Whats Stopping us from having a season like last years Phoenix Suns

[Kevin OConnor]

Green/Green or Tucker - I'd stick with Jeff
Olynyk/Morris - IDC what you guys say im sticking with KO
Sully/Plumlee - I'd give it a tie

That's your problem. And Frye was their starter at PF, not Morris. And Frye is significantly better than KO. Plumlee is a great defensive player. Tucker is better than Jeff Green for his defense, hustle, and rebounding. Green brings better scoring, but you don't need that when Bledsoe, Frye, Dragic are your top 3 guys.

Actually, Frye was not one of their top 3 guys.  Gerald Green and Markieff Morris were both significantly higher scorers.  Frye's definitely a potent offensive role player for his floor spacing, but he's not a scorer, and his presence isn't what allowed Phoenix to go with a non-scorer like Tucker - it was the dual PGs plus the abundance of bench scorers.

And Jeff Green's a good defender too - just because Tucker defended him well doesn't mean that Tucker's the more valuable player.

They were the top 3 guys in the starting lineup. I thought that was implied. You just further made my point if we're including bench players like Morris and G. Green.

[D.o.s.]

Talent. Specifically shooting talent but also the blend of talent. Its not going to happen.

This is very understandable but how many shooters did Suns REALLY have other than bledsoe and Dragic? Bradley, KO, Green, Thorton (thorton is PJ tucker without penetration) comes pretty [dang] close

Gerald Green shot 40% from deep last year.

[Celtics4ever]

the answer is talent.  But I hope I am wrong on it.

Zeller, Anthony and Faverani is better than what we had last year at center.

Humph was decent to good last year, not seeing this one happen.  Though again, I hope I am wrong.

[D.o.s.]

I don't think we'll be 23 wins better than we were last year. Do you?

ESPN, and pretty much everybody else, didn't think the Suns were going to be that good last year.  That's kind of the point.

Take last year's Celtics.  This year....

Rondo will be better.
Sully and KO should be better.
Zeller, Anthony and Faverani is better than what we had last year at center.
Smart will be better than Pressey.
Turner will be better than Wallace.

Will any of that show up in a better record?  Who knows.

Mike

Well what exactly defines "a season like last year's Phoenix Suns"? Is it the record? Is it being in a race for 8th? Is it approaching the bottom quarter of the league in attendance?

[Csfan1984]

I don't think we'll be 23 wins better than we were last year. Do you?

ESPN, and pretty much everybody else, didn't think the Suns were going to be that good last year.  That's kind of the point.

Take last year's Celtics.  This year....

Rondo will be better.
Sully and KO should be better.
Zeller, Anthony and Faverani is better than what we had last year at center.
Smart will be better than Pressey.
Turner will be better than Wallace.

Will any of that show up in a better record?  Who knows.

Mike

Well what exactly defines "a season like last year's Phoenix Suns"? Is it the record? Is it being in a race for 8th? Is it approaching the bottom quarter of the league in attendance?

The questions bring up a good point.  We shouldn't want to be the Suns.

[Donoghus]

Ummm...talent?

[Who]

Center position

[Timdawgg]

Nothing...they will do better than the Suns last year!

[KGs Knee]

Well what exactly defines "a season like last year's Phoenix Suns"? Is it the record? Is it being in a race for 8th? Is it approaching the bottom quarter of the league in attendance?

 I think the sentiment the OP was trying to evoke was one of over-achievement.  Most prognosticators felt the Suns would be one of the worst teams in the league last season.  They obviously were not.  Phoenix made some major strides last season, and a lot of that can be attributed to the growth of their young talent.  Phoenix did also get significant contributions from their experienced vets though too.

In order for Boston to replicate that, I think we'd need to see Sully and KO become more consistent outside shooters and for their overall games to grow.  Boston would also need notable performances from Rondo, Green and Bradley (vets).  Stylistically, it won't be the same, but the results could be similar.  And if he C's can approach Phoenix's win total from last year they might even make the playoffs in the East.  But mostly, I'm interested in player-growth.

Boston is at a point where they need their youth to improve and build up trade value (if nothing else).  They don't need to tank for more unproven rookies.  Another bad season would mean our assets continue to have marginal worth.  That has to change for the next jump to be made.

[Vox_Populi]

I don't think we'll be 23 wins better than we were last year. Do you?

ESPN, and pretty much everybody else, didn't think the Suns were going to be that good last year.  That's kind of the point.

Take last year's Celtics.  This year....

Rondo will be better.
Sully and KO should be better.
Zeller, Anthony and Faverani is better than what we had last year at center.
Smart will be better than Pressey.
Turner will be better than Wallace.

Will any of that show up in a better record?  Who knows.

Mike

Well what exactly defines "a season like last year's Phoenix Suns"? Is it the record? Is it being in a race for 8th? Is it approaching the bottom quarter of the league in attendance?

I think it means being one of the top 11, maybe 10 teams in the NBA. Which would be good, considering the West usually has more than half.

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

I don't think we'll be 23 wins better than we were last year. Do you?

ESPN, and pretty much everybody else, didn't think the Suns were going to be that good last year.  That's kind of the point.

Take last year's Celtics.  This year....

Rondo will be better.
Sully and KO should be better.
Zeller, Anthony and Faverani is better than what we had last year at center.
Smart will be better than Pressey.
Turner will be better than Wallace.

Will any of that show up in a better record?  Who knows.

Mike

Well what exactly defines "a season like last year's Phoenix Suns"? Is it the record? Is it being in a race for 8th? Is it approaching the bottom quarter of the league in attendance?

I think it means being one of the top 11, maybe 10 teams in the NBA. Which would be good, considering the West usually has more than half.

Maybe the word "like" wasn't the best choice. What I was referring to was "similar'. By "similar"  I am referring to going into every game with a legitimate chance to compete. Phoenix Suns are still nothing close to a power house but free agents will notice their progression. Its clear that their are missing roughly two more pieces. With that said, forget wins and record similarities. The point I was making  is if we could go into games and compete against the best and display are team is only about two pieces away from being possible contenders because honestly you put a center and a Aldridge type player with our current squad with KO and Sully as backups, we deff can contend with the best.

[mgent]

Talent. Specifically shooting talent but also the blend of talent. Its not going to happen.

This is very understandable but how many shooters did Suns REALLY have other than bledsoe and Dragic? Bradley, KO, Green, Thorton (thorton is PJ tucker without penetration) comes pretty [dang] close

Gerald Green shot 40% from deep last year.

Yeah, not to mention he made 2.5 per game.  That's basically Ray Allen level.  He was 4th in 3P made last season behind only Curry, Thompson, and Lillard.  Tucker and Marcus Morris spaced the floor as well.  Oh yeah, and then you've got Channing Frye who is second among bigs behind Kevin Love.  Quick tally:  Phoenix had 3 excellent 3P shooters and 3 good ones, Boston has 4 good ones.   Phoenix was able to have 4 3P shooters on the court at the same for the entire 48 minutes, whereas Boston is probably never going to have that.

The Morris brothers are better than most people think.  So is Miles Plumlee.  Dragic at 20 and 6 on 51% shooting/41% 3PT is shooting up the top 10 PG list pretty quickly.  They added Barbosa in the second half of the season for even more penetration/shooting (who I forgot to add in when counting 3PT shooters).  They just had a really solid 9-man rotation with a varied attack.

[CapnDunks]

Bradley shot 40%(39.5) from 3 last season. Rondo will look 10x better in a non-tank season and since he's healthier. Rondo is going to make Zeller look GOOD. Olynyk, Bradley and Sullinger still have upside. Smart will at worst be high energy and play D as 3rd guard.

There's a huge range for how good they could be, but I think they have a very good shot to make the playoffs as 8th seed. I don't think a 2014 Suns-ish season is out of the question, a LOT of things would have to go right.

[Celtics4ever]

Bradley shot 40%(39.5) last season. Rondo will look 10x better in a non-tank season and since he's healthier. Rondo is going to make Zeller look GOOD. Olynyk, Bradley and Sullinger still have upside.

All a team has to do is play zone against it.   Jeff and AB have showed some skill at shooting.   Rondo has not.   Sully is not a stretch four at .27% three point land shooting.  I think Zeller will surpise some and I hope all these guys improve.   

Drago might be better than anyone we have on the team folks.

[D.o.s.]

Bradley shot 40%(39.5) from 3 last season. Rondo will look 10x better in a non-tank season and since he's healthier. Rondo is going to make Zeller look GOOD. Olynyk, Bradley and Sullinger still have upside. Smart will at worst be high energy and play D as 3rd guard.

There's a huge range for how good they could be, but I think they have a very good shot to make the playoffs as 8th seed. I don't think a 2014 Suns-ish season is out of the question, a LOT of things would have to go right.

Bradley shot less than half as many three pointers as G. Green did last year.