Alright here me out, a couple weeks ago I'd be with the consensus of literally everybody saying we'd get murdered by the Suns in the inside and we probably would but the game against them a week ago IMO showed a lot of their weaknesses. A few reasons why I think this might be a better match-up than Utah is because: 1.) The Deke factor. We are a much better defensive team when he's on the floor. It's obvious teams have a different approach in terms of attacking the rim when he's on the floor apposed to when he's not. Against Utah, his effectiveness is limited and almost a disadvantage because he can't go out on Boozer's mid-ranger or Okur from behind the arc. Against Phoenix, Mutumbo would go toe to toe with Shaq and be able to be on the floor and be productive. Phoenix might very well be the better offensive team than the Jazz but the fact we'd have Mutumbo on the court more in a series against the Suns would make it IMO easier to slow down the Suns rather than the Jazz. 2.) McGrady's productivity. They showed in that game that they had problems guarding McGrady coming off the screen Deke set for him. Utah has also more guys to throw at Mac. Brewer and Kirilenko are both considered above average defenders and are all around his height. Phoenix on the other hand has Bell as there only reputation defender and he gives up a bit too much size being around 6"4. 3.) Rebounding, we are the #1 ranked overall rebounding team in the league while the Suns are ranked 21st. The stats would also show Utah is pretty low in that regard but they've proven more in that they've owned us on the boards in the past and yesterday and were one of the top rebounding teams just last season. Though the Suns have improved with Shaq in town, I think we could have a pretty significant advantage in this category. Also a side note, since Landry has come back from injury he has had two good games, against the Warriors and the Suns. Both of whom are similar high paced offensively and poor rebounding teams. When he plays well, we are really a MUCH tougher team to play. Maybe a coincidence but if these are the teams Landry matches up better with still recovering from the injury then it'd be more to our benefit possibly if we played the Suns. In my opinion I think we matchup better with the Suns defensively due to the fact that Mutumbo should be more effective and even offensively since they have less depth, less guys to throw at McGrady and overall a worse defense. They obviously have their strengths against us, but which team doesn't? Thoughts? Am I crazy?
Yes. There's no way we can hold off Shaq, Stoudemire, and Nash long enough to win the series. They're just too big and strong for us. Let's face it. Deke is not a great defender anymore. People just shoot right over him, especially when he crouches so low. Stoudemire will eat us alive with or without the rest of his team.
I was at the last home game in Phoenix and witnessed the blow out firsthand. I'd rather not see the Rockets get crushed again by the Suns.
Don't let the last game fool you. No way the ROckets beat the Suns in a 7 game series. Amare has and always will have his way against the Rockets. And when the Suns perimeter guys starting hitting their shots, it's all downhill from there. The Rockets will not be able to contain Hill, Barbosa, Bell and Nash in a 7 game series. Houston just can't keep up, really. We match up better against the Jazz, and we have a much better shot against them, then the Suns. Or Spurs
are you crazy? no. and amongst the points you stated, i would like to insert another. deron williams. sure, the suns have that nash guy...but becasue of his size and style, we are much better equipped to handle him over williams.
Go back for the last 2-3 years, and checked how we've fared against the Suns. YES, the Jazz are a tough cover, BUT, the Suns are even TOUGHER.
not with this team... the rockets are considerably worse this year without Yao but of all the teams they could play in the playoffs they matchup best with the suns. They have the best 1on1 defender of shaq in the western conference in deke and the suns play small and are weak enough that we can afford to play Head and Bjax at SG alot. Also they are the best team to utilize tmac and scola in the post. They are ridiculously hard to defend but they will let you score on them pretty easily. Utah, SA, or anyone else in the playoffs plays good enough defense that our limited attack will be outed in the playoffs. Also those teams have bigger stronger backcourt players that will take it at our 'smalls' all day long.
what gives people the idea that we match up better with the jazz than the suns? we struggled to win at home against the jazz with a fully healthy roster in the playoffs last year; their physicality shuts tmac down and consequently makes the rest of our team struggle. i know people are afraid of shaq and amare, but the jazz can hurt you with no names like matt harpring and kyle korver, assuming deron, boozer, okur, and kirilenko don't go off and you. the fact that they can beat you with different players just goes to show how much tougher a team the jazz are.
it's really quite simple. if you were going for a one shot knockout NCAA type elimination game with either: > v Utah @ Utah > v Suns you'd go with the Suns, because any given game any team can beat any team but Utah at home is one of the most consistent things in the league. and houston is an underdog in either matchup might as well roll the dice considering this is the NBA PLAYOFFS with 7 games no freaking way you want the suns over jazz. amare's going for 40 every game and nash will anally rape over a 7 game series. plus shaq's fat ass is going to sit on our "inside" players for 7 games. hell no suns and spurs are the matchups from hell... either series would be the biggest upsets in houston playoff history, considering how many liabilities houston has versus those 2 teams... utah is actually below LA in terms of difficulty and above denver. we just lost to utah and beat the suns so NATURALLY the scroobs come out and say we should play the suns, but basketball knowledge indicate no
We would beat the Suns. We are actually a bad matchup for them instead of the other way around. We could keep them under 100pts a game. Sure Amare and Shaq would combine for 50. But Nash sucks against pesky fast PGs like Brooks and Jackson. I think we could keep Hill, Diaw, and Raja Bell in check. Plus the suns cant guard anyone. There team defense rivals Denver for the worst. TMAC would have a field day. If for no other reason I dont think we can beat the Jazz in Utah. But we could beat the Suns once or twice in Phoenix.
All of this aside, I think the Refs want the Suns, Lakers, and Mavs advancing. We are the red headed step children of the league when it comes to getting calls in the playoffs. Just look at the last couple of playoff years if you can stomach it. God help who ever plays the Lakers and Celtics in the playoffs because you will have to beat them and the Refs.
Phoenix will lose when someone exploits their poor interior defense and stops their outside shooting like we did that game. Utah will lose when the public perception expresses particular disgust at the idea of Utah upsetting some team and the refs are forced to call it fairly in Utah. So basically, Utah won't lose until they play against San Antonio, the Lakers, or the Celtics. They will foul and cheat their way until they run into one of those teams because it is physically impossible for a team to win in Utah until people start asking questions about why they have such an advantage at home, even against elite teams. That's how they lost last year, there just was no way for the public to envision Utah as better than San Antonio so the refs called it that way. Phoenix on the other hand sacrificed the identity of their team just to make themselves better matched against San Antonio. We can beat that.
SUNS just want to play against Spurs, and they will. Unfortunately we have to face Jazz again this year.
Don't let this past game cloud your judgment. I was there first hand to witness the ass whooping, but let's be real here, there's no way we could contain Nash, Barbosa, Hill, Diaw, and Shaq in a 7 game series. Once they start hitting their shots... man, are they tough.
We want to play the Jazz anyways if nothing else but to be spoilers and the revenge factor from last year.
