Suns fans looking for a new playoff home
by Seth Pollack on Apr 7, 2009 11:03 AM MST
in Phoenix Suns Commentary
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PrintAttention NBA Bloggers! Phoenix Suns fans are looking for a playoff team to support. Come make your pitch!
The Phoenix Suns will miss the playoff's for the first time in 5 years.
As evidenced by this lively discussion, Suns fans are the proverbial lost tribe wandering the desert looking for a home. Many Suns fans will simply sit this one out and follow the spring basketball results with a detached non-interest.
Others though, maybe as many as half the denizens of Planet Orange, are Suns fans first but are still also fans of great basketball. There are a number of great teams stacked with exciting young and even old players who would welcome the added support for their playoff run.
In the West we have these teams that are in the running:
Dallas - Ok, just kidding. I can't imagine any Suns fans jumping on with this team. Not only because of the playoff history and the most recent beat down but because the team itself really doesn't have much going for it. They are barely one step behind the Suns this season in their slide from former greatness.
Spurs - Suns fans cheering for the Spurs? Not going to happen. In fact now that Manu is official done for the year, it is hard to make the case that anyone will pick this team to win one series. On the other hand, I have to say that I've a great deal of respect (earned the hard way) for what this team does and how they go about their business. True professionals. Well coached. Consistent. Boring. I will have a hard time picking against them in any playoff series. They just find a way to win when it matters and you might hate that as a Suns fan, but as a sports fan I just can't help but respect it.
Lakers - If any of you jump on this speeding train-wagon you can just resign your membership from this community right now. That said, as much as I hate the Lakers for being the Lakers I have no problems with this team, any of its players or the way they play the game. They are a great basketball team. You just can't root for them.
Now, in my order of preference the teams I will be cheering for:
Blazers - This is my favorite non-Suns team and not just because I have been captured by the world domination that is the Bedger Army. This team has a great line-up filled with exciting young players. Roy. Aldridge. Rudy and even Batum. They play a very slow paced style of basketball and their defense isn't yet good enough to support the fewer shot attempts so they aren't close to being a contender. Plus they are young and have zero playoff experience. Plus Greg Oden isn't that good.
The Blazers are a well managed organization that has built themselves into a playoff team the right way. They very well could win their first playoff series this year since I don't know when.
Hornets - Last year's darling child took a step back due to injuries to Peja and Chandler but more importantly because they've failed to develop their bench. Posey hasn't yet done much and their back court depth is horrible. Still, watching Chris Paul play can make up for a lot of deficiencies.
Rockets - This team has grown on me. I didn't like the T-Mac led Rockets but I am in love with their role players like Scola, Landry, Wafer and Battier. Yao has been healthy all year and looks good. Artest can be a bit too aggressive with his shot but I am still a fan of anyone that crazy. Brooks is a nice player but is going to get torched by the stronger point guard's in the West.
Nuggets - The Nuggets are the anti-Spurs. They do less with more then any other team but at least this year they are getting better defensively (yes, defense does matter) and with Billups they are a much smarter team. The problem with the Nuggets is they still have KMart, Nene, Melo and JR Smith who just don't strike a lot of fear in your heart when you thinki about playoff caliber players that come through in the clutch and don't make mistakes. Of course, neither do the Suns so I guess we shouldn't throw stones.
Jazz - I'm sorry but I can't root for a team that can't win on a the road. I have no idea why and frankly am past caring. I like Deron Williams and Corey Ronnie Brewer is a fantastic shooting guard. He's exactly the kind of guy the Suns needed next to Nash to move over and take the other team's best back court threat. Boozer, I don't believe in. Okur can do damage but anytime you are reliant on outside shooting you are prone to inconsistencies. This team should be better then they are. Tell me again why we should feel sorry for Jerry Sloan not winning Coach of the Year?
I am not even going to bother with all of the East. Obviously, unless you have a personal tie to Atlanta, Philly, Detroit or Chicago you likely aren't going to root for those teams.
Miami is all about Wade and enjoying his wizardry on the court but again, hard to really get behind them for a playoff run.
That leaves the big three of Boston, Cleveland and Orlando.
Cavs - It took me a long time to buy into this Cavs team as being anything more then LeBron + scrubs. The improvements they've made this year though make a strong argument for the tweak your roster approach of getting better. They added one major but not super-major piece in Mo Williams who is the perfect fit and then continued to rely on their defense to to carry them through. Then you add in the brilliance of LeBron and suddenly this team is exciting. I am now a Cavs fan for this post-season anyway.
Magic - Another team that I didn't quite believe in but due to their improved defense if a solid team. It is a real shame that Jameer Nelson went down because his ability to slash and create really had a huge impact on this teams balance. Rafer has done well but he's not up to the task and simply not big enough to hang with some of the other PG's. Fortunately, there aren't many good point guards in the East that he has to deal with so the Magic will do fine until they meet Boston or Cleveland.
Boston - We know all about Boston. If healthy they are the best team in the East. Personally, I don't care. I like how they play. I like the balance they show offensively and their commitment to defense. I love their fire. I just don't care though about the Celtics. Been there, done that. Don't care.
What team are you excited about in the playoffs?
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You have no problem with any Lakers player?
“That said, as much as I hate the Lakers for being the Lakers I have no problems with this team, any of its players or the way they play the game. They are a great basketball team. "
Umm, hello ever heard of Coroillera, Colorado? Here’s a wiki link for your reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant_sexual_assault_case
K*be is a punk.
That said, Lets go Blazers!
Man standing on toilet is high on pot.
Did your mother even give you half a brain?
Kobe Bryant is the best player in the world. period. And just because he f* ed some ho in Colorado who wants attention later on don’t change that. Kobe will school your entire team any time he wants. You really should go to school so you can learn some common sense at some point.
by suns_all_the_way on Apr 8, 2009 11:08 AM MST up reply actions
Is school where they teach kids about grammar?
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
Blazers!
It could be due to the fact that they have woulda coulda been Suns players, but also I like rooting for the young underdog teams. My Dad is also a long time Blazer fan as well, that could have something to do with it.
The Blazers, of course
My longstanding mancrush on Batum requires it. Plus, every game he plays well is another slap to the face of Hollinger and his “uncannily accurate” Euro projection method.
Blazers!
Purchasing my Dragic jersey
Plus
there’s no enmity between the Suns and the Blazers. In fact, Steve Nash became my favorite player and the Suns my second-favorite team (and my favorite team to watch) during the dark days wandering the wilderness from 2003-2006. There’s all kind of space on the bandwagon, ladies and fellas!
The Michael Ruffin of BlazersEdge, cuz Amlmart said so.
by BlazersOrBust on Apr 7, 2009 1:00 PM MST up reply actions
I don't have much interest in the Blazers bandwagon
But I like to think I am a member of the Batum wagon.
Purchasing my Dragic jersey
I think there's a girl over at BE who would disagree
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
Agreed
During the dark years (jailblazers) I watched and rooted for the suns. Unfortunately injuries (and steve kerr) derailed the suns train leading to a missed playoff. I really hoped they were going to catch the playoffs this season.
As blazer fans we’ll be hoping you guys can rebuild quickly to get back into the playoffs with us.
The minute you put the blazers on there...
Bedger Army came over and destroyed the poll.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
and it is still early
"Slum dunk? You just go to the rim, and crush.. crush the ball in the rim."
- Nic Batum
TrollersEdge
Pwning polls!
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
by DaniBCN on Apr 7, 2009 12:34 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
The Blazers of course
by far the most likeable team in the league.
I can’t think of another team that has embarrassed the Spurs, Jazz, and Lakers at home (notice I omitted a certain Phoenix team…)
sweet
I learned a new word
but does it count if he ultimately points out the omission, thereby not making it an omission anymore?
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
Yup
That’s what apophasis is.
Like saying: “I’m not going to talk about how goofy that anklet looks on you, sir.” Same idea.
Purchasing my Dragic jersey
ah
at first I thought it had to be a strict omission. In the case of listing big home wins by the Blazers…..listing every single victory except the game against the suns causing someone else to say, “oh, but what about the suns game”
thank you for clarifying
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
But seriously
I’d be rooting for the suns if the blazers had not made it.
Link to my old fanpost of a cool nash vid. here
Yea
always liked the Suns as a “second team”. I actually saw my first NBA game in person in PHX, when my parents took me to my aunt and uncles’s house in PHX for XMas break. Was pretty cool Long time ago – Kareem and Tiny Archibald were playing that game even…. long time ago. I was just awestruck as a young kid..
Claire to Prez at 1:00 AM: "how does it feel to be talking to yourself right now?"
Yeah
I can’t decide if we are more like the Borg or Mormon Missionaries in Hawaii. Probably a little of both.
This signature intentionally left blank.
based on our intentions
I’d go with missionaries and not the Borg. We’re proselytizing, not conquering.
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
Definitely The Borg
You have been assimulated.
Claire to Prez at 1:00 AM: "how does it feel to be talking to yourself right now?"
The best part about this is that ...
probably 95% of the people who voted for the blazers are already blazer fans.
"It's not who jumps the highest -- it's who wants it the most" Buck Williams
"and if EVERYONE confronted with a tough, disgusting situation pulled out, I don't think I would have been born." Mortimer
exactly
I might have to just close the poll since the results have been Bedgered
Blogging Suns Basketball
a verb, a noun, a movement
a curse, a blessing, a terror…you name it, you are it
Blogging Suns Basketball
I have always aspired to be a part of speech
I was going for adverb but I’ll take whatever I can get. – Elgin
Blazers win BDL 2 on 2 tournament!
Skeets: i’ll close it down now … congrats. you bastards
The poll speaks the truth
Some reasons to root for the Blazers in the playoffs:
1. They are underdogs and everyone loves an underdog.
2. The team is likable. I don’t just mean they don’t drink and drive or headbutt people. They’re humble, they compete hard and for the ladies out there, most of the team is easy on the eyes.
3. The Blazers have serious upset potential, so you wouldn’t be rooting for a team that is dead in the water like the Mavs or the 6, 7 and 8 seeds in the East.
4. They’ve been playing faster lately. Nate McMillan instituted a 20 sec rule, that is, every player needs to get across the half court line by the 20 sec mark on the shot clock. Ok, so it’s not 7 seconds or less, but it’s a start.
5. Now that the Spurs are resting Manu for the season it is very likely that they will play the Blazers in the first round. While that may be a painfully slow paced series, I’m sure Suns fans wouldn’t mind seeing the Spurs lose in the first round.
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
I wouldnt be so sure the mavs would be the team dead in the water if they end up facing the blazers.
by CCH on Apr 7, 2009 8:20 PM MST up reply actions
I wouldnt be so sure the mavs would be the team dead in the water if they end up facing the blazers nuggets.
http://saboner.mybrute.com
Mavs won't face blazers
Mavs are not likely to get a high enough seed for a first round match up with the blazers, unless denver/houston/spurs all fall apart and give blazers the 2 seed. Mavs have a pretty good shot of getting Kobe-ed. We will definitely seek justice against the spurs for stealing the 07 championship. (LOL horry assaults nash and we suspend two key suns players from the bench, then say the rule doesn’t count when video evidence shows duncan leaving the bench during an altercation following a dunk.) David Stern should retire and do something he’s qualified to do, like be a janitor, or fix games and steal from people. (The stealing should be done somewhere with a harsher punishment system)
So Stan
as you’re going to be a Blazer fan, you should have a few gameday threads over here. Last week, a bunch of Bedgers went over to PeninsulaisMightier and held gameday there… BTSOS can become the best Blazer blog written by a Sun fan ever.
draft dejuan blair
Let's not go overboard
I like the Blzrs but there’s plenty of other Suns (and life) related things to occupy my time….
The Mercury for example are drafting 5th on Thursday. I’ll be there
Blogging Suns Basketball
Plenty to like about the Blazers
but the best reason is this: We pulled for you guys these past 6 years while you were in the playoffs and we were out.
We were less mad at you guys than we were mad at anyone else back then. – Elgin
Blazers win BDL 2 on 2 tournament!
Skeets: i’ll close it down now … congrats. you bastards
Bobcats man!
How can’t you have the bobcats up there. if they get in we have to support Boris and Raja.
Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."
3 games back...
lost to the pistons…they are done
But if they get in I will definitely root for them
Blogging Suns Basketball
W: Blazers/Rockets, E: WADE :P
I love Blazer’s Edge, its the 2nd best blog next to BSotS and I’ve always liked Rudy since watching Spain play in the Olympics, and they have classy players like Roy, LMA etc. Rockets are my other team just because I like the way they play. They have great hustle, effort players like Scola, Battier etc and they deserve to be in the 2nd round!
In the East, I’m all about watching D.Wade, he’s been playing sensational and with the Raptors being more dissapointing than the Suns (yes, it can happen! lol..), I have little to cheer for.
Overall, I’ll be watching most of the games since I’m a fan for the game, but those are the teams I’ll be rooting for/trolling around Blazer’s Edge, DreamShake and Peninsular :P
You know what saddens me? Rudy could’ve been a Sun. He’s such a perfect fit too. Alas, Portland was calling.
I feel for Phoenix as Paul Allen bought your future
Rudy would have been a Sun had PA not paid three million and given the Suns a trade exception for James Jones. However, you can still cheer for Rudy as a Blazer as he is mucho fun to watch. If the Blazers get Houston in the first round, you see Artest and Battier take turns chasing rudy all over the court off screens (when they aren’t trying to shut down Roy). The Blazers will have a lot of fun matchups including Oden. In the Blazers last game he liifted Scola off his feet up-ending him while trying to dunk with Scola hanging on his back. Shaq is the only player capable of outpowering Oden, which makes Oden the next best available option for the playoffs.
I think he was left out
Because most fans expect Yao to be injured at this time of the year. Yao smoked Oden the other day. Smoked him like a smoker smoking something smokeable.
This signature intentionally left blank.
Houston
Could light the world on fire if the playoffs were tournament-style. They can’t compete over a whole series, though
Mmmmm ... Guinness
Blazers!
Hey, Portland hasn’t made the playoffs for 5 years… Our bandwagon is pretty empty..
Pontiff of the Pryz for Prez Posse...
I officially signed up as a blazersedge member a few days ago..
If it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t even watch the playoffs this year.
The lakers?
I don’t like the players. The cheap shot and broken ribs incident pretty much turned me off even giving them a chance.
TO THE NBA - " Yeah, you have created a rift within me ; Now there have been ; several complications ; that have left me feeling nothing ; I might say, you were ; wrong to take it from me ; Left me feeling nothing " - Disturbed, "Numb"
Holy crap
Did they advertise this poll in BlazersEdge? Truehoop linked to it? 66%?!
And… I like the Blazers, but now I feel that SOOOO many people like them that they are sort of overhyped. I feel bad for Greg Oden, who is a freaking rookie battling injures, is also loaded with the sky-high expectations. Of course he isn’t that good now. Kevin Durant AntoineWalkered his way to 20ppg last year and no one cared because no one cared about his team.
And I am with PhxStan on most of the preferences, except
A) I’m slightly higher on the Jazz, and I’d put Nuggets at the end of that pack. I still can’t stand watching JR Smith, and ‘Melo, to a lesser extent. The Jazz can’t win on the road, and they annoy the crap out of you when you play them, but I don’t mind that team.
B) I really liked Boston last year ’cause I wanted KG to win a title. Then he did, and now this year his team carries themselves in an extremely intolerable way. And now there is Marbury.
C) I hate the Lakers because I truly hate the Lakers. I don’t like Kobe. I don’t like Andrew Bynum who carries himself like he’s everything while he hasn’t done anything. Luke Walton would not have a job in the NBA if his last name was something else (Can you imagine an NBA player named Luke Smith? Luke Brown? Luke Haddadi?) Phil Jackson backstabs Kobe to no end in his book and then goes back for $30M as if nothing happened. And he’s married and openly dating another woman. What character.
That’s why I so not want them to succeed. I don’t want Phil Jackson to win that 10th title and pass Red Auerbach. I don’t want Kobe to win a title without Shaq and get the subsequent “validation”. He’s good at what he does, and he worked hard for it. But a (big) part of me want to see decent people succeed.
With the 14th pick of the 2009 NBA draft, the Pheonix Suns select... 3 million dollars!
by gadogry on Apr 7, 2009 4:35 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
Just watch TNT
Then you won’t feel that we are overhyped anymore.
Kenny Smith will say we won’t make the playoffs at the midway point
He will repeat himself at the 3/4 point
He will then say that we only made it because Phoenix can’t play D’ and Amare got hurt. (I guess we’re in 8th right now.)
They’ll give you plenty of anti Blazer hype.
Portlanders were so pulling for
the cards against the steelers and Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark homering from both sides of the plate was awesome! All we ask in exchange is a little love for Channing and Bayless, etc. (sorry Diago’s not here anymore)
"Are you going to bark all day little doggy? Or are you going to bite?" Mr Blonde
I don't like country music, but I don't denigrate those who do. And for the people who do like country music, denigrate means "put down."
—Bob Newhart
Where Magic Happens
You guys have got to be kidding me. This is the year the Magic are doing it. I’ve been saying it all season too. Of course I’m Suns loyal, but the Magic are my east coast team and this is their year.
They are going to upset a lot of people.
No no no
I’m disturbed by this blazerism. How can you all root for such a slow team? It’s a slap in the face of suns fandom.
Personally, I’ll root for Cavs, Magic, and Rockets—not the fastest teams, but all with major effort level.
offensive effeciency
blazers are very close to leading the league, they go back and first in 1st and 2nd, and the suns constantly lead the league in that category.
Mavs
Where are the Mavericks on this list? I’m a Mavs fan too.
Rockets
If I were a Suns fan, I’d definitely have the Rockets as my second favorite team. Their GM is one of the best in the league (as a Lakers fan, it’s completely amazing to me how much depth they have when they’re committing so much salary into 3 players, 1 of whom isn’t playing), Scola’s footwork is so much fun to watch, and they always work hard.
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