LAL/GSW to face PHO

[Proximo]

i really don’t buy the “this is the best time to play the Lakers” narrative. Right now, they are all fresh. They yanked the regular season, prob a couple games too long but they’ve now got everyone back and also basically had a preseason between the last two weeks to get ready for the playoffs and after winning tomorrow, will get another three days of rest before our game Sunday.

The longer the Lakers play, the more likely their injuries can pop back up, especially AD with his Achilles. But right now, they’re literally as healthy as they’re going to be before the wear and tear of the playoffs gets on them.

And what really doesn’t play to our favor facing them from the jump is we literally have ZERO playoff experience as a team and none from so much of our core. I’d actually feel better had we won two series and came in with a head of steam and playoff series wins under our belt before facing off against the defending champs.

I buy that narrative generally, I am pretty sure they will get better as the playoffs go on barring further injury. However I am not sure it is true for the Suns, because I feel our young players will need a few games to get adjusted to the playoffs most likely, and that is not a margin for error you have against the Lakers. But even if we were playoff experienced our lack of big men just kills us against Davis.

 

[Proximo]

Charles Barkley gets part of it right and part of it wrong. The Suns are an easier match up for the Lakers but the Jazz are not the better team at least in the regular season.

The Suns beat the Jazz 3-0 and twice with their regular starters.

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Chuck is just wrong here. Suns are better than the Jazz - not by much but they are.

Jazz do match up a little better than the Suns against the Lakers, but not by much. I would still pick the Lakers against the Jazz.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Just play the games and see. I hate that the Suns have to play the Lakers in the first round but it is what it is. They have to so what they have done all year—win the game in front of them. This team has beaten food teams all year. So I cannot doubt the fact that this team is capable. But it is the playoffs and this is the world champs.

Hoping LBron age catches up to him fast in this series. I want to see that same look on his face as I saw in his last game in a Heat uniform. He looked up at the scoreboard and saw that Cleveland had won the lottery. It was the “this run is over” look.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

You really are giving us no chance at all aren’t you?

I have admit I think our only chance is if every sun plays their top of their game and either Lebron or Davis or a little tweaked up. It’s not impossible, but I will be pleasantly shocked if we pulled it off. There’s a reason many people are saying a potential 7 seed will be favored over a 2 seed. I’m unsure how many, if any, such seedlings have had that fact set in the history of the nba. There have been a few upsets, sure. But those upset teams weren’t favored to win the series going into them.

 

[Cheesebeef]

You really are giving us no chance at all aren’t you?

yeah man... I’m pretty pessimistic about a Lakers opening round. And I’m REAL not happy about it. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat ALL the crow on my thoughts going into that series match up. I just think the Lakers are the worst possible matchup for us, especially right out of the gate.

if it was any other team in the west, I’d be calling for a series win. I just think the Lakers are our cryptonite in every way, both physically on the floor and mentally with their experience.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I buy that narrative generally, I am pretty sure they will get better as the playoffs go on barring further injury. However I am not sure it is true for the Suns, because I feel our young players will need a few games to get adjusted to the playoffs most likely, and that is not a margin for error you have against the Lakers. But even if we were playoff experienced our lack of big men just kills us against Davis.

this is what I mean... I don’t buy the play them early for us, specifically. A loss in game 1 can lead to pressing in Game 2 and when a young team starts pressing the wheels can come off.

I kinda feel like we might be in for a 2005 Suns Spurs playoff series redux. Blew Game 1 at home when we couldn’t close down the stretch. Lose game 2 at home. Get crushed Game 3. Shock everyone by winning Game 4 because the Lakers lose focus. Then have the Lakers turn the screws against us in Game 5.

people can downplay the experience factor all they want, but it’s not just that we are in experienced. It’s that plus going against the MJ of this generation and his best sidekick and a team that just won the title last year. That is just a tough 1-2 punch to overcome, especially where there’s not even much of a HCA with stadiums half full.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Chuck is just wrong here. Suns are better than the Jazz - not by much but they are.

Jazz do match up a little better than the Suns against the Lakers, but not by much. I would still pick the Lakers against the Jazz.

I’d give the Jazz a better chance if Mitchell is at peak health, mostly because of Rudy, but yeah, I’d still think Lakers in 6 or 7.

 

[JCSunsfan]

this is what I mean... I don’t buy the play them early for us, specifically. A loss in game 1 can lead to pressing in Game 2 and when a young team starts pressing the wheels can come off.

I kinda feel like we might be in for a 2005 Suns Spurs playoff series redux. Blew Game 1 at home when we couldn’t close down the stretch. Lose game 2 at home. Get crushed Game 3. Shock everyone by winning Game 4 because the Lakers lose focus. Then have the Lakers turn the screws against us in Game 5.

people can downplay the experience factor all they want, but it’s not just that we are in experienced. It’s that plus going against the MJ of this generation and his best sidekick and a team that just won the title last year. That is just a tough 1-2 punch to overcome, especially where there’s not even much of a HCA with stadiums half full.

You can look at it either way. We are a steep underdog against the Lakers in the first round or in the conference finals. Maybe there is a little more chance of winning in round one than in the finals, but in the overall scheme, its probably not much. The frustrating thing about this situation is that the Suns need playoff experience this year, and getting bumped in round one limits that severely. So I would still rather face the Lakers in the conference finals than in round one.

 

[Finito]

No one said it’s a foregone conclusion but you line up the facts:

lakers #1 defense in league

lakers have the first and second best players in the series

suns have the third and fourth best players in the series

lakers have a LOT of size, and size bothers the suns

lakers have a lot of playoff and championship experience

suns have little playoff experience

Suns strength this season has been a bench that outperforms opposing bench units, but rotations tend to shrink in playoffs sometimes negating that type of advantage

playoffs tend to slow in pace, which favors suns

lakers likely to have a big advantage at the free throw line

suns should be relatively healthy

Suns have homecourt advantage, but will that make a difference with emptier arenas?

Lebron James is a total freak of nature

when viewing all that the weight of facts tends to favor a team that can send waves of defenders at our top offensive weapons and waves of size to keep us outta the paint

then why even play the series. Just might as well pack up and not even try huh

 

[ASUCHRIS]

then why even play the series. Just might as well pack up and not even try huh

I think most are bemoaning the fact that we were one game out of the #1 seed, and our "reward" is a potential matchup with the defending champs, the one team in the West that's a bad fit for our roster.

After 10 years of suffering, you'd hope we'd get better luck, but we have to beat all the best teams anyway, so here's hoping we can pull it off!

 

[Finito]

I think most are bemoaning the fact that we were one game out of the #1 seed, and our "reward" is a potential matchup with the defending champs, the one team in the West that's a bad fit for our roster.

After 10 years of suffering, you'd hope we'd get better luck, but we have to beat all the best teams anyway, so here's hoping we can pull it off!

To be the man you gotta beat the man- Ric Flair

everybody talking about how the odds are stacked against us but just think of the respect we’ll get when we win and end put an end to the Lebron era

 

[taz02]

Obviously, the suns have little/no chance of beating a healthy Lakers team.

However, there is a decent chance health could be a factor. If it is and the suns play their best it could happen.

For me, I like the idea of the suns knocking out the Lakers in the first round even if it is a long shot. I figure, the season has been a success and blown away my expectations, so why not go for broke.

 

[Germz249]

To be the man you gotta beat the man- Ric Flair

everybody talking about how the odds are stacked against us but just think of the respect we’ll get when we win and end put an end to the Lebron era

That is what I am saying. I think we can beat any team in the league. We have the second best record in the league but people act like we are a weak team.


If we are so scared of the Lakers just play them now and get it over with. Why drag it out to the later rounds? I rather lose now and move on to football.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Obviously, the suns have little/no chance of beating a healthy Lakers team.

However, there is a decent chance health could be a factor. If it is and the suns play their best it could happen.

For me, I like the idea of the suns knocking out the Lakers in the first round even if it is a long shot. I figure, the season has been a success and blown away my expectations, so why not go for broke.

Agreed. On paper they are clearly the better team but games aren't played on paper. If we are at out best and the Lakers aren't, we have a chance and I'm thrilled to be able to say that. It's a far better situation than starting our annual vacation as soon as the regular season ends.

 

[Chaplin]

yeah man... I’m pretty pessimistic about a Lakers opening round. And I’m REAL not happy about it. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat ALL the crow on my thoughts going into that series match up. I just think the Lakers are the worst possible matchup for us, especially right out of the gate.

if it was any other team in the west, I’d be calling for a series win. I just think the Lakers are our cryptonite in every way, both physically on the floor and mentally with their experience.

I can understand that. And they are formidable. But this Suns team will be the first time we have faced THAT Laker team, so it will be interesting to see how we do.

And also remember, I think we have a big edge in the coaching department. Will it be enough to offset their Big 2 advantage? I don’t know (doubtful) but I’m definitely excited to see it play out.

 

[Proximo]

That is what I am saying. I think we can beat any team in the league. We have the second best record in the league but people act like we are a weak team.


If we are so scared of the Lakers just play them now and get it over with. Why drag it out to the later rounds? I rather lose now and move on to football.

I don't think you watched that last Lakers game.

If they get Ayton in foul trouble - which they are smart enough to do, they can and will just bully us into submission.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

then why even play the series. Just might as well pack up and not even try huh

Lol. Okay. This question doesn’t even warrant a substantive response.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I can understand that. And they are formidable. But this Suns team will be the first time we have faced THAT Laker team, so it will be interesting to see how we do.

And also remember, I think we have a big edge in the coaching department. Will it be enough to offset their Big 2 advantage? I don’t know (doubtful) but I’m definitely excited to see it play out.

do we really have a big edge in coaching though? Vogel’s not chopped liver and even if you took last years title run out of the picture, he was the coach of a Pacers team that twice got to the Conference Finals and gave James and the Heatles runs in 6 and 7 game series. While Monty is absolutely coach of the year, Vogel is a good coach himself.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

To be the man you gotta beat the man- Ric Flair

everybody talking about how the odds are stacked against us but just think of the respect we’ll get when we win and end put an end to the Lebron era

The irony of quoting a champion in a fake sport is thick.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That is what I am saying. I think we can beat any team in the league. We have the second best record in the league but people act like we are a weak team.


If we are so scared of the Lakers just play them now and get it over with. Why drag it out to the later rounds? I rather lose now and move on to football.

I dunno, gain more playoff experience? More games to entertain us? Maybe a team coming off a deep playoff run is more attractive to other players than one booted in the first round? I mean, those are just three reasons.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I can understand that. And they are formidable. But this Suns team will be the first time we have faced THAT Laker team, so it will be interesting to see how we do.

And also remember, I think we have a big edge in the coaching department. Will it be enough to offset their Big 2 advantage? I don’t know (doubtful) but I’m definitely excited to see it play out.

Agreed. While I’m not optimistic I’m still excited to see how we measure up.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

do we really have a big edge in coaching though? Vogel’s not chopped liver and even if you took last years title run out of the picture, he was the coach of a Pacers team that twice got to the Conference Finals and gave James and the Heatles runs in 6 and 7 game series. While Monty is absolutely coach of the year, Vogel is a good coach himself.

Yeah, Vogel isn’t a placeholder coach.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That is what I am saying. I think we can beat any team in the league. We have the second best record in the league but people act like we are a weak team.


If we are so scared of the Lakers just play them now and get it over with. Why drag it out to the later rounds? I rather lose now and move on to football.

yeah... I’d rather keep watching good basketball for another month and get the team needed playoff experience and success than a five game curbstomping that I think is coming.

and no ones acting like we’re a weak team. Pretty much every person here thinks we are a Finals team over every team in the West, save one team that is more talented, athletic, bigger and has more playoff experience.

but if you and others want to keep twisting that argument to start flame wars, be my guest. I ain’t gonna feed into it.

 

[Germz249]

yeah... I’d rather keep watching good basketball for another month and get the team needed playoff experience and success than a five game curbstomping that I think is coming.

and no ones acting like we’re a weak team. Pretty much every person here thinks we are a Finals team over every team in the West, save one team that is more talented, athletic, bigger and has more playoff experience.

but if you and others want to keep twisting that argument to start flame wars, be my guest. I ain’t gonna feed into it.

I don’t speak for everyone but I could careless about having a debate with you. I am not going to change your mind on things and you won’t change mine. So its a waste of time to debate on anything. I didn’t even quote you or twist your words. Why do you feel someone’s general comment is directed at you?

I rather just take on whoever whenever and you rather wait it out.

whatever happens happens.. I think we could get to the finals period. Regardless of who is in the way.

 

[Finito]

That is what I am saying. I think we can beat any team in the league. We have the second best record in the league but people act like we are a weak team.


If we are so scared of the Lakers just play them now and get it over with. Why drag it out to the later rounds? I rather lose now and move on to football.

guys get scared.

if we lose so what we lost to the Lakers but if we win then we get all the respect all the glory that comes with knocking out Lebron

if we win then you can say we got a chance against anybody.

we got a lot of decisions money wise coming up and we need to find out who’s who

So let’s do it