I don't see it

[Chris_Sanders]

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Also anytime I can reference Dude Where is My Car I am in

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Ha, I do enjoy the revisionist history...I was of the opinion that we were in the Denver/Utah tier, 3-4, with the LA teams ahead. It would be no surprise if that is how everything plays out in the end, but many of us were very optimistic about being in that range.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I'm tired of the "we'd be worse if not for injuries to other teams" excuse.

At this point it should be expected that with an abbreviated season, whomever is healthy at the end is going to have a significant advantage. Health cost us probably 4 games at the start of the year so we had our time just early.

We are our record and continue to prove it against the top teams

 

[Hoop Head]

Ha, I do enjoy the revisionist history...I was of the opinion that we were in the Denver/Utah tier, 3-4, with the LA teams ahead. It would be no surprise if that is how everything plays out in the end, but many of us were very optimistic about being in that range.

This is what I was thinking. I knew we weren't favorites for a title but we would be dark horse contenders along with the Jazz and Nuggets.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm tired of the "we'd be worse if not for injuries to other teams" excuse.

Make of it what you will but never in my life have I seen the Suns catch the kind of breaks that we have this season. I'm not discounting our wins but we've almost always been on the other side of the luck line prior to this season. And I'll be ecstatic if we continue to catch these breaks all the way to a championship.

 

[Chaplin]

Make of it what you will but never in my life have I seen the Suns catch the kind of breaks that we have this season. I'm not discounting our wins but we've almost always been on the other side of the luck line prior to this season. And I'll be ecstatic if we continue to catch these breaks all the way to a championship.

But by definition you are discounting our wins by implying that we wouldn’t have won if those players were healthy.

We are all definitely happy with where we are at right now. But we are a good team. Hell the Bucks were healthy and we beat them.

 

[Mainstreet]

Make of it what you will but never in my life have I seen the Suns catch the kind of breaks that we have this season. I'm not discounting our wins but we've almost always been on the other side of the luck line prior to this season. And I'll be ecstatic if we continue to catch these breaks all the way to a championship.

The Suns have had their share of bad luck like those two back-to-back losses to Denver.

If the Suns had not put themselves in position to win there would be no luck.

 

[AzStevenCal]

But by definition you are discounting our wins by implying that we wouldn’t have won if those players were healthy.

We are all definitely happy with where we are at right now. But we are a good team. Hell the Bucks were healthy and we beat them.

Whatever. I guess I could pretend all the other teams were fully healthy but I just don't see what's wrong in acknowledging our good fortune. And at no time have I said those wins don't count. It's not uncommon for any team to win or lose a game due to player absence, we don't put asterisks next to the W's.

I've been consistent on this subject. Look through the history of this board and you will find many examples of my doing the same thing for us when good fortune has gone against us (as it has so many times).

 

[mjb21aztd]

Glad this aged badly

 

[Proximo]

I'm tired of the "we'd be worse if not for injuries to other teams" excuse.

Why, you don't think it's true?

Suns are a very good team - but lets be honest they have a very small chance of beating a healthy Lakers or Nets team.

 

[Chaplin]

Why, you don't think it's true?

Suns are a very good team - but lets be honest they have a very small chance of beating a healthy Lakers or Nets team.

Ok. We're not talking about just the Lakers and the Nets though. And nobody has said that we would be everybody regardless of who is playing on the opponent.

 

[Proximo]

But by definition you are discounting our wins by implying that we wouldn’t have won if those players were healthy.

We are all definitely happy with where we are at right now. But we are a good team. Hell the Bucks were healthy and we beat them.

We barely beat them, and they are a notch below Philly and the Nets.

Suns are not playing very well right now if we are being honest. Book, and Dario are playing way below their potential, and the whole bench has for the most part been subpar as of late.

We are not getting out of the second round if our level of play does not improve.

 

[Chaplin]

We barely beat them, and they are a notch below Philly and the Nets.

Suns are not playing very well right now if we are being honest. Book, and Dario are playing way below their potential, and the whole bench has for the most part been subpar as of late.

We are not getting out of the second round if our level of play does not improve.

Must be great to be someone who can't enjoy wins over good teams. Discounting the Suns wins because the other team was missing players is definitely a "glass half empty" outlook. But you do you.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'm tired of the "we'd be worse if not for injuries to other teams" excuse.

It’s legitimate in terms of what may have happened - can’t argue with the fact those games would’ve been more difficult. But doesn’t change the fact that your record is what it is. You can only win against the players in front of you. I just wonder if we’ve benefitted from more absence than other top tier teams or if our experience is the norm this season.

 

[Covert Rain]

We barely beat them, and they are a notch below Philly and the Nets.

Suns are not playing very well right now if we are being honest. Book, and Dario are playing way below their potential, and the whole bench has for the most part been subpar as of late.

We are not getting out of the second round if our level of play does not improve.

We beat them. Barely only counts for the viewership at home. A win is a win and a loss is a loss when it comes to records.

Also, the Suns are not playing very well but are still winning. That's says a ton about a team that is still eeking out wins despite some of their talent not playing well as of late. That is called teamwork. That says a bunch about how far the team has come. In the past if one guy didn't play well...the team had very little chance of winning.

Getting to the playoffs would be an accomplishment. Making it to the second round would beat expectations. It would be above and beyond expectations coming into the season. Anything beyond that would simply be a fantastic run.

 

[Mainstreet]

We barely beat them, and they are a notch below Philly and the Nets.

Suns are not playing very well right now if we are being honest. Book, and Dario are playing way below their potential, and the whole bench has for the most part been subpar as of late.

We are not getting out of the second round if our level of play does not improve.

You are making a great case for the Suns being a much better team than they are because they are not functioning on all cylinders and still winning.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

During the game thread, what the general attitude was at the start of the journey came up. So rather than make assumptions, I bumped the two threads that show how it all started.

There were people, including myself, who had us at the 4 seed pre Lakers injuries. We added an All NBA Player for two average starters. That's a big shift whenever it happens.

I figured 4 or 5 seed, but leaned 4.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It’s legitimate in terms of what may have happened - can’t argue with the fact those games would’ve been more difficult. But doesn’t change the fact that your record is what it is. You can only win against the players in front of you. I just wonder if we’ve benefitted from more absence than other top tier teams or if our experience is the norm this season.

That's a good point and I have no idea on it. I know this is unusual luck for us but for all I know many of the top teams have experienced the same thing this season. And even if it's unusual for us, who knows how the season would have played out if we'd faced nothing but fully healthy opponents. For all we know, losing 3 or 4 more games against those good teams might have kept us from mailing it in against the Spurs or the Pistons or the Pelicans and so on.

 

[Covert Rain]

You are making a great case for the Suns being a much better team than they are because they are not functioning on all cylinders and still winning.

That's basically what I said above. Let's face it. The West is insanely talented. I am not sure you can say making it to the second round and getting beat is anything but an huge accomplishment compared to last year's team and considering what expectations were before the season. Having said that, if this team is one and done? That might be a different story.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It’s legitimate in terms of what may have happened - can’t argue with the fact those games would’ve been more difficult. But doesn’t change the fact that your record is what it is. You can only win against the players in front of you. I just wonder if we’ve benefitted from more absence than other top tier teams or if our experience is the norm this season.

i don’t know if we’ve benefitted more from absence of other teams players versus the rest of the league as much as we have just been (and I hate even typing this for fear of jinx) VERY healthy with our main stars. CP3, Book and Ayton have played almost the entire season, plus Bridges. Yes, the bench has had some guys miss games, but our best players haven’t at the same rate a lot of other teams have.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I figured 4 or 5 seed, but leaned 4.

I don't remember thinking where we'd finish exactly, just that we'd be behind the Lakers and the Clippers. For me, the next 5 spots were up for grabs between Utah, Denver, Dallas, Portland and the Suns.

 

[Mainstreet]

That's basically what I said above. Let's face it. The West is insanely talented. I am not sure you can say making it to the second round and getting beat is anything but an huge accomplishment compared to last year's team and considering what expectations were before the season. Having said that, if this team is one and done? That might be a different story.

This team is taking me for a ride and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I'm not willing to concede anything at this point. The games are decided on the court and in this shortened season it has shown anything can happen.

The Suns have beat the Jazz twice and they have the best record in the NBA.

 

[taz02]

Clearly the suns have benefited from good health and our opponents poor health. A win is a win though I'll take them and enjoy them anyway they come.

The concern I had, it felt like the suns record around the trade deadline was giving a sense of confidence that may not have been warranted. Its probable that our record would be worse had the teams we faced been at full strength.

Anyway, we are a really good team that is fun to watch, we'll see if any of this matters when the playoffs start.... and this is a hell of a lot better than discussing lottery picks.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This team is taking me for a ride and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I'm not willing to concede anything at this point. The games are decided on the court and in this shortened season it has shown anything can happen.

The Suns have beat the Jazz twice and they have the best record in the NBA.

this is where I am.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It’s legitimate in terms of what may have happened - can’t argue with the fact those games would’ve been more difficult. But doesn’t change the fact that your record is what it is. You can only win against the players in front of you. I just wonder if we’ve benefitted from more absence than other top tier teams or if our experience is the norm this season.

THIS!! THIS!!

Every year injuries happen. Ced Ceballos going down, Joe breaks his face, Magic pulls up with a hammy, KD snaps an achilles. Part of winning a title for even being a good team is managing health risks on your roster, having a style of play that minimized injuries (see Chris Paul), and just a lot of plain old luck.

It's about time the Suns got some. But it isn't all accidental. We have not filled out our roster with a bunch of injury-prone vets (like the Cardinals seem to always do). Chris Paul does not play a Steve Nash helter-skelter game. He plays a controlled game that is aging well. I gotta admit, I was way wrong about him. Our pace is also making it easier on our players (along with their youth). But also our depth is making it easier. One guy does not have to over-exert himself for every win. If Book has an off night, someone else can pick it up. That, in itself, helps with injuries, even if the minutes remain similar. The players on this team trust each other and that takes off some pressure, which also helps with injuries.

Now if they would just rest CP3 for this game tonight. . .