NBA 2008-09 Season

[salsadancer7]

Actually, a local PD Sports writer, Brian Windhorst just recently wrote on the miserable state of the Phoenix Suns. The following is a paraphrasing of his thoughts.....

Their were A LOT of bad decisions made in the past few years, all of them by Suns owner Robert Sarver. Actually it's quite sad. There was a time not too long ago when the Suns were leading what many considering a renaissance in the NBA. Now they are a mess. The fact that most of it was self-inflicted makes it even worse.

Rumors are still swirling that they want to trade/get rid of their youngest and most talented player in Amar'e Stoudemire, yet keep their two oldest and fading stars in Shaq and Steve Nash.

The Suns have been over the cap for the last several seasons. In an effort to avoid having to pay first-round picks over the last several years, Sarver has been selling them. The up-and-coming Rajon Rondo in Boston? That was a Suns pick. The talented rookie Rudy Fernandez in Portland? Another one.

The same year they sold Rondo, they signed Marcus Banks to a five-year, $21 million deal, which turned out to be a disaster.

After signing Nash in a huge coup, Sarver wouldn't approve a contract extension for Joe Johnson when the parties were about $1 million apart per year. Then Johnson had a huge year and became a max player paired with Nash and Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, and they had to let him walk because they couldn't afford him anymore because, again, they were short-sighted.

Then there's the past 12 months. The Suns traded for O'Neal in an effort to be more effective in the playoffs. Then they parted ways with Mike D'Antoni, at his request, and hired a coach in Terry Porter with the intent of bringing a defensive mantra. Then, earlier this year, they traded their best defensive player in Boris Diaw.

The Suns' matching of stars and style used to be the envy of the league. Now, as they slowly deconstruct, all they get is pity.

Good post. It is truly sad what has happened there in Phoenix....and the way they are structure, they could be REALLY bad if the lose Amare for quite some time too.....and right now, it's almost a lock.

 

[HD MM]

The NBA Trade Deadline is this Thursday. Any more dirt or possible rumors? Clearly there has to be a few more trades before the deadline, right?

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I was referring to the way he was unfairly pushed out of Phoenix.

I felt that getting rid of D'Antoni was a bad decision by the Suns.

Sure, his push-it-up style of offense didn't translate to a title, but think about how those teams were doing compared to this year's.

Phoenix does not have the same chemistry they had under D'Antoni.

Not as bad as trading for Shaq was. That was the beginning of the end. D'Antoni leaving was precipitated by shaq's arrival, whom D'Antoni didn't want. They were one stupid decision (The bench clearing against the Spur's) away from the finals the year before.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

The NBA Trade Deadline is this Thursday. Any more dirt or possible rumors? Clearly there has to be a few more trades before the deadline, right?

I'm not looking for the Piston's to players in the trade talks right now. They did dump little used guard Alex Acker yesterday on to the Clippers, for a swap of second round picks. I believe this may have been done to get the Piston's under the luxury tax threshold.

 

[HD MM]

I was referring to the way he was unfairly pushed out of Phoenix.

I felt that getting rid of D'Antoni was a bad decision by the Suns.

Sure, his push-it-up style of offense didn't translate to a title, but think about how those teams were doing compared to this year's.

Phoenix does not have the same chemistry they had under D'Antoni.

D'Antoni wanted out of Phoenix. It was his decision, in part by his disagreement with the meddling owner.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

D'Antoni wanted out of Phoenix. It was his decision, in part by his disagreement with the meddling owner.

Pretty much what I'm saying. D'Antoni wanted nothing to do with Shaq. In the end, the new ownership had a new plaything, and wanted to play GM. Brought in their players, and then their own coach. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery...

 

[HD MM]

Pretty much what I'm saying. D'Antoni wanted nothing to do with Shaq. In the end, the new ownership had a new plaything, and wanted to play GM. Brought in their players, and then their own coach. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery...

Yup. That owner losing the relationship he had with Jerry Coangelo was ultimately the biggest loss for that franchise.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

This deconstruction looked like something out of the Detroit Lions managerial handbook.

 

[Skyhi]

Speaking of the Suns, Jason Richardson was arrested last night:

Suns' Richardson arrested, allegedy drove 55 mph above limit - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball

 

[HD MM]

Speaking of the Suns, Jason Richardson was arrested last night:

Suns' Richardson arrested, allegedy drove 55 mph above limit - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball

The Phoenix Suns' guard was arrested for driving 90mph in a 35mph zone. Oh, and he had his three-year-old son "unrestrained" in the car with him at the time.

uh oh.......

 

[salsadancer7]

uh oh.......

The Phoenix Suns' guard was arrested for driving 90mph in a 35mph zone. Oh, and he had his three-year-old son "unrestrained" in the car with him at the time.

F*** that....you have a toddler without seat belts on and doing 90??!! That SOB should be locked up for ever single child law outside of pedophilia!! That is crazy!!!

 

[Paul Wozniak]

More proof that money doesn't make you smarter.

 

[SabresRule]

It's really sad what Phoenix has become.

I saved an article from 2007 about them, back when they were entertaining:

I tuned into the Suns-Cavs game on Thursday night and watched every minute of it, even though it was a blowout from the middle of the second quarter on, which is really saying something.

Part of the reason was that LeBron was playing, I won't deny that. But the real reason is that I will watch any game involving the Suns. It doesn't matter if it involves the incredibly boring Spurs, the incredibly horrible Hawks, or the incredibly compromised Joey Crawford. If the Suns are on TV, I'm watching.

Why? Because they are fun to watch. It is as simple as that. They run and gun and pass and cut and share the ball. They dunk and drain threes and throw 40-foot bounce passes (well, Steve Nash does that last part). They have arguably the best fantasy player of this decade in Shawn Marion, a top candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year Award and the Fastest Basketball Player Alive Award (an unofficial award to be certain) in Leandro Barbosa, and the guy that clotheslined Kobe Bryant in Raja Bell. And they have one of the great transformation stories in NBA history in Boris Diaw. Oh yeah, and a miracle of modern science in Amare Stoudemire. And the two-time reigning MVP Steve Nash.

In short, the Suns have a lot going for them. Best of all, they are becoming a seriously influential force in the NBA. Not only are more and more teams being forced to match up with the Suns when they play Phoenix (on account of the Suns getting better and better while almost every other team keeps getting worse), which results in fantastically entertaining games, but more teams are starting to emulate the Suns as well. So now Raptors games and Bucks games and Grizzlies games and Warriors games are good times, even if the teams suck. The Nuggets and Wizards are probably the second and third-most exciting teams to watch in the entire league. Everyone is playing fast and plodding centers like Ilgauskas (it looked like he was trying to play a different sport on Thursday) are literally being run out of the game. Precision and athleticism and skill are being prized above size. It is a glorious, glorious time.

Of course, the NBA is like any other pro sport in that it constantly evolves. Trends come and go, the rhythms of the game change seemingly overnight. So the fear is that we will wake up one day and this tremendous version of professional basketball will be in the rearview mirror and we will be back in the mid-90's when the Knicks and Heat were grinding their way to 72-71 victories.

How can we prevent this from happening? The answer seems to be that the Suns need to win it all. While rule changes and a dearth of great big men and the desire to market perimeter stars all play a role in this mini revolution, there is no denying that it centers around what Phoenix is doing. They have been winning big the last few years by letting Nash orchestrate the attack and trying to simply get up more quality shots than the other team. They stress the avoidance of fouls, try to take a few charges here and there, look for opportunities to trade threes for twos, run on made shots, and generally do everything possible to increase the overall number of possessions in a game, so that their superior offensive basketball skills will have more chances to win out.

Because Phoenix is winning, other teams are following suit. Even the Heat pushed the pace last year and stressed offensive efficiency in route to a title, which brought Pat Riley back full circle to his Show Time days in L.A. and helped wipe away the memory of those awful years in New York. Yet there are still holdouts. Teams like the Pacers, Bulls, and Rockets insist on grinding out wins despite rosters that are just screaming "run!" The Mavs are now the favorite to win it all and at least part of that is because they've abandoned the carefree spirit of the Nellie days in favor of Avery Johnson's commitment to defense. The conventional thinking is that by becoming more traditional (read: more like the Spurs), the Mavericks have a much better chance to win it all. Which brings us to the crux of the issue.

On the one hand we have the Suns, who are mostly undersized, favor creativity and offense, and play some of the prettiest basketball you will ever see (and generally inspire/require/allow their opponents to do likewise). On the other hand there are the Spurs, who clutch and grab and pound it inside and specialize in winning the old fashioned way. In other words, the Suns are exciting and the Spurs are boring. And then we have the Mavs, stuck somewhere in the middle of the two, but becoming more like San Antonio every day.

In essence, we are on a collision source to see which Western Conference power can take home the next title and put their stamp on the game. If the Spurs win it this year, then Dallas will definitely go to the dark side and all hope will be lost. Every other team will go back to trying to be like the Spurs, which will never work because they don't have good GM's or good coaches or good players or the ability to get almost every call. But if the Suns win, it will be a whole different story.

Over the past couple of years, we have continued to hear that while Phoenix's style is great to watch and a perfect method for racking up regular season wins, it will never bring home a title. You can't win a championship simply outscoring people, or so the thinking goes. If Phoenix can break through and win it all, that argument will go away. Kind of like when Detroit won in 2004 and stomped out the theory that you had to have a superstar to win the NBA Finals. Or when the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series this past season and proved you didn't have to be good to win it all in baseball (sorry, couldn't resist). If the Suns actually get the rings, they will only influence more teams and we will continue to see more exciting basketball. This is important stuff.

The bad news is that the Suns are pretty much the only hope we have of an "offensive" team winning it all. It is possible that the Mavs could take the title and do it primarily on the offensive end, but even if it goes down that way, the majority of pundits will attribute it to their improvement on defense. The Wizards can't win it all. I doubt that Denver can do it, even if the Melo-AI pairing works out better than anyone could possibly dream. And there really aren't any other true Suns clones out there with any realistic shot of doing much damage. So it is Phoenix against the world.

The good news is that I think the Suns can actually take the title this year. They have a tough road through the West but if they can get the number one seed and avoid Dallas or San Antonio until the Western Conference Finals, I think they can do it. Nash is playing better than ever (he honestly might win yet another MVP Award, unless LeBron kicks it into another gear), Barbosa has transformed the bench through his own individual improvement, and Diaw seems to be back in shape and making plays. Perhaps most importantly, Amare Stoudemire is a force to be reckoned with.

When it comes to Amare's impact on the Suns and their title chances, I'm not just talking about the fact that he's come back so quickly, or has improved his jumper, or even the way he's revitalized their half court offense. No, I think the biggest thing about Stoudemire is that he is quietly becoming a fantastic defensive player. I've seen him play five times in the past few weeks and each time I have been shocked at how good he's been defensively. I keep waiting for him to have major mental lapses, or forget to grab rebounds like he did back in the 2005 Playoffs. But that isn't happening. He's holding his ground, rotating perfectly with his help defense, keeping rebounds alive, and swatting and altering a healthy amount of shots.

In the game against the Cavs on Thursday, Amare had a few sweet jumpers and more than his share of dunks and three-point plays, but it was his work on the defensive end that turned the affair into a blowout. When Phoenix went on a 20-0 run in the second quarter, it was spurred by Stoudemire's dominance on D. He blocked shots, deflected passes, snared rebounds, and generally intimidated the Cavs to the point where they ceased coming in the lane. It looked like he took the best aspects of Dwight Howard and merged them with his previous skill set. It was scary.

And it may just be the difference between a big regular season and a title for the Phoenix Suns. And while I know that goes against my entire argument that we need the Suns to win purely by outscoring teams, I can live with that. Because even if Amare blocks 10 shots a game and turns into a modern day Bill Russell, we are still going to view Phoenix as an offensive team. Plus, Stoudemire's type of defensive work is in keeping with their frenetic style and desire to run and then run some more. In other words: there is zero risk that the Suns will go back to the drawing board, pull the plug on the fast break offense, and suddenly start slugging out games behind the strength of their interior defense.

Now that Amare is learning how to be a force on both ends of the court, I honestly think that Phoenix is the best team in the NBA. They might have proved that to be the case back in 2005 if not for Joe Johnson landing on his face, or in 2006 if not for Amare undergoing the most terrifying surgery in all of basketball. But Johnson did land on his face and Stoudemire did have the surgery and so the myths lived on, awaiting the day when a running and gunning offensive juggernaut might come along and turn convention on its ugly, boring head.

Here's to hoping that sometime in June of 2007 is that day and the Phoenix Suns are that juggernaut. The fate of the NBA depends on it.

HD, if your Cavs were playing Phoenix instead of San Antonio in the 2007 Finals, that would have been a million times better than what the Fossils can turn basketbal into.

 

[BillD1984]

F*** that....you have a toddler without seat belts on and doing 90??!! That SOB should be locked up for ever single child law outside of pedophilia!! That is crazy!!!

It pissed me off to NO END when I read that.

What a F*** POS!!!!

 

[salsadancer7]

It pissed me off to NO END when I read that.

What a F*** POS!!!!

Maybe it's me...but every time an athlete does something that can harm or even kill a child....I lose all sense of being liberal in my social views and just want the douche nozzle jailed up for hard time.

 

[BillD1984]

Maybe it's me...but every time an athlete does something that can harm or even kill a child....I lose all sense of being liberal in my social views and just want the douche nozzle jailed up for hard time.

Same here.

Except In some cases, I think jail is too good for some of these scumbags.

 

[SabresRule]

It is really shameful and embarassing for Mr. Richardson to do something like that.

I USED to think he was cool.

Now...

[Youtube]aDBtwXUN_q8&[/Youtube]

I'll never look at this dunk the same way again after his recent actions.

 

[HD MM]

Bosh Rumor Gains Steam

Chris Bosh | [ame]http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=tor[/ame]
The [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1727"]Amare Stoudemire Stats, News, Photos - Phoenix Suns - ESPN[/ame] trade talk still has the Bulls among the teams most involved, but a new scenario making the rounds has the Bulls taking part in a three-team deal that would bring [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=tor"]Toronto Raptors News, Schedule, Players, Stats, Video - NBA - ESPN[/ame] star [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1977"]Chris Bosh Stats, News, Photos - Toronto Raptors - ESPN[/ame] to Chicago. The rumored swap would send Stoudemire to Toronto and land the [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=pho"]Phoenix Suns News, Schedule, Players, Stats, Video - NBA - ESPN[/ame] a package of players and draft picks from the Bulls, likely to include [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1711"]Drew Gooden Stats, News, Photos - Los Angeles Clippers - ESPN[/ame] and his expiring $7.2 million contract, [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3032"]Tyrus Thomas Stats, News, Photos - Charlotte Bobcats - ESPN[/ame] and a first-round pick. -- Chicago Sun-Times

 

[HD MM]

Things Are "Quiet"

Despite speculation putting the Pistons in the sweepstakes to acquire Suns power forward [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1727"]Amare Stoudemire Stats, News, Photos - Phoenix Suns - ESPN[/ame], a person familiar with the situation said things are "quiet" when it comes to possible major deals before Thursday's trading deadline. -- Detroit Free Press

 

[salsadancer7]

Bosh Rumor Gains Steam

Chris Bosh | Raptors
The Amare Stoudemire trade talk still has the Bulls among the teams most involved, but a new scenario making the rounds has the Bulls taking part in a three-team deal that would bring Toronto Raptors star Chris Bosh to Chicago. The rumored swap would send Stoudemire to Toronto and land the Phoenix Suns a package of players and draft picks from the Bulls, likely to include Drew Gooden and his expiring $7.2 million contract, Tyrus Thomas and a first-round pick. -- Chicago Sun-Times

This would mean Chicago would go HARD after home town boy D.Wade after the 2009-2010 season. They, to me, probably be THE ONLY TEAM that could possibly sign D. Wade from Miami.