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Joshyjess wrote:With the way this season is going, I can't help but wonder if the playoffs might just come down to whatever team finds themselves on a hot streak at the time.
Catchall wrote:Bucks have no reason to really push themselves right now. Unless something changes, they're still the team to beat in the East imo. Bucks will end up a top-2 seed in the EC even if they cruise a bit.
Suns are a solid two-way team, but I don't see them as quite championship level. It's possible they come out of the West, but I think the Bucks would beat them again if the two teams matched up. Suns' bench production is iffy, and they rely heavily on Chris Paul to run the offense and get the right guys shots. Teams should be aggressively trapping CP the same way they do Doncic, Lillard and Steph. Make other guys make decisions with the ball.
I'm still not a believer in the Warriors until I see them play Milwaukee and Utah. Interior defense can be an issue for them, and their fast-paced, deep-rotation strategy may work better in the regular season than the post-season. Several other teams have now caught up to their analytics-driven shot distribution, which set them apart several years ago.
Jazz have had injuries the last two playoffs and should focus mostly on staying healthy. Jury is out on whether they can peak at the right time and have the core of their roster intact. Mitchell will need to go nuclear again for them to go deep.
The way things are going right now, the Lakers and Mavericks might both be in the play-in tourney.
pj0tr wrote:Catchall wrote:Bucks have no reason to really push themselves right now. Unless something changes, they're still the team to beat in the East imo. Bucks will end up a top-2 seed in the EC even if they cruise a bit.
Suns are a solid two-way team, but I don't see them as quite championship level. It's possible they come out of the West, but I think the Bucks would beat them again if the two teams matched up. Suns' bench production is iffy, and they rely heavily on Chris Paul to run the offense and get the right guys shots. Teams should be aggressively trapping CP the same way they do Doncic, Lillard and Steph. Make other guys make decisions with the ball.
I'm still not a believer in the Warriors until I see them play Milwaukee and Utah. Interior defense can be an issue for them, and their fast-paced, deep-rotation strategy may work better in the regular season than the post-season. Several other teams have now caught up to their analytics-driven shot distribution, which set them apart several years ago.
Jazz have had injuries the last two playoffs and should focus mostly on staying healthy. Jury is out on whether they can peak at the right time and have the core of their roster intact. Mitchell will need to go nuclear again for them to go deep.
The way things are going right now, the Lakers and Mavericks might both be in the play-in tourney.
The Suns with Javale McGee backing up DA last year beat the Bucks in the Finals.
The Dario Saric injury really messed up their bench production - people also forget Cam Payne twisted his ankle in Game 3 of the WCF against the Clippers, and was not the same after that.
I'm also a little bit curious to your entire statement - the Suns aren't a championship-level team - but they're on pace for 68 wins after making the Finals last year, despite having several injuries so far this year.
Catchall wrote:pj0tr wrote:Catchall wrote:Bucks have no reason to really push themselves right now. Unless something changes, they're still the team to beat in the East imo. Bucks will end up a top-2 seed in the EC even if they cruise a bit.
Suns are a solid two-way team, but I don't see them as quite championship level. It's possible they come out of the West, but I think the Bucks would beat them again if the two teams matched up. Suns' bench production is iffy, and they rely heavily on Chris Paul to run the offense and get the right guys shots. Teams should be aggressively trapping CP the same way they do Doncic, Lillard and Steph. Make other guys make decisions with the ball.
I'm still not a believer in the Warriors until I see them play Milwaukee and Utah. Interior defense can be an issue for them, and their fast-paced, deep-rotation strategy may work better in the regular season than the post-season. Several other teams have now caught up to their analytics-driven shot distribution, which set them apart several years ago.
Jazz have had injuries the last two playoffs and should focus mostly on staying healthy. Jury is out on whether they can peak at the right time and have the core of their roster intact. Mitchell will need to go nuclear again for them to go deep.
The way things are going right now, the Lakers and Mavericks might both be in the play-in tourney.
The Suns with Javale McGee backing up DA last year beat the Bucks in the Finals.
The Dario Saric injury really messed up their bench production - people also forget Cam Payne twisted his ankle in Game 3 of the WCF against the Clippers, and was not the same after that.
I'm also a little bit curious to your entire statement - the Suns aren't a championship-level team - but they're on pace for 68 wins after making the Finals last year, despite having several injuries so far this year.
I really don't think Javale McGee puts the Suns over the Bucks last year.
The Suns are currently the #7 offense and #2 defense, 3rd in net rating. It's fair to say that they're contenders. I'd like to see them play the Bucks in a game that both teams take seriously, and I'd like to see how they play against the Jazz and Warriors this year.
pj0tr wrote:Catchall wrote:pj0tr wrote:
The Suns with Javale McGee backing up DA last year beat the Bucks in the Finals.
The Dario Saric injury really messed up their bench production - people also forget Cam Payne twisted his ankle in Game 3 of the WCF against the Clippers, and was not the same after that.
I'm also a little bit curious to your entire statement - the Suns aren't a championship-level team - but they're on pace for 68 wins after making the Finals last year, despite having several injuries so far this year.
I really don't think Javale McGee puts the Suns over the Bucks last year.
The Suns are currently the #7 offense and #2 defense, 3rd in net rating. It's fair to say that they're contenders. I'd like to see them play the Bucks in a game that both teams take seriously, and I'd like to see how they play against the Jazz and Warriors this year.
The Suns went 3-0 against the Jazz in the regular season last year, went 2-0 against the Bucks in the regular season, went up 2-0 in the Finals, before losing 4 in a row.
They beat the Warriors without Devin Booker for over half the game.
You're just trying anything to discredit what they've done.
Catchall wrote:pj0tr wrote:Catchall wrote:
I really don't think Javale McGee puts the Suns over the Bucks last year.
The Suns are currently the #7 offense and #2 defense, 3rd in net rating. It's fair to say that they're contenders. I'd like to see them play the Bucks in a game that both teams take seriously, and I'd like to see how they play against the Jazz and Warriors this year.
The Suns went 3-0 against the Jazz in the regular season last year, went 2-0 against the Bucks in the regular season, went up 2-0 in the Finals, before losing 4 in a row.
They beat the Warriors without Devin Booker for over half the game.
You're just trying anything to discredit what they've done.
Bro, we're one-third into the season. No teams have done anything yet. Last season, the Suns beat the Jazz on a back-to-back on New Year's Eve, a game in OT in PHX, and a late-season game in which Mitchell and Conley didn't play. Suns haven't proven they're better than the Jazz. If anything, the Jazz have played a tougher schedule and have a higher net rating so far.
pj0tr wrote:Catchall wrote:pj0tr wrote:
The Suns went 3-0 against the Jazz in the regular season last year, went 2-0 against the Bucks in the regular season, went up 2-0 in the Finals, before losing 4 in a row.
They beat the Warriors without Devin Booker for over half the game.
You're just trying anything to discredit what they've done.
Bro, we're one-third into the season. No teams have done anything yet. Last season, the Suns beat the Jazz on a back-to-back on New Year's Eve, a game in OT in PHX, and a late-season game in which Mitchell and Conley didn't play. Suns haven't proven they're better than the Jazz. If anything, the Jazz have played a tougher schedule and have a higher net rating so far.
The Suns beat the Jazz at full strength both times they played last year.
The Suns have the best record in the NBA, the best road record in the NBA, and the best record against teams .500 or better.
They had an 18-game win streak, and they've had injuries to Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Frank Kaminsky, Cam Payne, and Abdel Nader so far - yet they still have the best record in the NBA.
They were literally just in the NBA Finals.
I like how the narrative is constantly - the Suns need to prove themselves, while teams like the Jazz just need to stay healthy LOL.
Catchall wrote:pj0tr wrote:Catchall wrote:
Bro, we're one-third into the season. No teams have done anything yet. Last season, the Suns beat the Jazz on a back-to-back on New Year's Eve, a game in OT in PHX, and a late-season game in which Mitchell and Conley didn't play. Suns haven't proven they're better than the Jazz. If anything, the Jazz have played a tougher schedule and have a higher net rating so far.
The Suns beat the Jazz at full strength both times they played last year.
The Suns have the best record in the NBA, the best road record in the NBA, and the best record against teams .500 or better.
They had an 18-game win streak, and they've had injuries to Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Frank Kaminsky, Cam Payne, and Abdel Nader so far - yet they still have the best record in the NBA.
They were literally just in the NBA Finals.
I like how the narrative is constantly - the Suns need to prove themselves, while teams like the Jazz just need to stay healthy LOL.
So then the Jazz were clearly better than the Suns last year, since the Jazz had the best regular-season record, right?
Jadoogar wrote:I like that there is no single dominant team. Shout out to Kyrie for making the season interesting because if he was playing, the Nets would be the overwhelming favourites.
Warriors are playing very well but it's very unexpected, everyone was anticipating a 6th seed until Klay came back. Suns and Jazz are also playing very well but no one would bet on either team making the finals (vs the field).
Warriorfan wrote:Jadoogar wrote:I like that there is no single dominant team. Shout out to Kyrie for making the season interesting because if he was playing, the Nets would be the overwhelming favourites.
Warriors are playing very well but it's very unexpected, everyone was anticipating a 6th seed until Klay came back. Suns and Jazz are also playing very well but no one would bet on either team making the finals (vs the field).
It's RealGM that was off on GS. Vegas had them higher
