RealGM

Opinion on the NBA?

For me, I used to be the guy who didn't want anything to do with Euros and foreign players, thought a "star player" was needed and believed in defense first and only...within the past few weeks my opinon on everything has changed

To start off I admit I was a bit ignorant on some of these issues in the past. First, we all saw what happened with guys like Lebron, Bosh, Amare (to a lesser extent of course). Most American players tend to be me first type of players, not only are they concerned about the cash but themselves while most Euro and other foreign players are glad to be in the NBA and most tend to be team oriented. The reason in the past I was against them was because very few of them developed into stars while most American born players did. Now I find foreign players bring more of an intrigue, they bring their own culture from their country to the team and city and have different skillsets to play many different roles on a team while most American players tend to have the same skillsets.

Bringing me to my second point, I used to hope the Suns would just trade everyone away and tank to land a star in the draft but as we have seen. A star can just pickup and leave (Lebron) or you could spend years in the lottery and your luck never changes like the Warriors or Clippers. Most teams that win the lotto didn't even have the intention on tanking and were just bad naturally. Not to mention it's unfair to the fans who have to sit through 41 games a year and it would be difficult to sell tickets. So If a teams bad, there bad and might get lucky through the bounce of a ping pong ball and land a star but to rely on it every year isn't going to cut it.

The last point about defense, any team can play defense but not many teams can be offensively good. While I should have been appreciating this style of play since Nash came in I was focusing to much on the faults and negatives while I should have appreciated what this team had and still has.

While some people might be surprised I haven't complained about anything lately, I think this team is finally on the right track. They have alot of depth, of high BBIQ and unselfish players. Still one of the best offensive teams in the league and will be fun to watch whether they win or lose. Maybe they don't make the playoffs and land another player that can contribute in the draft or make it deep in the playoffs but whatever it is this is what a true team looks like. The choices for the FO positions seems solid also so kudos to Sarver for putting this all together now and also moving towards the future.

And your location is still listed as "Looking forward to the Suns first round pick in the 2011 draft lottery!"

Anyways, I feel you man. I kind of understand why you have such a sudden change of heart. Just so you know I read the entire post.

I think Free Agency this summer was a one time deal. I don't think players leaving their teams for mega contracts will ever be this extreme again ecspecially with the new CBA.

I agree that any team can play defense. Players from the 04-08 Suns' teams could play D but it was never stressed or practised by the coach. Any squad who plays defense has a chance to win it all. The top 13 regular season defensive teams (statistically) made the playoffs last season. It's nice see FO not giving offense-only guys like Amare 100 mil to let guys abuse him all game. But, i'd rather have an exciting team that can't win a title than a boring team that can't win a title.

Agree..
Its kinda funny that some of the posters on here, and fans of other teams, want to talk like its all about Championships. Like thats all that matters in watching basketball. It doesn't help that the media shoves it down our throats! Theres only 1 team that wins every year, and in the past 29yrs theres been 15 west coast teams that have won. 9-fakers, 4-sterns, and 2-rockets. If the only goal to watching is a championship then why watch at all. I agree with Nash when he talks about the journey is more important then the title. I didn't even care to watch last season, until i seen the excitement and dedication are bench had. The chemistry and fight that our team has is fun to watch, and makes u proud to be a fan. I also feel the US players are given a free pass through growing up. I went to school with some athletes that made it, and it was smooth sailing, even amongst the students. So why shouldn't they get what they want as soon as they hit the NBA/NFL (there expecting it). The league has gone away from competition, and made it a friendly game to play. Theres no way Magic, Bird, M.J, Barkley, Malone would ever want to play on the same team together. They wanted to go out there and compete, to try to prove they were better then the other.

http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/06/04/s ... ne-career/

Nash article, that I thought was kinda fitting to what you was saying. Sorry if I got OT. Half asleep right now.

Umm, where am I?

But seriously, some comments to you're points.

1) It seems that is the nature of the way young players are taught basketball over there. Obviously, I can only comment on what I see, but I've noticed, even at drafts, the top picked players are the individually skilled ones, not the ones that had successful teams. I always found this confusing.

I don't want to go too deep into this one just because I don't have any exposure to the way basketball gets taught in the US. But, what does come to mind when you mention the attitude Euro players have is Manu Ginobili. Manu is a solid player, and would probably start on most teams, but he took coming off the bench in the proper manner that allowed those Spurs teams to be successful. Some US players don't seem to have that attitude (AI?). I think I went a little off here, oh well.

2) I'm skipping point 2

3) Anyone that knows anything about basketball knows that defense is big. DirtyDez mentioned it. Those previous Suns teams didn't have much focus on traditional defense. But we saw this year that if I team can buy into at least a concept of D, it can be effective. And we didn't really have any one particular player that you could say is an above average defender, did we?

Also, it's nice to see you show some appreciation of Nash in your post MVF.

[quote="kermster"]Agree..
Its kinda funny that some of the posters on here, and fans of other teams, want to talk like its all about Championships. Like thats all that matters in watching basketball. It doesn't help that the media shoves it down our throats! Theres only 1 team that wins every year, and in the past 29yrs theres been 15 west coast teams that have won. 9-fakers, 4-sterns, and 2-rockets. If the only goal to watching is a championship then why watch at all. I agree with Nash when he talks about the journey is more important then the title. I didn't even care to watch last season, until i seen the excitement and dedication are bench had. The chemistry and fight that our team has is fun to watch, and makes u proud to be a fan.quote]


I agree wholeheartedly - watchng a team that was given little chance of even makingthe postseason come together and play the way they did was a great treat as a fan. Seeing guys play their guts out like that ... made you shout and scream at the tv or monitor.
I don't think it will be the same in Miami

This team is different from the other teams in this league. Maybe it's the 'never say die' attitude, because you just never know what could happen. Or it could be the way our guys are tightly knit and play great team ball, and how they don't worry about one guy outshining them on one night or another.

When we play, it's not just the same players which will get their numbers. Sure, some players average higher PPG than others, but we've seen on some nights, maybe Jarred Dudley or Channing Frye can hurt you(or both!), and then another day it's Hill, Goran or Lopez.

On the subject of free agency; I didn't watching Amare leave, because he really developed into a team guy this year. But we just couldn't take that risk, paying a guy who was injury prone the max. We could've become the next Wizards. On the other free agents(namely Lebron/Bosh), I'm glad they've created such a ruckus because again it takes the radar off our guys, and there is less pressure on them to perform.

Also, it has kept the NBA offseason relevant. We see the other leagues(NFL, MLB) get loads of coverage during the offseason. However, the NBA is relatively ho-hum in comparison, so it's good that at least this summer, the NBA doesn't have to fall way, way into the background. It keeps me interested, and the media as well, so we get to hear more NBA. The next season begins right after the Finals.

It seems like when you get a good foreign player, they're really a gem. It seems like we breed players in the US to be selfish and out for the big contracts and the fame, but everywhere else, basketball just isn't nearly as big, so it seems like most foreigner's are just happy to be in the league. Goran's just fine playing behind Nash for 2 more years despite being good enough to start on alot of teams (especially the point guard deprived east). Then you've got Manu, Dirk, and Scola who got paid less than they probably could have just to stay with the teams that have been loyal to them. I almost hope that if we don't make some sort of move before the deadline, that we swing something to get one of the 2 Lithuanian big's (Motiejunas or Valecunias).

It's actually true about how the most skilled individual being drafted first in the class.
As Brandon Jennings said, the difference between overseas basketball league and NBA is team work and individuality.

Kerrsed wrote:

again, trolling

um. Bimmer. Who are you? Kerrsed has been around forever, being a Suns fan, saying good Suns things. Every sig we have has been made by him, like mine. So what is your definition of trolling anyways? You normally have to be the fan of another team. Kerrsed is most assuredly not

A big problem with the Heat is that, IMO, Lebron and Wade practically play the same position...and they're both getting more arrogant everyday.

DBrimstone wrote:um. Bimmer. Who are you? Kerrsed has been around forever, being a Suns fan, saying good Suns things. Every sig we have has been made by him, like mine. So what is your definition of trolling anyways? You normally have to be the fan of another team. Kerrsed is most assuredly not

troll

Please, bimmer just worry about the quality of your own posts and not other posters. DBrimstone, no need to call out a poster - just report posts you aren't happy with and/or let the Mods sort it out.

Thanks guys

Damn, our new mod is dedicated to the job.
Anyways, from the free agency, all I see is that the league is no longer competitive. When you look at the 80s, there are rivalries. The players respect each other but they don't do so on the court.
Now it's all about being friends and teaming up.