The only team that can beat the suns is the Spurs . We can beat Spurs easily , but will and and struggle against Dallas. We can beat Utah if we get the 5th seed.
When the playoffs roll around, most of that helter skelter run up and down game stops as teams really focus on possessions. And when that happens, teams like Phoenix that are used to playing hyperspeed panic and then they get alligator arms on those 3 point shots, and then they get antsy and turn the ball over more, and commit a lot of fouls on Yao. If we are healthy and we control the tempo against Phoenix, I think we can beat them in less than 7 games. In fact, I am more worried about both Dallas and San Antonio than Phoenix. Dallas is the team we will have the biggest dogfight with.
I would agree with you if Yao had not gotten hurt. However, his stamina was already suspect before the injury and now with all the time he has been missing Amare will run all over the place!!
I'm going to say it: Healthy Houston > Healthy San Antonio. I'll take yao-tracy-shane/bonzi over duncan-ginobili-parker. And I don't think they have enough of a bench to make up the difference.
dude we are not going to beat suns in a playoff series. it's better someone else takes them out for us. we just don't play their style and i am sure we can win a game or two but not 4.
That's a defeatist attitude. It's not that we don't play their style, it's that they don't play our style. They can't adjust to our style, friend. It's simply a battle of wills. Are we gonna play our game or are we gonna play their game? When we play our game and not their game, we blow them out. When we allow them to play their game, we lose. The whole key to the series if everybody is healthy is keeping Yao out of foul trouble and forcing the ball into him over and over and over and over and getting their front line in foul trouble. We can defend the perimeter. It's simply a matter of getting Yao to back off and not get the stupid fouls on Amare and Marion when they are dunking. If they get loose in the box, just let them have the dunk and come back down and get it back. Force them to foul to stop us then take them to the rim. Like I say, I ain't nearly as worried about the Suns as I am about Dallas. Dallas can change it up so many ways and play the game on so many different levels. And now with Avery, they are good defensively whereas before with Nelson their D was nonexistant.
Beat me to it! It's absolutely absurd to honestly think we can't hang with any team in a seven game series. I'm so sick and tired of hearing about the Suns and how they're REVOLUTIONIZING the game and blah blah blah Steve Nash blah blah blah. You would think this team already has a championship or two under their belt. What happens every year? The Suns try to impose their will and style of play on their opponent and yet find themselves having to make drastic adjustments and play their opponent's game. JVG has proved his slow-it-down, half-court and defensive-minded gameplan is enough to contain their uptempo game. Call me a homer but I like our chances against anybody. We may not win a seven game series against a team like Dallas or Phoenix but I would bet the house it would go seven games.
And you know thats right shakakan! Not only that, how about D'antoni and his 6 man rotation? You know gotta keep that mid season winning streak alive so you can have media types like Walton licking your ass. That real important. See it's all working out perfectly. Keep running them out there for 40 plus minutes a night mr. antoni...good...yall are making history....see ya in the playoffs.
THis is what i truley belive about this team in the playoffs... First of all i think that with this team we can beat anybody in a playoff series with the components on our team plus a health Tracy and Yao - but... realistically this is a summary of the teams that well prob experience in the playoffs Lakers... i wouldnt take this for granted because of Kobe and would rather play another team in the playoffs... look at what they ALMOST did to the suns.. BUT we can beat them with Tracy and Yao (HOU) Utah... This team will probally fade later on as the season progresses but would be a difficult matchup because of thier size.. another hard thing about this team would be playing them at THIER house.. they have a great home record... look at what they did to us at the beggining of the season. but would l bet on us to win the series (HOU) Denver... Scary team to face in the playoffs.. Carmelo Anthony Plus a Playoff experienced Allen Iverson would be Scary... i hope we dont run into them in the playoffs.. hopefully someone will knock them off... BUT they dont have much outside of those two stars..until we play them with Yao Back i can only say and hope that we will beat them in the playoffs (Spilt Decision) San Antonio... Match up that i would want to have in the playoffs.. i really believe this is a year that we could beat them in the playoffs.. i know the regular season dosent matter but we actually beat them twice at thier HOUSE.. we havent done that in a LONG time, and although we lost to them the first meeting we HAD a 19 point lead on them in the third quarter( are team didnt have the chemistry it has now and NO bonzi), we also beat them once without Yao and Once without Tracy..AND we have the spurs Killer AKA BONZI.. San antonio has a good record but their not the team they used to be...Yeah i believe (HOU) Dallas... What can i say other than the only reason i would want to play them in the playoffs is for REVENGE for what happend two years ago.. this is a grudge that i will hold till be beat them in the playoffs.. I know what this team can do agianst dallas with Yao and i can only hope that Bonzi would be a Dallas killer??.. I believe we could be beat them but realisticly it would be HARD as hell.. (Split Decision) Suns... they have our number.. and although we play them on the second night of a backtoback everytime during the regular season this would a nightmare to playthem in the playoffs..i can only say the positives about our team when we played them so far this season - with Yao and Tracy and no Bonzi we came back from a 24 point deficit to lead by a point but the backtoback caught up to us and we lost, the second meeting we had a 15 point lead on them but soon lost because we didnt have our two guns - when playoffs come i DONT i repeat i DONT want to play them.. we could probaly beat them but the CHances are so SLIM .. i could only hope that i team like San Antonio or Dallas that have better matchups play them to knock them off.. (SUNS) Sorry post is so long but i was Bored! tell me what yall think
If we get 3rd seed, we can potentially have homecourt advantage in round 1 and 2 in the playoffs. If we're healthy, we shouldn't fear anyone. Our biggest weakness is PG and come playoff time, T-mac will handle the ball 24/7 and it will go through Yao. Rafer will hopefully play good D and hit 37-38% of his 3's, that's all we need.
Some people haven't been watching the Suns closely enough this year I see. This isn't the same team from 2 years ago or last year. This Suns team is a MAJOR threat.
I cant get that excited about being considered a good darkhorse pick!! I wanna us to be considered legit contenders. Unfortunatley as long as you have Phoenix and Dallas, and to a slightly lesser extent the Spurs and Denver around ,well, it just wont happen.
I agree. They are very, very good. But Some people haven't been watching the Rockets closely enough this year I see. This isn't the same team from 2 years ago or last year. This Rockets team is a MAJOR threat.
There is NO team, including the Mavs and Suns, that want the Rockets. Obviously, no team has a solution for Yao. Yao will draw defensive attention and Mc gets single coverage? Mc will go nuts, dishing assists and mixing in jumpers and drives. Add Bonzi to the Offensive end and you have weapons that will deliver a fatal blow on any team that focuses a defense to slow Yao. And if Yao is not doubled every trip down, then he will put up enormous numbers. "You can't f'n stop him." Defensively, the Rockets have plenty of permiter defense to slow down the Suns and Mavs. Battier, Bonzi, Mc, and Snyder can flat out defend the perimeter. And despite what a lot of the posters say, even Rafer can play defense. So you have a very sound defensive team and I like our chances to slow the game down and make every possession a struggle to score. On the offensive end all you need to know is YAO. The Suns and Mavs need to be worried about what to do with the Rockets. The Rockets on the other hand only need to do what they have done all year - nasty defense and ride Yao/TMac.
yea JVG at the same attitude as yours so we played the Mavs instead of the lowly Kings two years ago.
