of the better in the league this season. Their point differential is a good indicator of that and watching the games you will see it. Especially from Bell and Thomas, but the rest of the guys seem to be picking up energy and enthusiasm from them because they've all upped their defense, including Nash who has done real well the last few weeks in particular. Marion and Diaw have done really well on rebounding and shot blocking, especially at critical times (Diaw with that nice block on Duncan recently). James Jones has also put in a lot of energy defensively. So until you actually know what you're talking about, I recommend keeping quiet.</div> Barbosa is an amazing defender and a good shooter
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting superman32:</div><div class="quote_post">Barbosa is an amazing defender and a good shooter</div> Yeah, his hand-eye coordination for getting steals is practically super human. Plus he's so long, so fast and so willing to work hard. I was only able to catch the last quarter of the Cavs game, but Barbosa looked like his old self, still cutting fast to the basket, etc.
I was gonna rant, but I'll just bullet my points instead... - Yeah, it's safe to say Barbosa is back and ready to contribute at the level he did at the start of the season. - The Suns are much improved defensively. It doesn't seem that way sometimes because they're not scoring as much, but they are statistically one of the best defensive teams in the league. - Last year Suns lost to the Spurs in WCF because they couldn't defend Duncan or Ginobili (everybody else was pretty much contained), and because they had no half-court offense. Thomas/Diaw/Grant can slow down Duncan, and Bell has Ginobili's number. = With Amare in the lineup, a Suns/Spurs series goes 7 games, Phoenix winning it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">- They aren't tough defensively -- Oops, they're #2 in the league for point differential (+6.3)</div> What does that prove? Nothing but the fact that they score a lot, but ALSO give up a lot of points. Differential is not a defensive stat. Check out opponent fg% and ppg instead.
I also see it as if Detroit couldnt beat the Spurs last year, Phoenix isnt gonna beat them this year.
Suns are sure a contender, Look how they doing with out Amare, just wait till Amare gets back, theyd be kicking ass, just that he might mess up their chemistry, just like what happend with the Kings.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting black:</div><div class="quote_post">Suns are sure a contender, Look how they doing with out Amare, just wait till Amare gets back, theyd be kicking ass, just that he might mess up their chemistry, just like what happend with the Kings.</div> I just watched the Suns shut down Kobe "Golden Boy" Bryant for 3 quarters. And their D isn't improved? Of course they are a contender. They were a contender last year. They didn't win, but they contended... quite well as I see it. This year? Nash is better, Marion is better, Diaw has been huge, Bell is an improvement on D, Barbosa will be great if he can stay healthy... Ummm, isn't there an all-star center that hasn't even played yet this year? I wasn't going to mention it, because all Suns fans LOVE to point that out, but Suns Mavs and Spurs. Flip a 3-sided coin. j
I think if Amare comes back at near 100% the Suns are the best team in the league. Their Problems Last year Rebounding: They have improved here. Since a slow start to the season, Kurt Thomas has been amazing for us. Marion has improved and is a top rebounder in the game. Boris Diaw has been a huge surprise this year and is good at everything, rebounding included. When we get Amare back there's another pretty good rebounder for us. And in short spurts Brian Grant and Pat Burke have done a nice job. Defense: They have also improved here. Even with a small line-up and their run and gun offense the are holding teams below 100 points, and their FG% against is pretty good. Last year we had a whopping total of THREE defensive players!!! Wow! This year we have Thomas, Marion, Diaw, Bell, Jones, House and Barbosa. The last two aren't the best stoppers but they get us steals and that is what helps us on fast breaks. Raja Bell especially has been a nice pick-up. He held Kobe to 17 points in 3 quarters last night and he gets the player he's against really frustrated. Both games that he has guarded Kobe, Kobe has gotten a technical foul and has gotten in foul trouble. Depth: We only has 6 reliable players last year, but this year they have on of the deepest teams in the league when Amare comes back. We will have Thomas, Amare, Marion, Bell, Nash, Diaw, House, Barbosa, Jones and one of our back-up centers that will play. That is almost twice as many players as last year! Also, when Amare will come back our team may even score more than last year. That's really a scary thought especially with how much better or defense has been. This team is ready for the Spurs. I would actually put the Spurs at the 3rd best in the West. When healthy, the Suns and Mavs I think are the better teams.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GiantMidget:</div><div class="quote_post">^ Right. However, its not as if the Suns didnt lose anything...and i think alot of people fail/refuse to see this. The Suns offense this year,even if its still good, is NOWEHERE NEAR the offense they had last year. They were one of the best offensive teams to ever play in my opinion. So lets realize that the Suns made a significant sacrifice. With that said, are the Suns better than they were last year? I know I dont think so.</div> They lost a trash player for a good center, lost a inconsistent big man and traded Joe Johnson for someone that's being more productive. They are A LOT better than last year. And last year if they had a healthy team they would have taken the Spurs to 6 or 7 games.
I thought they did take the Spurs to 6 games last year? The Suns are definitely a contender with or without Amare in the lineup. They can beat any team on any night in the league, and most teams don't have an answer for Steve Nash. The Spurs look a lot more vulnerable this year because of injuries, and possibly lack of hunger. The Suns don't seem to care about stopping a single player on a team. When you get a basket, they are intent on scoring on the other end. Their mentality seems to be, our starting 5 is better at putting the ball in the basket than your starting 5. The only concern for the Suns is Steve Nash's minutes. He's playing a lot more minutes than they want him playing, and they need him fresh for the playoffs. Teams are going to up the pressure on him and he hasn't been able to get over the hump in the post season when teams zero in on stopping him. He couldn't do it in Dallas, and he couldn't do it last year with Phoenix. I'm also curious to see the rotation used in the post-season. Typically a coach shortens the rotation in the playoffs and goes with a steady 8. One of the Suns keys to success is their depth, but if D'Antoni shortens the rotation, that advantage goes away.
They took the Spurs to 5 but they only had 6 players last year. Nash was getting plenty of rest this year but Barbosa got injured for a month because of Manu's flop and then re-injured his knee for another few weeks. Now he is back though and is playing well. Him and Eddie House at the guard positions have done well together while Nash was on the bench. They will use 8 or 9 players but that is still better than only having 6 consistenly good players. And Their defense is better. Probable line-up: Thomas/Amare 2 Amare/Diaw 2 Marion/Diaw/Jones Bell/Barbosa/Jones 2 Nash/House I like our line-up right there. Better than the inconsistent Hunter, not developed yet Barbosa and Walter McCarty we had last year.
I agree, their lineup is a lot better this year and the offense is even more explosive. Eddie House is lights out and can outscore the opposing bench by himself in a matter of minutes. I also expect the Suns to slowly shutdown Steve Nash by using Barbosa and House more. Having Diaw capable of running the offense allows Barbosa and House to co-exist on the court. With Amare and Grant coming back later on in the season, the Suns will be even better. I know Grant doesn't have much left, but he can still give this team 7 to 8 quality minutes on the court and save KT or Amare some fouls against players like Duncan, Big Ben, Sheed, etc. Plus Grant is still good at the pick and roll and setting screens.
Also, if Grant doesen't play well then Burke can help us out as a back-up. He has done a decent job for us, and he's a pretty funny guy. I love having him on the team.
