Suns at Bulls Game Thread

[Griffin]

I don't claim to know what is going on in Porter's mind but it appears to me so far that he understands that the purpose of the regular season is to get the whole team ready for the playoffs

But the purpose of the regular season is also to win enough games to make the playoffs to begin with, and to secure home court advantage, which greatly improves a team's chances of getting to the finals and winning the title. I think it would be a mistake at this point to simply assume the Suns will make the playoffs as they do every year, given how competitive the West has become and the different things the team is trying to implement. And having home court advantage certainly helps too, which is why losses like the one vs. the Bulls might come back to haunt us.

 

[BC867]

But the purpose of the regular season is also to win enough games to make the playoffs to begin with, and to secure home court advantage, which greatly improves a team's chances of getting to the finals and winning the title.

As with most things, the answer, I believe, is somewhere in the middle.

But getting into the post season on fumes . . . not having your bench ready to cover the inevitable injuries, foul trouble, etc. . . . or changing team chemistry during the playoffs . . . is, as Errntknght said.

... it appears to me so far that he understands that the purpose of the regular season is to get the whole team ready for the playoffs - something one would never accuse any other Suns head coach of. Our recently departed one may have been the worst in that regard but regular season success at the expense of playoff preparation has been a hallmark of the Suns for forty odd years - and I've suffered through all of them.

Again, extremes (at either end) don't usually work. And our start -- winning 4 of our first 6 games and doing well on the road -- seems to be a good mixture of looking good in the standings while preparing for the playoffs.

It's early, but I like it. A plan from the start.

 

[SirStefan32]

It's pretty simple. Sitting Shaq was a huge mistake. He needed to be in the lineup, even if it's for only 10 minutes. Bad move by Porter. He played only 12 minutes in Indy, and we won that game. The Bulls used his absence as motivation and it worked.

But you don't have 2 starters out and expect to win against a young team in a hostile environment. Especially when your top bench guy has been doing nothing the entire season so far.

Exactly. Problem was that you had one starter out already.
Shaq sitting out a game now and then is fine, but if a starter is already out, he really needs to play.

 

[DeAnna]

Barnes is still not back? I understand wanting to be there for the birth of your kids , but that was 3 days ago wasn't it? maybe he's waiting until there 18 and out of the house?

The twins were born several weeks premature and were at the intensive care unit. I don't blame him for wanting to make sure everyone is ok before he ditches them for a bastketball game.

 

[DeAnna]

Interestingly, Raja has moved in that direction. I remember last summer Porter made some remark about expecting more than just long range shooting from him - and we all made fun of it and wondered if he really thought Raja was capable of attacking the bucket. My guess what he had in mind was what we are seeing - fake the long shot then take a couple of dribbles into mid-range.

IIRC, that was his game before he got to the Suns. It was D'Antoni that turned him into a 3pt shooter.

 

[Andrew]

I hate the fact that it seemed they took the night off, like they thought they could beat the Bulls without really trying...hey, that is just my impression. No one should get blown out by the Bulls...

 

[PDXChris]

No one should get blown out by the Bulls...

Well you did.

 

[arwillan]

No one should get blown out by the Bulls when they have the sort of injuries they do.

fixed.