On the ESPN daily show, First Take, Stephen A. Smith talked about the Phoenix Suns and what they can do in the western conference.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!.@stephenasmith believes the Suns are going to be a "major problem" in the NBA this season:
"You can make a legitimate argument that they should be the favorites coming out of the West." pic.twitter.com/rpWucXNksx
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 18, 2023
First Take host Molly Qerim asked, “How big of a problem with the Suns be?” Stephen A. Smith responded by saying.“I think the Suns are going to be a major problem. You can make a legitimate argument that they should be the favorites coming out of the West.“
Smith would go on to say that the Denver Nuggets are still the favorites in his eyes because they have the best player in basketball in Nikola Jokic and a superstar in his opinion with Jamal Murray. After talking about the Nuggets, Smith would go on to talk about why the Suns will be a problem for other teams in the west.
Frank Vogel’s Impact
He mentioned Suns’ head coach Frank Vogel being highly motivated after being fired by the Los Angeles Lakers. Vogel’s calling card is his impact as a coach on the defensive end of the floor. When Vogel has had success in the NBA as a head coach his teams have been very good to great on the defensive end of the floor.
The two Indiana Pacers teams that made it to the conference finals were both first in defensive rating. They were also both second in the league in points allowed per game. The 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers who won the championship were also great on the defensive end. They were third in defense rating and fourth in the NBA in points allowed per game.
If this Suns team is a top ten defense along with the obvious offensive fire power. They will be a major problem for any team in the NBA.
Addition by Subtraction
“The absence of Deandre Ayton who didn’t really want to be there. He had somewhat of a truculent personality when it came to being there,” said Smith, “To get him out of there along with bringing (Jusuf) Nurkic in there along with this three headed offensive monster. I definitely think the Phoenix Suns are going to have something to say about the supremacy within the western conference.”
It is hard to argue against what Stephen A. Smith is saying with the way the Suns starters have performed in the preseason. Now of course that is just preseason. The performances will start to count for real very shortly.
Tonight is the last preseason game for the Suns as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers. The regular season starts on October 24th for Phoenix as they will be on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
