Welcome to the first “By the Numbers” of 2008.
It’s been exactly a month since I last had a blog entry but I promise it’s for a good reason. My wife had a baby boy halfway through the month and I’ve been trying to keep up with three kids instead of two! Needless to say, I’ve been adding things over the past few weeks – but instead of counting points, rebounds and blocked shots, I have been counting dirty diapers, how many hours between feedings and the number of times I wake up in the middle of the night. Now that the baby is a couple of weeks old, I feel like I can get back into keeping track of Phoenix Suns numbers again.
If I told you the following, you would probably think the Suns were guaranteed a spot in the playoffs and would most likely end up with at least a three or a four seed come playoff time:
- 1st in the Pacific Division (3.5 games ahead of the Lakers)
- 1st in the Western Conference (tied with the New Orleans Hornets)
- 3rd best record in the NBA
But if you look at the rest of the standings in the Western Conference, things look a little scarier:
- The top eight teams in the Western Conference are within 5.5 games of each other (as opposed to a 17 game difference in the Eastern Conference)
- Portland is only 1.5 games out of first place in their division and if the playoffs started today, they would not be playing
- Golden State is nine games over .500 and is in the 8th position in the conference. By comparison, New Jersey is seven games under .500 and holds in the 8th position in the Eastern Conference. If Golden State were in the Eastern Conference, they would have the 4th best record.
What does all of this mean? Mostly it shows how good the teams are that Phoenix has to play on a regular basis. And it shows how any given team could take over the lead spot in the Western Conference with a good run at the end of the season. Who ever would have thought at the beginning of the season that San Antonio and Dallas would be on a possible crash course to play each other in the first round of the playoffs?
I’ll get more into the Suns’ numbers through the rest of the season and playoffs. I have several questions that people have sent over the past few months and I’ll be working on those as well. If you have any kind of stats questions you would like me to research, feel free to e-mail me at blog@suns.com.
GO SUNS!!
Comments
JOHN S. - SURPRISE AZ
Good but not great, sometimes hot, but mostly luke warm, scrappy but not tough. Thats our Suns and were stuck with it. We will be lucky to get by the first round, see you next year, after some major moves by Kerr, in the off season.
Lolita - Peoria
I agree, it looks a little bit scary now that we are halfway to the playoffs... Coach D-Antoni needs to work on the team's defense, rebounds, etc. Sometimes, I think it's psychological. If the team knows the opponent is good, Utah, Mavericks, Spurs(or bad), they tend to un-focus... Guess what is needed is more practice and more practice. This is the only way the players can boost they ego and confidence and finally get that championship ring. They have what it takes to be champions but consistency (accuracy and precision) is the only way to do that.... Go champions, we love Phoenix Suns!!!!
andrew - california
yeah i'm with john suns are my team but i don't know. It doesn't look good for us, with all the competition in the west, just try to draft a big man in the upcoming draft. Were not going to the championship i'm done watching suns games steve trade somebody please
Yasser - Houston
I just wish the suns can get a GOOD CENTER, not a power forward/center like Amare. If they do that, then Amare can be his self, a power forward, and then they'd have much better defense, and defensive rebounds, but also second-chance offense through offensive rebounds. I hope they'll one day do that!
alen k - indianapolis, in
i like suns...my favorites since the C34 and KJ..Now love Nash, matrix and stats... We have some ups and downs but this is just a game...we are testing and getting our defence in place.. if we need stops we will do it and comes playoffs, spurs better be prepared...
This year, its all ours...
manny - north dekta
the suns are doing enough too be a top seed in the playoffs. when playoffs begin they will be ready. their just waiting for the playoffs people
Vhids - Philippines
I agree!!! go Suns!..Nash!! for three time MVP.....Go for the championship ring!!!!
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