Around the League: Week 2 11/3-11/9

[carey]

Still in Denver. I'll edit the thread with the usual info when I get back to my laptop tomorrow.

[carey]

NBA names Chris Bosh (East) and Klay Thompson (West) as its first Players of the Week.

[Cap]

Thompson? I'd have thought Curry.

[Superbone]

Thompson? I'd have thought Curry.

Why? Did you see Thompson's ridiculous stats as well as a game winner?

[da_suns_fan]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

Grizzlies are 4-0. The west is BRUTAL.

[da_suns_fan]

IT the balance between East and West even worse than last year?

I know A LITTLE about soccer but they have different "leagues" that you go rotate in and out of depending on how good you are. Maybe the NBA should look into adopting something like this?

[SDC]

the suns could lose the next 3 or 4 games vs memphis, sacramento and GSW and finish with 3-4 record.

[SDC]

let's see if suns can beat undefeated teams memphis and GSW. memphis, sactown, warriors are all suns home games.

[Ring_Wanted]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

Grizzlies are 4-0. The west is BRUTAL.

I don't know why so many thought Memphis would struggle. As long as they are healthy they are real threats to SAS, OKC and LAC. Rock solid. They almost miss the playoffs last season only because of injuries to a number of guys, including Marc of course, but also Allen and Conley.

[INFORMER]

After being awful in his debut, Chandler Parsons has scored 20 points or more in his last 3 games and has amassed a PER of 21.72.

[INFORMER]

I don't know why so many thought Memphis would struggle.

Lackluster wings, Randolph is getting older, Gasol's production is inconsistent, and the overall strength of the West.

[INFORMER]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

They have some great wins early on (Portland, LAC).

Darren Collison > Isaiah Thomas

[Ring_Wanted]

I don't know why so many thought Memphis would struggle.

Lackluster wings, Randolph is getting older, Gasol's production is inconsistent, and the overall strength of the West.

I look at them like this. elite inside outside game. Conley. Stablished, with IQ and veteran savvy. Adept role players-backups. To me health is their real issue, but that's something you can say about every team in the L. If they had a strong presence at SF instead of a committee, they'd be real contenders.

[Ring_Wanted]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

They have some great wins early on (Portland, LAC).

Darren Collison > Isaiah Thomas

Probably not, but he is defending really well, and when you have Cousins and Gay delivering, that's more than 50% of what you want out of your PG. Stauskas is struggling, by the way, but shooters without great athleticism need time to adjust their legs.

Speaking of IT3, have you seen the lackluster effort on D I was talking about? He is also playing too much of one on one right now, but I think that's because of his role as microwave off the bench, and obviously not a problem when it wins games. Again, be careful Gerald.

[SDC]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

They have some great wins early on (Portland, LAC).

Darren Collison > Isaiah Thomas

last year, collison replaced bledsoe in LAC. they did okay.

collison = bledsoe

[SDC]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

They have some great wins early on (Portland, LAC).

Darren Collison > Isaiah Thomas

it does make IT look bad, doesnt it?

[Beetlejuice]

Collison has been ok to good player his entire career.

Isaiah Thomas suffers from eye test judgment. "He looks way too small and he must be terrible on D." I`ll wait for few numbers(suns numbers) before making real judgements "but he sure looks small and sometimes lost on D" and it causes immediate bias even from me and I do like him. Its obviously brutal to compare him to bledsoe in on and off numbers I`ll put some weight into Off-def rating instead.

I did watch SAC @ DEN game yesterday and i came away unimpressed in both teams. Cousins might be better this year than previously, but with that level of production from SG and increased usage from Gay they are going to seen some losses soon. Then we may look again is Cousins really improved.

Clips and Nuggets did definitely NOT play their A game vs Kings.

[Beetlejuice]

Its earl but.....is Sacramento good?

They have some great wins early on (Portland, LAC).

Darren Collison > Isaiah Thomas

last year, collison replaced bledsoe in LAC. they did okay.

collison = bledsoe

Bledsoe has been this year`s suns best player with Alex Len. So suns best player = Collison, is just brutal comparison.

Edit: McdoOut ?! Opposite of the herd i guess

I`m the lead bull of that herd, thinking we might be in a fight for 1st seed with San Antonio and Golden State.

[Mori Chu]

I just don't think we can be THAT high in the standings (~#1 seed) without a strong interior defense or any offensive big men. Basically with a very shaky PF/C rotation overall. I like a lot of our guys but it isn't a strong part of our roster night in and night out.

[Beetlejuice]

I just don't think we can be THAT high in the standings (~#1 seed) without a strong interior defense or any offensive big men. Basically with a very shaky PF/C rotation overall. I like a lot of our guys but it isn't a strong part of our roster night in and night out.

I know my projections are Laker fan territory, but "you" got to have at least "one of those".

I`m not advocating that suns are favorites to grab nr.1 seed, but i do like our chances and i dont think we absolutely need to be awesome at PF and C to get it. If Len keeps standing tall in right spots and Goran "wakes up/is used correctly" i feel good about our probability for nr.1 seed . Bledsoe-Tucker-Len just makes me smile when i think about our potential on D.
Im not worried about our offence one bit, Hornacek is a wizard there(psychological wizard).

But that said I feel spurs are 3x more likely to grab it than us. This is how i feel on average :

Spurs 58, Suns 56, Warriors 56, Clippers 55, Rockets-Maverics-Grizzlies 53, Thunder-Trailblazers 48

Then I mostly feel like Pelicans 38, Nuggets 36, Wolves-Kings-Jazz 35, Lakers 18.

Made a Lakers under bet (31,5) which makes me feel good ! Almost as good as suns over (42,5).

Since i got so much belief in suns I made a side bet for Hornacek being coach of the year. Suns 56 wins should get him that.

Put some money where my mouth is !