Game Day: Lakers (31-27) @ Suns (33-24), Sun 2/25/24

[carey]

Who were the 5 starters who all got 18 in that 2009 game?

My guess: Nash, Bell, Hill, Amare, Shaq? Or maybe it was J-Rich instead of Raja?

[carey]

Who were the 5 starters who all got 18 in that 2009 game?

My guess: Nash, Bell, Hill, Amare, Shaq? Or maybe it was J-Rich instead of Raja?

I was wrong. It happened in the beginning of the '09-'10 season and not end of the '08-'09 season so it was Nash, Barbosa, Hill, Amare, and Channing Frye.

[Mori Chu]

The '04-'10 run will just never be topped. Such wonderful, fun, awesome teams. Highlight of my Suns fandom.

[Split T]

What if we win a title? I do agree it’s the best run right now, but if we win a title, hard not to put that at the top.

[Kryptonic]

winning a title doesn’t equate out to exciting basketball. The Spurs proved that. There was nothing like the masterclass that Nash put on every night and how he took everyone up a notch just by being on the floor. Heck 92-93 went further than 7SOL suns.

[Split T]

I think winning is very exciting…I don’t care that much how we win

[Nodack]

I think winning cures most ills. People like winning. Winning is always more fun than losing. Almost all the team was new this year along with the coach. I think it’s hard to throw a bunch of guys together with a new coach and expect them to gel like they have been together a long time. I think I see steady improvement and the new new guys certainly don’t hurt. I don’t think us fans have developed a bond to the new Suns other than Booker yet. There is something to be said about going through the trenches together that builds strong bonds. The playoffs are the real war with the real trenches. Win a couple of series in the playoffs and I bet the fandom level goes up.

[The Bobster]

The '04-'10 run will just never be topped. Such wonderful, fun, awesome teams. Highlight of my Suns fandom.

Other would say the same for 1970-72 or 1976-83 or 1988-95. It all depends on your age. I enjoyed the Hornacek-KJ-EJ-Chambers-Barkley-Majerle years and the Nash-Stoudemire-Marion-Barbosa years, but my heart will always be with the Westphal-Davis-Adams-Buse-Heard-Robinson-DJ teams.

[The Bobster]

I think winning cures most ills. People like winning. Winning is always more fun than losing. Almost all the team was new this year along with the coach. I think it’s hard to throw a bunch of guys together with a new coach and expect them to gel like they have been together a long time. I think I see steady improvement and the new new guys certainly don’t hurt. I don’t think us fans have developed a bond to the new Suns other than Booker yet. There is something to be said about going through the trenches together that builds strong bonds. The playoffs are the real war with the real trenches. Win a couple of series in the playoffs and I bet the fandom level goes up.

Well, that's pretty much how things were in 1975-76 (Westphal, Adams, Sobers), 1988-89 (KJ, West, Chambers), 2004-05 (Nash, Richardson, Barbosa) and 2020-21 (Paul, Crowder) all of those teams made major changes and fit things together pretty quickly. The thing is when the owner pushes all the chips to the center of the table, there's a lot of pressure on the coaches to win right away. It's what got Paul Westphal fired when they acquired Barkley and the team started to lose ground in the mid-90's.

[In2ition]

The '04-'10 run will just never be topped. Such wonderful, fun, awesome teams. Highlight of my Suns fandom.

I agree with this. Those teams were a lot of fun to root for and be invested in. It was heartbreaking that it was systematically dismantled over the years, but they were a joy to root for. This addition isn't quite as endearing for whatever reason. Maybe it's just me and I'm getting too old, but I find myself turning off the tv often during games and just watching something else. They can be infuriating to watch, with just dumb play at times, and how it's essentially a whole different team, besides Book, since the Finals run. They just aren't as likeable to me.

[Split T]

I think part of it is how all-in we are. There doesn’t seem to be hope if this doesn’t work. It puts us all on edge and we overreact to bad stretches. I do shut the games off from time to time as well and I have to remind myself we are still a work in progress.

[virtual9mm]

I think winning cures most ills. People like winning. Winning is always more fun than losing. Almost all the team was new this year along with the coach. I think it’s hard to throw a bunch of guys together with a new coach and expect them to gel like they have been together a long time. I think I see steady improvement and the new new guys certainly don’t hurt. I don’t think us fans have developed a bond to the new Suns other than Booker yet. There is something to be said about going through the trenches together that builds strong bonds. The playoffs are the real war with the real trenches. Win a couple of series in the playoffs and I bet the fandom level goes up.

Well, that's pretty much how things were in 1975-76 (Westphal, Adams, Sobers), 1988-89 (KJ, West, Chambers), 2004-05 (Nash, Richardson, Barbosa) and 2020-21 (Paul, Crowder) all of those teams made major changes and fit things together pretty quickly. The thing is when the owner pushes all the chips to the center of the table, there's a lot of pressure on the coaches to win right away. It's what got Paul Westphal fired when they acquired Barkley and the team started to lose ground in the mid-90's.

It's been really, really hard to watch the team this season, especially with the slow start. I've had the most intense work year since I was 23 -- and I'm double that age now -- so there's a legit reason I haven't watched much this year. But even if I weren't so busy, I'm not sure how much I could have watched after the team mortgaged the next decade for two or three seasons of Durant. If this doesn't work, it could be the mid 2030s by the time we have a decent team again.

[In2ition]

I think part of it is how all-in we are. There doesn’t seem to be hope if this doesn’t work. It puts us all on edge and we overreact to bad stretches. I do shut the games off from time to time as well and I have to remind myself we are still a work in progress.

I think there is some truth to that. It might also be how frustrating it gets when they don't have a pg, and they can't seem to get it together when we were used to just finishing the game without the other team having a chance to come back during peak CP3 games. These games where they get up by 20 points never seem like a safe lead. Even being up by 10 with a minute left in the Lakers game, in the back of my mind I thought the Lakers still have a chance and the Suns could blow it. I have become a cynical Suns fan.

[Split T]

I think winning cures most ills. People like winning. Winning is always more fun than losing. Almost all the team was new this year along with the coach. I think it’s hard to throw a bunch of guys together with a new coach and expect them to gel like they have been together a long time. I think I see steady improvement and the new new guys certainly don’t hurt. I don’t think us fans have developed a bond to the new Suns other than Booker yet. There is something to be said about going through the trenches together that builds strong bonds. The playoffs are the real war with the real trenches. Win a couple of series in the playoffs and I bet the fandom level goes up.

Well, that's pretty much how things were in 1975-76 (Westphal, Adams, Sobers), 1988-89 (KJ, West, Chambers), 2004-05 (Nash, Richardson, Barbosa) and 2020-21 (Paul, Crowder) all of those teams made major changes and fit things together pretty quickly. The thing is when the owner pushes all the chips to the center of the table, there's a lot of pressure on the coaches to win right away. It's what got Paul Westphal fired when they acquired Barkley and the team started to lose ground in the mid-90's.

It's been really, really hard to watch the team this season, especially with the slow start. I've had the most intense work year since I was 23 -- and I'm double that age now -- so there's a legit reason I haven't watched much this year. But even if I weren't so busy, I'm not sure how much I could have watched after the team mortgaged the next decade for two or three seasons of Durant. If this doesn't work, it could be the mid 2030s by the time we have a decent team again.

This is where I disagree with a lot of suns fans. I don’t think the future is all that dire. We basically have the team we have for this year and the 2 after that. At that point we will have Book and Beal and up to 40ish million in cap space. We will have an owner willing to spend and that FA class is absolutely loaded. Not to mention we will have our own 2026 1st round pick. We will also have 2028, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033. Only 2027 and 2029 will still be due.

Maybe KD re-signs on a shorter term, cheaper deal. We can use our cap space to go out and add depth. Or maybe we simply have just dropped out of the 2nd apron territory and can now make trades. We’d have 3 1st round picks we can trade.

Yes I think it’s very likely the title window closes by 2026, but I fully expect them to be a good team through this decade.

[Split T]

I think part of it is how all-in we are. There doesn’t seem to be hope if this doesn’t work. It puts us all on edge and we overreact to bad stretches. I do shut the games off from time to time as well and I have to remind myself we are still a work in progress.

I think there is some truth to that. It might also be how frustrating it gets when they don't have a pg, and they can't seem to get it together when we were used to just finishing the game without the other team having a chance to come back during peak CP3 games. These games where they get up by 20 points never seem like a safe lead.

Have we blown a huge lead recently? I’ve missed a number of games so it’s possible, but that doesn’t seem like it’s been a problem the last month or so. I do agree that a lot of people are used to watching a different style so when things go wrong it’s easy to blame the change in attack. It’s easy to say, we didn’t have this problem with CP3, but we did have other problems. This current offense is better than any CP3 led offense ever was.

[In2ition]

I think part of it is how all-in we are. There doesn’t seem to be hope if this doesn’t work. It puts us all on edge and we overreact to bad stretches. I do shut the games off from time to time as well and I have to remind myself we are still a work in progress.

I think there is some truth to that. It might also be how frustrating it gets when they don't have a pg, and they can't seem to get it together when we were used to just finishing the game without the other team having a chance to come back during peak CP3 games. These games where they get up by 20 points never seem like a safe lead.

Have we blown a huge lead recently? I’ve missed a number of games so it’s possible, but that doesn’t seem like it’s been a problem the last month or so. I do agree that a lot of people are used to watching a different style so when things go wrong it’s easy to blame the change in attack. It’s easy to say, we didn’t have this problem with CP3, but we did have other problems. This current offense is better than any CP3 led offense ever was.

Yes, in the Laker game we had a 20 point lead and it didn't take too long for it to be a 2 point lead. I agree that the offense is better, and we as a team are playing faster, but these leads never feel total secure. It just felt if the Suns had a lead in the 4th with CP3 on the floor, the door was shut and the game was over.

[Split T]

I think the advance in scoring in general is the reason 20 point leads aren’t the same anymore. I missed the Laker game though. I checked the score when it was a 2 point game near the end of the 3rd and then saw we won by 10, so much better 4th Q performance.

It was the 21-22 season I believe where we went 47-0 when leading after the 3rd Q…53-0 counting the playoffs.

I think that was due to a few reasons..


1. CP3 - I would clarify that it was CP3 specifically and not just having a traditional pg. I don’t think some run of the mill pg changes things.

2. Defense - that 21-22 team was ranked 3rd defensively. We were a phenomenal defensive team and combined with our reliable midrange game and control of the clock and possessions, it was very hard to make up ground on us.

This current team is more likely to give up a lead, but they are also more likely to do something like they did against Sacramento or Dallas and come roaring back or absolutely bury a team. There’s a give and take and I think it’s easy to focus on the negative portions of the give and take.

[LazarusLong]

The '04-'10 run will just never be topped. Such wonderful, fun, awesome teams. Highlight of my Suns fandom.

Other would say the same for 1970-72 or 1976-83 or 1988-95. It all depends on your age. I enjoyed the Hornacek-KJ-EJ-Chambers-Barkley-Majerle years and the Nash-Stoudemire-Marion-Barbosa years, but my heart will always be with the Westphal-Davis-Adams-Buse-Heard-Robinson-DJ teams.

The 75-76 team, with a healthy Perry and Heard freeing Adams to be a high-post center should have lasted longer. The addition of Heard, and the elevation of Sobers to starter (Van Arsdale was hurt) clicked in late season. Keith Erickson was a great sixth man who could guard perimeter players. When they drafted Lee, they added another solid player. But Heard got injured and Perry's back betrayed him, leading to early retirement. The promise of 75-76 disintegrated in 76-77 ...

[specialsauce]

Old heads

[BKinSJC]

The '04-'10 run will just never be topped. Such wonderful, fun, awesome teams. Highlight of my Suns fandom.

Other would say the same for 1970-72 or 1976-83 or 1988-95. It all depends on your age. I enjoyed the Hornacek-KJ-EJ-Chambers-Barkley-Majerle years and the Nash-Stoudemire-Marion-Barbosa years, but my heart will always be with the Westphal-Davis-Adams-Buse-Heard-Robinson-DJ teams.

The 75-76 team, with a healthy Perry and Heard freeing Adams to be a high-post center should have lasted longer. The addition of Heard, and the elevation of Sobers to starter (Van Arsdale was hurt) clicked in late season. Keith Erickson was a great sixth man who could guard perimeter players. When they drafted Lee, they added another solid player. But Heard got injured and Perry's back betrayed him, leading to early retirement. The promise of 75-76 disintegrated in 76-77 ...

Very true. That team that beat the Warriors and pushed the Celtics in the championship should've had more good playoff runs in it. But even though the none of the starters were particularly old, even for the time (Heard and Perry were 27, Van Arsdale and Erickson off the bench were 32 and 31, respectively) they never had another healthy season.