The Suns' spring break begins...

[Griffin]

The Suns get five days off after having already played their 65th game. This could turn out to be a costly break in the standings, because the Suns, currently in fifth place, have already more losses than the 6th and 7th seeds, OKC and SA. So, unless those teams lose some games before Friday, the Suns may lose some ground in the standings before they play their next game.

5. Suns (40-25)
- Lakers, Fri

6. Thunder (37-24, 1 game back, played 4 fewer games so far)
- @ Kings, Sun
- Hornets, Wed
- Nets, Fri

- could tie Suns with two wins before Friday while still ahead in the loss column, whereas on Friday they get the Nets while the Suns get the Lakers

7. Spurs (36-24, 1.5 games back, played five fewer games so far)
- @ Cavs, Mon
- Knicks, Wed
- @ TWolves, Fri

- could come within half a game of the Suns before Friday with an easy Knicks game and a possibly LeBron-less Cleveland, but losing Parker may hurt their chances

Additionally, Utah, holding the final home-court playoff spot and now 1.5 games ahead of Suns, could be ahead 2.5 games with two wins at Chicago and Detroit before the Suns play the Lakers. On Friday, Jazz plays at Milwaukee.

It appears that things will be a lot closer between 5th and 7th by Friday, as if they weren't already, while Utah has a chance to solidify its position in the 4th spot. Looks like the Suns will likely have to beat the Lakers to avoid falling to 7th by the end of the week.

 

[dodie53]

atleast they get some much needed rest

 

[AfroSuns]

I think OKC is the likely one to catch up with the Suns, our remaining game with them this season may decide just who gets the 5 seed. With Parker down, the Spurms will be lucky to get the 8th seed. Even the Lakers (after 3 consecutive losses) dont look as secured as they once did at number 1, Dallas may just overtake them.

 

[cly2tw]

I'd rather rest Nash and get the 6th or 7th seed than exhausting Nash even further to get the 3rd-4th seeds. With a healthy Nash not over-dominating the ball, I feel we can beat anybody.

 

[jagu]

I'd rather rest Nash and get the 6th or 7th seed than exhausting Nash even further to get the 3rd-4th seeds. With a healthy Nash not over-dominating the ball, I feel we can beat anybody.

I'll take a high seed.. Why play a 1-2-3 ranked team in the first round?

 

[Chaplin]

I'd rather rest Nash and get the 6th or 7th seed than exhausting Nash even further to get the 3rd-4th seeds. With a healthy Nash not over-dominating the ball, I feel we can beat anybody.

Really? Since when does resting Nash guarantee us a 6th or 7th seed in the Western Conference?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Really? Since when does resting Nash guarantee us a 6th or 7th seed in the Western Conference?

It doesn't, however we do have the easiest remaining schedule and we need to take advantage of it. Our only chance of advancing past the first round is if Nash is healthy so I'd rest him as much as possible. Hopefully, both Goran and Leandro will be ready for a stretch run and that should help ease the loss of Nash in a few games.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

It doesn't, however we do have the easiest remaining schedule and we need to take advantage of it. Our only chance of advancing past the first round is if Nash is healthy so I'd rest him as much as possible. Hopefully, both Goran and Leandro will be ready for a stretch run and that should help ease the loss of Nash in a few games.

Steve

We barely take advantage of a soft schedule even WHEN Nash is playing. Sitting him now does nothing for us.

 

[AzStevenCal]

We barely take advantage of a soft schedule even WHEN Nash is playing. Sitting him now does nothing for us.

I get tired of all the Nash bashing here but his play of late has hurt us almost as much as he helps us. I just think that if rest will help him get healthy that we're better off taking the losses now so that we can win later with him at full strength. The soft schedule will allow us to survive his absence to some degree at least.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

I get tired of all the Nash bashing here but his play of late has hurt us almost as much as he helps us. I just think that if rest will help him get healthy that we're better off taking the losses now so that we can win later with him at full strength. The soft schedule will allow us to survive his absence to some degree at least.

Steve

That is simply not true. You've watched this team this year, I don't know how anybody can say that a) Nash is losing games for us and b) we are going to easily beat teams we should beat. We lose 2 games--just 2!--and we're on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.

I wish we could afford to rest him a full game, but we can't.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Of the top seeds, I feel Denver is the one we matchup with best (yes, including Utah), and they're likely going to be 2nd or 3rd in the conference, I'm guessing 3rd with the way Dallas is playing. That being the case, 6th isn't the end of the world at this point.

 

[elindholm]

We lose 2 games--just 2!--and we're on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.

Huh? The Suns are six games ahead of #9 Memphis in the loss column.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I wish we could afford to rest him a full game, but we can't.

We can and we should.

Let's face it, one of the major problems that we've run into almost every year since Nash has been with the team is that he's always less effective at the end of the year and in the playoffs. His enormous responsibility in terms of running the offense and setting up teammates is an obvious burden, and the cumulative effect of the constant pounding he takes along with his degenerative back renders him less effective as he wears down. Every year there is talk about cutting down his minutes and finding an adequate backup, yet this is the first year it's been paid more than lip service.

With Nash obviously less than 100%, 5 days off will certainly help but I'd prefer him to strategically take more rest to ensure he's as close to full power as possible for the playoffs. While he'd probably balk at it because of his competitive nature, we've had some very nice wins this year without Nash. Most importantly, and the decisive factor is the fact that only 4 of our final 17 games are against teams with a winning record. It would only be logical to have Nash take a couple games off if it means he'll be more effective in the playoffs.

 

[AzStevenCal]

That is simply not true. You've watched this team this year, I don't know how anybody can say that a) Nash is losing games for us and b) we are going to easily beat teams we should beat. We lose 2 games--just 2!--and we're on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.

I wish we could afford to rest him a full game, but we can't.

You might want to re-read my post. I don't think we are better off without Nash. I said that his play of late has hurt us almost as much as he's helped us. You may be right that we can't afford to rest him a full game but Nash as is will not lead this team out of the first round. IF we can let him rest enough to heal and still finish better than 8th we have to do it. If he's not healthy it really doesn't matter where we finish though because without him we will lose a series regardless of opponent.

Steve

 

[SirStefan32]

You might want to re-read my post. I don't think we are better off without Nash. I said that his play of late has hurt us almost as much as he's helped us. You may be right that we can't afford to rest him a full game but Nash as is will not lead this team out of the first round. IF we can let him rest enough to heal and still finish better than 8th we have to do it. If he's not healthy it really doesn't matter where we finish though because without him we will lose a series regardless of opponent.

Steve

The problem is that one game can be the difference between playoffs and no playoffs, and just a couple of games can even mean home court advantage.

 

[Mainstreet]

The problem is that one game can be the difference between playoffs and no playoffs, and just a couple of games can even mean home court advantage.

True, but the Suns aren't going anywhere in the playoffs. Sometimes I think the whole season has been about the Suns trying not to allow the Suns former first round pick conveyed to the Thunder to be a lottery pick.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

True, but the Suns aren't going anywhere in the playoffs.

By what do you mean anywhere? I think we have a real chance to beat anyone outside of LA in the West, especially with the way we've been playing post all star game.

 

[Chaplin]

True, but the Suns aren't going anywhere in the playoffs. Sometimes I think the whole season has been about the Suns trying not to allow the Suns former first round pick conveyed to the Thunder to be a lottery pick.

Obviously, the Suns front office disagrees with you, and that's the reality.

 

[elindholm]

Obviously, the Suns front office disagrees with you

What makes it obvious? I'm trying to come up with any front-office move this season that made me think, "Wow, the Suns are really trying to be as good as they possibly can this year!" I don't have one. There's no way to tell what they're actually thinking, but I sure wouldn't call it "obvious" that they'll be much dissatisfied with 50-and-fade.

 

[Chaplin]

What makes it obvious? I'm trying to come up with any front-office move this season that made me think, "Wow, the Suns are really trying to be as good as they possibly can this year!" I don't have one. There's no way to tell what they're actually thinking, but I sure wouldn't call it "obvious" that they'll be much dissatisfied with 50-and-fade.

Huh? Kerr has been nothing but content with the team this season. You have even pointed that out on numerous occasions.

 

[elindholm]

Huh? Kerr has been nothing but content with the team this season. You have even pointed that out on numerous occasions.

Maybe I misunderstood you. I thought you were saying it was "obvious" that the Suns are gunning for the highest playoff seed they possibly can, instead of being satisfied with one-and-done. So far, this team looks like it's on track to make the playoffs with room to spare, so Kerr's contentedness doesn't address the question one way or the other.

 

[nashman]

The way the team is playing right now its WAY premature to be saying they won't do anything in the playoffs!

 

[mojorizen7]

True, but the Suns aren't going anywhere in the playoffs. Sometimes I think the whole season has been about the Suns trying not to allow the Suns former first round pick conveyed to the Thunder to be a lottery pick.

Thats a rather cynical view to take....that i happen to agree with.
The emergence of Lopez will help us in a playoff series,however Frye's lack of presence will probably make that a wash.

I'm curious as to how Gentry will approach a 7 game series with this roster. I think he'll show us some positives we haven't seen in quite sometime....and his development of a bench and defensive effort will be refreshing.However we're still a jumpshooting team without a Kobe Bryant so IMO the results will be predictably futile.

 

[cly2tw]

Thats a rather cynical view to take....that i happen to agree with.
The emergence of Lopez will help us in a playoff series,however Frye's lack of presence will probably make that a wash.

I'm curious as to how Gentry will approach a 7 game series with this roster. I think he'll show us some positives we haven't seen in quite sometime....and his development of a bench and defensive effort will be refreshing.However we're still a jumpshooting team without a Kobe Bryant so IMO the results will be predictably futile.

Our main problem would be the 4th quarter collapse, which has not happened after Frye got benched in favor of Lopez, aside from the Utah loss. And that loss is a prime example of how we might still succeed in the playoffs: Manage Nash's energy level throughout a game!

Our success with Lopez as the starter coincides with coach instructing less ball control by Nash, which has the byproduct of more energy preserved for crunch time and better overall defense from him. Can we keep sticking to this general game plan? If we can and Nash improves on his catch-and-shoot, we can beat anybody in playoffs.

 

[BC867]

I wish we could afford to rest him a full game, but we can't.

With the remaining regular season schedule, I believe our highest priority should be to reverse Steve Nash's physical ailments. That takes extra rest.

We know his playmaking and assists are most essential, but if he is not also a threat as a pure shooter, it will hurt us in the playoffs, especially at the end of games.

And now that Dragic, who was never putting up assist numbers as a backup Point Guard, hits 10 when starting and 5 off the bench, plus Grant Hill and Jared Dudley, we have the flexibility to get Steve ready for the playoffs.

The benefit in the post-season is that there is never a back-to-back. But that applies to the opposition as well. Steve will be more rested throughout. So will they. But they'll be healthier.