Playoff matchups

[fordronken]

Is anyone else a little worried about playing Memphis in the first round?

 

[SweetD]

Ya their team is deep and really give the Suns some problems. I think in a 7 game series we will be able to take them.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

memphis scares me more than anyone else we may have to play in the first round. they're long and deep and athletic. they don't tire like most teams b/c they can come in waves. and even if their bigs get in foul trouble they have enough of 'em (gasol, wright, swift) to suck up the fouls and keep a talented player on the floor.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I thought I read something this morning that said Gasol could be done for the season....

Here it is:

"When asked if it is possible that he won't play again this season, the Spaniard raised both eyebrows and gave the notion some credence. "I would think that there is a chance," Gasol said. "I just thought that I'd be able to play a lot sooner. Now, everything is very much undecided so I really don't know what to expect anymore. I try to be as positive as I can. Hopefully, everything heals but I don't see that happening anytime soon."

Memphis Commercial Appeal

 

[seattle_sunsfan]

San Antonio, Memphis and Seattle all scare me in the playoffs. Dallas doesn't play great defense, so I believe we can take them.

 

[Errntknght]

I'd love to play Seattle - as long as it's in the third round! That would mean that either they or us disposed of the Spurs and most likely them since we won't face the Spurs before the first round unless Seattle overtakes both us and San Antonio. So playing Seattle in the third round would most likely mean catching them after a long, brutal battle with the Spurs, and that's the best scenario we can hope for.

 

[asudevil83]

the way i see it, we have a max of 5 teams that we could play.....Houston, Memphis, Lakers, Wolves, and an outside chance of Denver.

out of those, the ONLY team i'm worried about is Memphis. they do have the depth and skill to move up to the 6th seed....they're only a half game back of houston.

but from the looks of things they're will be 3 races when the season winds down.

1.) Phoenix and San Antonio for the best record
2.) Houston and Memphis for the 6th and 7th seed
3.) Lakers, Wolves, and Denver for the 8th seed.

the rest of everything else looks like its pretty set...barring an injury

i'd like the playoff matchups to finish like this:

Phoenix/Wolves - good rivalry...and we'd take them easily i think
San Antonio/Memphis - Memphis would have a good shot at taking them....a true possible upset
Seattle/Houston - that's a tossup....either team could win
Dallas/Sacramento - fun matchup....Dallas would probably kill Sac without Webber

if all goes will, we'd have a 2nd round of:
Phoenix/Dallas - another fun matchup. they play our style, so it'd be a fun shootout
Seattle/Memphis - interesting matchup.....Seattle should be able to take Memphis

leaving a Phoenix/Seattle matchup...throughout the playoffs we could rely on our offense to carry us, and our lack of defense shouldnt kill us.

then we'd play Miami in the final round......where the whole series is reminicent of our last game against them.

 

[seattle_sunsfan]

I basically agree, but I don't think you are giving Seattle enough credit. I watch them all the time. They don't have a lot of stars but they are 8 to 10 deep. I think they're second 5 would beat half the teams in the NBA. And they are the only team that seems to almost always beat the really good teams. I think in a long series, they're bench will help a lot. I really don't want the Suns to face them, but I guess it would beat facing San Antonio.

 

[arthurracoon]

I dont want to play Memphis at all.

I am also scared of San Antonio and Seattle.

 

[cly2tw]

All three are deep that make them tough to beat for us, by nature of Suns' style -- They can't outrun any of them due to their bench strength and all play good defense. But if we address the following two issues, we are good enough to beat them all.

1. REST Nash as much as possible both in the remaining regular season AND in the playoffs. To still have a chance to win while doing this, DA needs to trust alternative lineups without Nash more. Most importantly, he should devote time and attention to exploiting our potential matchup advantages that often naturally present themselves during the game. (Someone pointed out that in the overtime, nobody posted up Celt's small player West who killed us there. It's the coach's responsibility too, if the players on court failed to recognize that.) For example, Hunter/Marion/JJ/JJ/Q is an hell of a defensive lineup, which by default has a matchup advantage in size at the PG on offense. It should be able to keep the scores even for some minutes while Nash rests.

2. Amare learns to be a bit more sensentive at attacking the rim: Exaggerate a bit when pushed hard, etc. Try to play the mind game a little bit more. Evans got at least one call a game by flopping at Amare's moves. And he pays attention to the situation when a shot goes up, whether on offense or defense, to get more rebounds.

When these two things happen, I'm confident we can win it all with our current roster as long as neither Nash nor Amare get injured.

 

[cly2tw]

I just checked up the standings and saw that Kings are 3 resp. 3.5 games ahead of Rockets and Grizzs. I think both of the latter teams are tougher for us than Kings and Mavs. So, we better pass over the Spurs for the #1 seed to avoid all of them.

 

[sly fly]

Why the heck are all of you guys scared? lol...

Screw 'em. Bring them all on.

 

[seattle_sunsfan]

There was a stretch in Jaunary around when we played Miami, that this team took it to another level. I mean, nobody could beat us. If we could get back to that point, the sky is the limit. However, I think resting Nash is more important than getting the #1 seed if it comes down to that.

 

[Chaplin]

Why the heck are all of you guys scared? lol...

Screw 'em. Bring them all on.

That's how I look at it. We beat Memphis in the first round, all of a sudden I think we have a great chance at beating any team, including San Antonio, in the WCF.

I don't care who we play--I just want us to play well and win, whether the team we play wears blue, green or black uniforms. Doesn't matter to me.

 

[devilalum]

Its a lot like 92-93.

The Suns had to beat 3 good teams to make the finals.

The Lakers series was SCARY. Spurs went 6 games and game 6 was won on a last second shot. The Sonics series was classic 7 games.

If the Suns make the finals they're going to have to beat at least 2 really good teams.

C'mon people would you really want it any other way.

 

[devilalum]

Why the heck are all of you guys scared? lol...

Screw 'em. Bring them all on.

That's right who cares who we play so long as we manage to win 16 games.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Why the heck are all of you guys scared? lol...

I think losing 8 out of our last 9 against teams with winning records has everyone a little uneasy right now - but seeing us playing decently without Nash has definitely picked back up my spirits - if we beat or pound the hottest team in the league on Thursday, I'll be right on the title bandwagon - but right now - I'm just enjoying the season for what it is, with no expectations.

 

[Chaplin]

I think losing 8 out of our last 9 against teams with winning records has everyone a little uneasy right now - but seeing us playing decently without Nash has definitely picked back up my spirits - if we beat or pound the hottest team in the league on Thursday, I'll be right on the title bandwagon - but right now - I'm just enjoying the season for what it is, with no expectations.

Well, I think that's what sly was implying. Life's too short to constantly worry about whether or not we'll play Memphis in the first round. Just enjoy the season and whoever we play, we play.

 

[Joe Mama]

I think losing 8 out of our last 9 against teams with winning records has everyone a little uneasy right now - but seeing us playing decently without Nash has definitely picked back up my spirits - if we beat or pound the hottest team in the league on Thursday, I'll be right on the title bandwagon - but right now - I'm just enjoying the season for what it is, with no expectations.

That's the way I see it. I won't be comfortable with any first-round matchup. Nothing would surprise me from this Phoenix Suns team at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if they got wiped out in the first round, and I wouldn't be surprised if they swept someone. I figure it should be a wild and exciting ride, and I just hope it lasts a long time.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

That's the way I see it. I won't be comfortable with any first-round matchup. Nothing would surprise me from this Phoenix Suns team at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if they got wiped out in the first round, and I wouldn't be surprised if they swept someone. I figure it should be a wild and exciting ride, and I just hope it lasts a long time.

Joe Mama

It will depend on how the refs call the games. If teams are allowed to constantly hand check the Suns wing guys, it could be a tough first round.

 

[Joe Mama]

It will depend on how the refs call the games. If teams are allowed to constantly hand check the Suns wing guys, it could be a tough first round.

That's right. Jerry Colangelo mentioned in his radio chat the other day that he keeps reminding the NBA that they need to keep hounding the officials about enforcing the handchecking rules. It really should be a priority for them. I don't just say that because it really helps the Phoenix Suns either. The enforcement of the handchecking rules is one of the biggest reasons that scoring is up in the NBA this year. Most fans out there would much rather watch teams like Phoenix, Seattle, Dallas, etc. put up a lot of points than watch a mugfest.

Joe Mama

 

[F-Dog]

If Memphis doesn't have Gasol, there isn't a low-seeded team I'd fear more than, say, Dallas or Seattle in the second round.

I'd prefer the Lakers (because they strike me as the least physical opponent, given the possibilities) or the Rockets (I think they'd have the most trouble matching up with the Suns' style). Beyond that, I just hope that the Suns are lucky enough to get through the first round and not have anybody get hurt in the process.