WC | Rd. 2| (2) Suns vs (3) Nuggets [4-0 Suns]

[bwgood77]

lol the Lakers would've dusted these Nuggets - team is terrible outside of Jokic. It's a shame AD got hurt.

You haven't exactly been Nostradamus-esque with your predictions thus far though:

I think people are underrating how shook the Suns looked at the end of game 4 as the Lakers were basically scrambling lineups together after the sudden loss of AD. They’ll be more prepared next game without him.

I’ll tell you this right now. Phoenix does NOT want King James in a game 7. I repeat. They DO NOT want The Chosen One in an elimination game with choker Paul on the other end.

So let's maybe stick to facts instead of hypotheticals? And a fact is that we don't know how the Lakers would have done against these Nuggets because LAL couldn't get passed the Suns in the round and (unlike the Lakers) the Nuggets are not a play-in team so they wouldn't have faced them there either.

Yeah, a healthy Lakers team, needed a miracle last second LeBron 3 when the shot clock was almost out to beat a GS team without Klay, Wiseman or Oubre. I know according to the Lakers fans those Warriors injuries don't count, but that same Warriors team that lost by 3 to the Lakers on that last second shot couldn't get by Memphis.

[homecourtloss]

lol the Lakers would've dusted these Nuggets - team is terrible outside of Jokic. It's a shame AD got hurt.

You haven't exactly been Nostradamus-esque with your predictions thus far though:

I think people are underrating how shook the Suns looked at the end of game 4 as the Lakers were basically scrambling lineups together after the sudden loss of AD. They’ll be more prepared next game without him.

I’ll tell you this right now. Phoenix does NOT want King James in a game 7. I repeat. They DO NOT want The Chosen One in an elimination game with choker Paul on the other end.

So let's maybe stick to facts instead of hypotheticals? And a fact is that we don't know how the Lakers would have done against these Nuggets because LAL couldn't get passed the Suns in the round and (unlike the Lakers) the Nuggets are not a play-in team so they wouldn't have faced them there either.

Yeah, a healthy Lakers team, needed a miracle last second LeBron 3 when the shot clock was almost out to beat a GS team without Klay, Wiseman or Oubre. I know according to the Lakers fans those Warriors injuries don't count, but that same Warriors team that lost by 3 to the Lakers on that last second shot couldn't get by Memphis.

Neither LeBron nor AD have looked like themselves after their returns. There hasn’t been a “healthy Lakers team” since the beginning of the year.

[bwgood77]

Would have been a better series if Nuggets were at full strength (and Suns probably don't make it this far if AD is healthy, let alone LBJ at full strength), but still, these Suns are so impressive to me. CP3 is such a world class leader, they are playing great team ball, team defense, no mega egos (though a lot of trash talkers -- which I kinda like), and are well coached.

I'm impressed by these Suns, and we need to take more seriously the prospect that they can win this whole thing.

one underrated aspect of this was how well this team was put together (same with Utah). Character guys with winning mentality. Guys like Torrey Craig and Cam Payne are making meaningful contributions despite being relatively inexperienced. By the way, can we stop with the "inexperienced" narrative with the Suns, since it clearly doesn't matter when you have a leader like CP3?

CP3 is earning his "Point God" nickname night in and night out. On paper, when the Suns acquired CP3, my thoughts were "treadmill, low seed team, not where you want to end up with CP3's credentials." On paper, the Suns shouldn't be as impressive as they are, but as you said, this team just all works together so well, everyone is bringing out the best from each other.

Also, DeAndre Ayton is making me withdraw the prescription of 'bust' I have given him. I doubt he'll reach that Luka level, but he's really earning back that #1 draft pick respect from me.

Lastly, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm getting more Kobe vibes out of Book than I am Tatum. I see more T-Mac in Tatum than Kobe.

Glad to see Ayton get some credit for a 3rd year player many thought was no good...I know many who have paid attention have given him credit this year, but good to see more.

He's been our most impressive 3rd year player, particularly given where he was on defense coming in, that we've had in years. I know Booker looked good, and had the 70 pt game, but he was getting all the looks given the team was awful, played no defense and Ayton has far higher expectations set on him with a much better supporting cast and being that #1 pick in a year Doncic, who will likely be a top 10 player of all time when it's all said and done...likely more like top 7...perhaps even better. Better on offense but not defense, but more pts per 36, more efficient, more assists, more rebounds, better from 3, far better from 2...so he's on a very high trajectory....so no one will live up to that kind of talent in any draft.

[bwgood77]

You haven't exactly been Nostradamus-esque with your predictions thus far though:



So let's maybe stick to facts instead of hypotheticals? And a fact is that we don't know how the Lakers would have done against these Nuggets because LAL couldn't get passed the Suns in the round and (unlike the Lakers) the Nuggets are not a play-in team so they wouldn't have faced them there either.

Yeah, a healthy Lakers team, needed a miracle last second LeBron 3 when the shot clock was almost out to beat a GS team without Klay, Wiseman or Oubre. I know according to the Lakers fans those Warriors injuries don't count, but that same Warriors team that lost by 3 to the Lakers on that last second shot couldn't get by Memphis.

Neither LeBron nor AD have looked like themselves after their returns. There hasn’t been a “healthy Lakers team” since the beginning of the year.

LeBron looked a lot better than people have said. He was making some crazy dunks. Both looked a lot better than Paul through 3 games. I think LeBron is just getting too old and likely never looks as good as he used to again. AD has never done much in the playoffs as a #1 guy.

[ChinaInc]

Yeah, a healthy Lakers team, needed a miracle last second LeBron 3 when the shot clock was almost out to beat a GS team without Klay, Wiseman or Oubre. I know according to the Lakers fans those Warriors injuries don't count, but that same Warriors team that lost by 3 to the Lakers on that last second shot couldn't get by Memphis.

Neither LeBron nor AD have looked like themselves after their returns. There hasn’t been a “healthy Lakers team” since the beginning of the year.

LeBron looked a lot better than people have said. He was making some crazy dunks. Both looked a lot better than Paul through 3 games. I think LeBron is just getting too old and likely never looks as good as he used to again. AD has never done much in the playoffs as a #1 guy.

Hot take warning but he's always been the number one guy since joining the Lakers. Without him the Lakers were a borderline lottery team

[Hans1984]

Another boring blowout. This years playoffs are freaking AWFUL!

Clippers series have been good. Won 3 games in Dallas while Dallas won 3 there and nearly beat Utah in Utah.

True. Clippers-Mavs series was one of the few exceptions.

[Cubbies2120]

Glad to see Ayton get some credit for a 3rd year player many thought was no good...I know many who have paid attention have given him credit this year, but good to see more.

I don't know if it's that people thought he was no good, but moreso that Luka and Trae make that draft pick look worse than it was.

Ayton is a very solid player, and if Luka and Trae weren't around, you wouldn't be hearing crap like that.

[spanishninja]

Neither LeBron nor AD have looked like themselves after their returns. There hasn’t been a “healthy Lakers team” since the beginning of the year.

LeBron looked a lot better than people have said. He was making some crazy dunks. Both looked a lot better than Paul through 3 games. I think LeBron is just getting too old and likely never looks as good as he used to again. AD has never done much in the playoffs as a #1 guy.

Hot take warning but he's always been the number one guy since joining the Lakers. Without him the Lakers were a borderline lottery team

I really hope the Lakers' demise, coupled with the Jazz and Suns doing great, will shift the teambuilding philosophy away from superteams. Surely GMs will be more careful about putting all their eggs in 2-3 baskets with injuries being such a factor this year.

[insomniac00]

Youre the first person I've seen thats not a fan of the Valley jerseys

I actually agree with him. The 90s sunburst jerseys were the best. The Valley ones aren't ugly, but they don't look like the Suns. The team's colors are purple and orange, but the current braintrust is obsessed with black.

When they show shots of the Suns crowd you see tons of people wearing the 90s stuff despite those being several iterations ago. It's what fans really want.

I liked those, but I think they are overrated due to those being the Barkley/KJ years and success. I prefer the vintage purple ones. And the white ones. There are a few others...some more recent white ones..I do like the purple ones this year too. Seems like they are wearing the black ones a lot lately, but perhaps they are bringing us luck.

My only issue with vintage purple is they look too much like the Knicks. If they're the ones I think you're talking about.

[iamworthy]

LeBron looked a lot better than people have said. He was making some crazy dunks. Both looked a lot better than Paul through 3 games. I think LeBron is just getting too old and likely never looks as good as he used to again. AD has never done much in the playoffs as a #1 guy.

Hot take warning but he's always been the number one guy since joining the Lakers. Without him the Lakers were a borderline lottery team

I really hope the Lakers' demise, coupled with the Jazz and Suns doing great, will shift the teambuilding philosophy away from superteams. Surely GMs will be more careful about putting all their eggs in 2-3 baskets with injuries being such a factor this year.

Nah,

1. This season Is an outlier due to the shortened off-season.
2. Lakers acquiring LeBron James and AD has already paid off with the championship last year. How many franchises have zero championships? If teams have the opportunity to get one they should do whatever they feel is best to get one.

Baxter Holmes wrote an article as couple days ago explaining the impact of this season

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31592404/data-shows-nba-injuries-condensed-season%3fplatform=amp

[Jedi32]

You haven't exactly been Nostradamus-esque with your predictions thus far though:



So let's maybe stick to facts instead of hypotheticals? And a fact is that we don't know how the Lakers would have done against these Nuggets because LAL couldn't get passed the Suns in the round and (unlike the Lakers) the Nuggets are not a play-in team so they wouldn't have faced them there either.

Yeah, a healthy Lakers team, needed a miracle last second LeBron 3 when the shot clock was almost out to beat a GS team without Klay, Wiseman or Oubre. I know according to the Lakers fans those Warriors injuries don't count, but that same Warriors team that lost by 3 to the Lakers on that last second shot couldn't get by Memphis.

Neither LeBron nor AD have looked like themselves after their returns. There hasn’t been a “healthy Lakers team” since the beginning of the year.

Folks don't like facts around here they like narratives.

[HotRocks34]

Super, super impressed with the Suns.

They may even be able to get to the Finals and give the Nets a run.

As far as I know, they're the healthiest team left. If they can keep that up, who knows?

[darmani]

Read on Twitter

[spanishninja]

Read on Twitter

yeah. nobody gave a **** about us when Dragic AND Bledsoe were injured the same season we were 1 win away from making the playoffs in 2013-2014, or last season when Ayton was suspended 25 games and we were again 1 win away from making the playoffs.

Let's not even talk about SSOL years with various injuries and suspensions during the playoffs.

[jcsunsfan]

You haven't exactly been Nostradamus-esque with your predictions thus far though:



So let's maybe stick to facts instead of hypotheticals? And a fact is that we don't know how the Lakers would have done against these Nuggets because LAL couldn't get passed the Suns in the round and (unlike the Lakers) the Nuggets are not a play-in team so they wouldn't have faced them there either.

Yeah, a healthy Lakers team, needed a miracle last second LeBron 3 when the shot clock was almost out to beat a GS team without Klay, Wiseman or Oubre. I know according to the Lakers fans those Warriors injuries don't count, but that same Warriors team that lost by 3 to the Lakers on that last second shot couldn't get by Memphis.

Neither LeBron nor AD have looked like themselves after their returns. There hasn’t been a “healthy Lakers team” since the beginning of the year.

Age and decline is a chronic condition. It doesn't go away. Sometimes you can overcome it for a little while if you get like four months of rest in the middle of the year.

The Blazers would have been great too if Oden and Brandon Roy had been healthy. Better put an asterisk on the rest of the league for those years.

Good grief Laker fans are annoying. EVERY YEAR teams have to deal with injuries. It is how the league works.

[insomniac00]

Read on Twitter

yeah. nobody gave a **** about us when Dragic AND Bledsoe were injured the same season we were 1 win away from making the playoffs in 2013-2014, or last season when Ayton was suspended 25 games and we were again 1 win away from making the playoffs.

Let's not even talk about SSOL years with various injuries and suspensions during the playoffs.

And like you said, it goes way further back than that. Amare suspension. Nash bloody nose. Joe Johnson breaking his face.

When the Suns are good, the basektball gods tend to reach for their dynamite.

[ibraheim718]

Lol except Morris has been by far the worst player in this series thus far.

Doesn't matter. Morris got them in this position and he was starting before he got hurt because he's better than Campazzo or Rivers. Let him find a rhythm with the starters. He wouldn't have to press to score either.

He's supposed to better than Rivers/Campazzo, too bad reality overrides theory. Morris was god awful his first playoff stint, and was decent in the bubble. Its no one but his own fault that he doesn't inspire enough confidence to be a starter. His defense is definitively bad. Like MPJ, if his shot isn't falling he brings very little to the table.

His defense is statistically on par with Campazzo and offensively much better than Campazzo. Malone probably thinks two things.. one that starting Morris weakens his bench and that two the starting back court of Rivers and Campazzo has been performing well and he doesn't want to rock the boat which isn't true. The starting 5 of Rivers/Facu/MPJ/Gordon/Jokic had a net rating of -9.1 during the regular season.. they're giving up more points than they score per 100 possessions.

To think Morris' only value is scoring is ignorant. His value is the ability to run the high pnr two man game with Jokic better than anyone on the team as evident by the end of games 5 and 6 against Portland of which he played the whole 4th quarter in both because Malone couldn't afford to bench him.

Every advanced statistical metric shows Morris performs better than every guard on the Nuggets roster sans Murray in the playoffs or regular season and that's with the current slump included.

[collidingNeurons]

when does the lakers talk in this thread constitute derailment? it becoming more prevalent than the topic of the thread and tiresome

[pj0tr]

when does the lakers talk in this thread constitute derailment? it becoming more prevalent than the topic of the thread and tiresome

Because the media narrative is that the Lakers lost due to injury (while they conveniently mention CP3's injury as a small side note in the first 4 games of that series)...

They're still pushing that narrative, and of course the Lakers, with their large fanbase, eat that up and puff their chest out about it.

People just don't want to accept the Suns are a good team, and the series could've been just as different had CP3 never been hurt.

The Suns were rolling in Game 1 on offense before CP3 got hurt, and if you re-watch their games, especially 1-3 on offense, they changed most of their offense and the stuff they ran in the regular season, because of that.

With a healthy CP3 on offense, they've ran almost all of the stuff against Denver that they ran in the regular season for 90% of the games (they actually changed their offense to more isolation stuff in the later part of the season, probably to prepare them for the playoffs).

[Fo-Real]

when does the lakers talk in this thread constitute derailment? it becoming more prevalent than the topic of the thread and tiresome

Because the media narrative is that the Lakers lost due to injury (while they conveniently mention CP3's injury as a small side note in the first 4 games of that series)...

They're still pushing that narrative, and of course the Lakers, with their large fanbase, eat that up and puff their chest out about it.

People just don't want to accept the Suns are a good team, and the series could've been just as different had CP3 never been hurt.

The Suns were rolling in Game 1 on offense before CP3 got hurt, and if you re-watch their games, especially 1-3 on offense, they changed most of their offense and the stuff they ran in the regular season, because of that.

With a healthy CP3 on offense, they've ran almost all of the stuff against Denver that they ran in the regular season for 90% of the games (they actually changed their offense to more isolation stuff in the later part of the season, probably to prepare them for the playoffs).

Also Cam Johnson is still battling a hand injury (Shooting hand). This is why his shooting is ass sometimes!