2023 NBA Playoffs - Other Teams

[Hoop Head]

Yep. For some reason I am still not sold on Michael Malone, but maybe I’m just wrong on that. Would Monty have won a championship with that Nuggets crew? I dunno.

The Nuggets won despite Malone. He's not a good coach. Definitely among the weaker coaches now with a championship on his resume. When/if Denver doesn't make it back there it will be on Malone.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yep. For some reason I am still not sold on Michael Malone, but maybe I’m just wrong on that. Would Monty have won a championship with that Nuggets crew? I dunno.

The Nuggets hung with Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray through the injuries. It paid off.

They are a determined group. It probably starts at the very top, including Michael Malone.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The Nuggets hung with Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray through the injuries. It paid off.

They are a determined group. It probably starts at the very top, including Michael Malone.

They also had the best player in the entire league and one of the biggest unicorns of all time to build around. We don’t, which is why any comparison between our situations makes no sense.

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is Jamal Murray thanking Nuggets owner for remaining patient with him.

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[Yuma]

This feels like a broken record. Suns get beat by the eventual champtions for the 15th time.

I think the number is 48% of the time we made the playoffs, we lost to the eventual champions.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Heat deserve some love for their incredible run in the playoffs.

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[Mainstreet]

This is my favorite video from the Finals.

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[nashman]

The Nuggets have certainly positioned themselves for a repeat, but of course, tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

It's the talent and the way the team is put together. Also, their salary structure fits the new CBA model.

They had an easy path and stayed healthy both are not gauranteed to ever happen again. Murray or Jokic have an injury and it’s over. Any team is an injury away from elimination always. They got one congrats but let’s not start using the word Dynasty realistically everything fell their way it happens. Suns beat them a few and weren’t even healthy OR firing on all cylinders!

 

[Mainstreet]

They had an easy path and stayed healthy both are not gauranteed to ever happen again. Murray or Jokic have an injury and it’s over. Any team is an injury away from elimination always. They got one congrats but let’s not start using the word Dynasty realistically everything fell their way it happens. Suns beat them a few and weren’t even healthy OR firing on all cylinders!

The Nuggets earned the easier path because they had the best record in the West and the Heat came out of the East.

So if Booker or Durant has an injury, isn't it over as well?

I didn't mention "dynasty."

No sugarcoating it, the Nuggets were the better team this season and likely be next season as well.

Other teams will remake their rosters this summer, so it's hard to know what they will look like, but the Nuggets should be the favorites, especially in the West.

 

[Covert Rain]

The Nuggets earned the easier path because they had the best record in the West and the Heat came out of the East.

So if Booker or Durant has an injury, isn't it over as well?

I didn't mention "dynasty."

No sugarcoating it, the Nuggets were the better team this season and likely be next season as well.

Other teams will remake their rosters this summer, so it's hard to know what they will look like, but the Nuggets should be the favorites, especially in the West.

Sure they earned it. Doesn't change the path they took though and it was usually easy. Plus, they say repeating is hard. I think I recall only 27% of teams repeat. Factor that Denver will likely not repeat that easy of a path? The odds are against them but this might be the making of the next Destiny as well. Who knows. Next year will be interesting.

 

[Mainstreet]

Sure they earned it. Doesn't change the path they took though and it was usually easy. Plus, they say repeating is hard. I think I recall only 27% of teams repeat. Factor that Denver will likely not repeat that easy of a path? The odds are against them but this might be the making of the next Destiny as well. Who knows. Next year will be interesting.

I heard some of the easy path talk when the Suns made it to the Finals. A team can only play the teams in front of them.

IMO, the Nuggets are the clear favorites in the West, but the top three teams in the East could reformulate and make it interesting.

Erik Spoelstra of the Heat can make something out of nothing, but they do need another star.

 

[Covert Rain]

I heard some of the easy path talk when the Suns made it to the Finals. A team can only play the teams in front of them.

IMO, the Nuggets are the clear favorites in the West, but the top three teams in the East could reformulate and make it interesting.

Erik Spoelstra of the Heat can make something out of nothing, but they do need another star.

I don't take anything away from them just agreeing with the facts that it was an usually easy path. Next year they won't be so lucky. It's already hard to repeat with a normal type path. Denver will be tested.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't take anything away from them just agreeing with the facts that it was an usually easy path. Next year they won't be so lucky. It's already hard to repeat with a normal type path. Denver will be tested.

I'm a Suns fan, but the Nuggets are flat out good and only look to get better. This team was tested and they won an NBA Championship.

The Suns are playing from behind and their window is getting shorter.

 

[Covert Rain]

I'm a Suns fan, but the Nuggets are flat out good and only look to get better. This team was tested and they won an NBA Championship.

The Suns are playing from behind and their window is getting shorter.

They did and have the best player in the NBA. Having said that, there is a reason only 27% of champs repeat.

 

[Hoop Head]

They did and have the best player in the NBA. Having said that, there is a reason only 27% of champs repeat.

I'll take 27% over whatever the next highest team has. There's 30 teams, 27% of repeating is a lot better than winning it for the first time.

 

[Covert Rain]

I'll take 27% over whatever the next highest team has. There's 30 teams, 27% of repeating is a lot better than winning it for the first time.

For clarification that's not 27% of teams. That's 27% in the entire history of the league champions.

 

[Mainstreet]

They did and have the best player in the NBA. Having said that, there is a reason only 27% of champs repeat.

I'd grab those odds if it were for the Suns winning a championship. Unfortunately it's not.

The Suns needlessly made a major overall at the trade deadline, leaving them looking for cheap replacement parts.

 

[Covert Rain]

I'd grab those odds if it were for the Suns winning a championship. Unfortunately it's not.

The Suns needlessly made a major overall at the trade deadline, leaving them looking for cheap replacement parts.

I would take a single championship PERIOD. The Suns are one of the oldest teams in sports without one. Suns are going to have to continue to be creative and take chances in this market.

 

[Hoop Head]

I would take a single championship PERIOD. The Suns are one of the oldest teams in sports without one. Suns are going to have to continue to be creative and take chances in this market.

Other than the Raptors virtually all the past title teams had sustained success with a core group of players before winning the championship. Toronto largely benefited from KD and Klay tearing their Achilles in the same series as well. Major moves don't tend to lead to championships.

 

[Mainstreet]

I would take a single championship PERIOD. The Suns are one of the oldest teams in sports without one. Suns are going to have to continue to be creative and take chances in this market.

The Suns were in great position to contend last season before they threw a Hail Mary pass at the trade deadline.

They had the means to improve their roster with expiring contracts and draft picks. Probably even more so this season with teams having to reduce salaries with the new CBA and good players available.

The Suns were only two seasons removed from the Finals. I still can't understand why the Suns thought this was their best opportunity.

 

[Covert Rain]

Other than the Raptors virtually all the past title teams had sustained success with a core group of players before winning the championship. Toronto largely benefited from KD and Klay tearing their Achilles in the same series as well. Major moves don't tend to lead to championships.

It's always a combo of drafting, trades or signings in free agency. Nobody home grows an entire title team.

 

[Covert Rain]

The Suns were in great position to contend last season before they threw a Hail Mary pass at the trade deadline.

They had the means to improve their roster with expiring contracts and draft picks. Probably even more so this season with teams having to reduce salaries with the new CBA and good players available.

The Suns were only two seasons removed from the Finals. I still can't understand why the Suns thought this was their best opportunity.

They were not going anywhere as built unfortunately. Although those guys would have been good pieces we needed to do something. KD might not have been the right move but they couldn't stand pat while the rest of the West made moves.

 

[nashman]

The Suns were in great position to contend last season before they threw a Hail Mary pass at the trade deadline.

They had the means to improve their roster with expiring contracts and draft picks. Probably even more so this season with teams having to reduce salaries with the new CBA and good players available.

The Suns were only two seasons removed from the Finals. I still can't understand why the Suns thought this was their best opportunity.

Not sure what’s tough to understand? The make up of the team wasn’t going to do anything period, without Crowder, McGee, terrible play by CP25, CP3, Ayton this team was going NOWHERE! You really can’t let go of a team that made it to the finals this wasn’t that team! Bridges and Cam were not pulling anyone away from Book and CP3 and shadow Ayton wasn’t scaring anyone! The Suns HAD to make a move, and no adding a couple role players wouldn’t have worked geesh! The needed a legit star to put next to Book now they have that. Retool what you can using Paul and Ayton as trade fodder whatever but the team will be a contender much more than if they kept Bridges! And NO Cam was not a lock to be resigned anyway let alone stay healthy, dude proved he was not a starting PF period!

 

[Hoop Head]

They were not going anywhere as built unfortunately. Although those guys would have been good pieces we needed to do something. KD might not have been the right move but they couldn't stand pat while the rest of the West made moves.

They threw in the towel on last season, why couldn't they stand pat? There was no need for urgency.

You can't say they were going nowhere either. That's an assumption made to justify the move that was made. The team as constructed just won a franchise record number of games and had more glaring holes to fix than what the KD trade addressed.

 

[Covert Rain]

They threw in the towel on last season, why couldn't they stand pat? There was no need for urgency.

You can't say they were going nowhere either. That's an assumption made to justify the move that was made. The team as constructed just won a franchise record number of games and had more glaring holes to fix than what the KD trade addressed.

Because they knew there were not getting there otherwise. Again, maybe the KD move was the wrong move but they needed to make a move.