Where for art thou Phoenix?

Actually, it’s a super interesting process …

Whither the Suns: An Update

gradually becoming more and more active on-line, in a variety of different places.

Filling in the gaps for the Suns

Further to: Whither the Suns in the Western Conference 

A report yesterday indicates that a new ‘Starting 5’ is on the way, in Phoenix, this season …

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Barnes expected to start; Hill to come off the bench
” … in a roundabout way, Matt Barnes adds depth to the team, as he will be starting and Grant Hill will move to the bench this season.

This last point just about floored everyone in attendance [at the Suns’ Fantasy Camp], but it sounds like this is what Coach Porter and Hill want to do [according to Suns’ President Rick Welts, who addressed the campers directly].”

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If accurate … it’s another step in the right direction for the Suns, by the Terry Porter/Steve Kerr tandem, as the following new line-up:

STARTERS:
1 – Nash
2 – Bell
3 – Barnes
4 – Stoudemire
5 – O’Neal

SUBS:
1 – Singeletary
1 – Dragic
1/2 – Leandro Barbosa
2/3 – Hill
3/2 – Tucker
4/3 – Diaw
4 – Amundson
5 – Lopez

is a better balanced set-up than Mike D’Antoni’s prior alternative versions.

UPDATE: Confirmation that Grant Hill would be on-board with this proposed shift in Phoenix. [Wed Sep 24 2008]

Whither the Suns in the Western Conference

At the beginning of last season, this corner forecast the precipatous decline of ‘Seven Seconds or Less‘ … and then went on to proclaim early-on that, after 3 years at-or-near the top of the Western Conference, knocking on the door of the NBA Finals, Phoenix WOULD NOT EVEN MAKE IT OUT OF THE 1st ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS LAST SEASON …

* NBA Playoffs Preview [2007-2008]
* Legitimate Contenders in the NBA: Part IV
* Eclipse of The Suns: An Update
* Hubris, The Big Aristotle and the Phoenix Suns
* Eclipse of the Suns

which is precisely what happened.

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Looking back on 2007-2008 …

Q1. What exactly did the Suns accomplish, since the start of last season?
A1. By …

* Replacing Mike D’Antoni with Steve Kerr [former PG with the Bulls & Spurs]
* Adding Grant Hill [6-8, 225]
* Replacing Shawn Marion [6-7, 230] with Shaquille O’Neal [7-1, 325]
* Replacing Mike D’Antoni with Terry Porter [former PG with the Blazers]
* Retaining & then elevating Alando Tucker [6-6, 205]
* Adding Robin Lopez [7-0, 255], Matt Barnes [6-7, 226], Goran Dragic [6-4, 180], Sean Singletary [6-0, 185] and Louis Amundson [6-9, 225]

they’ve changed the entire culture of the organization … AND dramatically improved their chances of returning to the upper echelon of the Western Conference next season and beyond.

That’s what they’ve done in Phoenix over the last 12 months.

Whereas, last year at this time, the Suns were an ALL OFFENSE, NO DEFENSE & POOR REBOUNDING team, using a bandjo-tight 8-man rotation … with almost no legit chance to ever win four [4] consecutive series in the NBA playoffs [what it takes to claim the title!] … as they head to training camp this year … this is NO LONGER the eternal and/or external make-up of this team.

THIS TEAM, this season … with the line-up it can now put on the floor, night-in and night-out:

STARTERS
1 – Nash [6-3, 178]
2 – Bell [6-5, 215]
3 – Hill
4 – Stoudemire [6-10, 249] 
5 – Shaq
————-
KEY BENCH SUBS
1 – Singletary [or Dragic]
2/1 – Barbosa [6-3, 202]
3/2 – Tucker [or Barnes]
4/3 – Diaw [6-8, 235] [or Amundson]
5 – Lopez
————-
RESERVES
1 – Dragic [or Singletary]
3 – Barnes [or Tucker]
4 – Amundson
————-
HEALTHY SCRATCHES
3 – Piatkowski [?]
4/5 – Marks [?]

is as deep and athletically talented as any other outfit in the Western Conference,

this side of the LA Lakers, and

has a solid chance to return to the Western Conference Playoffs … WITH a legit opportunity to win a round or two and, possibly, advancing to the WC Finals, once again … as an upper echelon team, in the NBA.

By returning the focus in Phoenix to what makes for a championship calibre product, in this League … i.e. a commitment to REBOUNDING, Team Defense and a Balanced [higly structured] Team Offense … Steve Kerr may have accomplished in just one season at the helm something which Jerry Colangelo, Bryan Colangelo & Mike D’Antoni [before him] were NOT able to do over the course of their careers in the ‘Valley of the Sun’ … i.e. transform this team into a LEGITIMATE CONTENDER for an NBA championship … i.e. please see, What it takes to win the NBA Championship.

Which is not an easy feat … working for an owner with the reputation of one Robert Sarver.

Q2. Could it be … ‘The Rising of a New Sun[s] in Phoenix‘ this season? 
A2. Yes, Sir, indeed … it just might be that exact thing.

Fight or flight response

Q1. When the Code by which you live is, “Run, Run, Run …“, how can you possibly hope to respond … during times of hardship … with steadfastness?

A1. In all likelihood … you can’t.

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After an oftentimes spectacular 4+ years at the helm of the Phoenix Suns, head coach, Mike D’Antoni seems as though he will soon be moving on to – what he hopes will be – greener pastures.

In a searing indictment of all that’s at the root of the Basketball Philosophy, ‘Seven Seconds or Less‘ (Jack McCallum), Adrian Wojnarowski (Yahoo! Sports) explains the how’s & why’s.

D’Antoni ready to leave his desert mirage behind

Mandatory reading for all.

Eclipse of The Suns

In his heart-of-hearts, 5-time NBA Champion, part owner & GM, Steve Kerr knows that Phoenix, as constituted … playing the “style” of basketball advocated by Head Coach, Mike D’Antoni, i.e. Offense first & foremost; Defense & Rebounding distant after-thoughts … has absolutely zero (“0”) chance of ever winning an NBA championship.

What it takes to win the NBA Championship 

But … should he actually decide to trade Shawn Marion & Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal … what he’d be doing for this franchise would be mortgaging the Suns’ foreseeable future for a chance to win it all in the next 2 years. 

Suns will regret trading for Shaq

Shaquille O’Neal is a venerable and accomplished Center in the annuls of the NBA – a veritable legend – who was once THE Dominant Force in the League but who, unfortunately, can no longer play the game at that same level today: 

SEASON AVERAGES

Season	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3p%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
07-08	MIA	32	32	28.5	0.581	0.000	0.482	3.0	4.8	7.8	1.4	0.6	1.7	2.91	4.00	14.2
Career		1013	1004	36.4	0.580	0.050	0.524	3.8	7.7	11.5	2.7	0.6	2.4	2.86	3.50	25.6

That said, however, if inserted into the Suns’ revamped line-up, thus:

Starters

Steve Nash, PG

Raja Bell, OG

Grant Hill, SF

Amare Stoudamire, PF

Shaq, C

Key Bench Players

Leandro Barbosa, G

D.J. Strawberry, G
Alando Tucker, G
Eric Piatkowski, G-F
Boris Diaw, F

Sean Marks, F-C

Brian Skinner, C

and, permitted to play within a conventional “style” of NBA basketball, e.g. similar to what Steve Nash was required to play when he teamed with Dirk Nowitzki, in Dallas, which took their team to the Western Conference Finals …

How good would Shaquille O’Neal really have to be – and, For how many minutes a night? – in order to, instantaneously, re-make the Phoenix Suns into a PRIME FORCE in the NBA for the next two years (the length of his current contract)?

Hmmmmmmmm … 14.2 PPG; 7.8 RPG; 1.4 APG; 1.7 BPG … in combination with Nash (a 2-time MVP), Bell, Hill (a multi-time All-Star) & Stoudemire (a multi-time All-Star), supported by Barbosa, Strawberry, Tucker, Piatkowski, Diaw, Marks & Skinner.

The so-called ‘basketball experts’ who feel that Steve Kerr doesn’t know what he’s doing, should he decide to complete this trade … are doing nothing more than MOURNING the LOSS of what THEY BELIEVE to be the Avant Garde way The Game SHOULD be played (in their eyes) in the NBA today … i.e. delivering “fast-paced & highly entertaining” basketball to the masses … which is what the Suns have done since the 2004-2005 season.

But Steve Kerr, if you asked him … would be only glad to say, “Forget that … I Want To Win My 6^th NBA Championship … Nothing More and Nothing Less; Avant Garde basketball be damned! … and, this move, right here, is the BEST WAY for me to make this happen with this team, under the current landscape (i.e. after the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol).”

Full Speed Ahead, Mr. Kerr! … it’s the only chance you’ve got to successfully fend off challenges from the other top teams in the Western Conference, i.e. the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Portland Trail Blazers, over the next decade.

Carpe Diem!