In 1995 the Orlando Magic - a deep and talented team led by a young center they took in the first draft pick - jumped from a marginal team all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to a more experienced opponent, the Houston Rockets, led by an athletic player who played basketball The modern.
The following season the same Magic of Shaquille O'Neal, opened the season with a balance of 2:13, en route to a season of 60 wins.
Can any of you imagine that then - when she has a young and super-talented staff that has already reached the finals and paid the tuition there, and that continues to improve and win at a dizzying pace - will not really count her as a candidate for the championship?
Not even in the top 5?
of course not.
That Orlando started the season in second place with the betting agencies with a ratio of 1 to 4 (after the great Chicago Bulls, which got 1 to 3.5), and ended up only falling in the Eastern Conference final against Michael Jordan at its peak.
The Phoenix Suns Model 2021/2022 has many parallels to that Orlando.
She also has a young and senior chin, which she recently took in the first draft pick.
She is also deep and talented.
She also jumped last season from a marginal team all the way to the NBA Finals, she also lost there only to a more experienced team with a star who is an athletic freak that the basketball world has never seen before (so it was Hakim Olajuan, last year it was of course Yannis Antokompo ).
The top decile
Phoenix also opened the season after the final achievement in excellent shape.
Early in the morning, she defeated the West leader against Golden State (96: 104), climbed to a 3:18 balance, and rides on a crazy streak of 17 wins - equal to the team record.
Unlike that Orlando, she has not only young talent (then Shaq and Penny Hardaway, today Diandra Eyton and Devin Booker) and a long, balanced and talented staff.
But she also has a super-coordinator, a future Hall of Fame member who is one of the greatest in history in his position, Chris Paul, who despite his age (36) still plays supreme basketball.
So how is it that still, despite all this, and even though we're looking at a relatively flat competitiveness map in the NBA today, without there being any cluster of 3-2 teams that are significantly superior to the rest, and without having some historical team that is the clear favorite - still A quick look at the betting odds table for this season's championship puts Phoenix only in seventh place, with a ratio of 1 to 13 or 14 (!).
Devin Booker.
Is it possible to take a ring even without a Top 5 player?
This attitude of course reflects the public's confidence in the Suns' ability to walk until the end of the season.
In the public's opinion, this season should be run in simulation no less than 14 times so that Phoenix, currently second in the league, which reached the final only six months ago, will win the championship once.
The answer, apparently, consists of several factors.
But let me dwell on just one: in 90 percent of cases, the NBA wins a team championship with a player who is more or less in the top 5 in the league.
In any case, a player who is from Tier1, the top tier of the best players.
This is not an exaggeration: in the last 30 years, only three times has a team without a player of this type won the championship (Detroit in 2004, Dallas in 2011, San Antonio in 2014).
3 out of 30 is 10 percent.
And Phoenix, what's the situation in this area?
Well, you say.
Does anyone of Steph Kerry, Kevin Durant, Yannis Antocompo, LeBron James, Luca Doncic or Nikola Jokic play in Phoenix?
This six is currently without a doubt the top 5 (or, rather, the "first tier") of the players in the league.
Keep ranking and you will reach Kwai Leonard (injured, but when he is healthy he is completely Tier1), Paul George, Damien Lillard, Anthony Davis and Joel Ambide.
Most people will also put in Jason Taitum, James Harden and Jimmy Butler before they will each rank the Suns players.
This means that at best, the best player in Phoenix is the 15th best player in the league.
And winning a championship without a top 15-10 player is something that has happened even less than in 10 percent of cases in the last 30 years.
Now you decide where you would put your money.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
