Willie Green knows the Suns better than anyone and he exploited this in the first round. Mavs staff was smart and doubled down on this strategy. Monty had no adjustment.Originally Posted by DeacdeTejas
Willie Green knows the Suns better than anyone and he exploited this in the first round. Mavs staff was smart and doubled down on this strategy. Monty had no adjustment.
really cool how he’s embraced winston, great representative of our university, he’ll probably be on GameDay again this year for the Clemson game, he just can’t get that damn ring
one of the greatest minds in the game but sometimes he can overthink things - e.g end of ‘14 OKC game 5
it’s not all on him, suns should have picked up another playmaker like eric gordon at the trade deadline
Looney is a modern C but he’s listed at 6-9/222.
That’s about the same size as Collins (6-9/226). I agree that he’s at his best offensively as a C.
Rumor is that the Pacers are interested
The Spurs as well.
Agreed. Norman Powell would've been perfect. They should've been all in this year.
They probably thought they were.
Were they hamstrung with their roster situation at the trade deadline? I seem to remember they were rumored to be in the PG market and it was a big womp womp when that ended up being Aaron Holiday
So are the Suns a playoff team without Paul? Cause there is nobody else on that roster who can really facilitate and run an offense. Booker sure cant
Furthermore, do the Suns legit need to blow this up? Or move one of their big 3 at very least? I remember as a Mavs fan that in 08 after a finals collapse and then a 67 win team collapse in playoffs there was just this sense that there was nothing that could help the group. The Suns are arguably more talented than that group, but Josh Howard was never the same again.
the Suns should definitely have the roster to win a championship. I still dont understand what happened to them in this series. That was just, for lack of a better word, weird.
The offense was certainly bad but the Suns just looked soft on defense. And they definitely got outcoached. Kidd had his guys motivated and challenged. I almost wonder of CP3 is such an alpha that it makes it difficult for Monty to push his team. It's almost like that's all left up to CP3.
The Suns need a reliable backup combo guard. I guess they thought that’s what they’re paying Cam Payne to be. They also need another big wing.
I dunno. I think it can be argued that last year the Suns had one of the luckiest (in terms of opposing injuries) runs to finals ever. Every team they played in West was without their best or most important player. The Suns have also showed in last two years that they are vastly different when Paul is hurt or not playing well. Booker can get his own shot but nobody else in that roster can. And Booker isn’t a facilitator. That team lacks both offense and mojo without Paul
I agree with Ph about a back up PG. Paul needed to have come into the postseason with the freshest legs imaginable.
everything leaked the past couple of days points to Ayton being gone.
gotta think fatigue and age were a factor coming off a run to the finals last year, booker getting hurt in rd 1 and CP not looking like himself most of the time. Bucks going down as well shows just how hard it is to get back. Suns looked a lot better last year regardless of the luck they may have had (every team needs luck to get there), still felt like they were a threat to win those series. the way they got blown out in game 7 makes me think they just didn't believe they could lose to the mavs.
Obviously the Hornets are as well. Sign and trade for 2 years of Gordon Hayward (who would be fantastic next to Booker and the other Bridges for the 30 games he plays), plus have your choice of PJ Washington, Kai Jones, Bouknight, and some of our many first round picks.
the lakers had lebron and nuggets had jokic, so the exaggerated point isn’t true. that said, we have enough data to say with confidence the suns are better in the regular season than playoffs. i think it is easy to hypothesize why — the suns win in depth, being organized and consistent, staggering rotations smartly and then cp using most of his energy in the 4th quarter to close out games.
in the playoffs when teams play harder and have guys playing more minutes a lot of those advantages are nullified, along with playing the same team over and over. and then booker just isn’t good enough when teams focus on him, relies way too much on jumpshots but isn’t a great 3 point shooter.
I don’t want to belabor the point too much because I agree with you that the truth is somewhere in the middle, but do we really think given what you mentioned that the Suns beat a healthy AD/LeBron, Kawhi/PG, and Murray/Jokic to make Finals last year? Injuries are an obvious part of playoffs. And I don’t fault the Suns for taking advantage.
Im simply asking if you are the Suns right now, do you really think you are as close to winning as you might have before? The West will be better next year in theory with Clippers and Denver both healthy and Memphis and Minnesota with more experience. Maybe even a young Nola team. Jazz will be interesting depending on what they do.
I guess I just can’t help thinking that the last two years was the window. NBA history, especially recent history shows that championship windows can close really quickly
Pauls contract alone seems to indicate that you have to maximize the next two years (unless they trade him which I don’t see happening). I could see them trading Ayton and retooling around Paul and Booker. I just don’t see how you run it back completely with this group and I don’t think fringe tweaks help.
I don’t say this often, but I think the Suns should consider trading with the Hornets. Right now, they need a bunch of wings and a reliable combo. If they could get Hayward and the last two years of his contract, Bridges, Rozier, and maybe Washington for Ayton and change, that would be a nice haul. Even if they do that without Bridges and get a pick, that’s pretty good.
The real M Bridges is untouchable, and I don't think they would want Rozier as he would not help them defensively, but they can have him if they want him. Maybe they want Oubre back? If we end up with LaMelo, Miles Bridges, and Ayton, we can work with whatever is leftover after getting it done.
But yeah Hayward is what the Suns need the most. Just manage his creamy white load by not playing him at all until about the all-star break, then hope he can run through the remainder and playoffs without getting hurt.
Certainly not a given they would have made the finals, I was only quibbling (probably unnecessarily, but is a pet peeve that I fall victim to myself) about the hyperbole that the Lakers and Nuggets were not without their best players. And the Suns did have their own fair share of injuries. No doubt they did benefit in the end.
Ultimately though, I agree the run it back strategy probably isn't a good one for the Suns despite their regular season record.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote