What all time Suns team do you think could beat the Warriors?
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:36 am
Got this idea from the General Board and just made a post there, but thought I'd repost it here and see if others could come up with ideas or critique mine.
I'll give this a shot. I think the Suns have enough good shooters in the past and some decent defenders to keep up but since no one really stops the Warriors defensively, you need to keep up with them on offense.
I will create the lineups based on chemistry and maximize shooting. Rim protection is a bit tougher but the Suns can do well with moving the ball and hitting 3s.
Nash/KJ/Kidd
Joe Johnson/Hornacek/Raja Bell/Walter Davis
Marion/Dan Majerle/Eddie Johnson/Grant Hill
Amare /Barkley (Amare plays C some and Marion plays PF some)
Alvan Adams/Mark West
PG - In a nutshell, I like KJ as a player more than Nash, because he was more dynamic and could take over a game but Nash was the better 3 pt shooter.
SG - Joe Johnson shot 47.8% from 3 with Nash, and has the size to guard Klay. Hornacek shot 43.9% for Suns from 3 at peak and 46.6% from 3 with Utah and also averaged 5 apg for his career and 6 apg with the Suns so he moved the ball well and was feisty on defense. Raja Bell shot over 44% from 3 at his peak, and was a solid defender. You could argue he would be ahead of Hornacek. Walter Davis was money from mid range and could be useful...smart passer and great player.
SF - Marion was great on that Suns team with Nash and JJ, though he was PF in that role mostly but I will put him as SF here...he played great D. Dan Majerle left his heart on the floor, dove for lose balls, was a decent defender, and shot 38.2% at his peak as a Sun. Eddie Johnson was a great shooter and could light it up...he shot 41.3% from 3 at his peak season with the Suns and would just be a perfect weapon against the Warriors. Grant Hill was a smart player and even shot 43.8% from 3 at his peak with the Suns.
PF - Again he played C much with Nash and given his non 3 pt shooting ability, would work well as a C just for the devastating pick n roll with Nash, and allowing Marion to move to PF and putting Hornacek or Raja at 2 and Joe Johnson at 3 in certain situations. Barkley was such a great player but I'm not sure how he works against the Warriors. He would outmuscle for rebounds and pull down a ton and could run the offense and take over a game but it's tougher with him in this era.
C - Alvan Adams was best in his rookie year where he averaged 19 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.5 spg and 1.5 bpg. He could do everything. He was multi dimensional, a smart player, kept the ball moving, and decently protect the rim. Again, Amare would play some C in certain Nash lineups, to spread the floor more, with shooters everywhere else, but when we needed more ball movement you could play him at 4 and Adams at 5 to find the shooters with his passing and protect the rim. Mark West was a great rim protector, peaking at 2.3 bpg, so when we needed that rim protector and Adams and Amare needed to rest, he would be useful.
There would be many variations of lineups, like Majerle playing 2 and Joe Johnson playing 3 for more size, and the others ones I mentioned regarding Marion and Amare but this team allows a ton of versatility, ball movement and decent defense, though since no one stops the Warriors your best bet is keeping up with them.
I'll give this a shot. I think the Suns have enough good shooters in the past and some decent defenders to keep up but since no one really stops the Warriors defensively, you need to keep up with them on offense.
I will create the lineups based on chemistry and maximize shooting. Rim protection is a bit tougher but the Suns can do well with moving the ball and hitting 3s.
Nash/KJ/Kidd
Joe Johnson/Hornacek/Raja Bell/Walter Davis
Marion/Dan Majerle/Eddie Johnson/Grant Hill
Amare /Barkley (Amare plays C some and Marion plays PF some)
Alvan Adams/Mark West
PG - In a nutshell, I like KJ as a player more than Nash, because he was more dynamic and could take over a game but Nash was the better 3 pt shooter.
SG - Joe Johnson shot 47.8% from 3 with Nash, and has the size to guard Klay. Hornacek shot 43.9% for Suns from 3 at peak and 46.6% from 3 with Utah and also averaged 5 apg for his career and 6 apg with the Suns so he moved the ball well and was feisty on defense. Raja Bell shot over 44% from 3 at his peak, and was a solid defender. You could argue he would be ahead of Hornacek. Walter Davis was money from mid range and could be useful...smart passer and great player.
SF - Marion was great on that Suns team with Nash and JJ, though he was PF in that role mostly but I will put him as SF here...he played great D. Dan Majerle left his heart on the floor, dove for lose balls, was a decent defender, and shot 38.2% at his peak as a Sun. Eddie Johnson was a great shooter and could light it up...he shot 41.3% from 3 at his peak season with the Suns and would just be a perfect weapon against the Warriors. Grant Hill was a smart player and even shot 43.8% from 3 at his peak with the Suns.
PF - Again he played C much with Nash and given his non 3 pt shooting ability, would work well as a C just for the devastating pick n roll with Nash, and allowing Marion to move to PF and putting Hornacek or Raja at 2 and Joe Johnson at 3 in certain situations. Barkley was such a great player but I'm not sure how he works against the Warriors. He would outmuscle for rebounds and pull down a ton and could run the offense and take over a game but it's tougher with him in this era.
C - Alvan Adams was best in his rookie year where he averaged 19 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.5 spg and 1.5 bpg. He could do everything. He was multi dimensional, a smart player, kept the ball moving, and decently protect the rim. Again, Amare would play some C in certain Nash lineups, to spread the floor more, with shooters everywhere else, but when we needed more ball movement you could play him at 4 and Adams at 5 to find the shooters with his passing and protect the rim. Mark West was a great rim protector, peaking at 2.3 bpg, so when we needed that rim protector and Adams and Amare needed to rest, he would be useful.
There would be many variations of lineups, like Majerle playing 2 and Joe Johnson playing 3 for more size, and the others ones I mentioned regarding Marion and Amare but this team allows a ton of versatility, ball movement and decent defense, though since no one stops the Warriors your best bet is keeping up with them.
