Outsider with a question...

by cap'n hack on Aug 23, 2008 12:40 AM MDT

Okay, so I'm a Warriors fan, and normally I do my posting on GSoM, but I think that Phoenix has potentially the most interesting team as far as range of possibilities go, for next season, so here I am. Where do you folks see the Suns next year?

It seems to me that it has become a necessity to have a complete style of play overhaul and I'm sure I'm not alone in that opinion. I wish that it wasn't true. In the past few years I have loved watching the Suns play, I have. For a team outside of the bay, I could not have respected and enjoyed that team more. I sort of viewed the Suns as a member of the "basketball as its meant to be played family" along with my beloved Warriors and to an extent, the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, the personell just is not there for the style of play that I so enjoy. That said, Steve Nash's back might be thanking everything that is holy that the games will slow down some.

Now, if Amare keeps making progress and becomes an almost-Dwight Howard, which is all any big without a cape can hope for, I can see this team contending again. If healthy. That's a big if. There are a lot of injury risks on the team, which is one reason why D'Antoni might not be there anymore. His style of play wasn't a problem for the health of his players in the past, but do you really want Grant Hill, Shaq and Nash playing more possessions than they need to?

So, I guess I'll leave it with the main questions on my mind.

-Where in the West do the Suns finish this year?

-Do they have the defenders to play a slower pace?

-Can Shaq and Hill hold up for an entire season?

-(Bonus) Who hates Robert Horry more, Suns fans or Kings fans?

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I think the Suns will at least make it to the playoffs. The Suns do have the defenders to play a slower pace, but whether or not they will fully transition to slower-paced, major defense team this year will remain to be seen. To me, I don’t see Nash truly shining with a high defense-based game, but I could be wrong. The idea of a slower-paced game bums me out because, to me, they’re just not as exciting to watch. I know most Suns fans won’t agree with me on this, but I was truly sorry to see D’Antoni go.

I don’t want to think about Shaq’s health. I just want him to learn how to shoot free throws. I hope that Hill stays healthy throughout the entire season because I love what he brought to the team last year. Having him made losing the Matrix a little more bearable for me.

I can’t speak for most Suns fans, but I will say that I don’t hate Robert Horry as much as I hate Bruce Bowen and his “defensive” tactics. I go to every Spurs/Suns game because I live in Texas, and it irks me to the core when I have to sit next to Spurs fans who praise Bowen and then cheer when he delivers his cheap shots because of his lack of athleticism. That’s just me though.

by Carrie on Aug 24, 2008 5:46 PM MDT 0 recs

Suns fan in SF

I enjoyed the Warriors play just as much as you enjoyed the Suns. The games I’ve been to in Oracle have been crazy. Hopefully there is as much energy in the arena without Baron this year.

1. I say we finish 4th behind NOH, LAL, and Utah.

2. Maybe? Terry Porter will try his hardest to get our players to play some D.

3. No and probably not.

4. I definitely hate Horry, but Bowen, Duncan, and Ginobili are higher on my hate chart.

P.S. “if Amare keeps making progress and becomes an almost-Dwight Howard”. I assume you mean defensively? I think Amare is much more skilled offensively.

by brian13 on Aug 25, 2008 12:14 AM MDT 0 recs

amare vs. dwight

on their overall games, i’d give dwight a decent advantage. amare is more skilled on the offensive end, but he’s not a force like howard is. dwight is going to rescue more points on that end by destroying his man on the way to an offensive board. of course, since amare has really added a lot to his repitoire on that end and has become so much more versatile than expected, so i’d give amare a slight edge offensively, because he can beat you in so many ways. dwight keeps it close on that end, because he only needs to beat you in one way. and on defense and the glass, edge howard. he just seems to want it more. just my thoughts on it though.

by cap'n hack on Aug 25, 2008 10:55 AM MDT up 0 recs

Not really that close

Dwight Howard is a great player and a better rebounder than probably anyone in the NBA. But he’s not that close to Amare on offense.

I don’t think you’re appreciating the fact that Howard can’t shoot free throws. His 59% FT shooting is an achilles heel that Amare, at 80%, does not have. To add to this, Howard turns the ball over much more than Amare and has no offense outside the paint. Sure, he’s a good offensive rebounder, though Amare’s not a bad one either, but that doesn’t make up for the points he loses at the line and on turnovers. I mean, Amare plays 5 fewer mpg than Howard and outscores him by 5 ppg. Amare’s really the best offensive big man in the league right now, as much of a “force” as you could want, since he has the ability not only to get dunks off pick and rolls and alley oops, but he can also create his own offense efficiently (both off the dribble and from mid-range) and hit a superior percentage of his free throws. Howard has to live off dunks and putbacks, since he has no jump shot, a rudimentary post up game, and can’t beat anyone off the dribble.

As far as defense is concerned, neither of them are particularly great defenders. They block the same amount of shots, get the same amount of steals, though Howard’s probably a little better on the ball in the post, especially since Amare is horribly foul prone.

But I don’t know that it makes a lot of sense to talk of either of these players as superior to the other. They’re at the comparable levels of awesomeness, and any team would do fine with either. They just have different talents and weaknesses, and Amare is clearly the superior offensive weapon.

Purchasing my Dragic jersey

by rosewood on Aug 25, 2008 12:47 PM MDT up 0 recs

all valid points

i wasn’t trying to say that dwight was a complete offensive player, and i am well aware that he cannot make free throws, but there are a lot of other factors that might give amare that extra 5ppg in 5 less minutes. steve nash being one of them, shaq being another, barbosa and bell, too. and don’t forget pace. the suns run (or i guess now we should say, ran), and those added possessions favor amare, as does having nash, who WILL find him if he’s open. shaq prevents the double and barbosa and bell lurking outside prevents the d from sagging in on him. put dwight on the suns and his ppg would go up. probably not to amare’s scoring rate, i’m not saying howard is the better offensive player, but it’s closer than you think. and you are right, my comment in the intial post may have been a bit off base, as they do have very different skill sets, and amare trying to be dwight howard would not be what the suns would want from him. i was merely using a general awesome scale and it ended up sounding wrong.

for the record, if i was creating an nba team that would instantly become my favorite team ever, i’d take amare before dwight. i love dwight howard, he’s a great guy, both on the court and off, but i just enjoy amare’s game more, even if i think dwight’s game is a little better.

by cap'n hack on Aug 25, 2008 2:58 PM MDT up 0 recs

Turambar here

1. Well quite alot of things could play out for the Suns this year that could easily sway the course of there season. For instance the starting five (minus the obvious of Shaq, STAT, and Nash) could be still up in the air. Diaw and LB thus could start and depending on how they fit in those rolls the Suns could be great and glorious again or just good. Hell if Diaw plays like he should then I gaurantee that the Suns will be in the top 5 in the West. Of course there are other factors as well like how the players will respond to Porter? How will Lopez, DJ, Tucker and Dragic pan out? etc…..

2. Who knows how the D will pan out. On the interior side we do indeed have the keys to get the job done. As far as perimeter D goes rookie play and the lineup (ie LB and Diaw starting) could drastically switch the status of our overall D. So in my opinions it’s up in the air.

3. Meh….they’ll both be out at some point during the season for some time. I cant imagin both roughing it out unscathed.

4. I think the Suns and KIngs share a certain black hatred for “cheap shot bob”. In truth though the Suns have quite a few more unpleasant encounters with the Spurs and thus (in my mind) have more of a reason to hate the Spurs.

"Yeah I could have been king, but maybe I already am king. Hail to the king baby." Ash from Army of Darkness

by Turambar on Aug 25, 2008 9:54 AM MDT 0 recs