Are the Suns showing their true colors?

To be honest, I never liked the Suns as a championship-caliber team, and I couldn't really understand the immense praise surrounding their run and gun play. All I could think was, "isn't this almost exactly what the Kings used to be?" The problem is that the Kings weren't considered a championship-contender during those days, and I don't understand what makes it so different for the Suns. They're definitely fun to watch, but in all seriousness, all of their highlights on ESPN are dunks, dunks, dunks. Steve Nash has done wonders for Phoenix, and it shows. Every clip I see of the Suns has Stud or Marion getting a wide open look at the rim courtesy of Nash. But now that Nash has gone down, are the Suns showing their true colors? This being that these aren't players that can really handle the pressures of real NBA competition without getting great looks from their excellent point guard? The Suns have now lost 3 in a row without Nash ever since he was injured, including a loss to the Pistons today by 14 points. So for all those articles around praising the Suns and predicting 70 wins: where are you now? What does everyone think of their chances and standing as an elite team now?
 
As long as they don't have Nash, they are going to struggle. Nash is the key to the Suns success.

With Nash, I still think they could be a tough team to beat.
 
pink :D


they suns better hope nash isn't hurt long. i never did like them as a championship title contender like everyone was hyping them. they have a very shallow bench, which is going to effect that team as the starters start to where down towards the end of the season.
 
PT Cruiser 9ROC said:
What does everyone think of their chances and standing as an elite team now?

I think they're still 4.5 games ahead of us and they're not going to lose forever. Nash is hurt but he's not facing surgery or anything so he'll be back. They're still the team to beat and, as I pointed out elsewhere, this injury to Nash could be a blessing in disguise for them. Nash always seems to run down towards the end of the year, totally exhausted. This rest he's getting could give him the additional fuel in the tank.
 
Come now, thats not fair.

You can't judge a team against one of the toughest defences in the NBA without their best player, penetrator, and assist man, not to mention 20ish points per game. Sure, the Suns look ALOT like a combo of say, the Nets and the Mavs of years past, but they could still be a viable playoff contender with a little luck and a bit of consistancy from the refs.

Give them 2 seasons to mesh and to have some experence, and then judge their potential. Missing Nash can't show their true colors.
 
Since93 said:
Twolves beaten by Raptors in Target!!! What a day of Kings fans. If Lakers lose tonight... :)

hahaha...whata great day of NBA basketball all around

who the Lakers playing tonight the Jazz??

i think im gonna tune in
 
Why pick on Phoenix? What would happen to San Antonio without Duncan, or Miami without the Big Sofa? Key injuries are devestating to most teams. Minnesota will become a "lottery team" when Kevin Garnett finally goes down!

The Sacramento Kings may be the only team in the League that has gotten into the playoffs three times in a row with major injuries. Then after a noble run, they are ridiculed by national media twits and Laker weenies for not winning the NBA Championship.
 
the difference between the suns of today and kings of the past is that nash is a better pg than williams was, they play better defense and everyone on the floor can score over 20. they might be similar but alot different, i will say one thing that the kings had was a good bench. i cant say the same for the suns after the starting five they are weak. dont look for them to go deep in the playoffs because that is going to hurt them. even if they won 70 games and were the first seed can you imagine them playing the twolves in the first round. they would get tore up
 
godsthename said:
the difference between the suns of today and kings of the past is that nash is a better pg than williams was, they play better defense and everyone on the floor can score over 20. they might be similar but alot different, i will say one thing that the kings had was a good bench. i cant say the same for the suns after the starting five they are weak. dont look for them to go deep in the playoffs because that is going to hurt them. even if they won 70 games and were the first seed can you imagine them playing the twolves in the first round. they would get tore up

Who is this "Williams" guy. Our PG is Mike Bibby, and the Kings almost won the whole enchelada a few years ago with Mike Bibby. It will be interesting to see how well Phoenix does against the "new" Kings with Cat, Special K, Matt, and Mo.
 
LAKERS LOST!!!!

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I think Nash will return when they play home
then, they'll change the color
 

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quick dog said:
Why pick on Phoenix? What would happen to San Antonio without Duncan, or Miami without the Big Sofa? Key injuries are devestating to most teams. Minnesota will become a "lottery team" when Kevin Garnett finally goes down!

The Sacramento Kings may be the only team in the League that has gotten into the playoffs three times in a row with major injuries. Then after a noble run, they are ridiculed by national media twits and Laker weenies for not winning the NBA Championship.

Why do I pick on the Suns? It's because you can't compare Steve Nash to Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan. Nash is so much more fragile than either of those guys, it's not even close. The Suns' chances at going anywhere in this league depends almost solely on the play of Nash-- take him away and you have an athletically-dependant and shallow team composing of players with shoot-first mentalities. Look at today's game: 11 assists total for the Suns. Nash gets that by himself. My point in all of this is that their chances are invested solely in a small player who has a history of being fragile and breaking down physically late in the season. The Spurs held down the fort late last season when Duncan went down with that knee injury; we all know what the Kings can do with injuries; but the Suns are nothing without their true star. Those are their true colors.
 
quick dog said:
Minnesota will become a "lottery team" when Kevin Garnett finally goes down!

at this rate, they might be a lottery team with him LOL! ;)

good point on the kings. they'v certianly gone a lot futher with injuries then most teams have. it would be nice if we could have an injury free postseason for once.

lakers lost WOOOO HOOOOO!
 
quick dog said:
Why pick on Phoenix? What would happen to San Antonio without Duncan, or Miami without the Big Sofa? Key injuries are devestating to most teams. Minnesota will become a "lottery team" when Kevin Garnett finally goes down!

The Sacramento Kings may be the only team in the League that has gotten into the playoffs three times in a row with major injuries. Then after a noble run, they are ridiculed by national media twits and Laker weenies for not winning the NBA Championship.

why pick on phoenix? cuz its a different situation. ya cant shut down tim duncan, shaq, or kevin garnett when theyre healthy. they are just unstoppable players. what differentiates those guys from nash is that they are go-to guys. they are mvp-caliber players who have been known to jsut saddle their teams on their back and charge forward. nash, tho, in his own right, carries his team because he's a facilitator, and probably the league's best. he has fantastic court vision, and he's an incredibly intelligent player. he plays ****e defense, but he sure as hell knows how to run a fast break. the suns run with nash. w/o him, they have trouble running. they dont know where to go, or who to turn to. they look confused out there, more or less. im sure they'll adapt, but they just arent the same team w/o steve nash. and when he comes back, teams better be cognizant of this fact, because, unlike shaq, or duncan, or garnett, steve nash is the kinda player ya can take outta games. seal off the passing lanes. smother him with some tough defense. frustrate the hell out of him, at the very least. ya make it tough on nash, ya make it tough on the suns. this has been my stance on the suns all season, and i'd like to think i might be right. ;)
 
I thought my point was pretty obvious.

Nash is just as important to the Phoenix Suns as Shack, Duncan, and Garnett are to their respective teams. Remove these players and their teams become very ordinary. Steve Nash may not be as physically durable as the others, but that's not the point.

I believe, and have always assumed, that all the other big-time NBA teams, with truly dominant players, will crash and burn sooner or later. All of them. Despite all the Kings-bashing media twits, the Kings will probably do well this year because they have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to overcome major injuries.

It is simply a matter of time before the supposedly unbeatable teams lose their dominant players for a while. It is not "if", it's "when". The Kings will continue to move up in the standings.
 
The difference is that those players (with the exception to Shaq) are usually at their best come playoff time. Steve Nash, as good as he is, routinely breaks down late in the season as isn't as fresh in April and May as he is in December. You don't have to worry about that with Duncan and Garnett - especially Garnett.

And besides that, the three teams you mentioned (Miami, Minnesota and San Antonio) are al built around big men, which is the formula for playoff success. Phoenix this year is more like the Nets two or three years ago than they are like the Heat, Wolves or Spurs. And the Nets wouldn't have made it to the Finals in this year's Western conference (or any of the past five years).

Steve Nash is amazing. He's probably the best pure point guard in the League this season, and though I'm suprised that the Suns are blowing up the League, it's not all that strange considering how well everyone is playing together in Phoenix. But I don't think that they are built for a deep playoff run. If it happens, it will be revolutionary.
 
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