If not for the Spurs...

[GSH]

If not for the Spurs, do you think the Suns would have won any championships under D'Antoni? If yes, how many and which years?

I'm hearing and reading more comments about how defense wins championships. (No surprise to any Spurs fan, but I guess a lot of other people didn't get the memo.) I wonder how many teams would be trying to copy the wide open run-and-gun offense of the Suns, if they had managed to collect a couple of trophies? And I guess I'm wondering if that would have happened if the Spurs hadn't been in the way. Could D'Antoni's run-and-gun have gone all the way against the other teams in the league?

[coopdogg3]

I think the Suns would have won last year if they could have gotten past the Spurs. Cleveland was clearly no match for a Western Conference team.

[ancestron]

last year was their best shot.

[Leetonidas]

Last year for sure. Detroit would've killed them in 2005. If they had beaten the Mavs in 2006, they probably would've beat Miami.

[m33p0]

i'm not sure if they would have been able to get by the jazz. williams would have eaten nash alive. but if they could have, yeah.

[hater]

Suns never had the defense or mental toughness required to win a championship.

[michaelwcho]

I say at least last year.

Cleveland did not have the horses to run with the Suns.