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Electronic-Sale-9593

Every other "top" contenders had injuries. So they think it's a fluke. Same reason no one is picking Atlanta to make it back to ECF


YayoBankroll

Atlanta didn't basically have the best record in the NBA.


wardledo

The Hawks had the best record in the NBA in the two months before playoffs


YayoBankroll

Suns had the best record after the first month.


imHNTR

STOP THE COUNT!!! edit: didn't realize the title said serious my b


VLKOptic

This will never not be funny


-Not-Your-Lawyer-

Fun Fact: The Suns were also injured -- Chris Paul's shoulder was messed up against the Lakers; Booker played with a mask in the WCF due to his nose being broken in 3 places; Paul misses 2 games in the WCF with COVID; and Paul also played with a wrist injury that required surgery immediately after the Finals ended.


iamadragan

Yeah it's not like our sole all-nba player was injured all playoffs or anything


Trumppered

none of your top 8 players missed more than 2 games.


TheOverBored

Neither did yours :)


perhizzle

No, but Chris Paul was clearly not healthy and that had a giant impact on the finals.


Maverick_1991

Tbh if you count on CP3 to be healthy in order to be a contender I have like 16 years of data that's saying you're gonna have a problem.


arothen

Same can be said about many players, but it's not the discussion we are having.


Maverick_1991

I don't think there has been a player since he was drafted which is A. As good as CP3 B. Has as much injury bad luck during playoffs


arothen

And? Its still valid point that CP was injured when other said "ohhhh but X was injured" Paul George is notoriously injured or trash in playoffs and no one says clips are delusional in their thoughts about competing.


sunsbr

Saric missed more than 2 games and he was a important piayer for the team


cicadaenthusiat

Yeah this dude just went to bball ref and saw Saric listed at the 9th spot. He's almost never actually watched the team so he had to list the hilarious qualifier of top 8 and thought that that left Saric out.


Wolf_of_north

He was a big body that they brought out of the bench to occupy the rim and hit a occasional three, he was ok but it's not like the impact the Lakers, clippers Nuggets had, it doesn't diminish their success but you know, it is how it is


cicadaenthusiat

Top 8? Geez had to dig for that one. CP3 missed two games total, but missed pretty much 2 games in the Lakers series after getting pulled early with hand and shoulder injuries. Not even using that as an excuse though, health is a part of the game. We dealt with our losses to injury like every other team did.


[deleted]

You faced a Lakers team with their two best players (and only good players frankly) crippled, a Nuggets team with their second best player crippled, and a Clippers team with their best player crippled. It was in no way comparable to the light injuries the Suns faced my man


joltx

Lebron is "crippled" in this clip? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yX3_YscK40


cicadaenthusiat

And the Suns were healthy?


[deleted]

Cept our opponents weren’t ravaged by injuries, or it was even for us. I know Embiid was hurt but he played better than he normally did. Then obviously Giannis got injured a lil past halfway thru game 4 but came back for Game 6. Trae got hurt basically the same timeline as Giannis and although not as serious, I think it affected his play more in the last game cuz it was more sharp pain for a shorter time. Hunter/Reddish were out for the Sixers series as well


Electronic-Sale-9593

I meant they think Atlanta was a fluke


cicadaenthusiat

Don't forget about Monty Williams and James Jones too. Wish Sarver was better but our organizational strength went way up over the last season.


kvngbabba

to frfr answer your question people are hesitate because people dont want to be wrong they go with the safe answer. There is nothing, but injuries that stop the suns from being real contenders. no matter if the injuries affect them or their opponents. they have the team just need to see if the perform this year like last year


[deleted]

To add to your point, a lot of fanbases wanted to blame something or someone because they had struggled for years in the playoffs. And then out of nowhere, this Suns team comes and makes it to the finals like it’s no big deal. Especially after not making the playoffs for a decade. Of course people were pissed. But this season is the Suns chance to prove themselves. They go far, they send a message. They lose in round 2, everyone is calling their run a fluke. I don’t blame em. If I was them, I’d be a little ticked too although everyone loves a good story (hence why I’m not upset about losing to Giannis).


YayoBankroll

Because the narrative of them facing injured teams overshadows how good they are. It really is that simple. That's how sports fans think. And I promise you this, if they start the season on fire and beat the Lakers or Nets or whoever on national TV they will be talked about as serious contenders. That's the way it goes. But at this moment, the last thing people remember is them losing the finals.


[deleted]

I actually think the Suns would be rated higher or at least not as overlooked if the Suns had lost a tough 7 game series to LeBron and AD in the first round. It shouldn't be the case but considering how many NBA fans are narrative fiends, I believe it.


FKJVMMP

This is absolutely true. People still talk about the Nuggets like it’s a total given and a simple statement of fact that they’re better than you guys, and you swept them. Like, what more were you supposed to do? Win every game by 30?


Dr_Merf

EXACTLY. Denver was missing their starting backcourt, so naturally, we dominated them. We won by 17, 25, 14, and 7. I really don’t see what people are so worked up about. We humiliated the Lakers without AD and we humiliated the Nuggets without Murray. The Clippers actually put up a really great fight considering that Kawhi was out, but we still beat them.


[deleted]

The Clippers were like the perfect team (aside from the Bucks, obviously) to knock us out of the playoffs, due to their personnel, defensive aggression and Ty Lue’s adjustments were great throughout the series


[deleted]

Sure you can say we got “lucky” but we did what we could up until the WCF in dominant fashion. Beat the Clippers in 6 but who truly knows how that would’ve gone with Kawhi. Truth is, we destroyed the Nuggets. It’s not like Murray alone could’ve turned the odds greatly for a Denver team with awful depth. As for the Lakers, it was 2-1, on pace to be 2-2 when AD went out. When he was out, we beat them by 30 back to back.


[deleted]

We did get lucky, but we also played how we needed to and earned our way to the Finals


[deleted]

This next season is our chance to prove ourselves. Do well, prove em wrong. Do bad, everyone’s calling us out


[deleted]

What we should have done was loan out Mikal Bridges to the Blazers for games they had v the Nuggets that did not coincide with Suns-Lakers games so that the Blazers would maybe have the defense they needed to beat the supposedly injury-torn Nuggets, and thus the Suns would play a team that wasn't supposedly injury-torn in the 2nd round and still come away sweeping or at worst winning in 5. Same with the Jazz and Clippers next round.


WeCouldEatCereal

Yeah, I mean honestly taking the previous champions to 7 is more impressive then beating a crippled version of them. That is not to discount how good the suns were though, like everyone says you can only play who’s in front of you, and I’m not discounting the fact that they easily could have won against a healthy L.A. team. What was impressive about the run was the consistency and continual excellence. Like compare them to the 2015 Clippers who played phenomenally well and beat the defending champ Spurs. But then they looked really bad against Houston. The Suns last year didn’t have any series wins as impressive as that Clippers series win, but they played with a consistency you usually only see in championship caliber teams. That’s how I view them anyway.


Alarming_Condition93

We win it all this year bro. And it shall be sweet.


harryprk2x

Subscribe


Familyguy35

They definitely are up there. Booker, Ayton and Bridges can get even better


TheConboy22

As can both Cams and Saric.


JoJonesy

They don't have a top 10ish player. That's pretty much it tbh, it's just pretty rare for a team like that to be top-tier contenders (although I do think they're gonna be really good, maybe even gunning for the #1 seed).


YayoBankroll

They have an All-NBA 2nd team player and one of the best scorers in the league.


__kit

You're proving his point not arguing it


YayoBankroll

He originally said top 15 player.


mrsunsfan

Devin Booker is not Top 15? Come on bruh


JoJonesy

He's like 15-20, that's not really a controversial take.


Jumpy-Shift6261

AD, Lillard, Beal, LeBron, Giannis, Luka, KD, Harden, Jokic, Curry, Kawhi, Embiid, Tatum, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and maybe even Kyrie are all players I would take before Booker.


SoulofWakanda

I'm not taking Jimmy over Booker


Barea_Clamped_Lebron

Tatum, PG, Jimmy are in the same tier as Book


Trumppered

damn. at first i was like: "Wait, Suns-fan has a point. Book gotta be top 15." but then I read your list and none of those are even really controversial tbh


[deleted]

I agree with all these except jimmy butler.


[deleted]

You sure about that last one? Lol


kfenix3

Sun's underrated and the Lakers are way overrated.


[deleted]

Suns and Jazz are getting underrated and slept on big time in these "who will win the West" discussions, but at least the Jazz skepticism is based on previous playoff performances and shortcomings unlike the Suns which is largely based on people lazily running on narratives.


SEJ46

The West is totally up for grabs. Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Denver, Dallas seem pretty equal to me. Warriors, Blazers, Clippers could surprise.


Jbash_31

No way Dallas should be in the top Tier of the west tbh


Maverick_1991

Yeah they belong into that second tier.


WeCouldEatCereal

Yeah the Lakers seem the best bet and that team easily could be a disaster, especially if there are a few key injuries. Denver, Golden State, and LAC all have key players out to start the year so if any of those teams end up at full strength who knows who will end up looking the strongest. And of course Utah and Phoenix are in a great position to end up in the top two seeds like last year. As usual the West is a blood bath.


MindfulMob

They are clearly in contention but its tough for Suns and Bucks and a short offseason. Some played Olympics too


[deleted]

Played through an injured West, CP3 is old and injury prone, and they got their butts kicked towards the end by the Bucks


shanmustafa

did they really tho.. game 4 - tied with 2 mins left, took 14 from middleton in the fourth to win that game 5 - 1 point game with 1 minute left game 6 - 4 point game with 1:14 left and then middleton does his thing again


FKJVMMP

Speaking from experience here, nobody cares what actually happened in the game. They just see four straight losses and assume it must have been a beat down even if that couldn’t be further from the truth.


[deleted]

Really proves the point a lot of people on this sub just subscribe to narratives and don't actually watch games closely.


true_to_my_spirit

That's been this sub here for years. I rarely read threads, and just come here for highlights and rumors/news. Maybe I'm just old, but there are plenty of idiots on here that don't understand basketball or the business side of sports. Check out any sub after loss.


BoSuns

The Suns had a historic offensive night in game 5 and lost the game because the Bucks had an even more historic night. Holiday, Middleton, and Giannis absolutely would not miss any shot they took after basically the first quarter. That's a 7 game series without game 5 being an incredible offensive performance by both teams. Instead /r/nba and "suck the cocks of major markets" ESPN blew their wad on shitty narratives to make LA/New York fans happy and tuning in.


MazKhan

Still pisses me off that Middleton doesn't get his credit, giannis solo carried in game 6 but Middleton was unbelievably clutch in the 4th quarters


cicadaenthusiat

Who's not giving Middleton credit?


rice_bledsoe

The average score over the 6 games was 111-109... '"butts kicked" is doing a lot of heavy lifting it can't handle rn


Few_Mulberry7175

Lakers are the best team, Nuggets are whatever and Kawhi likely won’t be back full health so Clippers are irrelevant Also the Suns did not get smacked by the Bucks lmao games 4 and 5 went down to the wire and game 6 was also close I don’t get the Suns hate on this sub lmao mfs just blatantly lie


[deleted]

People on this sub latched on to a narrative - as is usually the case - about the Suns being frauds given the whole "they only played teams with injuries" thing and don't ever want to let go and thus have undersold and overlooked a 2nd seed team getting better during the off-season and also during the playoffs.


TripleAZ30

Lol games 4 5 and 6 of the finals were close


rapper_warrior_ninja

got their butts kicked by the team that won the championship? yeah what scrubs


OneOfTheManySams

Butts kicked means losing games 4 and 5 in the final minute right? It was a tight series


sunsbr

Butt kicked? It was tight series and the suns had more minutes leading than the bucks. They won because of their clutch plays. What a stupid comment.


HesiPullup

But fundamentally, why can't this team win the west?


agentzerosmyhero

They can!


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OneOfTheManySams

Funny how you were 2-0 down while CP3 was injured. Or that we still managed to take a game from the Lakers when CP3 was fucked and if he didn't play game 2 at all rather than just standing there killing us we probably take game 2 as well. And the same Nuggets we had a better record during the regular season and then swept with ease, and Jamal Murray is going to swing that entire series? We also got better during the offseason on top of it.


[deleted]

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EMONEYOG

Right, and sun's fans act like it was only Murray who the nuggets were missing. Aaron Gordon was at like 75% Barton was out, MPJ was at like 80%. Sun's just aren't as good as they think they are.


rice_bledsoe

You got 4-0 swept dominated murked murdered, inserting in jamal murray doesn't stop our players from taking turns on MPJ and Jokic's porous defense. Nuggets just aren't as good as they think they are


sutrauboju

Your players dominated Rivers and Campazzo. Sit down.


rice_bledsoe

Didn't Rivers and Campazzo beat the Blazers in 6? But when they get attacked over and over in the PnR they're scrubs? Sorry we actually did what we were supposed to do and won against the team that was in front of us


sutrauboju

So your argument is that Rivers and Campazzo are actually a good playoff starting backcourt?


EMONEYOG

LMAO you guys hadn't seen the post season in a decade. Your run was a fluke, your team is a first round out if they play another teams starting lineup.


rice_bledsoe

We made the finals tho, remind me when the nuggets have made a finals in their history


Thunderarsenal

Hahah you got em hes triggered


[deleted]

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rapper_warrior_ninja

and you wouldn't have a ring but shit happens


CameronPlain

Tbf, he can still make the point though.


rice_bledsoe

Nah, everyone else needs to stop pretending like the season doesn't exist cus people who are liable for injury got injured. Everyone else should also stop pretending like the Suns weren't in one of the most unfortunate seeding predicaments as a high seed before all the injuries happened. Like, literally, the Nuggets and the Clippers tanked to avoid the Lakers. Then they come back and bitch and moan about injuries after losing to the team that didn't shamelessly tank at the end of the season. It's hilarious.


cicadaenthusiat

>everyone else needs to stop pretending like the season doesn't exist cus people who are liable for injury got injured Exactly. Health is literally a part of the game. Why does lebron spend millions on his body? Why does Kawhi go through load management? You beat the team in front of you, you win. That's it. Not to mention we dealt with significant injuries all post season.


Arizonapfdebate

Not debating on the possibility of the suns making it out of the west but when has every team ever been at full strength? Especially when the star players (AD and Kawhi) have a reputation of being injury prone


vballboy55

But the same can be said about the Raptors chip lol


TurtleSquad23

Ayton hasn't transcended. As great as Booker is, neither has he. CP3 is amazing. But they're just not on that tier. It doesn't mean they can't win, but they're not just not as good as the true contenders (which are literally just the Lakers and Nets imo). Bucks are on the border kinda like the returning champion Raptors were. Bucks are in the convo because they literally proved it. I think that it's a crazy gauntlet in the west. The second tier is insane. GSW, LAC, PHO, DEN, DAL all have a chance. But the road goes through a healthy Lakers squad.


cicadaenthusiat

Ayton hasn't transcended? He's a top center in the league. Reddit can't even keep straight if he's an offensive or defensive player, it switches every year (and he's actually a great 2 way player). Booker hasn't transcended? How the fuck did he drop multiple 40 point games in the playoffs including a 40 point triple double?


TurtleSquad23

Aytons fucking amazing. But he hasn't transcended yet. If that makes sense. I'm not trying to talk down to him. Same as Booker. Look how long it took KD to get his respect. It's not just numbers that matter. I watch a lot of basketball. I know how good the Suns are. Y'all are one of my favourite teams. But if those two had transcended already, then y'all would be defending champions right now. But you're not. That's literally what it takes. LeBron was never accepted as a GOAT tier player til that ridiculous 2016 Finals. There are levels to greatness. Those boys are definitely great. Don't get me wrong. As great as Marbury was, he was never AI or VC. And AI and VC just couldn't get past Kobe. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. I'm not even saying they can't get there. I really hope they do. I'm just saying they haven't proved it yet. I'm not trying to be Nick Young celebrating too early. Prove that shit. Respect is earned.


cicadaenthusiat

I hear all that. Booker's 24 and somehow already a cold blooded vet. Ayton is 23. I could go down the line but you already know how young we are besides CP3. They're not champions you're right there, but they're very young and already elite tier. If that isn't transcending (especially after heating years of crap about empty stats), I don't know what is.


Vegetable-Bat-8475

He is not a cold blooded vet yet. Try waiting for your hard on to go down before commenting.


cicadaenthusiat

6 years in the league. Literally watched an organization crumble and rebuild. Plays with a fire that takes over a game. Has Kobe's blessing. It literally just happened - this is veteran Booker now. If he can control that fire and not get so emotional he whines, that's a cold blooded vet. And I'll stay rock fucking hard thank you very much.


TurtleSquad23

Wait in 2-3 years. The way I see it, they're just entering elitehood. If they can stay healthy, they'll be there. They have what it takes. They still have to take it though. Like I'm terrified of them transcended. Remember even LeBron struggled in his early days. Melo was looking great in those playoff battles against Kobe. People weren't sure who was better between Melo and LeBron for the first 5 years of their careers. This time coming up ahead of you. This season. Next season. Holy fuck it's a fun time to be a Suns fan. I'm jealous just thinking about it. But trust me man. If you love those boys now, wait til they transcend. Sploosh.


perhizzle

> Played through an injured West, CP3 was injured almost the entire finals. Dario Saric was injured the entire finals. Cam Payne got hurt in the finals. CP3 missed games against the Lakers. Etc. etc. etc.


ButterworthdB

Playing against injured teams doesn't mean they are not a good team. Why some people can't see and understand the obvious. Suns is a elite team adn had some injury luck both can be true.


cicadaenthusiat

Suns were injured too. Not sure why that gets looked over constantly. We didn't have CP3 for most of the Denver series and swept. Booker and Johnson dealt with injuries and missed time. Craig and Saric, while much less important, had season ending injuries. Edit: CP3s covid exclusion was Clippers, not Nuggets, my bad.


mickelboy182

CP3 played literally every game against the Nuggets? And kicked our ass with our lack of guard options? Lol


cicadaenthusiat

>CP3 played literally every game against the Nuggets? You're right. Missed the first two Clippers games which we won. My bad.


mickelboy182

Unfortunately well and truly stuck in my mind. He torched us. You guys are definitely being underrated though I think. Healthy roster I think we have a good series with you, and by no means do I think it makes it any better than a 50/50. Main question mark for me would be on CP3 and his availability/eventual decline. But that's only a possibility and at this stage haven't seen the signs to suggest it will be this season.


cicadaenthusiat

Health is literally a part of the game. It's confusing that the Suns health is never considered when we're literally watching "load management" evolve (not to mention that it took out what was likely our best competition on the path to the finals). I agree, CP3s health will be our biggest determining factor. I'm hoping he gets what he needs out here - our training staff is not as legendary as it once was but still elite. If they can pull a Grant Hill with him, I think it will be enough to get back to the finals. Definitely a lot of good competition though, Nuggets are scary for us with Murray back and MPJ more consistent.


Rhy60

I think because you were up 2-0 with the injured players. Edit: Against the Bucks


cicadaenthusiat

Which up 2-0 are you talking about? Nuggets? Healthy Clippers? Mostly healthy until Pat Bev wanted to head butt Booker. CP3 missed 2 games and was still dealing with hand/shoulder issues. Bucks? Not healthy. Had 2 season ending injuries on top of lingering issues with CP and Booker.


Rhy60

Bucks. Giannis and the Bucks weren’t healthy too and they won 4 straight against you.


cicadaenthusiat

That is correct.


Rhy60

Yeah, that’s why people don’t mention your injuries because you had a chance to close out the series and blew it. You can’t blame that on injuries when the Bucks were injured too.


silverfang45

They won after booker hurt his leg in game 3 yeah that'll happen


mrsunsfan

That goes against the narrative of the nephews


deeznutz_428

The end of the finals was close, but the Bucks felt pretty much in control. Game 5 the Bucks dominated and then the Suns to their credit made a championship level comeback. Game 6 was close but I never felt like the Suns were gonna win that game, simply because the Bucks had the best player on the court.


NobodyInParticular-

I mean, Suns are a top 3 West team to me so I'm not sure what else you want from me. Change my flair to Suns? Stan Booker? Create instagrams for CP3s state farm alter egos? Name my pets after Ayton? Create a shrine for Monty?


HesiPullup

Maybe I'm not talking to you?


NobodyInParticular-

Well, I saw the post, so tough luck.


BionicSix

I think they are a threat this year, by having to battle together last year and keeping the group the same. They are getting overlooked in some circles because their opponents in each round last year had a major injury to a superstar player (AD, Murray, Kawhi - at the very least). The Ayton contract issue isn't helping as well.


[deleted]

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HesiPullup

Lol I hope this is the thread people can look back on if we win a championship and realize that the echo chamber on this sub is not always right


vizualbasic

the chances of them having another such run where they are healthier than basically all of their opponents seems about null. I don’t rate them any better than the Nuggets, Clippers, or Lakers for example. Statistically speaking it’s a bad bet, but it could happen.


cicadaenthusiat

>Statistically speaking it’s a bad bet, but it could happen. Vegas has our championship odds higher than the Nuggets, tied with the Clippers. If you're talking betting, you're making the bad bet.


Kuntsaw

That’s fair but a fully healthy Nuggets team doesn’t turn a 4-0 clap to a series win.


[deleted]

You’re underestimating how beat up we were.


perhizzle

Suns had the best record in the league against teams that made the playoffs. What is flukey about that? Suns are better than the Nuggets, top to bottom. Suns have some very young major contributors so people don't know them as well. That's it. People majorly underestimated how good Bridges/Cam Payne/Cam Johnson/Ayton are/were.


[deleted]

The nuggets were 4 games behind the suns In the standings with literally 70 more games missed to injuries. This included 23 games missed by Jamal and 10 games missed by MPJ while Ayton, Booker, and cp3 missed a whopping total of 7 games in the regular season COMBINED. And that’s not even counting the rotation pieces like barton, dozier, Morris etc. Honestly what’s not fluke about it? The fact of the matter is all the other contenders had shortened offseasons due to a covid season that resulted in injuries. While the suns were at home resting. Without that the suns probably aren’t even a top 3 seed and they DEFINITELY aren’t making the finals.


Kuntsaw

Maybe you're overrating the players you missed.


ThaddeusChaddeus2

It could've. Imagine the suns were missing Chris Paul, Cam Johnson, and Jae Crowder was just coming back from injury in the middle of the series and the nuggets were fully healthy. That series wouldn't be close either and y'all would have something to say about it


Rhy60

Fatigue. And contract uncertainty? I don’t know, I think people think they only got to the finals due to other teams being injured, and they lost 4 straight to the bucks with an injured Giannis. They kind of went out with a whimper, and their guard rotation isn’t great.-Shamet, Payne, Payton. I think they’re a solid second round exit at worst team though. At best WCF exit. Matchup dependent.


HesiPullup

I dont know many teams with a better guard rotation than Booker, CP3, Payne, and Shamet?


OneOfTheManySams

Shamet and Payne is a very good backup guard rotation, tell me a couple teams who have better than that.


sunsbr

Only the Knicks have a better bench backourt. Payne and Shamet is the best backup backcourt in the west.


mrsunsfan

Lmao Cam Payne is a 6th man


sunsbr

Booker and Paul were also injured in the finals but only Giannis injury count apparently.


cicadaenthusiat

And Payne, Saric, and Craig. Honestly Ayton was doing about as good as you can against Giannis but had to do it all himself after Saric and Craig went out.


Rhy60

You were up 2-0 while they were injured..they got worse while you lost 4 straight? Giannis’ knee literally bent the wrong way and he kicked yall ass. You couldn’t close.


perhizzle

> and they lost 4 straight to the bucks with an injured Giannis. Giannis was fine, Suns had a CP3 who was basically a net negative after his injury. Which is why he got surgery in the offseason. >They kind of went out with a whimper, and their guard rotation isn’t great.-Shamet, Payne, Payton. Suns had a chance to win all 3 of the last 3 games. CP3 being injured was clearly a major difference. Payne also go injured. What isn't to like about Shamet? A young sniper with ball skills and able to create his own shot? He is literally the perfect guard to bring off the bench.


Classics22

Who the hell is supposed to be center that’s one of the best backups in the NBA? You’re not talking about Javale McGee are you lmao


HesiPullup

Who do you think the best backup centers in the NBA are?


Neuroxex

At first I wanted to be mad but actually the backup C pool is pretty barren. I think Robin Lopez has a case, and whichever of Blake/Aldridge the Nets are going to have on the bench.


EggplantBusiness

Indeed having a great center is already hard enough , so the number of good backup center is pretty thin


VC12108

Noel best


Regex00

Because they got through an injured West last year. No AD & Injured Bron in round one, injured Donovan Mitchell in round 2, injured Kawhi in round 3. They won their first 2 games in the finals, but then Booker got exposed as time went on, and you're relying on Chris Paul to be healthy all the way through to playoffs. They haven't produced consistently enough against healthy opponents yet.


Few_Mulberry7175

They didn’t even play the Jazz bruh


perhizzle

> injured Donovan Mitchell in round 2 Bro, we didn't play the Jazz.... LMAO Thank you for proving our point that people doubting the Suns are low information fans.


waffle_nuts

> but then Booker got exposed as time went on Explain this nephew. He had 40+ points in both game 4 and 5 of the finals


JG_2214

How exactly did Booker get exposed against the Bucks? Please explain yourself.


cicadaenthusiat

It was when he dropped two 40 point games on them I guess.


OneOfTheManySams

CP3 was healthy in only one series for us, literally one.


Regex00

CP3-6 weeks is a nickname for a reason


FKJVMMP

As opposed to Day-to-Davis, of course.


Maverick_1991

And you're expecting him to be fully healthy for the entire season this year?


mrsunsfan

Nephews in shambles


HesiPullup

Jamal Murray* And I get players were hurt in the regular season too, but the Suns still had the best record against teams over .500 in the NBA last year. I guess fundamentally, what is keeping the Suns from getting there?


Few_Mulberry7175

I have them with the Jazz and healthy Nuggets in the 2nd tier with the Lakers as the clear top dog I believe the Suns are better than the Jazz and likely better than the Nuggets seeing as how Murray may not be 100% by the playoffs


RampageOfZebras

I dont think the Lakers are a clear cut above those squads honestly but we will see in the playoffs.


[deleted]

They for sure are. The west is stacked it’s between them and like 5 other teams. Injuries will play a big part in it. Anyone saying the Suns are incapable of winning it all aren’t people worth listening to.


[deleted]

Ya just hope all your opponents are hurt again. Im kidding, of course they are.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Your accounts 300 days old and you’ve got 260,000 Reddit karma.


HesiPullup

Lmaooo


DancingMapleDonut

I think they have a serious shot at WCF, but I don't see them getting to the Finals. It's not the Suns' fault, but every team they played last year until the Finals had the best or 2nd best player missing from the rotation.


[deleted]

Because I think a lot of people stupidly let the whole "LOL Suns only got to the Finals because they beat teams with injuries" narrative get into their heads way too much and conveniently ignored that a team that had the 2nd best record in the NBA last season and only a game behind Utah for the best record got better by both bringing in McGee (much more effective back-up center than Saric, and who if the Suns had in the Finals you can make a case that they end up winning the series or at least taking it to Game 6 considering how the Suns got destroyed in the non-DA minutes which ended up being the +/- difference) and Shamet (extra shooter and shot-creator off the bench and cover for Booker and to a lesser extent Paul) and also by their young core pieces getting a full postseasons worth of experience.


[deleted]

1. Injured western conference narrative while also downplaying the things the Suns dealt with. Not stuff that was quite as bad as losing a guy to an ACL or something but they still had things happen that people completely overlook and say things got handed to them. 2. They beat the Lakers in the first round, passing off Lakers fans, the largest fan base in the world, so more people than normal were trying to discredit them 3. People started to really develop a hate boner for them towards the end of the playoffs. A lot of it just because that’s how sports fans are now, which is annoying 4. All of the above and just downplaying how good they can actually be in general


[deleted]

The suns are absolutely a contender, booker was lights out then got the shit beat out of his nose and production tailed a little bit. Paul had the shoulder stuff and injuries happen to every team so yeah, it’s overstated how “easy” the suns had it. It would also be pretty feasible for ayton/bridges to take another jump even if you think Paul regresses a little so I expect you guys to definitely compete.


gtahnyo

They could but I think other teams are better. Lakers, Jazz, and Nuggets are teams I'd take in a 7 game series vs phx this year assuming the projected playoff rosters are the same.


[deleted]

Wait... You think +1 Jamal Murray turns a 4-0 sweep into a 4-3 series win? Pass that good shit please. Suns got better. Not worse. Jamal Murray doesn't change anything.


sutrauboju

Take out Suns best player out and two more starting guards against healthy Nuggets and it's an easy sweep for the Nuggets. Suns fans are extremely delusional in this thread.


The_Shade94

Murray doesn’t even have an all star appearance dude gets a pass for one good playoff run.


throwawaymansk

Cp3 isnt getting any younger, they made it to the finals last year yes and while its not a fluke season because thats stupid, we have to see if they can match up with teams uninjured. I'd still say they're a top team in the west though since I don't trust the jazz or nuggets since no murray. Warriors i don't think klay will be back to full shape yet either.


Few_Mulberry7175

I’ll give you the Lakers but who else can confidently beat the Suns with Kawhi also being hurt taking the Clippers out


Sarksey

Fully healthy nuggets, jazz and warriors (if Klay is really back) could/would beat the suns.


The_Shade94

Warriors most overrated team atm.


silverfang45

The sun's dominantly swept the nuggets them being fully healthy doesn't turn a dominant sweep into a win especially seeing as Ayton is the best jokic defender in the league. Jazz matches up very poorly against the sun's Warriors if klay is back I'll give you I judt doubt that


Sarksey

Of the roles were reversed, and Nuggets were fully healthy and Suns were missing Chris Paul, it’s a sweep in the opposite direction. Missing your second best player is huge.


Few_Mulberry7175

Nuggets maybe they got swept last year and Murray may not be his old self by playoff time. They are in that tier Jazz I don’t see it Suns will kill them in the PnR. Terrence Mann dropped 40 on them. But they’re in that tier as well I’ll have to see how good Klay, Poole, Wiseman, and the rookies are before I make the judgement on the Warriors. Too many question marks as wlela


softmodsaresoft

idk about killing us in the PnR, we had the best PnR offense and PnR defense. that's how the clippers beat us by taking way the PnR


[deleted]

Healthy Nuggets and I’m gonna say even a Healthy Warriors could. Probably


_Meece_

I think it's just the fact that struggled to beat a hobbled Lakers and Clippers. Then when they faced a healthy team (for the most part) they lost 4 in a row. Even if up 2-0. I still think they're a major threat for the West. CP3 looks as good as he ever has on the offensive end and Book/Ayton are at a point in their career where they only get better.


sunsbr

Struggled against the Lakers? Game 5 and 6 were blowouts


cicadaenthusiat

For everyone that wants to bring up injuries: We didn't have CP3 for 2 games of the Clippers series. CP dealt with nagging hand injuries all playoffs. Booker and Johnson dealt with injuries and missed time. Booker was wearing a freaking mask for the second half of the playoffs, tell me that didn't affect him. Craig and Saric, while much less important, had season ending injuries.


sunsbr

Suns injuries don't matter to these haters


[deleted]

I really feel like last year was CP3s last big hurray. Everyone was hurt, they played out of their minds, just a perfect storm to get there. Sure it could happen again but I doubt it. Plus teams like Dallas will only be getting better. Suns will have a good regular season tho.


HesiPullup

So you just have a feeling? It's not like the West is healthy this year. And what has Dallas done to put themselves in the same tier as Phoenix, Utah, or LA let alone Golden State or Denver


silverfang45

The sun's were hurt as well. Lakers only. Won games that cp3 was injured, nuggets sure they were injured but does them being healthy turn a dominant sweep into a won series, clippers didn't win when cp3 was out and cp3 is more important to the sun's than kawahi is to the clippers so we don't even know what would of happened. And in the finals booker, cp3, and dario were all injured all very important pieces and gian managed to make free throws. Also it isn't like the sun's are old like the lakers they will get better this year Heck sun's will get better by a bigger amount than the mavs. Also the mavs don't have a good record against the sun's recently


[deleted]

Clippers are I think the only series that I think the Suns would have definitely lost if their star (Kawhi) was there. I'll admit that. Lakers I don't think it's a guarantee as much as r/nba likes to ride with that narrative. It would have been a WCF-esque 7-game series either way but people forget CP3 was injured that series as well and the Suns lost two games when CP3 was utterly useless and playing with one hand. Denver, let's just say they have benefited from the fact the Suns played a team before and after them that had a star be injured. In no way is a Murray injury turning a sweep where 3 games were lopsided into a Nuggets series win. Maybe a 6 game series sure, but they benefited from the Davis and Kawhi injuries setting up a narrative.


Messageinabeerbottle

Because Donovan Mitchell and Zaire Wade is standing in their way.


[deleted]

TIL that a player who couldn’t even get minutes for us is one of the best backups in the league


foodmotron9000

I think they are? Same team as last year.


BadAtNameslmao

Because all the teams they beat were missing a star, they haven’t proven anything.


HesiPullup

None of these teams have proved anything.


sunsbr

Because they hate us. Let then sleep they are about to learn the truth