The 2007-08 Suns. The Season

After each game during the season I posted a recap at AZ Sports Hub. I have decided to post all the headlines from each game: 1 to 82 and then 1 to 5 in the Playoffs. I think it will help go through the last few months of Suns basketball as understanding the past is the best way to build for the future.

Suns shake off rust in 2nd half, Beat Sonics in opener
Lakers win 119-98. Suns booed by home crowd!
Suns come back to beat Cavs 103-92
Suns (3-1) dominate Bobcats to begin Southeast trip
The Hawks are good! Suns lose in Atlanta 105-96
Nash takes over in the 4th. Suns beat Heat in Miami
It’s Barbosa doing magic as Suns beat Orlando 106-96.
Suns beat “shorthanded” Knicks, improve to 6-2
Running with the Bulls, Suns win 112-102
You can’t reach the Sun with a Rocket! Phoenix beat Houston 115-105
Suns hold on for 100-98 win in Sacramento.
Suns score 80 in the first half, beat Kings 127-111
Suns beat Clippers 113-94 for 8th straight win
Yao leads Rockets past Suns 100-94
Raja leads the way as Suns beat Magic, 110-106
Hill’s 28 lead Suns past Knicks in NYC
STAT’s 42 lead Suns past Pacers 121-117
Suns score 136 to beat Raptors in Toronto
Suns “just incredible”, Beat the Wiz 122-107
Suns get cold in second half, lose to Minnesota 100-93
The Heat is on! Suns lose to Miami 117-113
Suns beat Jazz 103-98 as Nash leads the ensemble…and chipped a tooth in the making
Hornets beat Suns 101-98 as Paul edges Nash in the Big Easy
Hill leads Suns past Duncan and the Spurs 100-95
“WunderDirk” leads Dallas past the Suns 108-105
Suns win eighth straight vs Raptors 122-103. Now it’s Christmas with Kobe
Santa is a Laker! LA beat Phoenix 122-115
Amaré plays big as Suns walk over Clippers 108-88
Suns score under 100 and WIN! 94 enough to beat the Clippers
Suns end year with win no. 22 in Sacramento
Suns come back from 20 down to beat Sonics 104-96
Paul and the Hornets come back to beat the Suns 118-112
Suns drop 20 3-pointers on the Nuggets in a 137-115 win
Suns come back to beat Pacers in OT without Nash and Hill
Jazz hold shorthanded Suns to just 86 points in Utah
Nash’s season-high 35 points lead Suns past Bucks (for the 20th straight time at home)
Clippers beat Suns in LA giving Division lead to the Lakers
Suns finally beat Lakers, regain Division lead
Suns dominate Wolves 115-95 as D’Antoni looks for defense
Suns (29-12) dominate Nets at home 116-92
Nash’s season high 37 points lead Suns past Bucks.
Suns first to lose twice to Timberwolves in the season
Marion’s floater (with 1.1 seconds left) gives Suns 110-108 win in Cleveland
Suns gain “gritty win” in Chicago, 88-77
Suns run over Hawks 125-92. Now ready for Spurs
Spurs come back in the fourth to beat Suns, 84-81
Suns’ 16 triples beat Bobcats, 118-104
Suns lose again to Hornets in 2OT, on the night Shaq became a Sun
Waiting for Shaq, Suns beat Sonics with a little help from Wally
STAT scores 31 as Suns beat Wizards 108-107
Baron and “the Man” lead Warriors past Suns 120-118
Suns beat Mavs 109-97 in final game before break
Kobe ruins Shaq’s Suns debut. LA wins 130-124
Suns get first win of the Shaq era, beat KG and the Celtics 85-77
Pistons run over Phoenix 116-86 as Suns play worst game of the year
Suns back at full speed, beat Grizzlies 127-113
Hornets sweep season series vs Suns with win in New Orleans
Suns lose at home to Sixers. Is it time to worry?
Suns hold on for 97-92 win in Portland
Melo and A.I. lead Nuggets past tired Suns, 126-113
Jazz send Suns to third straight home loss, 126-118
Suns beat Spurs 94-87 as Shaq shows the way
Suns roll over Grizzlies for second straight win, 132-111
STAT lead Suns past Warriors 123-115
Suns run over Kings for 4th straight win
STAT and Shaq lead Suns past Blazers for 5th straight win
Suns make it six in a row with win in Seattle
Perfect STAT leads Suns past Rockets 122-113
Pistons end Suns’ seven game win streak in OT
KG leads Boston past STAT and the Suns
Amare and Raja lead Suns to easy win in Philly
Amare (again) leads Suns past Nets and back on top of Pac5
STAT and Nash lead Suns past Denver in biggest comeback of the year
In the end the Suns can’t shine in Denver
Suns do “their job” against Timberwolves, win 117-88
Suns collapse in the fourth, Dallas wins 105-98
Suns clinch playoffs spot with win in Memphis, 127-113
Nash, Shaq and STAT lead Suns past Spurs 96-79
Rockets “out-hustle” Suns 101-90. Phoenix now 6th in the West
Suns blow lead then come back to beat Warriors 122-116
Suns beat Blazers 100-91 to end season at 55-27. Spurs Next !

and then came the Spurs, once again.

Suns vs Spurs: Focus, Paint, Refs and “our” Frenchman
Suns fans’ worst fears materialized as Spurs take game 1 of the series in 2OT
Spurs’ Big Three beat Suns in game 2. Phoenix in 0-2 series hole
Suns quickly setting in Phoenix. Spurs dominate game 3
Suns still alive as Diaw and Bell lead Phoenix past Spurs in game 4
It’s Over. Spurs eliminate Suns 4-1

Go Suns !

Suns vs Spurs. Next

So, after 82 games (55-27) of the regular season, it’ll be the Spurs again starting this weekend in Texas. We haven't forgotten.

Go Suns !

The Envelope Please

It's time to hand out some silverware to the best in the 2007/2008 NBA season.


MVP - Kevin Garnett (Boston)
Each time Kobe, CP3, Garnett, STAT and Co. go to the line these days the crowds start the inevitable "MVP MVP" chants. To me the MVP has to be the best player on the best team. There could be a case for both Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant but KG changed the franchise beyond the numbers. Case closed


Coach of the Year - Byron Scott (New Orleans)
Made a great team from a bunch of talented player. A close runner-up has to be the Rockets' Adelman for his great job without Yao Ming.


Rookie of the Year - Kevin Durant (Seattle)
Played in a low-pressure, just play and have fun, environment but did very well in his first NBA season.


Most Improved Player
Either Rajon Rondo (Boston) or Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies...I would say Gay in a close one.


Best sixth man
This is a real non sense award. No awards, please. I am not really willing to hand out an award to any member of the Spurs, anyway.


Suns MVP - Stoudemire put up great stats but did not really improved his game. Steve Nash is still my MVP. By the way, Steve got over 40% of the votes in the recent Sons of Steve Nash poll ;-)

Go Suns !

Who would you like to play in the Playoffs?

Since the Suns clinched a playoffs spot with last night’s - otherwise meaningless - win in Memphis we can probably start thinking about Playoffs matchups in the Western Conference.

All the debate about the Suns final place in the standings has to do with home court advantage and above all who's gonna be "our" first round opponents. It’s all about first round opponents, really, since the real disaster, not only for the Suns, would be losing so early in the Playoffs.

The Suns are currently 6th in the West and would face the Lakers. Fifth place could mean facing the Jazz in round one. Those seem the two most probable combinations at the moment. Do you like those matchups? Not at all as the Suns are a combined 2-5 against Utah and LA.

It wouldn’t be any better if the Suns had to face say New Orleans, San Antonio and given last Sunday’s game Dallas.

Of the Suns’ 28 wins vs the West, 18 came against non playoffs teams. The Suns are 8-14 vs Western Playoffs teams.

I like the Suns’ chances against Houston and Denver, but everyone would love to play those two teams in the first rounds since the Rockets will be without Yao and the Nuggets without any form of defense.

If only the Suns could play the Clippers or the Kings.

Go Suns !

Nash: The Monthly Invoicing

Somehow, during this season, I got the idea that Nash was having a so-so season, possibly not in line with expectations nor with his previous performance as the Suns PG. I decided to have a look at the numbers.

Steve Nash season so far looks like this: GP 73 MPG 34.7 PPG 17.2 APG 11.2 TO 3.70 3P% 0.48 while his Suns career stats are MPG 35 PPG 17.6 APG 11.2 TO 3.6 3P% 0.45.

Nash is in line with his past performance and shooting the best of his career from 3-point range. So, could you please bring back those MVP MVP chants?

Here's a statistical recap of Steve Nash's performance, on a monthly basis.

November (too many turnovers, but a great moth)

GP 16, MPG 34.3, PPG 19.5, APG 10.9, TO 4.2, 3P% 0.50

December (great passing month)
GP 15, MPG 34.5, PPG 13.9, APG 14, TO 2.8, 3P% 0.40

January (another excellent month)
GP 15, MPG 33.7, PPG 18.6, APG 10.5, TO 4.3, 3P% 0.49

February (too many turnovers in the toughest month of the season for the Suns)
GP 11, MPG 36.4, PPG 17.7, APG 10.3, TO 4.6, 3P% 0.43

March (adjusting to the Shaq era)
GP 16, MPG 35.3, PPG 17.5, APG 9.8, TO 3, 3P% 0.56

In case you wonder, here are Nash's stats in the post Shaq era: GP 21, MPG 35.2, PPG 17.5, APG 9.6, TO 3.1, 3P% 0.52

So, Steve is playing is usual great game. There's not much talk lately about Nash since everyone is focusing on Shaq and Stoudemire. Only dangerous sign is playing time, I'd rather se Nash play under 34 minutes a game trying to rest him a little before the playoffs, since the Suns failed once again to develop a back up PG.

Go Suns !

Upon Further Review or Hurting Myself again.

Instead of going out to dinner with friends I decided to spend last night at home, in front of the TV, hurting myself, watching the last two Suns games one more time. So I took the laptop on my knees and started re-watching the games in Detroit and Boston. Here’s what I think I saw in no particular order.

Wait a minute! Arron Afflalo (correct? Double R, Double F) is in the starting five for the Pistons. He was drafted a few picks later than Alando Tucker who as of today has played the grand total of FIVE games so far. Why can’t we ever play a rookie, why? Trade all draft picks from here to eternity, maybe the Mavs could give us Dirk Nowitzki if we just pack all first rounders until 2020.

D’Antoni is starting the game on a 2-3 zone defense. Am I watching the right game? I think I saw Amaré coming from the weak side to provide help on defense. Twice! He even seems to care a bit more about what’s going on.

Whit Shaq on the court the Suns are actually a better (forget our initial fears) fastbreak team since they can trust Shaq under the boards and the other four players can just fly quickly to the other side. Yet the Suns are a totally different team from the one that opened the season. Different players, different attitude, different plays, different everything and they’re depending more and more on Nash; without Steve at QB the Suns can’t play offense at all now.

Did you notice nobody seems to miss Marion or is it just me?

I had not realized how good a defender Grant Hill can be. With Nash, Shaq and Hill on the court the Suns have by far the highest basketball IQ on the planet. It should have happened 4 years ago.
Shaq can give the Suns 20 minutes (no more) of high quality basketball each night, despite being in the best shape of the last 2-3 years, another great job by the Suns training staff.

The Suns have completely stopped playing the pick and roll between Nash and Shaq which they tried often in the first four games of the Era of the Big Cactus. Wow, how about trying to defend a pick and roll between Diaw and Nash with Steve actually setting the pick and getting open for a three…lovely. (It happened with 5:50 left in the second of the Detroit game).

I don’t like Gordan Giricek.

Do you recall the last time the Suns had a little help from the officials? C’mon ref, that’s an offensive foul

Leandro Barbosa is definitely overrated, as much as I love the guy he’s still very far from being a complete basketball player, he’s the best at coming off the bench, shooting and running as fast as he can, but he’s far from getting the inner details of this game. Don’t get me wrong, I like Leandrinho, Beep Beep !

These days Stoudemire vs Garnett is the best match-up in the NBA to watch, possibly even better than Lebron vs Kobe. KG (I know we should have made that deal) can change a team like no other player in the NBA. I love that guy, he’s the best overall player in the game right now, no one can give you so much on BOTH sides of the court. Garnett has to be League’s MVP. Kobe, Lebron, Paul, are all great players, possibly with superior talent, but he’s the MVP. (all photos by AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

And finally, give us the playoffs, I am getting tired of the regular season.

Go Suns !

State of the West

While it's quite clear the Eastern Conference Champions will be eventually chosen between Cleveland, Boston and Detroit (I like the Pistons), in the West everything is possible. With less then a month left in the regular season here's what could happen on this side of the moon.

Lakers (48-22) Gasol and Bynum will come back in time for the playoffs, the schedule looks promising with 8 games at home (9 if you count the road game with the Clippers) in the remaining 12. Expect LA to hold on first place in the Pac 5 and the Conference.

New Orleans (47-21) 4-6 over the last 10 on the road could mean trouble as the Hornets will play mostly out of the Big Easy including visits to Cleveland, Boston, Toronto, Orlando, The Lakers and Dallas. Division lead in jeopardy but I think they'll be able to hold on and retain the second overall record in the Conference.

Houston (47-23) That 20-something win streak was amazing but how long can Tracy McGrady and Luis Scola carry this team without Yao remains to be seen. Houston will only play teams within the Conference and mostly on the road, but some of those foes are easy ones (Clippers, Sonics, Kings twice each). Make the playoffs but end up third in the Southwest.

San Antonio (47-23) The "hated" Spurs are starting to get into playoffs mode: tight (dirty) defense, clutch plays, the usual amazing play from Manu and more or less just ugly wins. A tough stretch in the schedule with Houston, Golden State, Utah, Portland and Phoenix in 10 days. 2nd in the division is where they'll end. They'll be there to the end as usual.

Utah (46-25) 7 home games left and since you can't beat this guys in Salt Lake City (30-4) it's good news for them; although you won't find a tougher final stretch of the year (San Antonio, New Orleans, Dallas, Denver, Houston and the Spurs again). Easly win the Northwest and should have a couple of rounds with home-court advantage in the post season.

Dallas (44-26) along with the Suns this is the most interesting team to watch since the whole season has been an emotional roller coaster, and the ride is far from over over since Jason Kidd is still looking for his place, Marc Cuban is still unsure about Coach Johnson's leadership and skills, Josh Howard has lost some of his early season form and above all Dirk could be out for a few weeks. The schedule is so-so, not bad but not too easy as this team needs to find answers now. The Mavs could well win the League or miss the playoffs (Cuban won't stand still in the latter case).

Golden State (43-26) still running at full speed, making each game a tactical mess. Monta Ellis has become one of the best guards in the League and with Davis and Jackson it's never easy to face Nellie's band. The Warriors are trying to hold off Denver for the last playoffs place in the West. The schedule is not easy early on but the end the season with 4-of-5 at home. They'll play the Nuggets twice and those games could mean a lot. I still think they'll make it as the 8th seeded team.

Denver (42-28) the Nuggets are a very good team but a victim of the tough Western Conference. I think they won't reach the playoffs despite the great recent play of Melo and Iverson but they still have a chance and have destiny in their hands (as they say) since they'll play Dallas once, Phoenix and Golden State twice. I don't think they'll make it.

And finally, your Phoenix Suns (47-22). The Suns are finding a new balance, defense has been better, if not good, lately and after a few difficult games Phoenix is again shooting the ball very well. A seven game winning streak is there to prove it. With 13 games to go I expect the Suns to win 9 and possibly lose 4 (Detroit, Boston, Denver and San Antonio all on the road). A 56-26 record should be good for a top four seed and a chance to play at least one at home in the playoffs. Second place in the Division and third in the Conference is what will happen.

And then...I'll just sit down, root for the Suns, and watch. Each team in the West (maybe except the Nuggets should they make it) is very capable of winning it all.

Go Suns !

Are the Suns willing to play defense?

The Suns defense is awful. We all know that, but I am still not sure of the reason.

The Suns players are individually very poor defenders with the possible exceptions of Bell and Strawberry. Stoudemire is big, athletic but doesn’t have a clue on defense, Hill doesn’t have the size to guard a forward in the League, and so on.

Well documented are Nash’s defensive limitations, i.e. check this very interesting post from the Empty the Bench blog, while "of course" I don't agree with the fact that Nash is overrated.

I actually believe Nash is not that bad one vs. one, at least in trying to drive his opponents where help should be coming. Steve (and more or less everyone else on the Suns team) is lost when opponents start spreading the basketball, playing the passing game and setting consecutive picks.

Did you notice how many open shots Suns’ opponents can take in a game?

The departure of Shawn Marion means the Suns are suffering on the perimeter. Check the stats of the small forwards the Suns faced recently: Anthony scored 30, Gay 36, Iguodala 32, Jamison (playing at SF most of the night) 28 as Raja often has to guard the opponents' small forwards. Raja (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens) is a very good defender on guards but he’s not big enough to guard much bigger players.

The Suns play possibly the worst pick-and-roll defense in the League. Often opponents play pick-and-roll (even the NBA teams not calling Salt Lake City home), most of the time that’s the play they call to start their offense, with a combination of PG and C (or PF). Against the Suns it means the 2 worst defenders on the team, Nash and Stoudemire, come into action. Shaq is not any better as a pick-and-roll defender.

So the Suns need a good defender at small forward…Marion? Right, back then we needed a big presence in the middle. It can't be solved, I am afraid.

Playing defense is so far away from the Suns state of mind that even if they enter the play with a decent attitude, they just fail to play defense for 24 seconds. They often look more or less lost.

So the question is, can a team of poor individual defenders become a decent defensive team? I think it is possible as it’s mostly a matter of will, attitude, good coaching and work ethic. Let’s just hope it can be feasible in a couple of months.

Go Suns !

The Schedule is against the Suns

Entering today’s game against the Spurs, the Suns (40-22) will have exactly 20 games left in the 2007-08 season.
Of those 20 games Phoenix will have 16 vs. the West and the four games against the East will be played on the road in Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Of those 20 games, 13 will be against teams with winning records.
Before the end of the regular season Phoenix will play 2 vs. the Spurs, 2 vs. the Nuggets, 2 vs. Golden State, 2 vs. Houston. You got it.

It’s time to get worried as the Suns are SERIOUSLY in danger of missing the playoffs or eventually enter the post season with the Conference 7th or 8th seed.

Go Suns !

On trading: Shaq, Kidd and Gasol.

The recent trades of Paul Gasol to the Lakers, Jason Kidd to the Mavs and of course Shaq to the Suns changed three of the best teams in the Conference.

But did they really change the Western Conference Geography? Quite frankly, they did not.

The Mavs, the Lakers and the Suns had to be considered serious contenders even before making those moves but I belive each trade has to be analysed from a different perspective.

Possibily only the Lakers improved without question. LA traded more or less nothing for one of the best forward in the game and once Bynum comes back they should have the core of a potential championship team in the making (don't forget you need three good-to-great players to win the League...unless one is named Jordan).

We know by now that Shaq to the Suns is both a chemistry and a panic move: Marion had to go to improve life inside the Suns' lockeroom and the GM (and the Owner) were getting worried about the Suns inability to beat the best teams in the Conference.

The Mavs Kidd-napping was guided by the desperate need to find leadership. Dallas knew JT and Dirk would not be able to provide the kind of guide needed during a championship run, that Kidd could deliver. Otherwise you don't trade away a very good 24-year-old PG and a couple of draft picks for a player (an All-Star I have to admit) 10 years older.

Of the three, the most intriguing move is the Suns getting the Diesel. I am still not 100% convinced about the trade, as I would have rather traded Marion for, say, Gasol, but tonight game will sure be interesting to watch.

Shaq making his Suns debut against the Lakers, vs Kobe, on ESPN. This is a lucky league, or maybe have the greatesr PR Department in the World.

Go Suns !

Next ten games could be the key for the future

The Suns have the best record in the West after beating the Bobcats on Monday night at 34-14 (.708), they're 8-2 over the last 10 games.

Phoenix is 20-2 (yeah, you got it right, 20 wins in 22 games) against Eastern Conference teams, only 14-12 vs. the West but what's making most of Suns fans worried is the 5-8 record against teams with winning records in the Conference.

Right now, any playoffs matchup, would mean trouble for the Suns. If the regular season ended today Phoenix would play Golden State. Not sure I like the idea.

The Suns' February schedule is the perfect test to check the real value of this team: over the next ten games the Suns will play 7 at home and play 8 games against teams with winning records. Anything less then 7-3 would be disappointing.

Phoenix will face some of the League's best: New Orleans (Feb. 6th), Golden State (Feb. 13th), Dallas (Feb. 14th), The Lakers (Feb. 20th), Boston (Feb. 22nd), Detroit (Feb. 24th) and the Hornets again (Feb. 27th).

Go Suns !

41 DOWN, 41 TO GO. Time for a Report Card

41 down, 41 to go is where the Suns stand right now. We have reached the midway point of the regular season and it's time for a check on the Suns' performance so far.

The Record: 29-12

Phoenix has the best record in the Western Conference and a one game lead on the Lakers in the Division. The Suns are 15-4 at home and 14-8 on the road.

The Division race looks much tighter this time, as the Lakers have really improved and should be able to contend for the Pac 5 crown despite the fact they'll miss Andrew Bynum for a few weeks. Andrew was the League most improved player and was starting to become a dominant NBA center.


The Players (and a 1-10 rating of their respective performance so far)

Stoudemire: (22.5 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.18 BPG) big numbers almost every night, poor defense and the sense that he could be better and could actually take over a game almost every night. (8/10).

Barbosa: (17.1 PPG, 3.0 APG) usual spark off the bench. As quick as they come, solid season so far but nothing spectacular (7/10).

Nash: (16.9 PPG, 12.1 APG, 3.63 TPG) Steve is just being Steve...walking around on the Suns' half court (often clueless when his direct opponent doesn't have the basketball) but passing the ball like Tom Brady, leading the League in assists and shooting very well from 3-point range (8/10). Suns co-MVP.

Marion: (16.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.95 SPG) still unhappy I guess but so far has just played hard every night. Not having his best season stat-wise since he had to give up some shots to Grant Hill but shooting well. Suns co-MVP so far (IMHO), since he's the most consistent player on a very inconsistent season (8/10).

Hill: (15.9 PPG, 4.60 RPG, 3.5 APG) all we expected and possibly more. Great mid range shooting, running well and looking young. Hope he'll recover well from appendicectomy (8/10).

Bell: (11.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.1 APG) Raja started the year with some minor - but annoying - injuries that limited his mobility. He's coming back, shooting better and playing better difense (5/10).

Diaw: (7.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.7 APG): the biggest question mark of the year so far. Seems to have turned the corner, could be interesting to watch him when Grant Hill comes back (4/10)

Banks: (5.4 PPG, 1 APG, 13.0 MPG) he's out of favour with the Coach and has been replaced by Strawberry in the rotation lately. Shooting the ball well from outside, the feeling is the Suns would love to trade him if not for his huge contract (5/10).

Skinner: (3.7 PPG, 4.30 RPG) a nice addition, he's a fighter and a better than expected shooter. Always ready, good signing (6/10).

The rest: D.J. Strawberry is emerging as a role player, hopefully he'll be able to play 10-12 minutes a game untile the end of the year. His defense and hustle could become very useful in the playoffs. Not much to report as Tucker has appeared in 5 games only while Marks and Piatkowski are just there to fill the roster.

Coach D'Antoni

Trying to keep the team focused and motivated which is difficult on a nightly basis when everyone knows their season will rest on playoffs' performance.

Team has showed too much inconsistency and on a few occasions and alarming lack of energy and effort sometimes. He's doing a good job lately as team's performance (and defense) is improving.
Since, nothing less than a Finals appearence will be considered a success and D'Antoni knows well you can't win the Championship in December but you can lose one, he's putting some heat on his team lately.

He's missing Iavaroni as the Suns have been beaten in the paint often this year.

So far, Coach D deserves a 7 (out of 10).

The Mood

Losing often against top teams in the West had all Planet Orange worried (and stil is) but performance is improving (i.e. the nice win against the Lakers). Mood is positive and I think the Suns will be ready for the Playoffs. I am expecting another 30 wins in the next 41, a division title and a top 2 seed in the Conference...then let the battle begin !

Go Suns !

Suns top the West: Un-happy at 23-9 ?

Coach D'Antoni (AP Photo/Paul Connors) opening training camp last October reaffirmed that the Suns needed to "enjoy the journey".

"It can't be, 'This is all a disaster if we don't win the championship', "You don't enjoy the journey that way and I think we didn't enjoy the journey enough last year", said the Coach to ESPN.com Marc Stein on Oct. 12th, 2007.

At the start of the season it was quite clear that the Suns would have won a lot of games in the regular season but as almost everyone knew, this is a team built to win it all. Anything less than a trip to the Finals will be considered a failure.

Now, in early January, with about one third of the season gone, the Suns have the best record in the West (23-9 on Jan. 4th) but more or less seem one of the unhappiest team in the NBA. Somewhat I think I agree with Marv Albert on that (check the broadcast of the Sonics game last night on TNT)

The Suns have been somewhat inconsistent this year, from game to game and sometime within one single game: on and off; scoring 35 one quarter and then 15 the next.

They have played with a lack of energy, mostly on defense, on various occasions (that e.g. costed loss in Atlanta and Minnesota.)

The Suns have also been outrebounded almost every night. Stoudemire have been fantastic on offense, awful on defense, more or less the same with Steve Nash.

Defense has been poor as the Suns won most of their games just by running over worse teams - those being almost 25 teams in the NBA. Phoenix defense was nothing special last year too, it's no big surprise, but it's very important the Suns put a lot of energy on both side of the floor as playing the lanes on defense is the key to scoring in transition.

Despite all of this, the Suns have won over 70% of their game and are in perfect position to enter the playoffs with the best record (and home court advantage) in the Conference.

So, Why is (almost) everyone so unhappy with the Suns right now?

Were we really expecting to be 32-0 at this point? Of course not.

I think the lack of enthusiasm has a lot to do with just a handful of games, those against the teams the Suns will be playing to win the West next spring: Dallas, San Antonio and the LA Lakers (and maybe to a lesser extent Golden State, New Orleans, Houston and Utah).

Against those big three the Suns are just 1-3, with two painful losses vs. the Lakers (booed at home in the opener and defeated on Christmas). The only win came in San Antonio facing the Spurs without Tony Parker and with Tim Duncan just back from missing a few games with injury.

On those occasions I think we more or less felt a little shiver-down-the-back as we saw a Suns team unable to solve last year's problems: playing against teams with talent and athleticism and defending the inside.

You get the idea, it's more fear, than lack of enthusiasm.

The fear that comes with the idea the Suns have only a 2-year-opportunity to win the championship with their current core of players; the fear that comes with the belief that, if possible, this year will be even tougher.

Go Suns !

Would you trade Stoudemire for Garnett now?

During the offseason talks of the past Summer most of us discussed about a possible trade bringing Kevin Garnett to Phoenix.

Before KG being dealt to Boston on July 31st for a bunch of more or less promising young players - and a lifetime beer supply from Danny Ainge to old pal Kevin McHale - the Suns made a real attempt to bring him to the Valley.

More or less, from what we know now, the Suns were offering, in a three-team deal, Shawn Marion and some draft picks for Garnett while Minnesota was asking for Stoudemire.

Steve Kerr basically refused to include one of the best young center in the League, STAT, in any talk with the Timberwolves. Most of us, included myself on this same blog, agreed with Kerr's point of view.

Now, after two months of the season I am not so sure anymore.

Kevin Garnett (6-11, 31-year-old) 18.9 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, +26.56 EFF

KG has changed the face of the Celtics. Garnett plays all-out every night, he's shooting well (.545) and playing the best defense in the league. NBA MVP so far this season.

Amaré Stoudemire (6-10, 25-year-old) 21.5 PPG, 8.70 RPG, 1.2 APG, +24.89 EFF

STAT is playing one of the best, if not the best, season of his career on offense (shooting .584) while showing all his well-known limits on defense.

It all come down to this I believe: STAT means future (5-7 more years at this level) and offense while KG means present and a better overall game. Since Steve Nash is 33, Grant Hill is 35 , Shawn Marion is 29, the best chance the Suns have to win it all is NOW (this and possibly next season).

If I had a choice now I would trade STAT for KG. I feel Steve Kerr would do the same....now. But that's just speculation.

Go Suns !

Merry Christmas to the Suns Nation !

Dear Santa,

all I am asking you for Christmas is a nice win on Chirstmas Day on National TV (Abc, 3 PM) against Kobe and the Lakers.

Thanks


Yours truly, Steve Fan

Believers or Doubters

Five Reasons to Believe

1. The Suns are 19-8 (11-4 on the road) and have the second best record in the West.
2. Grant Hill is actually better than everyone thought (16 ppg and 4.6 rpg), looks young and has started all 27 games.
3. Amaré is shooting .567, a career high so far.
4. Nash is leading the league with 12.4 assists per game (another career high so far).
5. Brian Skinner can play (12 minutes per game, .560 shooting).

Five Reasons to Doubt

1. The Suns have been inconsistent (especially on defense) often. During the same game we've seen good spans and awful periods. They are 3-4 over the last two weeks.
2. The Suns have been outrebounded badly the whole season: totals so far 1,261 for the opponents - 1,099 for Phoenix.
3. The Suns lost everytime they failed to score 100 points. Suns defense is not gonna win games anytime soon.
4. Amaré looks bad on defense too often, how many times have you seen Stoudemire defending with his arms down or being late in rotations?
5. Players development. D.J. has appeared in six games, Tucker in three and both too often failed to appear in games, even with the Suns up by 20 while Marcus Banks is not the needed back up to Steve Nash, at least that's what the coaching staff believes. His positive performance during the pre-season is long forgotten.

Go Suns!

What's going on in Dallas?

At 17-7, writing after the loss in New Orleans, the Suns now head to Texas to face the two best team in the West (not calling Arizona home): San Antonio (18-5) and Dallas (16-9).

While the Spurs are playing well, despite Tim Duncan missing a few games (he's back...don't worry), one of the toughest question in the NBA right now is what's going on in Dallas?

It's such an interesting issue (check the excellent Mavsblog on the Dallas Morning News), even for non-Mavs fans, because it's a perfect example of the thin equilibrium NBA teams are living on, day in and day out, as the key is both technical and psychological.

The Mavs are very good at home (10-2) not so good on the road (6-7) but look like a team in search of its soul on most nights.

Compare it to what they have in San Antonio. The Spurs know where they are, trust their skills, know what to do, who should get the ball when it matters; a classic case of winners' confidence.

The Mavs have possibly the best roster in the NBA and for sure some of the game's most talented players: Nowitzki, Howard, Terry, Harris plus some very good players off bench in Stackhouse, Bass, Diop, Barea. Only the Suns' top six players could match the Mavs talent wise.

They have an excellent coaching staff too, led by one the game's brightest young coach, and an Owner ready to pay what's needed to win.

Yet, despite this they are still looking for certainties. I believe it all comes down to Confidence and Collective Intelligence.

On a basketball court it means that you're expecting the best (a win) in every game because you know the TEAM can find solutions that a single player wouldn't be able to create (unless he's MJ...but that's a different story). It means that a team can actually perform better than the sum of its single players.

Good attitude and good coaching can create some form of collective intelligence and the Mavs have both (like the Suns) but only winning can actually generate optimism and self-confidence and I believe Dallas has not recovered yet from last year's awful loss to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs and - above all - the terrible loss (up 2-0 in the series with game three in control) to the Heat in the NBA Finals the year before. It won't be easy to get over those.

Imagine how the Mavs will feel when they start the playoffs next spring. The whole season will be a process of self-confidence building and I think Avery Johnson is primarily working on this side of his team. He needs a self-confident Nowitzki, above all.

While the Suns haven't experienced a "dramatic" loss, the way a first round exit is when you're supposed to win it all, Phoenix will somewhat experience the same kind of mental pressure in the Playoffs.

The next couple of games in San Antonio and Dallas should be very interesting.

Go Suns !

Are the Suns actually playing good defense?

The 5-game Eastern road trip ended with an unpredictable loss to the Timberwolves but still remained a success with Phoenix winning four (of five) and scoring at least 115 in each of those games. The Suns actually put 122 on the Wizards, 136 on the Raptors, 121 on the Pacers and only 115 on the Knicks. With last night exception against the T-Wolves the Suns have been the better team on the court every game.

Phoenix is 16-4, third highest total in the League behind the Spurs and the Celtics, and is basically winning games because the Suns are outplaying their opponents: Nash & Co. are running faster, passing the ball around and shooting better....sounds easy eh!?

The Suns are shooting an excellent .497 from the field (.373 from 3-point and .786 on FT), their opponents just .462 .361 .708.
The Suns are dishing an amazing 27.9 assists per game, seven more than their foes, not to mention more steals (8.2 vs 7.1), less turnovers (14.1 vs 15.8) and more blocked shots (5.5 vs 3.8) per game.

Are the Suns just better than their challengers or is there a case for the Suns defense as well? Not sure, when the Suns are able to impose their high-speed rhythm to the games they become effective in chasing the ball, getting deflections (a big key in Coach D'Antoni's system) and thus generating fastbreaks and points off turnovers: that's the key to the Suns defense.

The only apparent weakness being the rebounds as the Suns have been out-STATed 45.8 to 41.9. But that deficit on the boards has actually been the results of a few bad games:

• 54-34 vs LA Lakers
• 56-40 vs Atlanta
• 47-34 vs Houston
• 55-33 vs Minnesota

The Suns lost every time they scored less then 100 points this season (0-4) and on three of those they have been outrebounded badly.

The next few games should be very interesting to check where the Suns are now. After playing Miami (4-15) on Monday Phoenix has the biggest challenge of the season so far with games in New Orleans (13-7), San Antonio (17-3) and Dallas (13-8). Those two games in Texas should be very interesting to watch.

One quick note. I hadn't realized how much Steve Nash had improved his shooting over the years until I read this great (as usual) post on The Painted Area.

Finally, before leaving, remember to Ask Raja on YouTube !

Go Suns!

PG-SG Combo Power Ranking

Last night's game against the Magic showed how great Steve Nash and Raja Bell are as a PG-SG combination. So while I was watching the game I thought about where would I rank them in a ideal PG-SG (power) ranking.
I have tried to rank the ten best starting PG-SG combination right now. Starting (right now) means no Parker-Ginobili as long as Manu comes off the bench and no Gilbert Arenas or Mike Bibby as only active players have been taken into consideration. I have indeed included LeBron as he's just day-to-day.

Here's my PG-SG Combo Power Ranking. Each player is followed by his current avg. in points, rebounds and assists. (PPG, RPG, APG - NO DECIMALS). Stats as of Sunday, December 2nd, 2007.

1. Detroit - C. Billups (16, 2, 7), R. Hamilton (16, 3, 4)

2. Dallas - D. Harris (15, 3, 5), J. Terry (17, 2, 3)

3. Milwaukee - M. Williams (14, 3, 7), M. Redd (23, 5, 3)

4. Chicago - K. Heinrich (10, 2, 5), B. Gordon (19, 4, 2)

5. New Jersey - J. Kidd (11, 8, 10), V. Carter (18, 5, 4)

6. LA Lakers - K. Bryant (27, 6, 4), D. Fisher (11, 2, 3)

7. Golden State - M. Ellis (16, 3, 2) B. Davis (23, 5, 8)

8. Cleveland - D. Gibson (12, 2, 3), L. James (30, 7, 8)

9. Phoenix - S. Nash (18, 3, 11), R. Bell (10, 3, 2). Great Combination of defense, playmaking and shooting...if you could combine the offensive side of Nash with the defensive side of Bell you would make the greatest guard to ever play the game

10. Miami - J. Williams (9, 2, 5), D. Wade (19, 3, 4)

11. Charlotte - J. Richardson (17, 5, 2), R. Felton (16, 3, 7)
12. Houston - T. McGrady (25, 5, 5), R. Alston (8, 3, 4)

13. New York - S. Marbury (14, 2, 5), J. Crawford (16, 2, 4)
14. Denver - A. Iverson (23, 3, 7), A. Carter (7, 3, 5)

15. Utah - R. Brewer (13, 2, 2), D. Williams (19, 3, 8)

16. San Antonio - T. Parker (20, 3, 7), M. Finley (7, 2, 1). With Manu Ginobili (19, 4, 4) starting the Spurs' duo would be in the top five.

17. Indiana - M. Dunleavy (16, 5, 2), J. Tinsley (14, 4, 8)

18. New Orleans - C. Paul (19, 4, 10), M. Peterson (9, 3, 1)

19. Boston - R. Rondo (8, 3, 5), R. Allen (20, 4, 3)

20. Toronto - J. Calderon (9, 2, 7) or TJ Ford (13, 2, 7) and A. Parker (11, 4, 1)

21. Seattle - K. Durant (19, 4, 2), D West (7, 2, 3) or Watson (7, 2, 6).
22. Memphis - D. Staudamire (7, 2, 4), M. Miller (14, 7, 3)

23. LA Clippers - C. Maggette (20, 6, 2), B. Knight (4, 1, 4). Not much better if you count S. Cassell (13, 2, 4) at PG

24. Atlanta - A. Johnson (4, 2, 3), J. Johnson (22, 3, 5)

25. Philadelphia - A. Miller (14, 4, 4), W. Green (11, 3, 2)

26. Orlando - J. Nelson (12, 4, 5), K. Bogans (9, 4, 1)

27. Portland - S. Blake (5, 2, 5), B. Roy (16, 3, 4)

28. Sacramento - B. Udrich (14, 3, 4) K. Martin (24, 5, 2)

29. Minnesota - S. Telfair (9, 2, 4), C. Brewer (4, 2, 1). Not much better with Marko Jaric in the line-up.

30. Washington - A. Daniels (7, 3, 4), D. Stevenson (7, 3, 2).They're missing G. Arenas (22, 4, 5) a lot.

Go Suns !

It'll be either the Suns, the Spurs or the Mavs...

Former Sun Jalen Rose, now an ESPN Analyst, makes a bold prediction on the Western Conference: you wouldn't believe he's picking either the Suns, the Mavs or the Spurs to win the West...even following a Monday loss by each one of them. Other than the easy pick, Jalen is actually making some interesting comments on those three teams, from a guy who used to play with those same guys he's now watching; the best: "Phoenix, the team I finished my playing career with last season, is one whose style can make an opponent look its worst on a given night".

Don't forget to read the best recent portrait of Steve Nash, it's "Not to Get Too Mystical About It" on NY Times Play Magazine. What can you say about the man anymore...

Go Suns !