The system which focusses on running and gunning, outscoring your oponent and not playing defense.I think there system is clown basketball. It inflates stats and it makes players like Shawn marion look like he's god when infact he's no better than Lamar odom. The also have a clown of a coach who's philosophy in basketball is to run and run and doesn't understand when he's being outplayed. I also don't think this style they play will ever win anything. Now please, do not bring up the showtime lakers as an argument, that team played good d when needed. The suns don't know what defense means. Now that they picked up Marcus banks, maybe he can give them 101 on what defense is. But alas, Amare is the saviour, oh hail King Amare. After all he's a defensive monster allowing a 70% duncan to average 30 on him Now please people, no flaming allowed. You might call me biased or whatever but i want a serious discussion here.
theres style is like nba live 06 gay and goes in every time thats why i hate they just run or shoot 3s
Does it work? Sure. Has any team made the finals with this style? No. It is though one of the hardest styles to beat and play against, they made players like Boris Diaw and Tim Thomas look like god with that system. Next year Amare will hopefully be back healthy and they'll get that team going again, if they can get that pick and roll working with Amare's improved jumpshot they should be even better.Had the Suns beat the Mavs and gone to the finals they probably would have beat the Heat but they didn't. Your being pretty harsh on the defensive end though... you have two of the BEST defenders in Shawn Marion and Raja Bell. I agree with you though in saying the style will probably never win a championship.
The systen doesn't make Marion look good...Marion was averaging 20/10 long before D'Antoni came to the Suns. But anyway. I don't care for the system, it just isn't good basketball.
I have nothing wrong with the way the Phoenix Suns play. They make the games exciting for the fans, they score alot of points, and they still get the job done alot of the time. The downfall of the way the Phoenix Suns play is that they will never win a championship playing like this. All teams that win championships play defense or at least try to play defense. The Suns could care less if they get scored on as long as they go score on their opponnents 8 seconds in to the possession. Ultimatley, there is nothing wrong with the way they play because it works for them better than it would if they tried harder on defense....they wouldnt get as many possessions which means they wouldnt get as many points and that is why they win so many games. Because they are a better shooting team than their opponnents most of the time.
It works, and it's fun to watch when they run like that. So I definately have no complaints. You saw this year with the Heat and Mavericks in the Finals, and also the Suns in the Conference Finals that you don't need great defense to win. The Suns focus on offense, and they score a ton of points, and they win games, so it definately works
In the finals no defense? The Mavericks have great defense. The Heat's isn't exactly the best but we play good defense when it matters the most. Just because the games were high scoring doesn't mean there was no defense involved.
I dislike the Suns system because it goes against traditional basketball and tries to exploit matchups by playing players out of position(going small) and thinking one sided instead of two(offense instead of defense). But hey what can I say, I watched my Mavs do that before the Suns, and I wasn't complaining. I did learn it doesn't win anything and I'm glad we are out of that phase.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jul 20 2006, 12:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I dislike the Suns system because it goes against traditional basketball and tries to exploit matchups by playing players out of position(going small) and thinking one sided instead of two(offense instead of defense). But hey what can I say, I watched my Mavs do that before the Suns, and I wasn't complaining. I did learn it doesn't win anything and I'm glad we are out of that phase.</div>they almost won 60 games this season by "going small", so why wouldnt they do it? If it works, you should use it. You have to remember that not all teams can go to the championship. The spurs didnt make it there this year, should they change the way that they play? Thats an obvious no. The suns have found a way to play teams and use their advantages against them by going small...and it works. So what they are doing is fine. Its also exciting to watch!
I like the Suns' system, and I think if you add another defensive player or two to that team (which they did yesterday in Marcus Banks) they are title contenders, easily. Nobody can keep up with them, plain and simple. If you intend on speeding the pace up against the Suns, they will beat you because that's their game. If you intend to play a halfcourt game against them, you better take care of the ball or the Suns will turn the pace of the game over real fast.They would be my pick for the 2007 champions if they add another big man that does dirty work. Their system is lethal if you add defense. I think with a healthy Amare and having more defensive minded players now (Banks, Bell, Marion, Diaw is solid, KT is ok) mixed with a healthy Amare (who is an underrated defender) that team is the best in the league.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>they almost won 60 games this season by "going small", so why wouldnt they do it? If it works, you should use it.</div> If all they want to do is win 50-60 games a year and go home after the 2nd round or WCF. Then fine with me, but that's not championship basketball their playing. It's called regular season basketball. That only goes so far, and I know Spurs did not win the championship this year but they faced a similar team in nature to their playing style and lost in a close game 7. They would more likely have beat the Suns, had they beaten the Mavs. It still doesn't discount the three rings they won with their style, while the Suns have simply won zero with their style.
Have you guys ever seen old school basketball from the 60's and 70's? That is how the Suns play. Pretty much no defense, run up the floor, and score as much as you can. The reason the Celtics won so many championships back then was because they were one of the few teams that could actually play D. I think if Amare is healthy than the Suns are the favorites to win the Championship next year. He gives them the interior presence that Russel gave the Celtics.I mean they made the WCF last year without Amare. No team in the West or East (other than the Bulls) has added that calibur of player.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Have you guys ever seen old school basketball from the 60's and 70's?</div> Obviously no, I was born in 1986 and don't have the sources to watch actual games from the 70's or 60's. But you can argue the game has changed since then and that kind of style of basketball has not dominated the game like it used to. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I think if Amare is healthy than the Suns are the favorites to win the Championship next year. He gives them the interior presence that Russel gave the Celtics.I mean they made the WCF last year without Amare. No team in the West or East (other than the Bulls) has added that calibur of player.</div> Your just assuming Amare will be the same player he was before. I will wait and see how he does when he goes through a full season.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jul 20 2006, 12:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If all they want to do is win 50-60 games a year and go home after the 2nd round or WCF. Then fine with me, but that's not championship basketball their playing. It's called regular season basketball. That only goes so far, and I know Spurs did not win the championship this year but they faced a similar team in nature to their playing style and lost in a close game 7. They would more likely have beat the Suns, had they beaten the Mavs. It still doesn't discount the three rings they won with their style, while the Suns have simply won zero with their style.</div>You are making it sound like going to the finals is easy or something.....They played a pretty good series against Dallas and they also beat a clippers team who has one of the best defenses in the NBA. San Antonio, Detroit, and LA Clips are the best 3 defensive teams in the league IMO and they all got eliminated the same time as the suns or earlier. They have shown that running and gunning can win you ball games, they just have to do it in the playoffs. Also, they were missing Amare. They will be better this year so we will see then.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jul 20 2006, 12:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>your just assuming Amare will be the same player he was before. I will wait and see how he does when he goes through a full season.</div>Amare doesnt need to be 100 percent. Even if he is 85 percent, the suns will still benefit from it....
I like their style and I think they can win a championship playing like that but last year their problem was that they were one dimensional. Without Kurt Thomas they lost all of their inside defense and they were only a .500 team. And without Amare they really didn't have much of an inside scoring threat so when teams made them play a half court game then they could not do it. Another problem was Nash's back problems because of getting a career high in minutes... So they did not lose because of their style. If a good half court team can't run they will lose also. The Mavs and Spurs have won because they could do both running and a half court game well.Unlike what some people think the Suns don't forget about defense. The other team scores more because they get many more opportunities when everyone is running, but last year when Kurt was healthy the Suns did have a pretty good D, much better than they are given credit for. Like I said before, for a lot of the season they had a better FG% against than the Mavs and they were top 10 in a lot of defensive stats until Kurt went out.That first year with their style their D was terrible with only 2 good defensive players, but the last two off-seasons they have gotten guys like Raja, Kurt, Jones, Banks, Diaw(he's alright) and they have or will improve their D.Edit: Suns with Kurt=on pace for 60 last year85%+ Amare>Tim ThomasMarcus Banks>>>Eddie HouseEdit #2: If they can add another big man who can come in for about 10-15 minutes and is a good shot blocker then I see them winning it all. Mavs are the #1 team right now though.
Bottom Line:Offense is reliable and defense is not. Sometimes your shot doesn't fall in so you need to get stops, the Suns don't have that ability, they're a mistmatch on both sides. You think Diaw at 6' 8'' can really guard Yao or Shaq? Hell Amare can barely guard Yao or Shaq.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jul 20 2006, 01:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Obviously no, I was born in 1986 and don't have the sources to watch actual games from the 70's or 60's. But you can argue the game has changed since then and that kind of style of basketball has not dominated the game like it used to. Your just assuming Amare will be the same player he was before. I will wait and see how he does when he goes through a full season.</div>I clearly said IF he was the same player they'd be the favorites. Read a little closer next time. Well actualy the Suns are similar to teams in the 80's as well. They scored a lot of points then too. The Pistons and Pat Riley's Kincks are what turned the game ugly. Lately though it seems the game has been going back to transition basketball. If the Suns can play just enough defense, and with a healthy Amare they'll be able to, they'll win the championship.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (arya202 @ Jul 20 2006, 01:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Bottom Line:Offense is reliable and defense is not. Sometimes your shot doesn't fall in so you need to get stops, the Suns don't have that ability, they're a mistmatch on both sides. You think Diaw at 6' 8'' can really guard Yao or Shaq? Hell Amare can barely guard Yao or Shaq.</div>Likewise do you think Shaq or Yao can run with Diaw? At least Diaw can guard them somewhat. They're not going to be able to do a thing if Boris is already up the court and they're lagging way behind. True Centers are being phased out because there's just not that many of them left.
Amare is not a good defensive play, but with Kurt healthy their defense is fine. Their D is underrated like I said in my previous, long post. They have some guys who are really good at it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>You are making it sound like going to the finals is easy or something.....They played a pretty good series against Dallas and they also beat a clippers team who has one of the best defenses in the NBA. San Antonio, Detroit, and LA Clips are the best 3 defensive teams in the league IMO and they all got eliminated the same time as the suns or earlier. They have shown that running and gunning can win you ball games, they just have to do it in the playoffs. Also, they were missing Amare. They will be better this year so we will see then.</div> It's not easy, what did I say make it sound easy? I simply said their style of basketball doesn't work in the playoffs and will not win anything. And as of right now, it hasn't, you even said so yourself they have to do it in the playoffs. Enough said. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I clearly said IF he was the same player they'd be the favorites. Read a little closer next time.</div> Which is a assumption, is it not? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I clearly said IF he was the same player they'd be the favorites. Read a little closer next time. Well actualy the Suns are similar to teams in the 80's as well. They scored a lot of points then too.</div> But they also played defense as well. Just because they scored a lot of points does not make them similar to the Suns.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jul 20 2006, 02:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It's not easy, what did I say make it sound easy? I simply said their style of basketball doesn't work in the playoffs and will not win anything. And as of right now, it hasn't, you even said so yourself they have to do it in the playoffs. Enough said.</div>You are acting like what they are doing right now just isnt good enough. When in fact, alot of NBA teams never make it to the finals every year that are good teams. I dont think that the way they play wont win in the playoffs, because they did win 2 series and got somewhat close to winning 3 series. If they had a healthy amare, their style of ball would still have been the same and they WOULD have been in the finals.
