The Suns are a championship outlier, not a template...

[GatorAZ]

yeah... it’s tough to follow this template. Closest thing I can think of is we ended up being a lot like that Pistons team that beat the Lakers in the Finals and took the Spurs to 7 the next year. I’m not saying player for player or size wise we were like then but they just had the consummate team and everyone knew and played their roles perfectly. That’s what we have here.

it’s a real hard template to duplicate and probably why we’ll join that Pistons club as the outliers to Super Teams winning most titles. Only other outlier was that Mavs team where Dirk went superhuman and pretty much beat every super team singlehandedly. He beat the Kobe/Pau Lakers, the Durant/Westbrook/Harden Thunder and then the Bron/Wade/Bosh Heat. Man, that really was an absolutely insane playoff run.

The 2011 Mavs were the definition of a total team title. Chandler and Marion’s defense broke Miami, Kidd was the elder floor general and Terry outscored Lebron. Even DeShawn Stevenson hit 56% from 3. Dirk was really good but not great in the finals. He was definitely otherworldly vs OKC.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

yeah... it’s tough to follow this template. Closest thing I can think of is we ended up being a lot like that Pistons team that beat the Lakers in the Finals and took the Spurs to 7 the next year. I’m not saying player for player or size wise we were like then but they just had the consummate team and everyone knew and played their roles perfectly. That’s what we have here.

it’s a real hard template to duplicate and probably why we’ll join that Pistons club as the outliers to Super Teams winning most titles. Only other outlier was that Mavs team where Dirk went superhuman and pretty much beat every super team singlehandedly. He beat the Kobe/Pau Lakers, the Durant/Westbrook/Harden Thunder and then the Bron/Wade/Bosh Heat. Man, that really was an absolutely insane playoff run.

Honestly player to player it is somewhat similar to that Pistons team. Offensively both teams are/were led by two guards that could score or set up teammates (Billups/Hamilton, Book/Paul), both teams have a super long very good perimeter defender who can take on the other teams best perimeter scorer (Prince, Mikal), both teams have a big that rebounds very well and defends the rim very well (Big Ben, Ayton).

On top of those similarities both teams play with a very unselfish mindset of making the extra pass and being very physical with a lot of effort on defense. Ayton is essentially somewhat of a combination of both Wallace's as he brings some of the ability to score that Sheed did while also being a presence down low on defense much like Ben was.

 

[Hoop Head]

Honestly player to player it is somewhat similar to that Pistons team. Offensively both teams are/were led by two guards that could score or set up teammates (Billups/Hamilton, Book/Paul), both teams have a super long very good perimeter defender who can take on the other teams best perimeter scorer (Prince, Mikal), both teams have a big that rebounds very well and defends the rim very well (Big Ben, Ayton).

On top of those similarities both teams play with a very unselfish mindset of making the extra pass and being very physical with a lot of effort on defense. Ayton is essentially somewhat of a combination of both Wallace's as he brings some of the ability to score that Sheed did while also being a presence down low on defense much like Ben was.

I was following along and agreeing until it got to the Ayton/Big Ben part. I struggled to get past that until I started thinking of the frontcourt as a whole. What we get from Crowder and Ayton is exactly what they got from their 2 Wallace's.

As great as Ayton has been, I wish he had even a tiny bit of the toughness Ben and Sheed had. I think that will be needed to take him to the next level. I have more hope for him developing that after the Monty clip also. He internalizes too much and needs to learn to let it that frustration, anger, and disappointment out in a way on the court. Basketball is still new to him to a certain extent.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I was following along and agreeing until it got to the Ayton/Big Ben part. I struggled to get past that until I started thinking of the frontcourt as a whole. What we get from Crowder and Ayton is exactly what they got from their 2 Wallace's.

As great as Ayton has been, I wish he had even a tiny bit of the toughness Ben and Sheed had. I think that will be needed to take him to the next level. I have more hope for him developing that after the Monty clip also. He internalizes too much and needs to learn to let it that frustration, anger, and disappointment out in a way on the court. Basketball is still new to him to a certain extent.

I mean it's a different game now than it was then. Ayton doesn't necessarily need to play with the amount of toughness and physicality that those guys did (specifically Ben). Ayton is simply a more complete player than either of them were, but they were both better than Ayton in one way or another. Obviously there is no perfect comparison between one of them and Ayton.

 

[Bufalay]

Toronto is another good example. To be honest, the first Warriors team that one the title is another one.

the Spurs had a super team on the down low as far as I’m concerned though. Not putting together like today’s but Parker/Ginobli and Funcan were all HOFers.

I've been thinking that the Suns are a lot like the first Warriors championship team. I'm surprised anyone agrees about this. That team had amazing depth with really good players at every position. They didn't screw up and played consistent and disciplined defense.

The obvious argument is that Curry is way better than anyone on the Suns, but he played pretty poorly in the finals and they still won because they had such a good team. I think that's similar to the Suns overcoming Paul's absences and Booker's play following the broken nose.

Also, it took a long time for people to acknowledge that the Warriors were actually the best team that year, there were a lot of excuses being made about injuries to their opponents. Turns out they were just really good.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I've been thinking that the Suns are a lot like the first Warriors championship team. I'm surprised anyone agrees about this. That team had amazing depth with really good players at every position. They didn't screw up and played consistent and disciplined defense.

The obvious argument is that Curry is way better than anyone on the Suns, but he played pretty poorly in the finals and they still won because they had such a good team. I think that's similar to the Suns overcoming Paul's absences and Booker's play following the broken nose.

Also, it took a long time for people to acknowledge that the Warriors were actually the best team that year, there were a lot of excuses being made about injuries to their opponents. Turns out they were just really good.

It's really hard for people to wrap their brains around the idea that a team can get that much better that quickly.

 

[Western Font]

What Phoenix has built is a complete contender. I think if they’re emulating anyone it should be the Spurs in terms of persistently great culture and competency. San Antonio was able to attract stars, too. They didn’t win a title with LMA but it was still a big signing and Phoenix should have an edge as a destination (unless taxes are the deciding factor). I was actually thinking the other day that it’s possible the Suns have their Duncan/Parker/Ginobili at slightly different positions.

But your competition can change a lot in a year. A team like the Suns could make a jump but even more likely is a first-team All-NBA player moving teams. The fact that they tend to move to a handful of markets makes it seem less chaotic than it actually is.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Hornets GM was talking on the Radio yesterday about this. Wants the Hornets to build a base, develop young talent and the Vets will come.

 

[Larry Schweikart]

I think the Suns are showing the league an example of what Bruce Lee would call "being water".

There's nothing an opponent can attack, or take away, that the Suns don't have a counter.

Offensively, we have elite scoring at all four levels. I say four instead of three because we are elite from 3, mid range, at the rim, and at the freethrow line. We are elite at moving the ball. When we need crunch time buckets, we have elite iso players.

On the other end, our perimeter defense is elite. Our paint defense, thanks to Ayton, is elite. You can't attack the mid range the way we can. One, other teams don't have the firepower from mid range we do. Two, Ayton's mobility does not allow this kind of exploitation. We switch at an elite level. We play with high defensive iq and intensity. We can play small or big. What's more, we are able to dictate to our opponent whether they can go small or big.

There is no well for the opponent to draw upon.

Mentally, we are unflappable. We are relentless. We never stop grinding. We have a killer instinct.

The opponent is not able to win the mind game.

We've actually witnessed in three consecutive series, our team breaking the mind of our opponent. Lebron quitting, Jokic's ejection, Beverly's ejection.

Amazing for how young we are.

We have an elite coach. On the court and off.

We are as perfectly constructed a team as there is in today's NBA.

We have an elite GM.

Water, my friends.

This is all true.

But the Suns have some definite weaknesses: offensive rebounding is nearly non-existent (flip side, they don't give up too many fast break buckets).
They still tend to miss a lot of layups. As good as he's been, Ayton still lays the ball up a little too much when he should dunk it (easy for me at 5'8" and no hops at ALL to say
I think after Bridges/Crowder they need that one more off-the-bench lockdown defender. Cam Johnson needs to emerge as the off-the bench frontcourt scorer, not just shooter.
And, can we really get another year out of Payne at this level? He'll move on for a big paycheck, right?

Oh, yes, I've been way out of it. Just got around to watching extensive video of Ja Morant. Jaw-dropping to say the least. No idea if he's a team player or not, but holy cow.

 

[AZCrazy]

Talent alone, even on some of these 'superteams' doesn't usually get the title. The me first attitudes of stars-for-hire will get in the way. The selflessness of this team is its defining characteristic. These are all good men.

Hasn't been that long since we were rostered up with Trevor Ariza and Eric Bledsoe and the Morris twins and other hair pulling crap like that.