Ok as much as I love to watch the Suns, I'm starting to fall into the Sports Guy's camp of "can't win the title as currently constructed." They really need another big body, someone who can at least make the likes of Duncan or Howard (30 pts, 23 boards last night) work for their supper. They also need to get change the chemistry - weird thing to say about a 12-4 team - because they honestly don't look like they're having fun. So here's my suggestion: Marion and Banks to Cleveland for Varejao, Pavlovic and Cleveland's first round pick. Yes, it sucks to lose Marion, who is as valuable as anyone outside of Nash to the Suns, but Varejao is a top defender, is young, and will come cheaper. You also get the benefit of taking Banks off your payroll. Anyway, that's my brainstorm for the day.
Marion, for all his moping over the summer, has actually been playing better and more consistently than any other Sun. I still think they'd be crazy to trade him. Do I wish the Suns had a monster of an inside presence to compete with the likes of Howard and Duncan? Sure. But it's a wish shared my most teams in the league, and Amare Stoudemire is a pretty fair substitute. He's a different kind of player from those guys, and his defense is sort of lacking. But it's a fact of life. Regarding whether the Suns are having "fun". D'Antoni was sort of wistfully mentioning this the other day after the Golden State loss. About how the Suns used to play with the enthusiasm that the Warriors had that night. But he admitted that, back in 04-05, every win was a thrill and just making the playoffs was the big goal. There wasn't all this careful dissecting of every game to see how it translates to whether the team might be able to beat the Spurs. But, as I read in some article or other, it's not like you can put that genie back into the bottle. Did you see last night's game? If you only saw the highlights on SportCenter with all of Howard's dunks, you might think the Magic won the game! But they did not. The Suns were ahead all game, and only a late comeback fueled by 3-pointers made the result in question to the last seconds. The players who really made the difference for Phoenix last night were Bell (finally, his first good game of the year), Barbosa, and Hill. Not to say the "Big 3" didn't have good nights - Nash and Amare had double-doubles, and Marion fell a rebound short of one. Those guys are pretty much always going to be there. But it's those other 3 that have to bring the energy and some scoring. And the Suns even played some D last night. LB had 3 steals, Marion had 4 blocks. When there is this kind of balance, that's when the Suns are at their best.
I was thinking again the 'concern' over whether the Suns are having enough fun while they're playing, and wondering if anybody would ever ask that question about the Spurs. Just seems silly. Anyway ... Game 17 - Suns 115, Knicks 104 at MSG The Arizona Republic ran an article on Sunday morning revealing that Steve Nash has been suffering from a hyper-extended elbow, and that the injury was aggravated in Friday's win over the Magic. The effect on his shot was apparent in this game, as he went 3-for-10 (two layups and (finally, late) a mid-range shot. Still. Not having this tool in his belt perhaps made him focus on the other things - 15 assists and only one late turnover - which actually help the team more. In the absence of Nash scoring, Grant Hill stepped up and scored 28 points, his highest total as a Sun. Many of those came early in the fourth quarter, with Nash on the bench and the game still close. Don't know if he was inspired by the big MSG stage or what, but it was impressive. And Amare had a strong game with 28 points as well. Thinking about Amare and comparisons to Dwight Howard. Amare just doesn't have quite the same awesome physical presence and backboard-rattling dunks. But he's a completely different player. He can shoot the 3 (hit one last night!). He can shoot the 15-foot turnaround with accuracy. And he can leap and stuff with amazing quickness. If I had to compare him to other players, I'd say he's sort of a Howard/Dirk hybrid. Not quite the range and vision of Dirk, (but more range and vision than Howard). And not quite the power and strength of Howard (but more power and strength than Dirk).
The Spurs are immune from those questions because they keep winning titles and because their team - at least on the surface - are so blandly good-natured and congenial with each other that it's never been an issue. For the Suns, part of their success has always come from their enthusiasm and chemistry. If one or both are in jeopardy then so is the whole end product. And with personalities as combustible (or maybe emotional is a better word) as Marion and Stoudemire their chemistry has always been a fragile thing. As we saw last night, even in a blow-out win this is a team one possession away from a shouting match. I'll keep rooting for the Suns because I love to watch them play, but they look similar to autumn 06 Chelsea in terms of demeanor and body language. I think that, come the trade deadline, a change will be necessary.
A shouting match? Raja and Amare were at odds because Amare got the ball and then the other 4 guys stood around, expecting him to make a move to the basket like he always does, so when he tried to pass out, nobody was open, forcing him to make a move in heavy traffic, and he was stripped. Whose fault? I don't think that was exactly a shouting match, but the aftermath of a frustrating, bad team play. And it wasn't a "blow-out win" until Grant Hill went off in the 4th quarter.
Game 18 - Suns 121 Pacers 117 Suns were a little fortunate not to blow this one after having a 10-point or so lead for much of the game and falling down by 4 with a couple of minutes left. Amare was the difference-maker all night, with his best game of the season 42 points and 13 rebounds. His midrange jumper just wouldn't miss. Nash's shooting continues to be off, but he still managed 18 points and an 17 assists. And when the game was on the line, he did the things needed to get the win, including willing one 3-pointer to finally go down. A lot of Suns fans seem to think this was a bad game because they let the lead slip away. I think they're being a little nitpicky. 14-4 sounds pretty good to me.
Game 19 - Suns 136 Raptors 123 The Suns go to 15-4 with an easy win against an undermanned Raptor team (no Bosh, no Bargnani). Nice performance in the second half of a back-to-back. The bench certainly came through as LB went off for 35 and Boris finally showed some life, scoring an aggressive 12 pts (including a slam!) instead of always passing it off everytime he neared the basket. Amare had 25 relatively quiet points (his midrange jumper is too sweet right now), Nash and Marion had their usual double-doubles (18 assists for Nash). Even Raja had a rare spell of out-of-his-mind 3-point shooting. Seven players in double figures, and no DNP's. The depth of this team is superb.
Game 20 - Suns 122 Wizards 107 Another balanced attack and the Suns go to 16-4. The Suns had 42 assists (Nash had 18 of them) on 50 baskets. Six players in double-figures, led by Stat's 27. He had 21 in the first half, many on pick-and-rolls from Nash. The Wizards set about stopping that in the second half, and the Suns responded by scoring 40 pts in the third quarter (after a 60 point first half). Let's just say the Suns' offense is clicking on all cylinders at the moment. Only thing sort of missing is Nash's outside shot, but Raja Bell has been on fire lately to make up for that. Not to mention Nash is making up for it himself with his passing and just had the highest 5-game assist total (83) of his career. Defense is still an issue, and the Wizards stayed close enough to keep the Suns' starters in the game until the final 2 minutes. Last game of the road trip tonight in Minnesota. Hoping for no letdown.
Game 20 - Minnesota 100 Suns 93 Hoped for no letdown but got one. 13 points in the fourth quarter spells it all. Nash did his best to rally the troops in the 4th quarter, with 8 straight points, but it wasn't enough. When Marion fumbled an easy Nash pass with a couple minutes left, that pretty much ended it. Looking at the good things -Suns had five guys in double figures (but nobody with over 20). Nash had 15 assists, to keep up his incredible pace. The Suns had a surprising 12 blocked shots. Bad thing, which cost the Suns the game - outrebounded 55-33, allowing the Wolves 19 offensive boards. So, just putting it down to a feeble ending to what had been a great road trip. Monday night - home again vs Miami, the last Eastern opponent before a tough stretch of four straight games against likely Western Conference playoff teams (Utah, NO, SAS, Mavs). The next two weeks will be a first real indicator of whether this Suns team has what it takes or not.
Woops, I guess I forgot write a summary of the Miami game on Monday night. Well, never mind. Game 22 - Suns 103 Jazz 98 Great game. Fun to watch. Nash and Marion led the way and Amare had a good game, too, despite not hitting his jumper as consistenly as he had been recently. Nash finally seems healthy - despite getting his tooth chipped by an inadvertent Carlos Boozer just before halftime. Hilarious sideline interview with Michelle Tafoya as he was leaving the court. She was so flustered when she noticed his chipped tooth that she could barely bark out her questions. Nash helped her out of it by going into a lispy comedy routine. I'm glad he plays hoops and doesn't do stand-up, but it was still pretty funny. A little troubling was Grant Hill's poor shooting night. He seems tired to me. Maybe the minutes are wearing already. And Barbosa still can't find his touch either. But a good night for the triumvirate, and that was enough. Next up, a rugged 3-game road trip to New Orleans, San Antonio, and Dallas.
Steve Nash, amateur comedian, being interviewed just after one of his front teeth was chipped: [youtube]uST9kwiUe20[/youtube]
Some have interpreted that article as meaning the Suns might trade Amare. I put it down to simple media frenzy after losing 3 of 4. Amare had a bad game against New Orleans, and many post-game comments from various players about the lack of defensive intensity (or intensity in general) COULD be interpreted as fingering him. Now. If the Suns lose the next two games (at SAS and at Dallas), there might be something to it.
Yes, very important victory for Phoenix, even if Tony Parker wasn't playing. For these reasons - 1) Duncan went off (36 pts/17 rebounds), yet the Suns still won. And most of his damage was in the first half. It could be he ran out of gas after missing those several games, but I prefer to think the Suns adjusted. 2) Vaughn had a pretty good game replacing Parker. He's NOT Parker, of course, but he did score 14 points. It's not like SAS was playing with 4 players on the court. 3) It was a true team victory. Nobody for the Suns had a crazy statistical game. Grant Hill led the way with 22 pts/7 boards, but Barbosa had 18, Amare had 17, and Diaw had 11 (and 6 assists). Nash had 10 (more on him below), and Bell and Marion chipped in 9 apiece. Excellent balance. 4) The Suns won when their superstar wasn't "on". Nash nearly had a triple double, but sort of a bad one, if there is such a thing (10 pts/10 assists/8 rebounds). He still can't hit his 3 (knowing this, he only took 2, hitting 1). And Bowen did his usual good job on defense. He had 3 turnovers and was blabbing at the refs. The Suns actually seemed to be a better team without him on the court, and he even sat out the first 5 minutes of the last quarter. 5) The Suns won with defense at the end. And a key offensive rebound by Amare Stoudemire. Two items you rarely hear associated with the Suns. 6) It was a win, in San Antonio, over the Spurs. Nuff said.
The Suns trade Marion and Banks to the Heat for Shaq pending a physical! I'm praying he passes the physical! http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3232862
Craziness. I hope the Suns didn't just make the stupidest move ever. Time will tell. The Marion-less Suns looked energized against the Hornets last night - but lost in double OT. Great game. Chris Paul is amazing. 42 points, 9 assists, 8 steals, 1 turnover. Meanwhile, Nash had 32 points, 12 assists and an ugly 10 TOs. Stoudemire had 20 rebounds! Of course, Tyson Chandler was out for NO, which helped in that regard.
no, the Stupidest move was when the Raptors traded Vince Carter for Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning(who didn't eve play a game for the Raptors), and a 1st round pick. However, I don't think the Suns made a smart move. Shaq was out of his prime since the Heat last won the Championship and Marion still has a lot of basketball left in him. Plus, if you look at productivity, even if Shaq averages 20 pts and 10rbs in the play offs, he is still just 5 pts/game ahead of Marion. Furthermore, he's not suited for the Sun's fast paced offense b/c he's too old and too slow. The Suns better win the Championship this year to justify the trade, and Shaq better be a big part of that Championship run. Otherwise, it is one of the stupidest move, but not as stupid as the Vince Carter trade that my Raptors made 4 years ago.
I just can't imagine D'Antoni and Kerr making this move without carefully considering what they were giving up and what they were gaining. I do believe a healthy, motivated Shaq can help the Suns in winning a championship. It's the health factor that will be key. If the medical staff can keep him in one piece for the remainder of the season, it might turn out to be a masterstroke. If he gets seriously injured again, it'll be a complete disaster.
I agree. The Suns has to win a championship before Nash retires or runs out of gas. It's either now or "never." However, as smart as the managers are, it is a huge gamble in terms of trading away so much future just to win it now. Marion has another 4 solid years of Basketball left, unlike Shaq who's all washed up. If the Suns win it, it's all worth it. If now, then you're looking at a long drought for the next 4 years as after Nash and Shaq, there's really nothing left.
OK almost two months on and it's starting to look like the Suns made the right move. Shaq must've dropped 20 pounds and is moving as well as he has in five years; D'Antoni changed the offense to take advantage of the space Shaq creates; and Amare has really flourished as a fulltime 4 instead of playing out of position at center. And believe it or not, they're actually scoring more and running more with Shaq in the lineup (no surprise to me, as throwing outlet passes has always been one of the underrated aspects of his game, but I guess it's been a surprise to most). I can't say they're the favorites to win the West, but they have a much better shot at it than they did two months ago. BTW, where's Sue been? I see she hasn't logged on in almost a month; I hope everything is ok.
So how do you guys feel about Dallas chances of making the play-offs? I can't see the Warriors missing the play-offs, so it'll probably be between them and Denver for that eight spot.
Well even after all the oldies retire, they'll still have Amare and Barbosa to build a new team around. There are worse building blocks to (re-)start from.
"BTW, where's Sue been? I see she hasn't logged on in almost a month; I hope everything is ok." Finally seeing this so many months later .... yeah, everything's ok. Just broke this habit and ... *sigh* started another ... Unlike many, I'm still optimistic about the Suns' prospects for next season. I'm very interested in seeing how things change under new coach Terry Porter.