Predict where the Suns will finish

[Griffin]

Some people think that the Suns have taken a major step back this summer and are heading for the lottery. Others contend that the Suns are still as competitive as last season and will not miss a beat. Most are probably somewhere in between.

It's true that there is a lot of uncertainly surrounding this team this time around, but then again, we've been in this position before. Will the Suns surprise again and secure a top 4 seed, this time without Amare? They've done that before. Will they struggle to find on-court chemistry with the new players long enough to have to settle for one of the lower seeds? Or will they find it difficult to maintain their offensive efficiency without their former star PF and miss the playoffs altogether? Make your choice.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Those were some tough choices. I think we're going to finish somewhere between 10th and 14th but that wasn't an option.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

Yeah, that's right, I put 1-4 seed. I'm probably wrong, but I'm just as close to the truth as saying they're going to be 14th in the west.

 

[mojorizen7]

Irrelevant playoff appearance.
5-8 seed.

 

[Mainstreet]

Irrelevant playoff appearance.
5-8 seed.

So you feel playoff appearances are irrelevant? I still feel like the games are played on the court. Who would have thought the Suns would have made it to the WCFs last season. I know I was down on the Suns last season and questioned them even making the playoffs. It's a long season. We shall see. I think a key for the Suns if they can reinvigorate Turoglu's career.

I'll put the Suns down for a 5-8 playoff appearance as well.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Playoffs 5-8...

But I wouldn't be surprised if we did finish in the top 4 again. Outside the Lakers and possibly the Thunder, I don't know if there's a team in the West that is clearly above us.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Playoffs 5-8...

But I wouldn't be surprised if we did finish in the top 4 again. Outside the Lakers and possibly the Thunder, I don't know if there's a team in the West that is clearly above us.

This.

 

[jbeecham]

I've got to agree... I don't think we've lost enough ground to drop out of the top 8 in the west and there's a decent chance we'll be in the top 4 again. I don't have a lot of faith that we can win consistently in playoff basketball, but i think we can compete with the Mavs, Spurs, Blazers, Nuggets (assuming Melo stays), Thunder, Jazz, Rockets, etc... the only team I think we have no chance against is the Lakers (unless Kobe's injured).

 

[JCSunsfan]

I predicted that they won't make the playoffs. Unless some young guys really blossom, this team is in trouble.

 

[Hat]

Playoffs 5-8...

But I wouldn't be surprised if we did finish in the top 4 again. Outside the Lakers and possibly the Thunder, I don't know if there's a team in the West that is clearly above us.

This.

+1

 

[Chaplin]

I predicted that they won't make the playoffs. Unless some young guys really blossom, this team is in trouble.

JC, usually you are pretty reasonable--I'm confused as to why you've written them off so quickly. I mean, I'm assuming you saw the Mavs game a couple days ago, but that's probably it. Yes, we lost by 50 to Toronto, but so what? It was the 2nd preseason game that was also a back-to-back a thousand miles from Phoenix.

It's ok to be happy that we won in Indian Wells for the first time, and on TNT to boot! :championship:

 

[JCSunsfan]

JC, usually you are pretty reasonable--I'm confused as to why you've written them off so quickly. I mean, I'm assuming you saw the Mavs game a couple days ago, but that's probably it. Yes, we lost by 50 to Toronto, but so what? It was the 2nd preseason game that was also a back-to-back a thousand miles from Phoenix.

It's ok to be happy that we won in Indian Wells for the first time, and on TNT to boot! :championship:

I took my boy deer hunting and missed the Mavs game (got his first deer, he's 11). I don't know. I've followed this team since 1976 and while preseason games don't count, they usually give you a glimpse of what is coming. The preseason certainly cannot be encouraging.

Maybe I just becoming a crabby old man like. . .

 

[Chaplin]

I took my boy deer hunting and missed the Mavs game (got his first deer, he's 11). I don't know. I've followed this team since 1976 and while preseason games don't count, they usually give you a glimpse of what is coming. The preseason certainly cannot be encouraging.

Maybe I just becoming a crabby old man like. . .

Wow, so you haven't seen ANY games yet? I've never known you to write the team off so quickly. There are 8 games in the preseason and we've only played in 3, and all 3 had extenuating circumstances.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Wow, so you haven't seen ANY games yet? I've never known you to write the team off so quickly. There are 8 games in the preseason and we've only played in 3, and all 3 had extenuating circumstances.

Just missed yhe mavs game. Another loss tonight. Hmm.

On a more specific topic, which 3rd string pg do we keep. I say Dowdell gets cut because Janning looks to be a pretty good shooter. Janning sort of reminds me of Kerr when he first came into the league. He kind of just knows how to fit in and make himself useful.

So, after Dowdell and Sylar are cut, they will be at 13.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Wow, so you haven't seen ANY games yet? I've never known you to write the team off so quickly. There are 8 games in the preseason and we've only played in 3, and all 3 had extenuating circumstances.

I guess I have a little deja vu thing going. This post Amare team is giving me nightmare of the post Barkley team. That team had a lot of good players but no chemistry whatsoever. It was a disaster.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

2nd in the Pacific Division, 6th or 7th in the West.

 

[Yuma]

I'd like to see this poll in games won for the season. I am thinking we can pick up 48 to 50! I predict injuries to other teams will make for easy wins for us!

 

[JCSunsfan]

I guess I have a little deja vu thing going. This post Amare team is giving me nightmare of the post Barkley team. That team had a lot of good players but no chemistry whatsoever. It was a disaster.

BTW, that 95-6 team that finished 40-42 had four pg's on the roster that year

Jason Kidd
Kevin Johnson
Steve Nash
Sam Cassell

Wings
Rex Chapman
Wes Person
Ced Ceballos
Michael Finley
Tony Dumas

Bigs
Mark Bryant
Horry
Tisdale
Hot Rod Williams
AC Green
Loren Meyer
Joe Klein

Not all of these players were on the roster at the same time. Chemistry was terrible, especially before Cotton left.

 

[Cheesebeef]

8-10 seed.

 

[TheHopToad]

I have about the same feeling with the Suns that I had going into last season. Probably about a 6-8 seed. I think the West as a whole has taken a step back, except for the Lakers and Thunder, who I expect to be 1-2 this year.

Utah lost Boozer and hasn't done much to replace him. They are not better.

Denver is still Denver. A disaster waiting to happen. We'll see if the team even stays together for the entire season.

Dallas pretty much stayed put. They are a year older and no better.

Portland is good on paper, but half of their team is chronically injury prone. If they can stay healthy, they will do well, but we say that every year.

San Antonio is basically the same team, but a year older.

Golden State is much improved, but have a rookie coach and new management. Will they gel together and compete the entire year? They should improve, but are probably another year away from being a serious challenger.

Houston has Yao back, but they are injury prone like Portland. They will have to stay healthy and overachieve to really make a difference.

New Orleans is a wild card. Hard for me to gauge what they'll do. They have some good talent, but can they step up and how much does CP3 want to be there?

Memphis should be improved and could surprise. Good corps of young talent, but is Lionel Hollins really the right coach for them?

Clippers, Sacramento, Timberwolves all perpetually suck. No need to discuss further.

Just a loose guess, but I would place the WC like this:

1. Lakers
2. Thunder
3. Denver
4. Portland
5. Memphis
6. Dallas
7. Suns
8. San Antonio
9. Utah
10. New Orleans
11. Houston
12. Golden State
13. Sacramento
14. Clippers
15. Minnesota

Realistically, I don't think it even matters this year. Lakers are so far head of the rest it won't be close. They'll win another title because they will be well rested when the Finals start waiting for Miami, Boston, and Orlando to finish beating each other up.

 

[Griffin]

Just realized that I typed 13-16th for the last option when there's only 15 teams in each conference. So, just for the record, the Suns will not finish 16th in the West no matter how bad their season may be. So when you pick that choice, you are basically saying the Suns will be one of the three worst teams in the West. I think that only happened once in the last 22 years, and that was the year we traded Marbury mid-season to get cap space. It also implies the Suns would probably win fewer than 30 games.

Personally, I think we'll win 50+ again, but I am not sure if we can duplicate last year's success. Then again, the standings will be so close that the difference between a top 4 seed and bottom 4 will only be a few games. On paper, I do believe this team can be better defensively while still be potent offensively. But even that doesn't guarantee a top 4 seed so I'll be conservative and pick 5-8.

 

[BC867]

I'd like to see this poll in games won for the season. I am thinking we can pick up 48 to 50! I predict injuries to other teams will make for easy wins for us!

So if you are right, we'll be resuming the Suns 43-year comfort zone -- 50-and-fade.

Well, I've rooted for them since 1970. I've just never found a comfort zone in that.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I have about the same feeling with the Suns that I had going into last season. Probably about a 6-8 seed. I think the West as a whole has taken a step back, except for the Lakers and Thunder, who I expect to be 1-2 this year.

Utah lost Boozer and hasn't done much to replace him. They are not better.

they replaced him with Al Jefferson, who's just as good as Boozer. There's no way that team finishes 9th. They're a lock for a top 4 seed IMO.

 

[Gaddabout]

I think this team will be just good enough to occasionally tease the rah rahs, but I'm thinking 41 wins and on the outside looking in of the playoffs. No rebounding, awful defense, and even the offense is looking like it has flat tires right now. I'm assuming that last one will be fixed somewhat, but without an inside offensive presence I'm thinking teams can just stay home on the shooters just like Utah did. Thinking the Suns will dump 105+ on the bad teams and be lucky to scrounge together 85 against the good teams.

Think about this: The go-to guy now is J-Rich. How many here want to bank on him having a big night 50 times this year?

I'm not totally frustrated, though. I'm happy they didn't overpay for Stoudemire. A team in transition should be expected to flounder for a year while the figure out what direction they need to go. I still don't get the free agent acquisitions. The roster is is random scattershot with no apparent purpose. "Hey, that guy's not awful, let's get him even though we already have two other guys just like him!"

I do feel bad for Gentry. He's getting a raw deal, because he's going to be the one who takes the fall for the front office cooking up this mystery roster stew. If the Suns DO win 50 games, Gentry should get a 10-year contract extension.

 

[TheHopToad]

they replaced him with Al Jefferson, who's just as good as Boozer. There's no way that team finishes 9th. They're a lock for a top 4 seed IMO.

Yep, I missed him. I even studied all of the rosters before making my post so I would miss anything. Maybe I saw it and thought "Richard Jefferson", which would be a dud move for Utah.

Ahhh...to be honest, I don't really care. Not yet anyway. I have a hard time getting into the NBA in October, especially when the Cards are in first place....hell even the "Same Old Denny Green" cards were more excitement for me in the fall than the beginning of basketball season.

I'll pay attention to the Suns, but probably won't get "into it" until February. I took that "off to a great start" bait last year and my reward was a suckfest in December.

Suns could finish anywhere from 3rd to 12th in the West and it wouldn't really shock me one way or the other.