Is this Western Conference the deepest conference ever? I was considering which teams I'd most like the Suns to play in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and honestly, there isn't a team I'd rather play among all other 6 teams.
Take the Mavs-Warriors series. The 2006-2007 Dallas Mavericks are one of the best teams in the history of the league by virtue of wins and losses, and so obviously we don't want to play them in the WCF. As Warriors coach Don Nelson said recently, in a seven-game series, the best team ALWAYS wins. The Mavericks are almost certainly the best team in the league. However, the Warriors are a really scary team. They've been building up this team for years, each offseason getting better and better, but injuries have always derailed them. In the last 12 games of the season, they lost just one time, and one of those wins was a blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns. Baron Davis is one of the best guards in the league, he's just kept it a good secret since like the 2003 season he had with the Hornets; Jason Richardson is far from just the dunker who won the dunk contest 3 years ago; Stephen Jackson has hurt the Suns in the past (most notably from his days as a Spur) and has improved since; Mickael Pietrus has the ability to explode on any given night; Al Harrington is perfect for the team; and Zarko Caparkapa hasn't wet his bed, waking up in a cold sweat screaming "Fortson no!" in like 3 weeks (reportedly).
Then you take the Nuggets. When was the last time a 6th seed had two bonified superstars at the prime of their careers? I can't think of that ever happening before, but if you can, I gauruntee the team didn't also have the most likely Defensive Player of the year (Camby) and a powerful low post presence (Nene). The Nuggets also blew the Suns out in the latter portion of the season, with A.I. outplaying Nash, Nene playing at least par with Amare, and Melo gobbling up Marion and anybody else the Suns threw at him.
But, if we don't want to play the Warriors or the Nuggets, then that means we must want to play the Spurs and the Mavs. No thanks! It's weird how I actually think the Spurs might be the best matchup for the Suns, even though their air-tight perimeter defense has shown a very capable match for Steve Nash's mastery, turns Shawn Marion into a non-factor, and runs other guys like Bell and Jr off the 3 point line and into shots they'd rather not have to take. The only solace with the Spurs is that, as far as any single player being Amare's b*tch, Tim Duncan takes the cake. Yet, obviously we don't want to play the Spurs, with 3 championships in this still very young millenium.
Take the Mavs-Warriors series. The 2006-2007 Dallas Mavericks are one of the best teams in the history of the league by virtue of wins and losses, and so obviously we don't want to play them in the WCF. As Warriors coach Don Nelson said recently, in a seven-game series, the best team ALWAYS wins. The Mavericks are almost certainly the best team in the league. However, the Warriors are a really scary team. They've been building up this team for years, each offseason getting better and better, but injuries have always derailed them. In the last 12 games of the season, they lost just one time, and one of those wins was a blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns. Baron Davis is one of the best guards in the league, he's just kept it a good secret since like the 2003 season he had with the Hornets; Jason Richardson is far from just the dunker who won the dunk contest 3 years ago; Stephen Jackson has hurt the Suns in the past (most notably from his days as a Spur) and has improved since; Mickael Pietrus has the ability to explode on any given night; Al Harrington is perfect for the team; and Zarko Caparkapa hasn't wet his bed, waking up in a cold sweat screaming "Fortson no!" in like 3 weeks (reportedly).
Then you take the Nuggets. When was the last time a 6th seed had two bonified superstars at the prime of their careers? I can't think of that ever happening before, but if you can, I gauruntee the team didn't also have the most likely Defensive Player of the year (Camby) and a powerful low post presence (Nene). The Nuggets also blew the Suns out in the latter portion of the season, with A.I. outplaying Nash, Nene playing at least par with Amare, and Melo gobbling up Marion and anybody else the Suns threw at him.
But, if we don't want to play the Warriors or the Nuggets, then that means we must want to play the Spurs and the Mavs. No thanks! It's weird how I actually think the Spurs might be the best matchup for the Suns, even though their air-tight perimeter defense has shown a very capable match for Steve Nash's mastery, turns Shawn Marion into a non-factor, and runs other guys like Bell and Jr off the 3 point line and into shots they'd rather not have to take. The only solace with the Spurs is that, as far as any single player being Amare's b*tch, Tim Duncan takes the cake. Yet, obviously we don't want to play the Spurs, with 3 championships in this still very young millenium.
