Why I love this years team.

[mybloodisorange]

There has been alot of frustration this season and its easy to get wrapped up in the negatives so I want to start a thread talking about the positives from this years squad. Maybe im just trying to rehab my debbie downer persona who knows. So here we go!

1) Centers - The 5 spot has always been the Suns achilles heal but this year we have a top 10 center in Gortat who is a solid contributor on both ends as well as being a great teammate as well. Lopez is up and down but he seems to have his back injury behind him now and when Gortat struggles he has been stepping up lately which is nice to see. Even his little baby hook is starting to look pretty decent lately; the key for Rolo is to keep him emotions in check and work hard if he does that he wil have a great career.

2) Old timers - Nash and Hill have rewritten the book on longevity with the help of the Suns world famous medical staff and Nash has to get some credit for really taking care of himself with his diet and such. Nash is slowing a bit on offense but his playmaking abilities are as good as they have ever been and I will probably get flamed for saying this but him defense seems a bit better this year for whatever reason (back off im still not calling him a good defender!). Spreaking of defense what can we say about Grant? The marvel or modern medicine has been locking down our opponents best scorers all season long and he still knows how to fill the lane on the fast break and in the halfcourt set his midrange jumper is as accurate as ever.

3) Defense - I cant believe im saying this. Even though our offense has slipped our defense is the best i've seen it in along time and I dont just mean Hill. Dudley's athletic hands are causing disruption everywhere. Brown, Telfail and Price are gettin steals at key moments. Our bigs even including Frye have done a great job of slowing down the opposing teams bigmen. Morris has shown flashes but he is still very hot and cold. Overall the team is rotating well to cover each other and just playing good team defense which is refreshing since the Suns have always been known as a soft defensive team. I love that everyone on our team trys to take charges as well. Our new defensive coach is really earning his paycheck.

4) Cohesiveness - This is what a team should be. They root for each other and dont cry when they dont get minutes. Led by strong character guys Hill and Nash everyone seems to genuinely get along and enjoy playing together. Dudley gets some credit here as well his live wire personality keeps everyone upbeat and the kid is impossible not to like.

These were just some things I came up with off the top of my head... What do you guys think?

[SunsRback4Good]

I agree. People get caught up with too much negative talk and yet can't see the positives this team has this season. When was the last time Suns had a good center and a decent one? We might rank 20th in defense but I've seen a ton of games this year where we allowed opponents scoring under 90 points. Cohesiveness is important too, we might not have a talented team but they all root for each other. Weather it's Dudley's dunk or Morris's huge block this team jumps off the bench like no other team in the NBA. Sometimes I wonder if Lopez could become a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, hehe. At last, our old timers Nash and Hill have been amazing and people need to realize how difficult it is what they're doing out there.

[bwgood77]

I like the team too. The lack of quality play from the second unit (and particularly pg) has been frustrating for much of the season, because if they were just semi competent from day one, we would be in much better shape at this time.

I was surprised while reading Hollinger's chat transcript from yesterday to see this:

"Nate (Chicago)
John, your 3 favorite teams to watch this year?
John Hollinger
There's something I really enjoy about watching a no-talent New Orleans team compete its pants off every night, so they'd have to be up there. I'd also say Denver, because I love how they run after makes and get opponents spread out. And Phoenix is still must-watch TV when the maestro is on the court."

I love watching Nash and Gortat work. Gortat is just money. Earlier I was going to start a thread asking if people thought he was a top five center in the league. I think some may not realize JUST how good he is, especially for how much he earns.

I did a little research on his numbers, and he is #4 among centers in scoring:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/playe ... on/centers

#3 in among center in rebounding:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/playe ... on/centers

#4 among centers in fg%:

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/playe ... on/centers

#5 in PER among centers:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinge ... sition%3dc

The only reason he possibly shouldn't be considered a top 5 center is because he may not have as much of an impact on the defensive end, but he isn't bad.

He is tied with Tyson Chandler at #10 for blocks (but the diff in blocks between #1 and #12 is 1 block per game and #12 and #32 is less than one block a game):

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/playe ... on/centers

Keep in mind this is his first full year as a starter. I think he is still vastly underrated. Sarver and company better not screw this one up by trading him or letting him go.

[Maligzar]

This team is mediocre, and mediocre teams tend to play better defense than great teams because they don't have the skills to be an offensive force. What Nash has said time and again is absolutely true. We're simply not very talented.

Sure I like Gortat, but he's not someone you are going to build a team around. We need to rebuild through the draft and give Gentry the chance to coach a team that is actually capable of making a run deep into the playoffs.

When Jared Dudley is a starter, you know your team is bad. That's nothing against Jared, he's a great bench player.

[WallabyPie]

[...] mediocre teams tend to play better defense than great teams [...]

huh?

[SunsRback4Good]

This team is mediocre, and mediocre teams tend to play better defense than great teams because they don't have the skills to be an offensive force. What Nash has said time and again is absolutely true. We're simply not very talented.

Sure I like Gortat, but he's not someone you are going to build a team around. We need to rebuild through the draft and give Gentry the chance to coach a team that is actually capable of making a run deep into the playoffs.

When Jared Dudley is a starter, you know your team is bad. That's nothing against Jared, he's a great bench player.

[Wannabe MEP]

[...] mediocre teams tend to play better defense than great teams [...]

huh?

[Saberestar]

I know that we are not in the playoffs right now, but I like this team a lot.
I love the hustle and passion for the game that Nash, Hill and Redd are showing every single game.
Gortat is playing like a beast.
Dudley and Frye deserve every single dollar that they have in their contracts in my opinion, great role players with good character.

If we can involve Childress in our ofense the next few games, we can be in the 7º o 8º spot in the West.

[JohnVancouver]

mediocre teams play better defense that good tea/great teams?

If you mean, they need to play better defense to make up for talent, yes I'd agree. it's one thing you can do juts through effort.

Otherwise, no - I don;t think so. Please tell me which ones you mean


there's things to love on this team - we know who they are

but I can['t get past our Three Stooges - Curly Brown, Larry Telfair and Moe Warrick

[Calvin Klein]

at 25-26 and with a slim chance of making the Playoffs, I think we're overachieving, considering the roster we have.

I just hope the FO does not screw up in the offseason.

[YFZblu]

3) Defense - I cant believe im saying this. Even though our offense has slipped our defense is the best i've seen it in along time and I dont just mean Hill. Dudley's athletic hands are causing disruption everywhere. Brown, Telfail and Price are gettin steals at key moments. Our bigs even including Frye have done a great job of slowing down the opposing teams bigmen. Morris has shown flashes but he is still very hot and cold. Overall the team is rotating well to cover each other and just playing good team defense which is refreshing since the Suns have always been known as a soft defensive team. I love that everyone on our team trys to take charges as well. Our new defensive coach is really earning his paycheck.

The Suns are 22nd in defensive efficiency...

[mybloodisorange]

My observations come from watching the games. I honestly think alot of the number crunching that goes on can be misleading especially +/-. Thats why politicians on both sides of an issue both hire scientists to support their position using the same data just interperited in different ways. Numbers dont tell the whole story is my point I guess.

And I wish they would keep track of charges taken as a defensive stat.

[YFZblu]

My observations come from watching the games. I honestly think alot of the number crunching that goes on can be misleading especially +/-. Thats why politicians on both sides of an issue both hire scientists to support their position using the same data just interperited in different ways. Numbers dont tell the whole story is my point I guess.

And I wish they would keep track of charges taken as a defensive stat.

For the record: Defensive efficiency isn't some uber-crunched nerd stat; it is points allowed per 100 possessions - make no mistake, the Suns defense has not been impressive overall this season. The Suns are one of the 10 worst defenses in the NBA, regardless of what our eyes want to tell us.

If the Suns have a strength as a team, it is still the offense. Currently sitting at 13th, most would say it isn't bad or good. Ironically it is both bad AND good. The starters outplay most opponents, and the rest of the team gives the game back.

[mybloodisorange]

I see your point. Let me say it another way - for the Suns our defense has been great. And yes our bench sucks outside of a steal here and there from price/brown/telfail. It doesnt help that Warrik doesnt play a lick of defense and hes been getting minutes. But I still think if they recorded charges taken as a defensive stat we would be in the top 10 - it seems like everyone is on board with those.

I guess it all goes back to Hill. His performances on defense have really impressed me this year. Dudley is as annoying as ever with his athletic hands and our big men are playing average D for bigs which is an upgrade for us.

[TheJohnWallShow]

The Suns high tempo offense might explain the lower numbers than it seems because it gives teams that play the Suns more possessions resulting in scoring more points. As for Hill playing impressive defensive this year, yeah whats new. The guy has always been a great defender. Now at his age nearing 40 and still holdin it down I agree, incredibly impressive.

This team is pretty good, we just need to start drafting well and actually keeping our picks. In the offseason sign the best players you can while keeping Nash and Hill for cheap to mentor the young talent until they retire. If at all possible try and get rid of ugly contracts in the meantime, for example Childress and Warrick.

[mybloodisorange]

And thats why I think stats can be misleading. If a team slows down the tempo it doesnt necessarily mean they are better defensively than if they pushed it on offense, but a slower tempo results in lower overall scores. Any team that has an up tempo system will have a negatively skewed defensive rating because they are giving their opponent (along with themselves) more possessions in a game. Again im not saying that stats mean nothing; but there are factors like tempo which can inflate the opponents numbers so its seems like your defense is worse than it is.

The Suns have always had this problem.

[JohnVancouver]

And thats why I think stats can be misleading. If a team slows down the tempo it doesnt necessarily mean they are better defensively than if they pushed it on offense, but a slower tempo results in lower overall scores. Any team that has an up tempo system will have a negatively skewed defensive rating because they are giving their opponent (along with themselves) more possessions in a game. Again im not saying that stats mean nothing; but there are factors like tempo which can inflate the opponents numbers so its seems like your defense is worse than it is.

The Suns have always had this problem.

aren't they adjusted of this, per 100 possessions?

[Wannabe MEP]

And thats why I think stats can be misleading. If a team slows down the tempo it doesnt necessarily mean they are better defensively than if they pushed it on offense, but a slower tempo results in lower overall scores. Any team that has an up tempo system will have a negatively skewed defensive rating because they are giving their opponent (along with themselves) more possessions in a game. Again im not saying that stats mean nothing; but there are factors like tempo which can inflate the opponents numbers so its seems like your defense is worse than it is.

The Suns have always had this problem.

aren't they adjusted of this, per 100 possessions?

Ignore any "per game" stat. Only pay attention to per possession (or per 100 possessions) stats. Which is what YFZblu was using.

[doa]

I'd be interested to know the Suns' defensive efficiency since the All-Star break.

[TheJohnWallShow]

Yeah, per 100 possessions to opponents they are tied for 9th in the league, so id say thats a pretty fast pace.