Will the real Diaw please stand up?

A collection of the headlines (just click on the link if you're interested in the complete stories) from The Arizona Republic dealing with our number 3, Monsieur Boris Diaw (Photo AFP) since the start of the season.

- Diaw: Big game "nothing special" (Arizona Republic, Jan. 13th, 2008)

- Diaw's struggles puzzle D'Antoni (Arizona Republic, Dec. 28th, 2007)

- D'Antoni turns up heat on Diaw (Arizona Republic, Dec. 13th, 2007)

- Diaw's selflessness may irk fans but not D'Antoni (Arizona Republic, Nov. 25th, 2007)

- Diaw's selflessness an asset (Arizona Republic, Nov. 24th, 2007)

From this simple selection you pretty much get the idea. Diaw is very talented, has the potential (Je crois) to become a dominant player in this League. Boris has a point guard mind in a power forward frame, not a bad combination to begin with and he should thrive in the Suns' system built on speed, passing and shooting. He's the prototypical NBA modern player: quick, string, tall, good shooter, great passer...

But Diaw is currently averaging 7.2 points and shooting .426 from the field his worst total - so far - as a Sun. His career stats so far:

03-04 Atlanta 25.3 MPG 4.5 PPG 4.5 RPG 2.4 APG
04-05 Atlanta 18.2 MPG 4.8 PPG 2.6 RPG 2.3 APG
04-05 Phoenix 35.5 MPG 13.3 PPG 6.9 RPG 6.2 APG
05-06 Phoenix 31.1 MPG 9.7 PPG 4.3 RPG 4.8 APG
06-07 Phoenix 35.5 MPG 7.2 PPG 4.2 RPG 3.5 APG

In other words, over the last 2 and 1/2 years Diaw's performance has worsened as minutes, points, rebounds and assists have been going down.

When this kind of high-potential player doesn't perform at the expected level everyone start thinking about a lack of motivation. Diaw 's struggles have been the Suns biggest mystery so far, one that coach D'Antoni need to solve as Diaw will eventually be one of the key to the Suns' success in the playoffs.

Any idea? Right now I think:

1. Boris, like Amaré and all the Suns big men, is missing Iavaroni.


2. Boris needs to find certainties (i.e. a stable position) on the court.


3. Boris needs to find some fire back. He's a nice man, with a positive attitude and a French upbringing (in other words not your typical NBA player). Boris lists good food, photography, animals and good wines among the things he likes in his borisdiaw.com Mes Gouts section. I hope Diaw hasn't lost his desire to compete in a struggling period.

Go Boris ! Suns Nation Needs You.

Go Suns !