FIRST TAKE | “Phoenix is the most disappointing team in NBA” – Stephen A. predicts Nuggets vs Suns

FIRST TAKE | “Phoenix is the most disappointing team in NBA” – Stephen A. predicts Nuggets vs Suns

And the defending Champion Denver Nuggets Phoenix has lost four of their last six games currently on a two- game losing streak and are only a half game out of being in the playin tournament during this first season together their big three of Beal Booker and Katie have

Only played 23 out of possible 61 games Stephen A Shannon and JJ here Shannon I’m going to start with you on this one have the Suns been the most disappointing team so far in the NBA for me they have and I understand like when KD got there last year he gets

Nick and then he and Booker really didn’t have an opportunity to play together and then they had so much anticipation with Bradley Bill coming over but for whatever reason each guy takes a turn getting injury Bradley Bill started he was Nick during the season book has been in and out of the lineup

The only thing that’s kind of been consistent is KD but for me they’ve been very very disappointed given the expectations that of what was placed on them so for me I’m going say it’s the Suns they’re disappointing in me J Shannon and JJ for a different reason number

One 21 turnovers the other night against OKC on Sunday I believe third biggest jump from last season and this season in terms of turnovers committed not just that Bradley Bill Devin Booker KD can’t get on the court together 23 of 61 games they played with one another just 38% of

Their games okay and 15 of their final 22 games are against the top eight teams in the NBA not to mention I even bring up their fourth quarter Wes and how they struggle in the fourth quarter and so I look at it from that standpoint and I

Got reasons to be concerned about them again offensively they can explode in any moment if and and beat anybody just watching them this year JJ you don’t get any impression whatsoever that they’re going to make a run you see them falling before you see them ascending that’s how

I view them you know you guys both bring up great points I think the disappointing part to me is that we haven’t seen enough of them all healthy and together Durant missed seven games Booker’s missed 11 games Beal has missed 29 games Shannon your point about

Expectations is a fair point I I I would say this coming into this season we talked a lot about how there were 10 really good basketball teams in the Western Conference so given the amount of injuries they they’ve had the fact that they’re sitting in sixth place to

Me that’s not a disappointing thing if you look at this data and again I hate I hate Sometimes using stats but sometimes you have to uh if you look at the data there have been a bunch of teams that have had fiveman lineups play 250 minutes or more together only five of

Those lineups have outscored opponents by 10 or more points per 100 possessions Phoenix is one of those lineups their starting five is one of those lineups when they go small with Durant and Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen and Bradley Beal and Devon Booker they outscore opponents by 19 points per 100% when

They’ve been on the court together they’ve been a damn good basketball team so the disappointing part is the injuries it’s not necessarily in the performance of The Big Three when they’ve been together and I still think I’ll say this we knew this coming into the season this is the problem with

Building super teams you are not going to have the depth to withstand one of your main guys getting hurt especially in this conference so again relative to expectations I’m not disappointed given the injuries even though they’ve only played 23 games together they’re still only five games over 500 so if you tell me

They only played 23 games together and let’s say they’re 17- six or they’re 18 and five then I was like oh man if they really to get it together but are we like going to jump up and down like when they get together because it’s still

Going to take some time and what we thought was going to be able to be built in training camp or in the summer it hasn’t materialized and so I I think they should be disappointed considering you got Devin Booker who’s an All-Star you got Kevin Durant who’s an Allstar

And Bradley Bill has been an All-Star but the previous two I mentioned went to the All-Star Game this year I think they’ve been very disappointing by most people’s metric and I get what you’re saying about the injuries and that was always my concern given the injury history of said players that we

Mentioned it’s a fair point I would just say this the record thing again they have they for most of this season they’ve had six top level rotation players Royce O’Neal coming over at the deadline is a big pickup for them he’s been great defensively shooting 40% from

Three I’m not giving up on the Phoenix Suns as a team that can make a run in the playoffs okay all right beautiful uh Shannon you want to give here we go three big questions let’s start with the Bucks beating the Clippers last night they’ve won six straight they did it

Without Giannis last night where are the bucks right now as far as being a legitimate threat to Boston in the East closing the Gap and clearly they will end up being the number one threat to the Boston Celtics because of the injuries with with the Knicks I think

The Cavs there’s a lot of uncertainty there can they really make that leap and the Miami Heat are just still lurking beneath the surface so it comes down to Milwaukee and Boston in the Eastern Conference they’re playing harder greeny that’s the bottom line they’re playing harder and I think Damen Lillard looks a

Little bit more comfortable than he has to this point in the season I’m not in any way trying to diminish what the Celtics have done or are doing they’re a magnificent team they’re having one of the best regular seasons we’ve seen in quite some time but when you get to a

Seven game series in May do you trust the team that has Giannis and Dame on it or the team that right that has had at least from historical perspective Tatum and brown I think right now I trust a team that’s got more weapons on both ends and that’s Boston at that starting

Five what they can put on the floor with those five players the number of threats they have offensively and the way that all five of those guys impact the game on the other end of the floor they’ve got depth I I even think Mula has been through this now one time right last

Year that was a tough situation for him to inherit a team right before the season that was expecting to win a championship he was called into questioning the playoffs with some decision-making I think he’s pass that point I trust him now so ultimately it just comes down to the Celtics and the

Fire power that they have that’s what I trust fair I I’m I’m it’s a day of planting my flag for me I’m planting my flag in Milwaukee I’m telling you they’re going to wind up being a real threat to Boston in the playoffs all next we saw we saw the Lakers beat the

Thunder last night all of a sudden LeBron and the Lakers they had a very bad January they’ve gotten hot the last call it four or five weeks what does that look like as we go forward well listen when Anthony Davis is having this kind of an impact consistently and it

Seems to be the always the question mark with the Lakers when he’s playing like this this phys Al dominant the Lakers absolutely are a team that you cannot turn your back on you’ve got to pay attention to them but it’s going to be a tough road for them I don’t see them

Getting out of the play in in the regular season you’re going to have to make up a lot of ground on some good teams to do that I don’t see that happening for the Lakers uh but I do see them being a legitimate threat to one of

Those top two seeds if it ends up being Minnesota and Oklahoma City I don’t think they threaten Denver but Minnesota Oklahoma City if you get the Lakers in a first round series and they’ve escaped the play in a lot of people at that point would put their money on the

Lakers to win those series I don’t know that I would I don’t have to make that decision yet I’ll see what it looks like at the time but I’m just saying that’s where a lot of people would be going if the Lakers are still alive at that point

Well look I mean it goes back to who you trust and in that situation I definitely trust LeBron more than anyone else on the floor and I want to show you one more thing so Victor wanyama was named the Rookie of the month in February in the Western Conference because of course

You have to have two rookies of the month every month who is he the best rookie since yeah look I’m and I’m putting a lot of the stock this on what happens on the defensive end of the floor but when you look at the total

Impact on both ends I think you got to go back to Tim Duncan uh really that’s 9798 season and look let’s be clear about this Tim Duncan his rookie year the Spurs won 36 more games than they did the previous year they won 56 games

Now he was 21 years old right he played in college for four years so it was a little bit different Victor wyam teams won 13 games so you have to put that into consideration but I’m just talking about the overall impact on both ends of the floor I’m going with Duncan because

Listen green listen to this number hemo gave me do you know when Victor wanyama on the court this is a 13- win team when he’s on the court for the Spurs that’s the sixth rated defensive team in the league when he’s off the floor they’re dead last that is the impact that Victor

We minyama has had on that end for for the for the purposes of context the year that Tim Duncan came in as a rookie David Robinson had been hurt the year before that’s why they were so bad they didn’t just get the rookie Duncan but they get Robinson back and they win a

Championship in the second second year or Duncan’s second year in that strike shortened or whatever shortened season that it was the point is wanyama I’ve been riding this bandwagon because he’s become the best show in the sport by far and because the team is so bad I don’t

Know that people are paying as much attention to it as they should he is as advertised he really is and you know I’m trying to think about comparisons and ceilings and someone asked me about a ceiling I said that well by definition you’re saying that there’s a certain you

Know level that he cannot break through I don’t think I put a ceiling and Victor wanyama I mean if I’m looking for comparisons think about a player that could have the scoring dominance of Joel embiid right the defensive impact in presence of a Yannis Theo and the entertainment value of a Steph Curry

That’s what we’re talking about potentially Allin one body so I don’t think there is a ceiling every night that I watch Victor wanyama play he does two or three things in that game that I think is the he’s the only player in the NBA that can make those specific plays

That’s how I this guy is he’s just he’s on a bad team right now that people aren’t paying attention to it’s going to take I think a couple years for the Spurs to be relevant in the Western Conference but he has become now a runaway winner of Rookie of the Year

Chen hram was better early they were sorted even in the middle of the year over the last two months Victor wanyama I think has absolutely seized the award he’s going to run away with it I think he both speee C spe to speech spee is under attack good toy for under attack joy Joy Good for to for watch just SL talks with His spee a good toy Spe for to to fck you k toy This UL you

FIRST TAKE | “Phoenix is the most disappointing team in NBA” – Stephen A. predicts Nuggets vs Suns