2021 Playoff and Offseason Speculation - the playoffs. PLAYOFFS????

[bwgood77]

I think some people think those of us who wanted a quality backup C because Saric has been garbage and Kaminsky is wildly inconsistent think we wanted just any scrub big man for the sake of getting a big man. The primary purpose was because of in case Ayton gets injured or in foul trouble we’d be completely screwed. As for Varejou, he isn’t even an upgrade over Kaminsky.

In terms of playoff matchups, I’m interested to see how we defend LeBron/AD/Drummond. We can put Bridges or Crowder on Bron then Ayton on AD and who on Drummond?

Who is Drummond defending on the Suns roster ?

So far Dummond hasn't defended anyone on any roster

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He's always been super overrated because of rebounds. He cannot finish layups (worst in league including all players) and cannot guard anyone but Cs (and not great at that).

The Lakers will be far tougher if they play AD at C, but I'll be happy if they don't.

[bwgood77]

Lakers are seriously flirting with the play-in.

If Portland beat them in Portland both Dallas and Portland have the tiebreaker on them 1 game behind.

They also have 4 back to backs remaining which means Davis and LeBron are going to miss more games.

Chasing the 1 seed may not be just an achievement but needed to avoid the Lakers in the first round.

In this case then wouldn’t the Lakers be the 8th seed? So we would play them if we had the 1st seed.

Only if they lost the 7-8 play in game and won the 8-9 playoff game.

[bwgood77]

I guess I'm not totally surprised at the poll results here, though I do think Ayton is a bit underrated. Though I guess those lead PGs are all studs and Porter.

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[Revived]

I think the smiley applies for the same. Noone ever said Varejao. But we could (have) used another big for sure.

I think some people think those of us who wanted a quality backup C because Saric has been garbage and Kaminsky is wildly inconsistent think we wanted just any scrub big man for the sake of getting a big man. The primary purpose was because of in case Ayton gets injured or in foul trouble we’d be completely screwed. As for Varejou, he isn’t even an upgrade over Kaminsky.

In terms of playoff matchups, I’m interested to see how we defend LeBron/AD/Drummond. We can put Bridges or Crowder on Bron then Ayton on AD and who on Drummond?

Who is Drummond defending on the Suns roster ?

Yeah that’s a fair point but probably Crowder since he doesn’t dribble much and just stands as a shooter.

[Revived]

Lakers are seriously flirting with the play-in.

If Portland beat them in Portland both Dallas and Portland have the tiebreaker on them 1 game behind.

They also have 4 back to backs remaining which means Davis and LeBron are going to miss more games.

Chasing the 1 seed may not be just an achievement but needed to avoid the Lakers in the first round.

In this case then wouldn’t the Lakers be the 8th seed? So we would play them if we had the 1st seed.

Only if they lost the 7-8 play in game and won the 8-9 playoff game.

The whole thing is so confusing to me for some reason. Anyway hopefully they don’t drop that far.

I really want to see a Lakers/Clippers first round.

[SuperSunsFan]

how devastating would it be for you if suns go to the playoffs but lose to Nash and MikeD's nets?

[Hitachi77]

how devastating would it be for you if suns go to the playoffs but lose to Nash and MikeD's nets?

I don't see how this would be devastating for any Suns fan. I would be happy for Nash and Mike D getting a ring. Obviously would much rather have a championship by a mile, but that would be one of the better alternate scenarios for me.

[WeekapaugGroove]

how devastating would it be for you if suns go to the playoffs but lose to Nash and MikeD's nets?

I don't see how this would be devastating for any Suns fan. I would be happy for Nash and Mike D getting a ring. Obviously would much rather have a championship by a mile, but that would be one of the better alternate scenarios for me.

Yeah it would be a hell of a ride making to the finals. If they did lose to the Nets because Durrant, Harden, and Kyrie go supernova there's not much shame in that.

The Nets are flawed and can be beat but there will be nights where those guys go off and it won't matter who they are playing or how well that team plays. You just have to hope that doesn't happen 4 times.

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[SuperSunsFan]

not sure if my way of thinking is the loser think but i have no love for former suns player. like i don't know how anyone would be happy for someone else's accomplishment just because they are somewhat related in the most remote way. Do I care about Harden winning a championship because he went to school here, no, do i care about Ayton winning a championship because he went to school here, no. like who cares about Nash getting a ring or Kidd or Marbury or Marion or bledsoe, who cares? Suns' accomplishment is all that matters to me.

I guess my way of thinking makes me more miserable since ways that can make me happy is very limited in opposite to someone who can get joy out of many different things.

[bwgood77]

In this case then wouldn’t the Lakers be the 8th seed? So we would play them if we had the 1st seed.

Only if they lost the 7-8 play in game and won the 8-9 playoff game.

The whole thing is so confusing to me for some reason. Anyway hopefully they don’t drop that far.

I really want to see a Lakers/Clippers first round.

7 plays 8 and 9 plays 10. Winner of first game is 7 seed and loser of 2nd game is out. Other two play 2nd game for 8. You basically have to win 2 games to get in if you are 9/10 and 1 game if you are 7/8.

[bwgood77]

how devastating would it be for you if suns go to the playoffs but lose to Nash and MikeD's nets?

I don't see how this would be devastating for any Suns fan. I would be happy for Nash and Mike D getting a ring. Obviously would much rather have a championship by a mile, but that would be one of the better alternate scenarios for me.

That would be the worst for me. They have 3 of the most unlikable players in the league and a player and coach who couldn't bring a championship to Phx. Not necessarily their faults but not something I want to see. I was not necessarily finally healthy to see Kerr or Marion finally get rings even though Marion was awesome for the Suns and Kerr was a Wildcat and Suns GM during a great era.

[SuperSunsFan]

how devastating would it be for you if suns go to the playoffs but lose to Nash and MikeD's nets?

I don't see how this would be devastating for any Suns fan. I would be happy for Nash and Mike D getting a ring. Obviously would much rather have a championship by a mile, but that would be one of the better alternate scenarios for me.

That would be the worst for me. They have 3 of the most unlikable players in the league and a player and coach who couldn't bring a championship to Phx. Not necessarily their faults but not something I want to see. I was not necessarily finally healthy to see Kerr or Marion finally get rings even though Marion was awesome for the Suns and Kerr was a Wildcat and Suns GM during a great era.

to be honest Nash winning a championship through defeating us in the finals is the absolute worst scenario for me. it is so unthinkable devastating i would prefer the suns reaching the finals at all just to avoid this absolute worst outcome. imagine if your highschool rival became zuckerberg while you work a 50K job...

[Revived]

Only if they lost the 7-8 play in game and won the 8-9 playoff game.

The whole thing is so confusing to me for some reason. Anyway hopefully they don’t drop that far.

I really want to see a Lakers/Clippers first round.

7 plays 8 and 9 plays 10. Winner of first game is 7 seed and loser of 2nd game is out. Other two play 2nd game for 8. You basically have to win 2 games to get in if you are 9/10 and 1 game if you are 7/8.

Thanks that makes more sense now. I still hope they go away from this format though because I don’t think a full season’s worth of hard work to get a top 8 spot should be vanished because of maybe 2 off games.

[suns12345]

The whole thing is so confusing to me for some reason. Anyway hopefully they don’t drop that far.

I really want to see a Lakers/Clippers first round.

7 plays 8 and 9 plays 10. Winner of first game is 7 seed and loser of 2nd game is out. Other two play 2nd game for 8. You basically have to win 2 games to get in if you are 9/10 and 1 game if you are 7/8.

Thanks that makes more sense now. I still hope they go away from this format though because I don’t think a full season’s worth of hard work to get a top 8 spot should be vanished because of maybe 2 off games.

I agree, if the team in 9th seed deserves to be able to get in by winning 2 games in the play-in, why didn't they just win 2 more games in the regular season to make it in.

Seems unfair, especially if a team like the kings finally squeaks into the 8th seed after 13 years or whatever and then they miss out because of this new rule.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Doing some playoff pathway projecting:

1st seed - Golden State (h), Clippers (h), Utah (h), Philadelphia (h)
2nd seed - Lakers (h), Denver (h), Clippers (h), Philadelphia (h)
3rd seed - Portland (h), Denver (a), Clippers (h), Philadelphia (h)

[SuperSunsFan]

7 plays 8 and 9 plays 10. Winner of first game is 7 seed and loser of 2nd game is out. Other two play 2nd game for 8. You basically have to win 2 games to get in if you are 9/10 and 1 game if you are 7/8.

Thanks that makes more sense now. I still hope they go away from this format though because I don’t think a full season’s worth of hard work to get a top 8 spot should be vanished because of maybe 2 off games.

I agree, if the team in 9th seed deserves to be able to get in by winning 2 games in the play-in, why didn't they just win 2 more games in the regular season to make it in.

Seems unfair, especially if a team like the kings finally squeaks into the 8th seed after 13 years or whatever and then they miss out because of this new rule.

why we don't we have a playoffs between 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th to decide which two teams can challenge the 7th and 8th seed for the last two playoffs spots? what is the rationale for giving a chance to 9th and 10th seed but not 11th and 12th? why even bother with a regular season seriously, just do 7 games bracket tournament with complete random seeding.

[bwgood77]

Thanks that makes more sense now. I still hope they go away from this format though because I don’t think a full season’s worth of hard work to get a top 8 spot should be vanished because of maybe 2 off games.

I agree, if the team in 9th seed deserves to be able to get in by winning 2 games in the play-in, why didn't they just win 2 more games in the regular season to make it in.

Seems unfair, especially if a team like the kings finally squeaks into the 8th seed after 13 years or whatever and then they miss out because of this new rule.

why we don't we have a playoffs between 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th to decide which two teams can challenge the 7th and 8th seed for the last two playoffs spots? what is the rationale for giving a chance to 9th and 10th seed but not 11th and 12th? why even bother with a regular season seriously, just do 7 games bracket tournament with complete random seeding.

They are really just playing to see which 4 teams in each conference are going to tank. If you can't at least make the play in game, you better be tanking. Only 8 teams are eliminated by the end of the regular season.

[Christine-In-AZ]

History doesn’t repeat itself exactly, but it often rhymes...

Gar Heard - Torrey Craig

Each 6’7 220lbs head band wearing, defensive specialists with high arching jumpers. Both under-the-radar, ho-hum, mid-season acquisitions by the Phoenix Suns. One, surprisingly helped lead a team to the finals...

...I like the beat. Maybe a repeat?

Hi fellow old timers

[cberry78]

Thanks that makes more sense now. I still hope they go away from this format though because I don’t think a full season’s worth of hard work to get a top 8 spot should be vanished because of maybe 2 off games.

I agree, if the team in 9th seed deserves to be able to get in by winning 2 games in the play-in, why didn't they just win 2 more games in the regular season to make it in.

Seems unfair, especially if a team like the kings finally squeaks into the 8th seed after 13 years or whatever and then they miss out because of this new rule.

why we don't we have a playoffs between 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th to decide which two teams can challenge the 7th and 8th seed for the last two playoffs spots? what is the rationale for giving a chance to 9th and 10th seed but not 11th and 12th? why even bother with a regular season seriously, just do 7 games bracket tournament with complete random seeding.

I'm pretty sure the rationale behind the play-in structure is how competitive and close in record those last 2 or 3 teams have been over the years, combined with how well the Suns did in the bubble last year only to barely miss out on a playoff berth. Just like in the NCAA tourney, everyone loves a Cinderella team, and how do you think the media would react to the #10 team winning two "do or die" games to come into the actual tournament on a hot streak (especially if they had, let's say, won the last 8 games in the regular season to give themselves that chance)?

[lilfishi22]

Doing some playoff pathway projecting:

1st seed - Golden State (h), Clippers (h), Utah (h), Philadelphia (h)
2nd seed - Lakers (h), Denver (h), Clippers (h), Philadelphia (h)
3rd seed - Portland (h), Denver (a), Clippers (h), Philadelphia (h)

1st seed sounds like the best way to get to the Finals. Clippers would be the toughest series. We should do fine with the Warriors and we've already convincingly swept the series against Utah and Philly