NBA West Playoffs!

[Catlover]

I just realized that SAS will be playing us on the 2nd night of a back to back.

So there's a good possibility that Duncan and Parker won't play and that maybe they will be a little exhausted from the game the previous day against Dallas.

Ironically, we play Dallas the next day without any rest.

Very, very interesting.

I wonder what their record is when they rest some of their key veterans. It's pretty good I'd wager (figure of speech).

 

[chickenhead]

I'll be excited for an improved pick if the Suns get one; until then, I'm cheering for the playoffs! Should be an excited last few games with the Suns, Dallas, and Memphis all playing each other. Not to mention a Suns matchup with the Spurs.

For cash-conscious ownership like the Suns', maybe some playoff revenue (and excitement) will be incentivizing...

 

[elindholm]

Hollinger's model's update has Memphis at 60% to make the playoffs and the Suns at 55%. (Obviously both make it in some cases.)

 

[devilalum]

There have been people on here over the years that go on about how they don't even watch the regular season because its boring etc...

Last nights game was incredible. I don't know how you can be a Suns fan and not be enjoying this run.

I feel the same way as a couple of others. This is a win/win. If the Suns manage to make the playoffs awesome. If they don't their pick jumps up 8 spots. Either way this has been a great season and far exceeded my expectations.

 

[elindholm]

Last nights game was incredible. I don't know how you can be a Suns fan and not be enjoying this run.

My favorite part about last night's game was how, even though the Suns shot barely 50% from the line most of the way, they made a bunch in a row in the closing minutes.

Also, Green is a keeper. He's erratic and difficult to reign in, but he usually makes at least a couple of shots a game that make you think, "How did he do that?" That's very intimidating for the opposition. The Suns have two offensive players that opposing teams need to fear, and that's Dragic and Green. Once you have multiple threats that evoke that kind of emotional response from the other team, your options get much more numerous.

 

[SirStefan32]

My favorite part about last night's game was how, even though the Suns shot barely 50% from the line most of the way, they made a bunch in a row in the closing minutes.

Also, Green is a keeper. He's erratic and difficult to reign in, but he usually makes at least a couple of shots a game that make you think, "How did he do that?" That's very intimidating for the opposition. The Suns have two offensive players that opposing teams need to fear, and that's Dragic and Green. Once you have multiple threats that evoke that kind of emotional response from the other team, your options get much more numerous.

It is amazing to me how high Green can jump, but what's even more impressive is just how long he can hang in the air. He is impossible to block, and he can adjust his shot two or three times while hanging in the air.
Best of all, he is sometimes willing to pass the ball, and he is not a bad defender. You add a low-post scoring threat to Dragic and Green, and you have quite a dangerous team, especially if Plumlee can also consistently play like he played for the first 10-20 games.

I'll admit to viewing Green as another Shannon Brown initially, but I was so wrong that it's not even funny. I have become a huge Green fan this year.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It is amazing to me how high Green can jump, but what's even more impressive is just how long he can hang in the air. He is impossible to block, and he can adjust his shot two or three times while hanging in the air.
Best of all, he is sometimes willing to pass the ball, and he is not a bad defender. You add a low-post scoring threat to Dragic and Green, and you have quite a dangerous team, especially if Plumlee can also consistently play like he played for the first 10-20 games.

I'll admit to viewing Green as another Shannon Brown initially, but I was so wrong that it's not even funny. I have become a huge Green fan this year.

I am with you on this. There is something with that guy that just clicked this year. He is the perfect complement to the Dragic/Bledsoe duo because he has such size and length.

 

[JCSunsfan]

My favorite part about last night's game was how, even though the Suns shot barely 50% from the line most of the way, they made a bunch in a row in the closing minutes.

Also, Green is a keeper. He's erratic and difficult to reign in, but he usually makes at least a couple of shots a game that make you think, "How did he do that?" That's very intimidating for the opposition. The Suns have two offensive players that opposing teams need to fear, and that's Dragic and Green. Once you have multiple threats that evoke that kind of emotional response from the other team, your options get much more numerous.

He seems to be getting more consistent along the way. I remember the old Pistons with Thomas and Dumars (reminds me of Dragic and Bledsoe) and off the bench would come Vinnie Johnson--he always seemed to light it up. Green seems to function well in that type of role.

 

[devilalum]

He seems to be getting more consistent along the way. I remember the old Pistons with Thomas and Dumars (reminds me of Dragic and Bledsoe) and off the bench would come Vinnie Johnson--he always seemed to light it up. Green seems to function well in that type of role.

The Microwave.

 

[Cheesewater]

The Suns current record is better than 5 Eastern Conference teams who have clinched playoff berths. Is Adam Silver considering any changes to playoff selection and seeding?

 

[Catlover]

The Suns current record is better than 5 Eastern Conference teams who have clinched playoff berths. Is Adam Silver considering any changes to playoff selection and seeding?

Let's hope not. It's possibly going to hurt us this year but as a fan of a Western team, I love it. Each year, several really bad teams in the east end up in the playoffs and their reward is a first round exit and a lousy draft pick. Each year a few good to decent Western teams miss the playoffs and their reward is an exciting race down the stretch and an entrance to the lottery. I want to see the Suns in the playoffs but this run to the playoffs is every bit as entertaining and we still have a nice consolation prize if we fall short.

My fear is that Silver will do something about it but it will be to the benefit of the Eastern clubs. I could see them maybe putting all teams, minus division winners perhaps, into the lottery. Or just a straight reverse order drafting based solely on record without considering the playoff situation.

 

[Cheesebeef]

He seems to be getting more consistent along the way. I remember the old Pistons with Thomas and Dumars (reminds me of Dragic and Bledsoe) and off the bench would come Vinnie Johnson--he always seemed to light it up. Green seems to function well in that type of role.

this is exactly the role Green should have. He's wayyyyy too streaky for my tastes as a starting SG and a Dragic/Green back court is a sieve defensively, but a three guard rotation of Dragic/Bledsoe/Green is a pretty damn nails and if we want to go "small", those guys can easily play the 1-2-3 for stretches at a time.

 

[SirStefan32]

this is exactly the role Green should have. He's wayyyyy too streaky for my tastes as a starting SG and a Dragic/Green back court is a sieve defensively, but a three guard rotation of Dragic/Bledsoe/Green is a pretty damn nails and if we want to go "small", those guys can easily play the 1-2-3 for stretches at a time.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I can dig up this info, but my perception is that Green was fairly consistent as a starter.

I do want to see Green start a game or two alongside Dragic and Bledsoe, just to see how that works.

 

[Catlover]

Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I can dig up this info, but my perception is that Green was fairly consistent as a starter.

I do want to see Green start a game or two alongside Dragic and Bledsoe, just to see how that works.

I'd love to see that trio along with Tucker as our stretch four and a killer low post player. That lineup with someone like Asik might even work. Seriously, can Tucker be all that much worse as a stretch four than what Channing has been the last few months? He was an inside player at Texas. No one had any interest in a 6'4 forward so he had to spend the next several years learning a new position but I just don't see Frye doing much that Tucker couldn't do as well or better.

 

[elindholm]

Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I can dig up this info, but my perception is that Green was fairly consistent as a starter.

Green has shot 44/38/87 as a starter and 45/42/81 off the bench. A slightly higher percentage of his attempts are three-pointers when he comes off the bench.

More to the point, though, he has averaged 17 points and 4 rebounds in 32 minutes over his 46 starts. I'm perfectly fine with that production on those percentages. Of course his assist numbers are low, but this is Gerald Green we are talking about.

By the way, all of his percentages are slightly up since the All-Star break.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/2761/gerald-green

The notion of players being "streaky" is a fiction. Every player will have periods when he makes more than usual and periods where he misses more than usual. If you flip a fair coin 100 times in a row, you'll probably get several streaks of at least five heads or at least five tails. That doesn't mean the coin is streaky.

 

[elindholm]

No one had any interest in a 6'4 forward so he had to spend the next several years learning a new position but I just don't see Frye doing much that Tucker couldn't do as well or better.

Frye has the length to alter shots (occasionally) and has, believe it or not, a better post game than Tucker -- which is to say, a poor one versus none at all. As is always the case with Frye, his overall contributions shrink up when he's in a shooting slump, because he loses his confidence. He does, however, have skills that Tucker lacks; he just doesn't tap into them consistently.

 

[Suns_fan69]

My favorite part about Green is he always seems to be there in the big moments. The baseline jumper to beat Minnesota is the most obvious example but he knocks down 3's to start runs, squash runs and generally demoralize the opponent. Yes, he still takes 1 or 2 heat check shots that I'm not a fan of but I don't notice these as often as earlier in the year. Maybe Hornacek has been in his ear for that.

Also, he's the guy I trust the most with free throws in a close game.

 

[Errntknght]

The notion of players being "streaky" is a fiction. Every player will have periods when he makes more than usual and periods where he misses more than usual. If you flip a fair coin 100 times in a row, you'll probably get several streaks of at least five heads or at least five tails. That doesn't mean the coin is streaky.

It hasn't been conclusively proved that streakiness is a fiction. I know that statisticians have shown that runs of misses or makes (streaks) in sequences of shot attempts are randomly distributed but I think its possible that some players are more consistent than others on, say a game to game basis - more consistent meaning that the variance of their percentage of makes is smaller while their averages are much the same. Twould be nice to have a database of box scores available to test that hypothesis - several years worth. There are other possible ways of defining streakiness that have not been ruled out, as well.

 

[BC867]

I just don't see Frye doing much that Tucker couldn't do as well or better.

Think about this.

-- Setting your sights for our Power Forward to "do as well or better than" Frye is setting your sights pretty low. Frye is a one-dimensional "big" whose only acceptable skill is spreading the floor by playing like a Guard. And now he can't even hit 3's.

-- If you are suggesting P.J. Tucker playing Power Forward, compare him to Charles Barkley. Barkley was listed as 252 lbs. and 6'6" (but measured 6"4 1/2"). Tucker is listed as 225 pounds (that's a big difference) and 6'5" (is he really 6'5" or, like the Chuckster, listed 1 1/2" taller?)

Even if he is 6'5", P.J. Tucker is not an NBA Power Forward. by any "stretch" of the imagination. We have recently heard that the Coaches told our other "big's" to block out their men so Tucker could move in for the rebounds.

I hope management is setting its sights higher. And I hope, as I posted once before, that the Suns were morally bound to use Frye in a comeback from his heart problems. Now that it has been honored, they should feel free to move him. The gimmick has run its course. But Tucker is not the answer at PF.

 

[elindholm]

I hope management is setting its sights higher.

Of course they are. Don't be ridiculous. No front office is that stupid.

Now that it has been honored, they should feel free to move him.

Ack! Can you imagine what the Suns would have to give up in order to persuade someone else to take on Frye's contract? Much better to let him languish for another year, thank him for his tenure, and wish him well.

Remember: If the Suns, of all teams, have a soft, one-dimensional player they don't want at his salary, you can be darned sure no one else does either.

 

[elindholm]

I know that statisticians have shown that runs of misses or makes (streaks) in sequences of shot attempts are randomly distributed but I think its possible that some players are more consistent than others on, say a game to game basis - more consistent meaning that the variance of their percentage of makes is smaller while their averages are much the same.

That may be, but the idiosyncratic definition of "streakiness" you're trying to carve out isn't what 95% of this board means when they say that someone is "streaky." What they mean is that a "streaky" player is more likely to follow a make with a make or a miss with a miss -- which, as you say, has been refuted by statistical analysis.

 

[Catlover]

Think about this.

-- Setting your sights for our Power Forward to "do as well or better than" Frye is setting your sights pretty low. Frye is a one-dimensional "big" whose only acceptable skill is spreading the floor by playing like a Guard. And now he can't even hit 3's.

-- If you are suggesting P.J. Tucker playing Power Forward, compare him to Charles Barkley. Barkley was listed as 252 lbs. and 6'6" (but measured 6"4 1/2"). Tucker is listed as 225 pounds (that's a big difference) and 6'5" (is he really 6'5" or, like the Chuckster, listed 1 1/2" taller?)

Even if he is 6'5", P.J. Tucker is not an NBA Power Forward. by any "stretch" of the imagination. We have recently heard that the Coaches told our other "big's" to block out their men so Tucker could move in for the rebounds.

I hope management is setting its sights higher. And I hope, as I posted once before, that the Suns were morally bound to use Frye in a comeback from his heart problems. Now that it has been honored, they should feel free to move him. The gimmick has run its course. But Tucker is not the answer at PF.

Have we? I really couldn't tell for sure from the interview but I figured it was at least a 60/40 chance that it was Tucker telling them to block out rather than the coaches.

I'm not advocating that Tucker be our power forward forever, I'm just suggesting the move for the short term for two reasons . One, it opens up a starting spot for Green and two, it opens up a bench spot for Frye.

I'm really down on Channing right now but I still think much of his problem is exhaustion, not confidence as so many others seem to think. It was always a lack of confidence on his part in the past so I know why that's the current train of thought but he just doesn't move like he did back in December for example. We could perhaps live with the missing shot but his defense has suffered at least as much. I think he's still giving full effort, I just don't think he has much to give.

 

[Catlover]

Frye has the length to alter shots (occasionally) and has, believe it or not, a better post game than Tucker -- which is to say, a poor one versus none at all. As is always the case with Frye, his overall contributions shrink up when he's in a shooting slump, because he loses his confidence. He does, however, have skills that Tucker lacks; he just doesn't tap into them consistently.

That's true and perhaps more importantly, it would make it easier on opponents to alter the shots of our stretch four. I don't know that I'd agree with Channing having a better post game though. Tucker can score against one big man, it's when he gets the ball amongst a herd of them that he ends up eating his shot. Channing would fare better against that (or against the double team) but Frye takes it down low so seldom that it's mostly a non-issue.

 

[Bufalay]

That may be, but the idiosyncratic definition of "streakiness" you're trying to carve out isn't what 95% of this board means when they say that someone is "streaky." What they mean is that a "streaky" player is more likely to follow a make with a make or a miss with a miss -- which, as you say, has been refuted by statistical analysis.

In 2012 statisticians "proved" that the hot-hand didn't exist, but that was then refuted by another study last year. The whole debate is clearly suffering from the incompleteness of these models. Also, I don't think there is a big enough overlap in the population between people who understand stats and people who have ever had a hot hand to really put this debate to rest.

 

[elindholm]

Also, I don't think there is a big enough overlap in the population between people who understand stats and people who have ever had a hot hand to really put this debate to rest.

Heh! Coming from you, I know that's a joke.