Predict where the Suns will finish

[Superbone]

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.

Actually, 14, which is the number I've read they'll go with this year:

Nash
JRich
Hill
Turkoglu
Lopez

Dragic
Dudley
Childress
Warrick
Frye

Clark
Lawal
Janning
Jones

 

[AzStevenCal]

Actually, 14, which is the number I've read they'll go with this year:

If they go with 14 we'd have a legit shot at the playoffs. Of course, I'm not sure the refs will actually let us play 14 on 5 but it's worth a shot. It might even solve our rebounding problems.

Steve

 

[ASUCHRIS]

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.

I have to say, I'm a little surprised at all the negativity about this year, especially from those who are usually so positive. I'm usually the one passing on the kool-aid, but I see a seed anywhere between 5-8 to be very realistic.

I agree with your placement of the Suns, but anticipate Utah to be better, and Portland and Memphis to be worse. While we'll get off to a slow start, I really think there is a lot of talent on the team and our loss of Amare in terms of defense and rebounding is overrated. I love Amare, and he's one of my favorite Suns ever, but it's not like he was a defensive stopper, much less an adequate defender. Further, he was rarely a major rebounding presence, and got many rebounds that any PF would/will get.

Another factor that many seem to forget is the dearth of teams with two quality big men who can score inside. Outside of the Lakers, what teams will really punish us more now that we don't have Amare? Sure, Robin Lopez will have to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble, and it's imperative that Nash stays healthy, but you can come up with these theoretical issues with any team. I see the west as being wide open, and don't see this team as being much less talented than the Amare microfracture team.

 

[Mainstreet]

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.

I tend to agree. Millsap and Jefferson are two tough customers inside not to mention AK. The Jazz like to control the tempo and with Deron Williams playing PG they could be much better than expected.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I have to say, I'm a little surprised at all the negativity about this year, especially from those who are usually so positive. I'm usually the one passing on the kool-aid, but I see a seed anywhere between 5-8 to be very realistic.

It's kind of funny because I still consider myself to be a kool-aid drinking fool. I expect us to be a lottery team and yet, I don't feel at all negative. I think this organization was in a tough spot this off-season and that all things considered they did a pretty good job of trying to put talent together. Unfortunately, I just think that talent is horribly mismatched.

We all point to other seasons as proof we can play without Amare but I think this year is different. We lost one of the best PF's in the game and are looking to replace him with someone that probably wouldn't make the top 100 PF list. Add to that, our age and injury risks and the fact that despite our conference final appearance we were far from the second best team in the west last year and things start to look a little rough.

About the only real hope I hold for this season is if Warrick or Lawal can actually grow into the PF spot. If one of them could give us some defense, rebounding and be effective on the pick and roll it would make a world of difference for this team. I don't think it will happen but I'll be watching every game hoping for the long shot to come in.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

It's kind of funny because I still consider myself to be a kool-aid drinking fool. I expect us to be a lottery team and yet, I don't feel at all negative. I think this organization was in a tough spot this off-season and that all things considered they did a pretty good job of trying to put talent together. Unfortunately, I just think that talent is horribly mismatched.

Nah, you're not a kool-aid drinker.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

and the fact that despite our conference final appearance we were far from the second best team in the west last year and things start to look a little rough.

I think you're way off here Steve. In terms of the standings, we were within a couple games of the 2 seed for the majority of the year, and definitely at the end. I'd love to know who you thought was obviously better than us at the end of last year.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think you're way off here Steve. In terms of the standings, we were within a couple games of the 2 seed for the majority of the year, and definitely at the end. I'd love to know who you thought was obviously better than us at the end of last year.

Well, that was kind of the short version. I think that (minus health issues) that Denver, Utah, Dallas and Portland were all better than us last year. I'm not sure what everyone else saw that I must have missed but I really considered us to be extremely fortunate last season.

I've been a Suns fan since they announced the franchise and I've never seen us catch as many breaks as we did last year (lucky bounces, scheduling breaks, shorthanded opponents, referee calls etc). Other than Lopez's health and the absurd back-to-back schedule that was surely designed to make the Lakers path as easy as possible, we almost seemed to lead a charmed life.

Steve