letsgosuns wrote:I think you really misunderstood what I said. First off, I never said Booker was anywhere near Lillard right now. I said he is to the Suns what Lillard is to the Blazers. Their main guy. I was comparing roles on the team. This writer said Booker plays Crabbe's role and I completely disagree. The Phoenix Suns are making Booker the face of the franchise as a few articles have already stated. Crabbe is not the face of the Blazers franchise.
Secondly, I believe people are beyond overestimating what the Blazers are. I have seen it happen so many times. It happened with the 2003 Suns. Everyone saw the Suns take the Spurs to six games in the first round and thought Marbury, Marion, and Amare would eventually be a juggernaut. They came back to reality the next year and the team traded Marbury and Hardaway. The same thing happened with the 2013-14 Suns. They won 48 games and people thought they were so much better than they really were. It was a fluke.
Here is what I think of the Blazers. They are a good team. They have two excellent guards. Far better than what the Suns have. In fact, of the Suns guards, I only think Booker has the potential to be on Lillard's level one day. Anyway, what happened to them this year. They won 44 games. They made the playoffs. They were blown out in games one and two of their first round series. Annihilated. They won game three at home as they have one of the best home crowds in the NBA and always have. And when you have that, even mediocre teams can win at home against top teams. Then what happened. Paul and Griffin got hurt. Boom. End of the series. Over. Finished. All the Blazers had to do was show up and they win.
Then the Blazers face the Warriors without Curry the first four games. Go down 3-1. Are they competitive? Yes. But who cares. The Suns were very competitive in Golden State that one game towards the end of the season too. Knight went crazy in the third quarter and even Len had a great game. The Suns almost won that game and the Warriors had Curry and it was in Golden State. So does that make this Suns team close to accomplishing anything? No.
Let's assume for hypothetical purposes that Paul and Griffin did not get injured and the Blazers lose in the first round in five games. So 44 wins and a first round exit in five games is their season's result. Still want to follow their blueprint? Because the bottom line about their team is they won 44 games. That is more indicative of who they really are. Their second round appearance in the playoffs is predicated on the fact that they played a far better team that unfortunately suffered major injuries to its two star players.
Are the Blazers building something? Absolutely. As I mentioned previously, I think they should go after Whiteside and/or Horford. One of those guys plus another free agent could elevate them to elite status. Without that though, the Blazers will not go anywhere if all they have are role playing frontcourt players. You need way more than that. But that is what the article wants the Suns to do. Go after role playing big men to build the team as if that is the first step towards building winner. Newsflash. The Suns already have role playing big men. Chandler is the ultimate role playing defensive center. Former defensive player of the year. What the Suns are missing is all-stars. I said to use the blueprint of the Warriors in the sense the Suns should model their team after a champion, not the loser. How is that hard to understand. The author wants the Suns to follow a blueprint of a team that won 44 games and lost in the playoffs. If that is not ultimately the dumbest way to build your team, Idk what is.
The Blazers were expected to be one of the worst teams in the league after losing 4 out of 5 of their starters. Then they end up getting the 5 seed and yes, get blown out by a very experienced team featuring two of the best players in the game.
You act like they have reached their ceiling, when they are full of young guys.
