Preseason Finale: Suns @ Mavericks

[Mainstreet]

Kieff is da man again! Dude is playing with 3 chips on his shoulder this year, hope that continues.

Absolutely. I hope the past is left in the past.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

So the Suns played 6 preseason games, while other teams are playing 7 or even 8 games in their preseason schedules. While it is preseason, it doesn't seem equitable. Anyone else think the same way?

 

[Phrazbit]

So the Suns played 6 preseason games, while other teams are playing 7 or even 8 games in their preseason schedules. While it is preseason, it doesn't seem equitable. Anyone else think the same way?

Fine with me. Less wear and tear on our guys before a loooooong season. I think the league could cut the preseason in half and the product wouldn't suffer at all.

Really, the only "preseason" that seems reasonable across American sports is spring training, because baseball franchises are such massive organizations made up of nearly 100 players each with a very specialized role and in a sport where small sample sizes can be very misleading.

Other than that, basketball, football, hockey... their college counter parts all do perfectly fine (with larger rosters) and almost no exhibitions before real games start.

 

[BC867]

So the Suns played 6 preseason games, while other teams are playing 7 or even 8 games in their preseason schedules. While it is preseason, it doesn't seem equitable. Anyone else think the same way?

With a strong coach, of course. But I don't think it would have made a difference with Hornacek at the helm. He is too nice a guy to lead millionaire basketball players.

Remember that, as a player, Cotton said that Horny reminded him of his paper boy.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

Fine with me. Less wear and tear on our guys before a loooooong season. I think the league could cut the preseason in half and the product wouldn't suffer at all.

Really, the only "preseason" that seems reasonable across American sports is spring training, because baseball franchises are such massive organizations made up of nearly 100 players each with a very specialized role and in a sport where small sample sizes can be very misleading.

Other than that, basketball, football, hockey... their college counter parts all do perfectly fine (with larger rosters) and almost no exhibitions before real games start.

I get that - so it is inequitable on the other side as well. It just seems strange that all teams don't play the same number of games, whether for the good or the bad.

 

[JCSunsfan]

With a strong coach, of course. But I don't think it would have made a difference with Hornacek at the helm. He is too nice a guy to lead millionaire basketball players.

Remember that, as a player, Cotton said that Horny reminded him of his paper boy.

I think this is a huge huge presumption. Cotton was talking about his age and looks 20 years ago. It hardly applies now.

 

[frankeegee1]

Maybe with what we have, all it takes is just 5-6 games?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[BC867]

I think this is a huge huge presumption. Cotton was talking about his age and looks 20 years ago. It hardly applies now.

I took Cotton's comment back then to refer to his demeanor as well as his appearance.

Which is why my main point was . . . Jeff is too nice a guy to lead millionaire basketball players. To be the authority figure on the bench.

After watching the 1-hour special about MVSteve tonight, preceding his induction into the Suns Ring of Honor, I enjoyed the highlights. For a short spell, the Suns even had KJ, Kidd and Steve on the floor at the same time.

But it reminded me that it didn't last long and, before we knew it, Steve was a Mav. That is the danger of flooding the court with Point Guards. Plus, the Suns had a lot better supporting cast then than we do now. And the Point Guards were a hell of a lot better than we have now.

It was spectacular. It was exciting. But it didn't build to a Championship calibre team. Any more than it is building to one now.

 

[Phrazbit]

I took Cotton's comment back then to refer to his demeanor as well as his appearance.

Which is why my main point was . . . Jeff is too nice a guy to lead millionaire basketball players. To be the authority figure on the bench.

After watching the 1-hour special about MVSteve tonight, preceding his induction into the Suns Ring of Honor, I enjoyed the highlights. For a short spell, the Suns even had KJ, Kidd and Steve on the floor at the same time.

But it reminded me that it didn't last long and, before we knew it, Steve was a Mav. That is the danger of flooding the court with Point Guards. Plus, the Suns had a lot better supporting cast then than we do now. And the Point Guards were a hell of a lot better than we have now.

It was spectacular. It was exciting. But it didn't build to a Championship calibre team. Any more than it is building to one now.

Those are teams that won a TON of games with front courts that were generally terrible. Those teams... just like with last season and the year before, the problem was NOT the guards, they are the only reason those seasons were not disasters.

I think everyone would loooooove if the Suns had some all-star big men, but those are hard to come by, size for the sake of size (no matter what the position) leads to horrible basketball and crap results. There are a lot of teams who have stuck to very strict ideas on how to form a roster and what the ideal size is for what positions... and generally those teams suck out loud. Virtually every time the Suns have gone out there with roster that was "balanced" in terms of size its led to their worst results... Shaq, Luc Longley, Jake Tsuckalitis.

You need parts that fit together, but IMO height and size have very little to do with it. Talent and play-style are the key. The Suns need more talent and they need to have guys who compliment each other running the offense. Bledsoe and Dragic did, the jury is out on Knight.