Phoenix with the most impressive win of the season...

[Buckets]

Cool.

Now all that being said... what Chicago has done this season, even in a weak East, has been impressive. But what they did last year was impressive. And the year before that. Thibodeau has a concrete plan on defense that works... regardless of talent.

So the Bulls keep "overachieving" in the regular season. A lot of times, that can wear out today's modern athletes. But that doesn't seem to have happened in Chicago yet. The guy can definitely coach.

I know its commonly stated out there that there's a rift between Thibs and upper management considering management got rid of his top assistant this past offseason without even consulting Thibs.

Now you add in that management took away Thibs favorite player, in addition to the Owner calling the team mediocre and its like they are trying piss him off. I loved the Deng trade so I agree with management there, but then to insult the team publicly is no bueno.

I love Thibs and hope he sticks around but from the outside it sounds like management is trying to piss all over him this year.

That said, I think Thibs motivates players a different way then what other "effort" coaches do. I think he frames it in a way that basically he tells them "you're a professional basketball player and this team is your family. You either play to your potential or you're riding the bench." Also add into the fact that he's gotten players such a Asik, Taj, Korver, Belinelli and Nate Robinson to buy and subsequently get paid and you can see why the players buy in so much.

I'm not entirely sure that his "message" is entirely different than other effort coaches. "Play hard or sit" seems common.

I think what helped Chicago so much was that the top player(s) bought into the system. They have more clout and pull than any coach has in the NBA. When the stars buy in... the Nate Robinsons, Asiks, Korvers, et al have no choice if they want to stick around.

You may be right but it also speaks volumes when former players on new teams state "“As a man, you’ve got to at some point just stand up and battle and play your heart out.” Its basically the message Thibs carries throughout his environment. But like you said, you have to have your star players buy in and the Bulls do typically sign high effort guys (you wont see them signing JR Smith). So its likely a mixture of both. Good discussion.

[Kingcarl24]

Phoenix is a hard team not to cheer for right now. They kind of remind me of Denver last season. Nobody expects much and so they go out and play hard and win.

I can't help but wonder though if Phoenix is also benefiting from playing hard and trying to win games in a season where it seems that winning isn't a high priority for the bottom half of the league.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Phoenix is a hard team not to cheer for right now. They kind of remind me of Denver last season. Nobody expects much and so they go out and play hard and win.

I can't help but wonder though if Phoenix is also benefiting from playing hard and trying to win games in a season where it seems that winning isn't a high priority for the bottom half of the league.

To be fair, they're in the West, so they're playing a West-heavy schedule where 11 or 12 of the 15 teams are competing every night. That's half the games right there.

I also think the tanking talk was overblown... as it usually is.

You might see more down the line, but thus far, I think it's fair to say that it's not nearly the problem the alarmists tried to make it before the season began.

[Kingcarl24]

Phoenix is a hard team not to cheer for right now. They kind of remind me of Denver last season. Nobody expects much and so they go out and play hard and win.

I can't help but wonder though if Phoenix is also benefiting from playing hard and trying to win games in a season where it seems that winning isn't a high priority for the bottom half of the league.

To be fair, they're in the West, so they're playing a West-heavy schedule where 11 or 12 of the 15 teams are competing every night. That's half the games right there.

I also think the tanking talk was overblown... as it usually is.

You might see more down the line, but thus far, I think it's fair to say that it's not nearly the problem the alarmists tried to make it before the season began.

Being a fan that is cheering for a team that is tanking, I can say this with confidence. It sucks and it's frustrating. It's hard to watch games. I think I'd much rather watch a team like Phoenix that goes out every night and puts it all on the floor with a coach that encourages it than I would a team that doesn't really try.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Phoenix is a hard team not to cheer for right now. They kind of remind me of Denver last season. Nobody expects much and so they go out and play hard and win.

I can't help but wonder though if Phoenix is also benefiting from playing hard and trying to win games in a season where it seems that winning isn't a high priority for the bottom half of the league.

To be fair, they're in the West, so they're playing a West-heavy schedule where 11 or 12 of the 15 teams are competing every night. That's half the games right there.

I also think the tanking talk was overblown... as it usually is.

You might see more down the line, but thus far, I think it's fair to say that it's not nearly the problem the alarmists tried to make it before the season began.

Being a fan that is cheering for a team that is tanking, I can say this with confidence. It sucks and it's frustrating. It's hard to watch games. I think I'd much rather watch a team like Phoenix that goes out every night and puts it all on the floor with a coach that encourages it than I would a team that doesn't really try.

The Wolves once had Mark Madsen shoot 7 three pointers in OT to lose a game.

That's tanking.

The same franchise once fired a coach for winning TOO much (Bill Musselman).

[lettherebehouse]

Meh. Indiana coming off an emotional and physically taxing gut wrenching victory 48 hours prior to Phoenix game's tip off in Los Angeles, it's understandable why Phoenix was able to take advantage of a team as vulnerably exhausted as January 30th 2014's version of the Indiana Pacers. Not to take anything away from Hornacek and the Suns however.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Meh. Indiana coming off an emotional and physically taxing gut wrenching victory 48 hours prior to Phoenix game's tip off in Los Angeles, it's understandable why Phoenix was able to take advantage of a team as vulnerably exhausted as January 30th 2014's version of the Indiana Pacers. Not to take anything away from Hornacek and the Suns however.

Yes, it usually takes teams more than 48 hours to recover after beating a team with Ryan Kelly in the starting lineup. I forgot about that part.

[lettherebehouse]

Meh. Indiana coming off an emotional and physically taxing gut wrenching victory 48 hours prior to Phoenix game's tip off in Los Angeles, it's understandable why Phoenix was able to take advantage of a team as vulnerably exhausted as January 30th 2014's version of the Indiana Pacers. Not to take anything away from Hornacek and the Suns however.

Yes, it usually takes teams more than 48 hours to recover after beating a team with Ryan Kelly in the starting lineup. I forgot about that part.

My bad bro. I want to give Phoenix their props, but we obviously had to vet any possible reason for this unexplainable phenomenon that we've come to know as 2013-2014 Phoenix Suns basketball. I'm at a loss.

[Laughing Man]

Suns are going to surprise people in the Playoffs. People keep counting them out yet they continue to get better. Had this been the Heat that had gone 4-0 in 5 days on back to backs people would be jizzing themselves.

[AlaskaHawks]

I haven't seen much of Phoenix at all this year, so it's hard for me to comment on their actual play. But every time I look, they keep winning. As Abe said winning in back to back back to backs is extremely impressive, regardless of the competition. Thats a hell of a road trip. I like Dragic a lot, and Hornacek must be doing something right getting those guys to keep winning. It's nice to see them go out there and just compete. COY, indeed.