With Amare, would the suns be the team to beat?

[Blade6119]

I understand im biased as a suns fan, and i mostly hear phoenix radio/TV, so i ask you all this. Do you all believe with amare not injured phoenix would be the best team in the playoffs. I ask becuase, short an all-star, they are in the conference finals. Take a league all-star off of the heat, pistons, mavs, and i dont think they would be in the conference finals. So, adding him back in, does it make Phoenix the best team in the league?

[Blade6119]

dola, short kurt thomas too, their other interior defender...

[JeeberD]

Take Josh Howard or Jason Terry off the Mavs and I believe that they could beat the Lakers and Clips. No way they would have beaten the Spurs, though...

That being said, I'm not dismissing the Suns. They match up really well against the Mavs and Nash is probably going to go off against them. Should be another fun, exciting series...

[JeeberD]

Dola-

And to answer the original question, yes, I think there's a good chance they would be the favorite...especially with the way they manhandled the Mavs in last year's playoffs. The only thing that might detract from the Suns is the fact that a lot of people subscribe to the maxim of "Defense wins championships." I think a lot of people are basing their estimates of the Mavs winning the series on the Mavs improved D...

[TroyF]

Yeah, if all factors played out the way they did this year, they'd be the favorite.

The problem with that is if Amare goes down, the Suns probably don't have Diaw be anything more than a spot player. Nobody would know how good he really was. So that means all factors wouldn't be the same and we'd see the Suns team from last year.

Great team and I love the style. I really would love to see a running team win the NBA title so we could get back to the good old days of NBA basketball.

That said, despite last night, the Suns look really, really tired to me. (and that's not something that would change much with Amare, they just don't utilize their bench enough IMHO)

4 Suns are averaging ver 40 minutes a game in the playoffs. Compare that to one Maverick, one Piston and one Heat player.

Your superstar should play in that 40-42 minute range, I don't like it when 80% of the starting unit does.

I think there is a real danger of the Suns to go through a Denver/Indiana type of injury situation in the near future, where they lose multiple starters for long lengths of time. Denver and Indiana were flukes, I think the Suns are going to wear down these guys.

[Arles]

If the Suns get Amare back healthy, they will have a probable 10 man rotation:

Nash, Bell, Marion, Amare, Diaw, KT, Barbosa, Tim Thomas, James Jones, 1st round pick. You add in a couple min-salary pickups (like House was last season) and the minutes should be OK.

The problem comes when you have a 7-8 man rotation going into the season and 2 key parts are injured (Amare, KT).

[bulletsponge]

No. i think this season proved that Amare is more a product of the Suns system than his abilities. Hes fast and can jump a mile, perfect for a run and gun team. maybe one day he will develope some more skills.

somehow i feel a flame coming on, so i will put on my asbestos underwear

[st.cronin]

No. i think this season proved that Amare is more a product of the Suns system than his abilities. Hes fast and can jump a mile, perfect for a run and gun team. maybe one day he will develope some more skills.

somehow i feel a flame coming on, so i will put on my asbestos underwear


I somewhat agree. Now, I never played organized basketball, and will be the first to admit that I don't understand the game that well, but it seems to me that Diaw is a better fit for that team than Amare is. I suspect that putting Amare on that team means they lose to the Fakers.

[bulletsponge]

well im not saying Amare is bad, but he seemed to be replaced easily. I think the press has just hyped him too early cause he makes vicious dunks and blocks thats great for ESPN

[Fighter of Foo]

Even though the Suns won, the Clipper series really highlighted where the Suns really miss having Stoudamire. From least to most important:

1. Rebounding. This one is obvious. When the Suns rebound as well as their opponents, they typically win no matter how crappy they shoot the ball. Diaw and his 33 minute, two rebound nights really hurt when the Suns aren't hitting threes.

2. Interior defense. There's no way Elton Brand averages 30+ PPG or whatever he ended up with against Amare. It's simply not going to happen. Amare's not technically a great defender, but he's a strong seven footer who can jump and run. It's easy to find slow and plodding big guys. Please tell me who else on the Suns roster is going to guard Dirk with any semblance of effectiveness?

3. Legitimate post option. I think it was game 6 vs the Clippers when the Suns were really, really poor from outside, and it's those games when you need a plan B, which is throwing the ball into Amare every trip down. No team can average 40% from three every game and without some balance(inside presence) they're ultimately harmless against the very best teams.

[insert flame here]

With Stoudamire healthy, they would have had a very good chance to win a title. As it stands now, they are a team very, very fortunate to advance this far, thanks to the incompetence of Kobe's Kast and the Clipper's Curse.

[SnDvls]

Please tell me who else on the Suns roster is going to guard Dirk with any semblance of effectiveness?




Marion guarded him last year the whole time in the playoffs so I'm sure it will be his job again.

[stevew]

If Amare, when he came back with around 15-20 games left, had been good to go, I think that the Suns would have had a pretty solid chance at winning the conference. But, it's also possible that they could have lost to the Lakers. Tim Thomas made some good shots in that series, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have signed him, if Amare was healthy. I generally think their ceiling would have been higher overall.

[TroyF]

If the Suns get Amare back healthy, they will have a probable 10 man rotation:

Nash, Bell, Marion, Amare, Diaw, KT, Barbosa, Tim Thomas, James Jones, 1st round pick. You add in a couple min-salary pickups (like House was last season) and the minutes should be OK.

The problem comes when you have a 7-8 man rotation going into the season and 2 key parts are injured (Amare, KT).


That's what they SHOULD have, but they haven't under D'Antoni to this point.

Last year was the same thing. He rides the starters hard. James had a role in the rotation for part of the year, fell out of favor and now he plays very limited minutes.

The bad thing for the Suns is Nash will be 33 in the middle of next season and he's the guy who makes them go. I think he's been overworked for two years now and I think they'll pay the price down the road for that mistake. Just my opinion, I could be wrong :)

[Chief Rum]

I know I just watched the Suns play some terrific games in two straight series, but I was under the impression their talent was better than the Lakers, but not by much, and less than the Clippers (note without Amare and KT, whom would put the Suns past the Clips in talent, IMO). The Suns advanced because the Clippers only had one seasoned playoff vet (Cassell) and one non-seasoned playoff vet (Brand) show up for Game 7, while the Suns have Mr. Incredible (Nash) and a bunch of bad defense, good shot opportunists who look good in that system.

And the Suns advanced because Dunleavy made some awful decisions. Witness: 1. The decision to sit Brand for too long in Game One, a game in which he finished 18-22 shooting and was literally unstoppable. Suns jumped ahead after being behind and held on for a seven point win; 2. The decision to sit fourth quarter king Cassell for almost the entire fourth quarter of Game Three; the Clips lose the game and home court in a very winnable three-point loss in which the Suns shot an atypical 37%; 3. In the pivotal Game Five, the mind-bogglingly stupid decision to put Daniel Ewing, a 6'3" short, stumpy-armed rookie who hadn't played all game, on the long-armed and taller Raja Bell, who was hot, while the perfectly-suited to cover Bell Corey Magette watched from the bench (photo of the series shows Bell shooting over Ewing, with Magette directly behind Bell on the bench, watching helplessly); 4. Not only failing to get his team into the game defensively for Game 7, but even when they were, using a double-team inside whenever Diaw or Marion touched the ball in the post, despite the fact that the Suns are pretty unlikely to develop a consistent post game with those two against Brand and Kaman; this move results in EXACTLY what the Suns wanted--wide open shooters at the 3-point line! Hello! McFly!

Can you tell I was a very, very frustrated Clips fan last night?