This is about the Suns and mostly an eyeball test meaning I didn’t look anything up.
Would this year’s Suns be the first “offensive juggernaut” team to win a championship if they do?
I don’t have the actual stats but I think the past champions each had at least a top 10 defense.
Who else was a contender with “no defense” ?
Who says we won’t have a top 10 defense?
And the Nuggets didn’t have a top 10 defense last season, so you don’t have to go back very far for precedent.
Fellow Suns fan here. I don’t think they will have a defensive ranking in the top 10 for the season, but I do believe that they’re capable of it. We’ve seen Booker be a very good defender when locked in, and the same goes for Durant. I haven’t seen Beal enough to know what his defense looks like.
Not to mention that Frank Vogel has thrice coached teams with a top defensive in the last decade. So it’s not unreasonable to think that they could at least be above average in that area.
They could. Everyone just talks about their offense like it’s all they have.
With all due respect to “everyone”, they also say that Booker Beal and Durant all need the ball in their hands to do anything and there’s only one ball, so maybe “everyone” isn’t too bright
2021 Nets wouldve rolled the league for years if they stayed healthy
😂 most overrated team in history probably
They’re beating your team in 5 or 6
SSOL Suns
I didn’t immediately get what that meant but yes. Nash and Dirk Mavs, Nash’s suns, and Hardens rockets are the teams that came to my mind.
The nuggets weren’t a top 10 defense last season according to defensive rating. The last time before that was 2018 Warriors (ranked #11) and before that you have to go all the way back to 2001 Lakers who were ranked unusually low at #21. Even more odd than that, the 2000 Lakers were ranked #1.
They were not a top 10 Defense in the regular season but in the playoffs it seemed that way.
No but that’s a good point and they happened to win. I just would have guessed because they were no.1 throughout the season that they would have been a better defense. What were they ranked ?
I feel like that says more about the inconsistency of using defensive rating.
Or teams change year over year.
Only 3/7 guys on the team who played 1500+ minutes in 2000 also did so in 2001.
Green and Rice were gone. Harper and Fisher missed a combined 100 games. Guys like Rider, Fox, and the corpse of Horace Grant replaced a lot of those minutes and none of those guys were good defenders at that point in their careers.
I’m confused by this comment… Only 3 title teams have not had top 10 defenses according to defensive rating since 2000. That’s not inconsistent
No, the big gap between the 2002 and 2001 Lakers
Yeah but they played very stingy defense in the playoffs and were well choreographed in their rotations/communications/etc. Nuggets turned it on when it mattered and it’s clear Malone prepared them well
2017 Cavs