Suns @ Thunder Sunday game thread 4-2-2023

[AzStevenCal]

I don't know. The Mavs have lost 6 of their last 7 games.

Yeah they won a few big games right after the trade but since then they've gone 6-15.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah they won a few big games right after the trade but since then they've gone 6-15.

Overall, the NBA is crazy this season. I have no explanation, but I have trouble attributing it to parity.

 

[Phrazbit]

Overall, the NBA is crazy this season. I have no explanation, but I have trouble attributing it to parity.

I think teams have gone bonkers with babying injuries and the regular season as a whole is treated as a joke.

There are sooooo many games where teams throw in the towel via "rest" before the tip off, then there are boat loads of games where a team falls behind and good teams just flat out give up, decide not to burn their energy trying to comeback from 20 down.

The Bucks lost by 41 on their home court the other night... they're the title favorite and they got obliterated by a score that you used to only see the dregs of the league get whomped by.

That said, a lot of teams, especially in the West, are about to pay the butcher's bill for not taking the regular season more serious. For certain, the Mavs, Clippers, Pelicans and T'Wolves all thought of themselves as top 6 teams in the conference, at the moment there is a good chance that none of them will finish in those slots.

The Mavs though are a different story, they have made basically every wrong move possible over the last year. McGee was a mistake, Woods was a mistake, letting Brunson walk was a monumental mistake, trading for Kyrie has been a predictable train wreck. Their GM is incompetent, Kidd is a stubborn jackass who cannot accept blame for anything.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Do we really want the Warriors in the first round? Our D is suspect and they are on fire.

 

[Chaplin]

Do we really want the Warriors in the first round? Our D is suspect and they are on fire.

Our defense is suspect whenever ANYONE is on fire. The Warriors are just better at sustaining it for longer.

But again, we haven’t played them with KD so there are no absolutes.

 

[djm75]

We have no defense except for some occasional individual efforts

 

[Chaplin]

We have no defense except for some occasional individual efforts

The statistics disagree with you.

 

[djm75]

The statistics disagree with you.

Maybe, but what I see game after game after game is opponents raining wide open threes on us, or taking it to the rim and making easy layups, or throwing lobs, or getting tons of offensive rebounds, or all of the above.

 

[Mainstreet]

Do we really want the Warriors in the first round? Our D is suspect and they are on fire.

The Suns defense is not as bad as I thought. They were like 7th in the NBA and in 5th place for March.

I'm tired of worrying who the Suns play. If they want to win it all they are going to have to win every matchup they face.

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[Mainstreet]

I think teams have gone bonkers with babying injuries and the regular season as a whole is treated as a joke.

There are sooooo many games where teams throw in the towel via "rest" before the tip off, then there are boat loads of games where a team falls behind and good teams just flat out give up, decide not to burn their energy trying to comeback from 20 down.

The Bucks lost by 41 on their home court the other night... they're the title favorite and they got obliterated by a score that you used to only see the dregs of the league get whomped by.

That said, a lot of teams, especially in the West, are about to pay the butcher's bill for not taking the regular season more serious. For certain, the Mavs, Clippers, Pelicans and T'Wolves all thought of themselves as top 6 teams in the conference, at the moment there is a good chance that none of them will finish in those slots.

The Mavs though are a different story, they have made basically every wrong move possible over the last year. McGee was a mistake, Woods was a mistake, letting Brunson walk was a monumental mistake, trading for Kyrie has been a predictable train wreck. Their GM is incompetent, Kidd is a stubborn jackass who cannot accept blame for anything.

The last few weeks of the season always seem to have some unbelievable scores, but it's been that way the entire 2022-2023 season.

I guess a lot of teams watched how the Suns finished last season, including the Suns, and decided to go a different route.

Yesterday, I watched the Mavericks vs the Clippers game. Jimmy Butler was so clutch. Sometimes I guess you add a superstar and it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I'm not sure what the Mavs were thinking, paying McGee. They rolled the dice on Irving.

 

[Chaplin]

Maybe, but what I see game after game after game is opponents raining wide open threes on us, or taking it to the rim and making easy layups, or throwing lobs, or getting tons of offensive rebounds, or all of the above.

We do get a ton of steals and I'm wondering if that skews things a bit. I do see us giving up 3s at a crazy clip, but it has always appeared like that, even in last year's 64 win season. This may be a case of something looking worse than it is. Kind of like Deandre Ayton.

 

[Absolute Zero]

The Suns defense is not as bad as I thought. They were like 7th in the NBA and in 5th place for March.

I'm tired of worrying who the Suns play. If they want to win it all they are going to have to win every matchup they face.

Yep. Good points. Still will be a helluva challenge in the first round, again.

 

[Ronin]

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[AzStevenCal]

The Suns defense is not as bad as I thought. They were like 7th in the NBA and in 5th place for March.

I'm tired of worrying who the Suns play. If they want to win it all they are going to have to win every matchup they face.

Agreed. It's just not worth worrying about IMO. And don't forget, last year the majority of posters here would have picked Dallas as our best matchup no matter the round.

As for 3 point defense, it's something that most teams struggle with. Everytime I've checked the past few years we've been somewhere near the middle of the pack or better.

 

[Mainstreet]

Agreed. It's just not worth worrying about IMO. And don't forget, last year the majority of posters here would have picked Dallas as our best matchup no matter the round.

As for 3 point defense, it's something that most teams struggle with. Everytime I've checked the past few years we've been somewhere near the middle of the pack or better.

Also, I remember no one wanted to play the Lakers in the Finals run. It's more about how the Suns are playing rather than the opponent, at least if one is thinking championship.

Watching the Dallas-Miami game yesterday I never saw so many open 3-point shots so it's not just the Suns.

 

[Superbone]

The Suns defense is not as bad as I thought. They were like 7th in the NBA and in 5th place for March.

I'm tired of worrying who the Suns play. If they want to win it all they are going to have to win every matchup they face.

That's where I'm at.

 

[Muggz]

Line em up and shoot em down!
Does the order we send them home really matter?

 

[BirdGangThing]

lol if we "rested" KD and Book today to further screw the chances of Dattass missing the play in I wouldn't even be mad - them and the clippers man i don't know who I dislike the most

 

[nashman]

lol if we "rested" KD and Book today to further screw the chances of Dattass missing the play in I wouldn't even be mad - them and the clippers man i don't know who I dislike the most

Really? Dallas and Luka easily more hated than the Clips. I hate a lot of teams more than the clips honesty they are barely in the radar since they got rid of Pat Bev the rest of those guys are just blah…

 

[BirdGangThing]

Really? Dallas and Luka easily more hated than the Clips. I hate a lot of teams more than the clips honesty they are barely in the radar since they got rid of Pat Bev the rest of those guys are just blah…

Paul frickin George man I just can't stand him

 

[Mainstreet]

Monty thanks the Thunder for honoring his wife.

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[Mainstreet]

Sophie Cunningham is a good addition to the Suns pregame show on Bally Sports Arizona.

She provides some, fun, energy and knowledge to the show.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Timberwolves lose at home to the Trail Blazers. Again, the loss of Naz Reid has hurt the Wolves.

 

[Germz249]

Lets get it!! Going to my cave

 

[Ronin]

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