RealGM

I got bored and decided to check some stats on NBA.com to see how the suns compare to other teams defensively. For all the critics that still give our defense crap, I found some interesting facts...

1.) We a ranked 8th in the league in rebounding. Imagine if Robin had been the starting center and uninjured at the start of the season! This is just amazing to me because during the preseason and going into the season rebounding was a major concern on this board. Yet here we are in the top half of the league. This team has really bought into the gang rebounding mentality.

2.) We are 7th in point differential. Some people say we are bad defensively because we allow the other team to score so many points. However, i think the more important stat is the differential. Our style of play usually creates more possessions for each team during the game. Thus they can score a higher amount of points. The important stat here is that only six other teams consistantly beat oponents by more points. I think that Gentries simplified defensive schemes have really helped our players put more effort in defensively. Has anyone else noticed any new trends with this team that makes them better overall than in previous years?

I'm sorry if I'm off topic, but is Lopez coming back or not this season? If he doesn't, I'll be very dissappointed in him and the Sun's organization for letting a weak injury like that sit him out. I understand 2 weeks off, but 1 whole month.. c'mon now, it's now or never Suns.

The rebounding has improved immensely ecspecially with the second unit which is great... We are still a below-average defensive team. We still have problems making defensive adjustments during games and are done in the playoffs if our shooting goes cold. Still trying to figure out why Kerr hasn't hired a defensive assistant yet. With that said i think we've shown signs of improvement on defense. Still too many easy buckets and blown assignments.

I think RoLo will be a great shot-blocker in the upcoming years which is something we've never had.

The second chance points are what hurt the Suns the most. I look at alot of the box scores and notice in most games the opposing team has 10 + field goals because of second chance opportunities. Once they fix that and get some real players who play defense they should be good to go...

I said at the beginning of the season that second chance points (opponent offensive rebounding) and turnovers will be the deciding factor in how we lose games. It's still consistently one of our weaknesses but I know gentry knows this as well and they have definitely focused on it (at least the second chance points part!)

This year the Suns actually rebound more than their opponents. Very surprising to say the least...