Tankathon Rankings

[AzStevenCal]

He's alive! Welcome back Steve.

Thanks. I think I was technically dead for awhile earlier today so it's great to discover I really am alive.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Thanks. I think I was technically dead for awhile earlier today so it's great to discover I really am alive.

Or this could be heaven! (unlikely)

 

[Errntknght]

He could be an imposter... there's something missing from his posts

 

[Phrazbit]

He could be an imposter... there's something missing from his posts

haha, good catch! But I'd settle for a fake Steve, as long as its a decent impersonation.


Rudiger

 

[BC867]

My wife talked me into joining the conversation.

Welcome back, Steve. Although I don't like the part about "technically dead".

And I didn't see your signature signature.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Thanks. I think I was technically dead for awhile earlier today so it's great to discover I really am alive.

Man. Its great to see (read, whatever) you back!

 

[JCSunsfan]

The players should be trying to win games and the coach should be trying to set them up for success (win or not), the losing magic has to come from above. But I think you're missing the big point, we are losing. We've used up our margin of error so we're in danger of dropping out of the 3rd spot but probably no lower than 4th.

My wife talked me into joining the conversation.

And yes. I agree. I am not sure how much more "losing magic" can be sent down from above. I guess they could sit PJ and BK for the rest of the season. But the roster is pretty thin as it is. And the times where those two make a winning difference--even a positive difference--in a game is rare. That would have to be "from above" instructions to the coach in the games or at lease before games, asking him to sit players when they are playing well.

At that point, you are throwing games, which I am sure is against league rules.

 

[Chaplin]

And yes. I agree. I am not sure how much more "losing magic" can be sent down from above. I guess they could sit PJ and BK for the rest of the season. But the roster is pretty thin as it is. And the times where those two make a winning difference--even a positive difference--in a game is rare. That would have to be "from above" instructions to the coach in the games or at lease before games, asking him to sit players when they are playing well.

At that point, you are throwing games, which I am sure is against league rules.

Sitting PJ wouldn't matter. Think about it--yes, we won the last game because he went off, but can you think of any other of our wins where PJ was the determining factor? I can't.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Sitting PJ wouldn't matter. Think about it--yes, we won the last game because he went off, but can you think of any other of our wins where PJ was the determining factor? I can't.

Exactly. Sometimes, you just win some in spite of yourself.

 

[Errntknght]

Sitting PJ wouldn't matter. Think about it--yes, we won the last game because he went off, but can you think of any other of our wins where PJ was the determining factor? I can't.

Short memory... Memphis game here Feb 28th: PJ 17 pts, 11rebs, 7 asts, 0 TO, Suns win 111-106

 

[sunsfan88]

Short memory... Memphis game here Feb 28th: PJ 17 pts, 11rebs, 7 asts, 0 TO, Suns win 111-106

Whenever PJ plays well, Suns tend to win. It shows you how much better this team would be if it had a consistently competent SF.

*ingram*

 

[JCSunsfan]

Whenever PJ plays well, Suns tend to win. It shows you how much better this team would be if it had a consistently competent SF.

*ingram*

I am thinking it might also show what type of player we might need in the future at the 3. Warren may not be the answer. I think he has a great future in this league, but we might need a lock down wing defender, rebounder, who can shoot the 3.

 

[Mainstreet]

The players should be trying to win games and the coach should be trying to set them up for success (win or not), the losing magic has to come from above. But I think you're missing the big point, we are losing. We've used up our margin of error so we're in danger of dropping out of the 3rd spot but probably no lower than 4th.

My wife talked me into joining the conversation.

It's great to see you posting again.

In regard to the discussion, it's not like the Suns are not playing their bench. I think the Suns started playing better when they started to play Chandler and Len together. It's hard to deliberately go away from that combination. Also after Devin Booker rebounded from the all-star break, it seems like his game has shifted into another gear. He is really understanding the game now and looking for contact on his shots.

 

[sunsfan88]

I am thinking it might also show what type of player we might need in the future at the 3. Warren may not be the answer. I think he has a great future in this league, but we might need a lock down wing defender, rebounder, who can shoot the 3.

I was thinking the same as well even before he got injured.

Seems like that's the trend, most teams in the league have at least one guy in their lineup that's very strong defensively and can handle 1-4s in the league. For GSW, it's Green/Igoudala, for SAS it's Kawhi/Green, for TOR it's Carroll, for OKC for Clippers it's Mbah and Rockets with Ariza etc.

 

[Chaplin]

Short memory... Memphis game here Feb 28th: PJ 17 pts, 11rebs, 7 asts, 0 TO, Suns win 111-106

Yes, very short!

I still think my point remains. PJ won't win us many games.

 

[Catlover]

Yes, very short!

I still think my point remains. PJ won't win us many games.

I agree. He's probably been the hero of 4 games this season but he's been the primary contributor to many of our losses. Using him 40 minutes a night seems like a move taken straight from the tanking playbook.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Pelicans are thinking about shutting down Anthony Davis (injured left knee) for the rest of the season and Brook Lopez didn't play today in the Nets loss due to illness. This may be all be legitimate but I think a lot of teams are going to be suddenly bad or suffer from injuries or illness down the stretch. Are the Suns going for the best bad team down the stretch?

 

[JCSunsfan]

The Pelicans are thinking about shutting down Anthony Davis (injured left knee) for the rest of the season and Brook Lopez didn't play today in the Nets loss due to illness. This may be all be legitimate but I think a lot of teams are going to be suddenly bad or suffer from injuries or illness down the stretch. Are the Suns going for the best bad team down the stretch?

The Nets have no motivation to tank. If they shut someone down, it will be because they truly fear injury.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Nets have no motivation to tank. If they shut someone down, it will be because they truly fear injury.

The Nets have no motivation to tank, that's true, but unfortunately they have no real incentive to win either. I expect they'll try to win each night but they'll protect their assets for next season. Sitting Lopez is probably an easy call as he's had no shortage of health issues.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Nets have no motivation to tank. If they shut someone down, it will be because they truly fear injury.

I mentioned much earlier in a thread that unexpected (weird) things happens down the stretch. There are unexpected wins and losses... even for playoff teams as they rest players or seek playoff match-ups. Non-playoff teams have no incentive to win and every reason to lose for better draft picks. The Nets may have no motivation to tank but they have no motivation to win either. Also there is plenty of incentive for non-playoff teams to look at players brought up from the D-League or such. The Suns are going to have to make a decision soon (on who they play) as the #3 slot fades away. They could move further move away from an early draft pick.

If the Suns do not have intention to trade Knight, bringing him back this season can be costly.

 

[Mainstreet]

Paul Coro does a good assessment about the possibility of the Suns sliding out of the #3 draft slot. Actually the chances appear pretty good.

Brooklyn owes the pick to Boston so it has no reason to tank but it also does not have a schedule for success. Of the Nets’ final 13 games, Brooklyn plays seven games against teams in the NBA’s top 12 and two more against playoff contender Washington. The Nets also play more games on the road (seven) than at home (six), which includes facing red-hot Charlotte at home Tuesday night. Brooklyn is bringing back rookie Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who has not played since Dec. 4 after having surgery on an ankle fracture.

The Suns have a more favorable schedule for success. Of their final 13 games, nine are against teams with a record of .500 or worse and seven are at home, including a Monday night game against the Grizzlies team that it has beaten twice since the All-Star break.

Slipping from the NBA’s third-worst record to the fourth-worst record would change the Suns’ chances of landing a top-three draft pick from 46.9 percent to 37.8 percent. The chances of landing the No. 1 pick would go from 15.6 percent to 11.9 percent.

Here is a link to the Paul Coro at azcentral.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...dule-decide-suns-draft-lottery-odds/82089484/

Also I have included a link to NBA League Standings with ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/group/league

 

[GatorAZ]

It's been known for a while that Phoenix will finish with a better record than Brooklyn. I don't even think about. More focused on how Minnesota and Washington are doing.

 

[Mainstreet]

It's been known for a while that Phoenix will finish with a better record than Brooklyn. I don't even think about. More focused on how Minnesota and Washington are doing.

I was hoping that the Suns would be able to hang onto the third slot but since the Suns have won 4 of their last 8 games, that idea is slipping away.

 

[slinslin]

Washington lost again while Dallas won.

They are firmly locked into the #12-14 spots.

From now on we can root for Washington to lose every game and root for Dallas, Chicago, Utah and Houston to win.

Also OKC and Toronto could still overtake the Cavs pushing the pick to #26 in the best case scenario.

 

[slinslin]

The Nets schedule over the next 5 games is lighter than the Suns.

Suns have 7 remaining games. Nets have 8 remaining games.

Suns next 4
Washington
Utah
@Atlanta
@Houston
we should be 0-4 in that stretch

Brooklyn's next 5
@Cleveland
@New York
New Orleans
@Washington
@Charlotte
Brooklyn should win at least 1 of those games (2 if we are lucky)

That would put us 2 games ahead of Brooklyn in the tank rankings with 3 remaining games.

Brooklyns last 3
@Indiana
Washington
Toronto

Suns last 3
@New Orleans
Sacramento
Clippers