Coro Reports: Dont Expect A Suns Move

[nashman]

We still have a good shot, how many times does teams make big moves like the Lakers did and have them not work out well? All the time, their is no gaurantee that this will work out for the Lakers the team may very well take a while to gel and they could be 8 or 9 games back from the suns pretty quickly. I for one would really like to see what this team can do healthy and with no BS suspensions. We know they can turn it up we have seen it a few times, and bet we will see it more often as the playoffs approach.

 

[TucsonDevil]

I for one would really like to see what this team can do healthy and with no BS suspensions.

You have been watching it all season long.

 

[nashman]

I HAVE been watching us with one of the best records in the league! So what your saying is their is a chance?

 

[nowagimp]

We still have a good shot, how many times does teams make big moves like the Lakers did and have them not work out well? All the time, their is no gaurantee that this will work out for the Lakers the team may very well take a while to gel and they could be 8 or 9 games back from the suns pretty quickly. I for one would really like to see what this team can do healthy and with no BS suspensions. We know they can turn it up we have seen it a few times, and bet we will see it more often as the playoffs approach.

Sorry Nashman, gasol is an excellent passer. Removing kwame(the turnover machine) and inserting Gasol will just improve chemistry.

 

[jbeecham]

Sorry Nashman, gasol is an excellent passer. Removing kwame(the turnover machine) and inserting Gasol will just improve chemistry.

There's no guarantee Gasol improves chemistry. I know he was an all-star and putting up good numbers, but he was also on one of the worst teams in the NBA. The move could easily backfire on the Lakers with Kobe not liking Gasol because he's slow and doesn't play good defense. Gasol's numbers should go down with better offensive options on the Lakers. Also, who knows how Gasol is going to react when Kobe starts gunning and Gasol isn't "The Man" anymore. He's going to be reduced to being a role player and most all-stars don't like that kind of a downgrade......look at how Shawn Marion reacts to being a role player. Plus, Pau has to learn the triangle offense and I have no idea how good his basketball IQ is and how quickly he'll be able to pick it up.

 

[nashman]

^exactly jbeecham, everyone just assumes it will work, kinda like when they brought in malone, payton that worked out well right?

 

[TucsonDevil]

I HAVE been watching us with one of the best records in the league! So what your saying is their is a chance?

The Suns are 5-8 against the Western teams with winning records. How is that working to our advantage come playoff time? You think this 'championship squad' can just flip a switch and beat these teams?

 

[jbeecham]

I think it'll probably work out with Gasol and the Lakers, but I can see it going bad for a while for them until everyone gets used to playing with each other. It's not easy to work in an all-star caliber player mid-season when you have a difficult offensive scheme like the triangle. It would be hard for Gasol to pick up our "organized chaos" mid-season, but by the playoffs he'd probably know where he needed to be to keep the spacing on the court.

He might fit right in, but there's way too many variables to say it will definitely be a smooth easy transition for him. The guy was the focal point for memphis offense to be able to put up almost 20/10. So I could see his numbers falling off to 10-14ppg and 7-10 rpg as a role player.

 

[jbeecham]

The Suns are 5-8 against the Western teams with winning records. How is that working to our advantage come playoff time? You think this 'championship squad' can just flip a switch and beat these teams?

Yes

 

[nashman]

Um they have shown they get up for big games to an extent, and the playoffs yeah I beleive they will show up. If you don't thats fine but no one gave them good chance the last few years either but yet, they are always right there. Sorry if a positive outlook doesn't fit the doom and gloom crap on here.

 

[mojorizen7]

I have no doubt the SUNS will up their intensity & play with heart & desire come playoff time. Minor chemistry issues aside, i expect that the SUNS will fight,claw and scratch their way thru everything the Lakers,Spurs,Stern,the refs, etc...will throw at us.
Thing is, it's not enough. It hasn't been. Its an issue of philosophy & personel.

 

[jbeecham]

Thing is, it's not enough. It hasn't been. Its an issue of philosophy & personel.

That's a big assumption, you know what happens when you assume........

Besides, if the Suns are going to have to deal with another David Stern screwjob or blatantly horrible officiating.....there's not a damn thing we can do about it. Maybe this is the year it happens to someone else and it helps us advance....I doubt it but anything is possible in David Stern's NBA.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

^exactly jbeecham, everyone just assumes it will work, kinda like when they brought in malone, payton that worked out well right?

You mean the team went to the NBA Finals and beat the Spurs w/out homecourt advantage, two things the Suns haven't shown themselves to be capable of?

Saying the Lakers aren't a threat now that they added Pau Gasol while giving up less than nothing is pure myopia considering the they were already a bad matchup for us before the trade. I mean, that team ain't starting Luke Walton, Smush Parker, and Kwame Brown anymore. I swear some people on this board have never seen an NBA game that the Suns weren't featured.

 

[nowagimp]

There's no guarantee Gasol improves chemistry. I know he was an all-star and putting up good numbers, but he was also on one of the worst teams in the NBA. The move could easily backfire on the Lakers with Kobe not liking Gasol because he's slow and doesn't play good defense. Gasol's numbers should go down with better offensive options on the Lakers. Also, who knows how Gasol is going to react when Kobe starts gunning and Gasol isn't "The Man" anymore. He's going to be reduced to being a role player and most all-stars don't like that kind of a downgrade......look at how Shawn Marion reacts to being a role player. Plus, Pau has to learn the triangle offense and I have no idea how good his basketball IQ is and how quickly he'll be able to pick it up.

Gasol was averaging 3 apg, played on the spanish national team without needing to be the man. The dude is a euro, doesnt have "JJ problems" with his self image(wanna be the man). Euros are better team players, I'll bet gasol has pretty good BBall IQ, certainly better than kwame. One can hope they dont get along, but really Kobe just wants to win and so does Gasol. Memphis was a bunch of guys making stupid decisions and it drove Gasol nuts. Subtracting Kwame and adding Gasol is a major positive. Gee, ya think Kobe is sad to see kwame go? Ya think that odom will miss not taking as many shots? I dont.

 

[mojorizen7]

I swear some people on this board have never seen an NBA game that the Suns weren't featured.

I get that feeling too.(And i don't even have cable)

 

[jbeecham]

You mean the team went to the NBA Finals and beat the Spurs w/out homecourt advantage, two things the Suns haven't shown themselves to be capable of?

Saying the Lakers aren't a threat now that they added Pau Gasol while giving up less than nothing is pure myopia considering the they were already a bad matchup for us before the trade. I mean, that team ain't starting Luke Walton, Smush Parker, and Kwame Brown anymore. I swear some people on this board have never seen an NBA game that the Suns weren't featured.

Who said the Lakers aren't a threat? All I'm saying is it's silly for everyone to just assume the Lakers are going to be world beaters right away. Adding a major piece into your starting lineup and building a cohesiveness with the team can take time. All I'm saying is there's no guarantee it's going to work right away, I think there's a good chance it'll take some time before Gasol plays well in their system. I haven't seen anything about him being excited to play a reduced role.

As far as Gasol getting 3 apg, he's a good passing big man so he should get assists and he's getting double teamed a lot being the focal point of their offense so there should be open guys to pass to. No one is denying that, but on the Lakers, he's not going to get the ball on every possession because the offense runs through Kobe. He probably won't be double teamed every time he has the ball either.

Sorry that I'm not ready to crown them Western Conference Champions before Gasol has even played a game for them......

 

[JS22]

Yes

No.

Have you been watching the Suns in the playoffs recently? They were a miracle 3 pointer from Tim Thomas away from being bounced in the first round by a vastly inferior Lakers team. And I've given up all hope as far as them taking the Spurs beyond 6 games.

This team is going to hang around for another year or two and then Kerr / Sarver will blow it up. The Suns missed their chance the past few years, and it may be another 5 before they get another one if they can't put it together this year.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Nor am I, it will probably take a year for them to acclimate to each other to a championship level. Other than Rasheed and Drexler, I can't think of one huge midseason acquisition that led to a title in the NBA. I do think they're probably the second best team right now in the West and probably still worse than Detroit or Boston thanks to the experience factor. Next year though...

The problem with the Lakers now is that they all of a sudden are a huge matchup problem with the Big 3 of the West and in a seven game series matchups are absolutely huge. They have plenty of bigs to throw at Duncan and the speed/size combo at PG to keep up with and wear out Tony Parker. They have the elite backcourt player that always destroys Dallas' laughable perimeter defense along with now the inside play to make Dirk work on both ends. They have the bigs to sit on the block and carve up our atrocious interior defense and come playoff time thanks to Phil Jackson the Lakers probably will have the discipline to slow the game down. This trade was not good for the Suns or anyone in the West. Period.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Um they have shown they get up for big games to an extent, and the playoffs yeah I beleive they will show up. If you don't thats fine but no one gave them good chance the last few years either but yet, they are always right there. Sorry if a positive outlook doesn't fit the doom and gloom crap on here.

... they were always right there? You mean, they were eliminated before the NBA Finals, right? How is that 'being right there'? If that is where you want to be, then great - you got it. No need to change a thing.

 

[nashman]

I forgot this board was full of a bunch of know it alls. The guys who actually get paid to do this for a living have no clue what they are doing but all you guys know exactly what to do. That must be why your on here spewing your opinions as facts and anyone who doesn't agree is wrong or doesn't watch basketball. And all of those stupid guys like Kerr, Dantoni, Sarver they just make millions because they are all stupid and don't have the basketball knowledge of a bunch of messageboard fans. Right just wanted to make sure I had that straight.

 

[nashman]

And actually I did mean the team that got SMACKED 4-1 by the Pistons in the finals.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I forgot this board was full of a bunch of know it alls. The guys who actually get paid to do this for a living have no clue what they are doing but all you guys know exactly what to do.

Good point. Which is why the fact that the guys that DO get paid to do this for a living (NBA scouts, personnel people, media analysts) all universally agree that this makes the Lakers on of the most talented teams in the NBA and perhaps the best team on paper in the NBA makes your skepticism even more laughable.

And your point about the Lakers team got smacked, at this point I'd love just to see the opportunity to watch the Suns get beat down in the NBA Finals.

 

[nashman]

You need to learn to read, I didn't say it doesn't make them better I simply said things don't always work out like they do on paper. On paper they are big but that doesn't mean they are the best in the west.

 

[Griffin]

They were a miracle 3 pointer from Tim Thomas away from being bounced in the first round by a vastly inferior Lakers team.

And yet, somehow, miraculously, we managed to get all the way to the conference finals without Amare. How far did the Spurs ever get without Duncan? Remember when they lost to the Suns in the first round in 2000 without Duncan?

And I've given up all hope as far as them taking the Spurs beyond 6 games.

And still, the Suns were the only team in the league last season to even take the Spurs to 6 games. And we did that shorthanded too. Makes you wonder what the outcome would have been had the Suns were permitted to use all their players like the Spurs were. But a lot of people here already assume they know that outcome, even though the Suns have yet to play the Spurs at full strength in the playoffs.

 

[TucsonDevil]

I forgot this board was full of a bunch of know it alls. The guys who actually get paid to do this for a living have no clue what they are doing but all you guys know exactly what to do. That must be why your on here spewing your opinions as facts and anyone who doesn't agree is wrong or doesn't watch basketball. And all of those stupid guys like Kerr, Dantoni, Sarver they just make millions because they are all stupid and don't have the basketball knowledge of a bunch of messageboard fans. Right just wanted to make sure I had that straight.

You are starting to sound ridiculous. Just because we disagree, doesn't mean you need to start attacking me personally. And, btw, you are not the first person to call me a 'know-it-all'... my wife holds that distinction proudly.