I felt the same as you last year about the Suns and even started threads on them in midseason to discuss it. This year though, things are a little different because of their success without Amare. If he comes back and doesn't disrupt their team chemistry too much, the Suns will be a legitimate threat. Adding Amare would give them a very solid 8-9 player rotation. But I have a feeling the Suns may have trouble assimilating him in without subtracting the games of other players. But then again, they have the maestro, Steve Nash.
Nice to see it took an extra half season for people here to finally give Shaq's MVP award from last year to Steve Nash.
i dont think they'll be as good with amare actually. while he brings a lot of inside presence (sp?) to the team they will have a different game plan with him in the lineup. a lot more going inside instead of spotting up for jumpshots and 3s. I think that was part of the reasons why the rockets beat them twice last year. but at this point it doesnt seem he'll be back this year anyway. but for some reason i see them still losing in the playoffs, nash and marion have been healthy all year and logging huge minutes and the team is still somewhat dependent on its starting 5 and gets nothing outside of barbosa from their bench. (not sure but doesnt diaw start now for them?) if marion and esp nash get hurt they're done
The Spurs took them out in 5 last season (including 3 W's IN Phoenix). THIS year, the Spurs have the HCA, AND Parker will absolutely live in the lane, probably shooting 60 - 65% against that Defense. Spurs are a bored, hobbled champion STILL winning at nearly an .800 clip; Phoenix will get run.
How do the Suns have the Mavs number when the mavs are 2-1 against them this season? Also, the Mavs aren't nearly as good without Josh Howard. And Amare will only mess things up if he comes back ala Chris Webber a couple of years ago.
The Mavs weakness is exposed again. They are almost dead last in the league in assists. They play a lot of iso basketball and don't move the ball around. They are winning based on sheer talent and depth, that's all. That's why, in spite of everything people say, they are paper tigers again this year and will be exposed in the playoffs. Mark Cuban will eventually learn the hard way that he can't win a championship with a fat wallet and a loud mouth. If not for these bloody injuries ... this would have been the perfect year for the Rockets to humiliate those Mavbricks in the playoffs.
The Mavs did go deep in the playoffs a few years ago, and almost did again if not for Nowitzki's injury. I don't buy the "this is a regular season team" or "defense wins championships" theories. It is really a matter of controlling the tempo and matchups. I think the Suns can beat any team in the playoffs except the Spurs and the Pistons. These are the only teams that has the quickness on defense to stop the Suns attack. Of course, another underrated factor in the playoffs is health. You have to be both good and lucky. Having injuries to one of your key players can kill your chance no matter how good you are.
Look, it is obvious you hate the Mavericks but try to be objective. The Rockets had a special year last year with aging players and lost to the Mavs in the first round. Too many aging players cought up with the Rockets this season. This season, with both teams completely healthy, the Rockets would have little chance of beating the Mavs in a 7 game series. Next year? Who knows. This year? Mavs win easily.
You guys are fools. San Antonio nearly swept the Suns last year with a surging Amare and it took a miracle to beat them at home. Playing in the post season is a whole diffrent ball game, where defensive minded team will take it up several notches. Cheez, I thought the Mavs 50+ wins in the last 5 yrs or so would teach you guys anything concerning the regular/post season diffrences.
You just made my point. The fact is that this team is very good, but any top defensive team in the NBA (this includes the rockets) can beat them in the playoffs. They are not going to win a championship period. In a 7 game series people do their hw and will take them out. As far as your two arguments of tempo and matchups go: 1. Running teams cant control tempo. Usually if the other team just takes their time to set up the offense and has a strong post presence, they will dominate the tempo. 2. As far as matchups go. Their team is extremely undersized. In a half court game, they will get destroyed. Also, their whole team is not the quickest group in the league. It is Steve Nash. If you can find someone that can keep up with him one-on-one (although extremely hard) then you have pretty much neutralized any matchup advantage they had. Then all you have to do is just cover the pick and roll and the other shooters. The rockets have not been able to beat them for 2 reasons that I have seen. First, Rafer keeps running the ball like they do, probably JVG's fault but you cant outrun a team that is the best running team in the NBA. Second, even if they slowed the game down, the rockets can not hit any of their 3's so they will keep sending triple teams at Yao. Also it helps if T-mac can be in the game or playing at the potential he should be. And as far as "defense wins championships", there is a reason everyone in every sport says that. Because its true. Name me one NBA team that has won a championship that was not known for being atleat a good defensive team. Spurs, Detroit, Shaqs Lakers, Bulls, Rockets, 80's Detroit, 80's Lakers, Celtics were all good or the best defensive teams in their championship years. I think that probably covers the last 25 years.
I completely disagree. Minus injury problems, we could match up with any team with this league -- with the exception of perhaps Phoenix. We're not as weak as we were at the PF position last year which was our key achilles heel. Dallas' iso-type game would not be very efficient against our defense. It would certainly be a different series from last year's, but I don't see what real edge they'd have over us beyond their deeper bench.
Regardless of winning a championship or not, that PHX team is so fun to watch its incredible. the ball movement, shooting and style is something i cant help but admire. If the Rockets played like the suns night in and night out i can assure you that the TC would be packed everynight and the game threads would jump from 300-500 to 800-1000 per game. They may not win a championship, but it certainly is fun to watch from a non-fan standpoint. I envy suns fans for the product they get to see on gamenights.
The Rockets are a top defensive team? Have you heard what our own defensive genius JVG say after the Suns game? "We have a quickness disadvantage." Anyway, being able to stop their attack does not mean they can beat them. You have to be able to score at the other end. The Spurs and the Pistons happen to have enough fire power on offense. They aren't the top teams for just defensive strength. But if the Suns can hit their shots, they still have a chance to beat these teams. Running teams can control the tempo. They control it by running. You can set up your half court offense all you want. If you don't hit your shots, they are going to run at you. You have to match their speed on defense in order to stop their run. You said it yourself. The best way to beat them is hire Tanya Harding to break Nash's legs. All those teams (maybe with the exception of Detroit) had dominating scorers. Defense alone doesn't win championships. The Lakers (both the 80's and the 00's versions) weren't known for their defense. They were not bad. But what won their championships were their offensive fire power. My point is, "defense wins championships" is not accurate. You need either superior defense and good offense, or superior offense and adequate defense to win it all. We had a top defense last year. If defense wins championships, we should have been to the WCF. We lost because we lacked enough offense. Besides, the rules nowadays are slanted toward speedy perimeter teams. It is much easier for a run and gun team to win now than in the 90s.
