Suns over 43.5 minus 15 cents

I am primarily interested in money. I have been fallowing the Suns on 2 Suns blog steadily for a long time. My honest opinion of the Suns chances this season would sound like Sci Fi but I think after a few weeks the people who do not play the Suns almost every game are going to be very unhappy.
 
By all descriptions so far Bledsoe is in the best shape of his llife. He has Isaiah Thomas who was very affective with the Kings backing him up. Gpran Dragic now has his younger brother Zoran backing him up as shooting guards. Descriptions of Zoran include,great shot very good defender and tireless. Len is now 270 and moving well. Last season he could not play till late in the season and Plumlee a rookie ran out of gas and Frye had to play out of position. Not this year. Frye is gone and while I like the guy he was too old for this team. The 2 Morris brothers worked out steadily last 2 months and have gotten well paying long term contracts. The Suns last year started out a top defensive team. When Bledsoe went down that had to end because Goran could not play point guard and shooting guard in a complicated structure. Coach has said good defense is back. The Suns are now essentially a young good shooting team that is fast and play good defense with a great back court They have a good coach and a lot of talent and the way the last season ended bothers all of them. This team is a huge improvement on last year and deep enough so 1 injury can not stop them. So far I believe they have improved more than any other team I have read about.. Now we will see if they can perform as well as I expect. If they can---well in baseball they remind me of Baltimore. GL
 
over 44 (+105)...

+850 to win their division, Clippers are the favorites....I am eyeing both bets...
 
Tuck,

I like it as well, but not for the younger brother but for the addition of Thomas. When bledsoe was hurt Goran had to play a ton of minutes, really didn't have any kind of backup to run the 2nd unit. now a healthy bledsoe and a guy who can score and run a 2nd unit in thomas really adds to their depth and it allows them to play the pace they want. Don't like that Frye is gone, one of the Morris twins really needs to step up and fill that role...they wont surprise teams this year but if they stay healthy 50 could be reachable..
 
I'm not sure anyone in the NBA thinks Thomas knows how to play winning basketball. I like him though. The West had a lot of bad teams last year like the Kings, Jazz, Pelicans, and Lakers. Lakers will be improved and the Pelicans will have a shot at winning 50 games. So there won't be as many gimmie type games and no one is sleeping on this team. I can't buy into comments like Len being in good shape or the brothers working out hard. Len being hurt is a given and the brothers are average NBA talents at best. This team goes where Dragic takes it and hopefully he stays healthy for this run. Team ran flat and couldn't win games when it mattered most last season.
 
k J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Will Shavlik Randolph play a bigger, or possibly a different role on the Suns this season? Tweet Share Share 5 Comments It happens almost every year. There is usually one player who seemingly comes out of nowhere and ends up playing a bigger role on the Phoenix Suns than analysts and fans ever thought possible. Last year that player was a projected third-string center; a second-year "rookie" who registered only 55 minutes of playing time in his first season...Miles Plumlee. I don't need to tell you how that story played out. Miles exceeded even the loftiest of expectations last year to become the starting center, and a fan favorite in Phoenix. Nobody expected any of this to happen. Could a similar story emerge this season? Shavlik Randolph is probably the most overlooked player on the Phoenix Suns roster. On a team that is loaded with top-end talent, quality role players, and promising young rookies, Randolph is one of only a few veteran players who doesn't seem to have a clearly defined role as of yet, or a guaranteed spot in the rotation. But could that change? Shavlik's Arrival Late last season, Shavlik first arrived in Phoenix after the Suns waived Slava Kravtsov on March 1st, in order to sign Randolph to the roster as a back up center. Back then, Shavlik was signed to provide some extra depth at the center position, and his ability to rebound. Ryan McDonough, who was the assistant GM in Boston when Shavlik played for the Celtics in 2012-13, was obviously impressed enough with his performance during his limited minutes that he decided to bring him to Phoenix as a free agent. Suns president Lon Babby talked about that connection and a few others after Randolph was signed. "Ryan knew him from Boston, as did Mike Logabardi. And we were careful in the moves we didn't take at the trade deadline. But in his case, he had a relationship with P.J. Tucker; they grew up together in Raleigh...We felt comfortable that he would be welcomed here, and he sure has been" Babby then went on to describe what he brings to the team. "He's a terrific rebounder. He's a veteran. I think we felt like we needed some veteran presence there. So it was a very positive move, and I think he's going to help us out down the stretch." Shavlik only played in 14 games last season. Although he didn't play poorly, he certainly didn't have much of an impact either...Not that much was expected from him behind players like Miles Plumlee, Channing Frye, and Alex Len. Randolph's Return With a contract that would only be guaranteed if the Suns chose to keep him past the July 17th deadline, most assumed the Suns would release him. But they didn't. Instead, the Suns chose to keep Randolph and guarantee his contract for the 2014-15 season with a $1.22 million salary. This seemed to indicate that the Suns viewed Randolph as being someone they thought could help contribute to the team in at least some respect this coming season. Did the Suns think he could actually be a part of the rotation, or was he just insurance in case of an injury to Plumlee or Len? Having already lost Channing Frye to free agency, it seemed the latter was more likely. I caught up with Shavlik during the Suns media day to ask him about what he's been working on over the off-season, and what he thought his role would be on this year's team. "I tried to work on my outside shot a little bit more." Randolph continued, "I tried to keep my conditioning up and work on some back to the basket stuff and some outside range shooting." Shavlik also mentioned that he wasn't satisfied with his overall shape and conditioning last season. "I felt like I wasn't in as good of condition when I came in last year." He continued, "It was circumstantial because I got hurt (while playing) in China." I did notice he seemed a little leaner than last season, not that he was in bad shape before. But, it did look like and sound like he'd been taking his potential role on the team seriously. "I was thrilled to death when they brought me back," he said. "This was a place I wanted to be a part of. It was one of the most fun (times) I've had in my eight years in the league. I look forward to trying to build on that this season." I then asked Shavlik what he thought his role would be on the team this year. He responded, "I'm a guy that can play both the four and the five and just fit in wherever I can." He continued, "If Alex or Miles get in foul trouble...If they need someone to spell the four I can do it, if they need someone to spell the five I can do it." This would probably be the end of the story if I hadn't watched the Suns' scrimmage in Flagstaff on Saturday. Shavlik's Surprising Play Dave King, Jim Coughenhour, and I took a road trip to watch the game, in what would be our first look at the new team. On the way up north, we all talked about who we were looking forward to watching, and our predictions about who we thought would have the most surprising performance this year. In other words, who would be this year's Miles Plumlee of the intra-squad scrimmage? We all had our predictions--Alex Len, Archie Goodwin, T.J. Warren, etc...But who would actually have the most surprising performance when it was all said and done was still anyone's guess. When we first arrived at the Skydome and began watching the players before the scrimmage, I remarked to Dave how I had been watching Randolph warming up behind the arc and how he kept draining shot after shot. In fact, I even tweeted it. One thing of note is that Shavlik Randolph has been nailing jumpers from above arc during war ups, 1 after the other. pic.twitter.com/9kkvLi1rcn — BrightSideoftheSun (@BrightSideSun) October 4, 2014 Randolph wasn't kidding when he said he had been working on his outside shot this off-season, he looked almost automatic. But still...this was only warm-ups, and Randolph had only hit one three-point shot in his entire eight-year NBA career. When Randolph entered the game, I noticed him hanging around the arc on offense...that was certainly different from last year. His first shot was also a three, and he nailed it. He also got inside for a few more baskets, grabbed a bunch of rebounds, and hit another three before it was all said and done. Randolph ended up going two-for-two from beyond the arc, while scoring 13 points in all...along with a team high 9 rebounds. Nobody saw that coming. So Now What? Of course, this was only a scrimmage. You cannot take anything you see in a scrimmage as an indication of expected performance during the season. Everyone is playing loose, rotations are all over the place, and nothing counts. It's the perfect time and place to experiment without repercussions. However, with Randolph talking about working on his shot as his main focus during the off-season, and the way he looked in warm-ups and the scrimmage, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could get a chance to play this season in a new role. So, could he end up being this year's Miles Plumlee, and playing a major role with the team? No. Even Shavlik himself understands that his role will be much more limited than that. As he told me at Suns' media day, "I know that there are two centers ahead of me that they want to develop, young centers that have the ability to be elite." He continued, "It's the same thing as last year, I just have to stay ready...Whether I play or I don't play, I just have to keep a good veteran presence and a good attitude in the locker room and when my number's called to be ready to go out and do what I do." But, if he does get a chance to at least crack the rotation as a back-up four/five...in order to provide spacing, help rebound, or complement certain line-ups, he may just surprise some people with the improvements he's made to his game. Regardless of what happens, you can bet that Shavlik will be ready to help in whatever way he is needed. Small_brightsideofthesun.com.minimal More from Bright Side Of The Sun Phoenix Suns deals with Bledsoe and Morris twins well timed with announcement of new TV deal that begins in two seasons Phoenix Suns Scrimmage Notes: Where Bled killed it on court and Shav showed off range P.J. Tucker emcees the Phoenix Suns Rookie Dance-Off 2014-2015 Phoenix Suns Season Preview: Playmakers are three guards...and a power forward Photo Gallery: Phoenix Suns Intra-Squad Scrimmage Video Highlights of Saturday's Phoenix Suns Intra-Squad scrimmage Tweet Share Share 5 Comments Latest News #SUNSRANK: Party Time. Excellent! Let's Do This... Video Highlights of Saturday's Scrimmage TV Deal to triple, raising salary cap by 50%?
 
Len being hurt is a given. Interesting. I was under the impression that the Suns had one of the best medical staffs in the NBA. I would be surprised if Len was never hurt but I guess we will see.
 
I'm not sure anyone in the NBA thinks Thomas knows how to play winning basketball. I like him though. The West had a lot of bad teams last year like the Kings, Jazz, Pelicans, and Lakers. Lakers will be improved and the Pelicans will have a shot at winning 50 games. So there won't be as many gimmie type games and no one is sleeping on this team. I can't buy into comments like Len being in good shape or the brothers working out hard. Len being hurt is a given and the brothers are average NBA talents at best. This team goes where Dragic takes it and hopefully he stays healthy for this run. Team ran flat and couldn't win games when it mattered most last season.


Because he played for the kings? he is going to play in an environment that wants him to play his style.. kings couldnt wait to move on from him...

The point of the thread is about the over/under number of wins, not weather a team can win games when it matters the most (getting into playoffs)....
in the heart of the schedule their number 2 guy guys down for 32 games and then took about 2 weeks to go the chemistry going.., with the addiion of thomas' scoring and passing ability i wouldnt be surprised with a 3 guard lineup but more importantly they can play one of them on he second unit and not miss a beat.
one of the brothers only needs to hit down some stretch 4 jumpshots.....

again purpose of the thread,, can they win over 44 games,, no the playoffs, the championship not even their conference ,, lets try to stay on topic..which is over or under 44 wins...
Kings have gotten worse, or have not gotten better, jazz, worse, pelicans have great potential but their coach will fuck it up, lakers might be improved, not by much , wolves got worse..

again lets stay on point... the over under...
 
Back
Top