Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
Agree with the battle of attrition observation; but object to the characterization of the '79 Sonics as 'weak'. Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson, John Johnson, Lonnie Shelton (replacing Marvin Webster from the '78 team) and Jack Sikma; with Fred Brown and Paul Silas off the bench. Coached by Lenny Wilkens. Weak?
That '79 championship was brutal, literally physically brutal. They had lost to the Bullets the year before in 7 games, but showed up for the rematch carrying lead pipes, and crushed the Bullets in 5 games, which could easily have been a sweep.
I'd put these Suns more on par with the 2004 Pistons (Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun, and the Wallaces), who defeated that dysfunctional Kobe-Shaq team in 5.
And yes, Chris Paul is an odious figure, but he has brought all his classic, old-school point-guard skills to bear on this Suns team, feeding Booker, feeding Ayton, scoring himself when need be, and defending like a vet. And they have responded with a high level of play. Ayton, in particular, has blossomed by having a PG facilitate for him.
Maybe the Mavericks can acquire a legit point guard for Kidd to develop; one who facilitates, distributes, defends, and scores when necessary a la Kidd, and who will take a lot of load, responsibility and pressure off Luca freeing him up to be more of a Booker-type scorer; while simultaneously involving KP to take advantage of his elite skills. That'd be best case.
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