Being Steve Nash: 07-08 Phoenix Suns Preview

The end to last season sucked. (As I type this the Sp*rs are getting their rings.) We've heard plenty of whining, complaining, conspiracy theories and trade rumors to try and cope with that fact. The new season is here.

We've taken time this summer to look at how the returning players on our favorite team could improve this summer. Amare wants revenge, Marcus Banks wants playing time, Shawn Marion wants $60 million dollars, the front office wants to stay away from the luxury tax. What does Steve Nash want? He wants a ring.

Last season's Steve Nash was the culmination of two years of hype and his rise into the NBA upper crust. Nash is now a guy people will pay to see play. Nash played with an edge last season and his focus on winning a title produced some great basketball. However but we've read comments from Coach D'Antoni that the team was too stressed out by expectations and it hurt their chemistry late in the year before all the drama of the Sp*rs series.

So what can we expect from the NBA's best teammate this year? How can Nash improve? What can he do to bring the Finals and the chance at the trophy back to PHX? Make it work.

Suns fans aren't the only people interested in Nash. He's been on magazine covers, interviewed by Charlie Rose, profiled in the NY Times and had a major charity event in China with Yao Ming. Steve Nash the conscious celebrity has been busy but what about the baller.

Nash is a true point guard so his teammates, their psyches and skill sets are all part of his success. Guys need to be ready to play when Nash is on the court. Looking at the roster, I can't help but be excited for the season.

The Suns kept their core intact and that feat alone may prove to be more significant than the seemingly bad trades made by newbie GM Steve Kerr. The roster the Suns will put on the floor opening night will be small and probably more suited to Coach D'Antoni's style than any other roster he has had. Nash has plenty of weapons.

Amare Stoudemire is a legit MVP candidate. Perhaps he will make the step defensively to being a truly dominant player but he'll need the easy shots Nash creates to save some energy for defense.

Adding Grant Hill does make the Suns a better team. His skill set even after the injuries fits perfect in this system and his character only serves to amplify the vibe Nash has tried to use to lead this team.

Shawn Marion does not owe his career to Steve Nash. He has been fortunate however to have played with Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury and now Nash. Marion makes the point guards look good with his finishing ability and he does the dirty work to keep the team successful. Nash keeps Marion on Sportscenter.

Boris Diaw has reported to camp in shape and with some aggressiveness. This is a welcome change after Nash was very obvious and pointed with criticism of Diaw's timid play last season. Coach D'Antoni shuffled Boris in the lineup but never criticized him. He'll need to bring a solid effort in his reserve role which will require playmaking and banging with bigs.

Leandro Barbosa seems ready for a bust out year or perhaps some regression as injuries seem to be mounting for the speedster. I'd expect a slow start and furious finish from LB.

Raja Bell has continued his rise to stardom and hopefully has recovered from off season knee surgery. His defense and shooting are invaluable against the dynamic wing players.

Last year's bench busts Sean Marks and Marcus Banks had some impressive moments in the preseason and perhaps might nab some minutes in the regular rotation. Marks will compete with newcomer Brian Skinner for the big man minutes.

The team has rookies for the first time in a while and DJ Strawberry looked very impressive from all accounts in the preseason. Alando Tucker may not be ready for prime time just yet but hopefully he'll be a player that D'Antoni develops.

So that's the roster, what do I think about the season? Here's what I know:

1. The season is too long. Adding in the the international tuneups for the Olympics, players are playing basketball year round and will be forced to pick their spots during the season. The Suns have three key players who played this summer.

2. The West is as brutal as ever. The Mavs will be just as fired up as the Suns feeling their best chance at a title ended prematurely. The Spurs have everything in place to attempt to repeat, except Tim Donaghy. The Rockets added a new coach and good players. The Nuggets are (somewhat) healthy and have Iverson for a full season. Even the bad teams have promising rookies who may spark an upset or two.

3. The East is actually League Pass worthy. The Celtics will be fun to watch, especially when the inevitable fight with the Knicks breaks out. All the good teams in the East have major flaws which may make for entertaining basketball and a competitive regular season. But we still want Atlanta to suck because we get their pick regardless next summer. OJ Mayo or Michael Beasley in a Suns uniform would be nice.

Here's what I don't know:
1. 60 wins seems like fools gold. The sheer number of shit teams makes for plenty of easy nights. But the push for homecourt advantage or the rhythm of winning streaks makes for plenty of nights where guys don't want to give an inch. There will be plenty of times this season where Coach D'Antoni will have to make the choice to let a few games go or go a little bit longer with the rookies. What impact will it have on the win total?

2. Is Marion really all that unhappy? Two thoughts. 1, there are plenty of third bananas who piled up rings. James Worthy, Horace Grant, Robert Parish, the list goes on. Who cares how much credit you get if you have a legit chance to win? 2, Marion plays well with a chip on his shoulder and he might have to carry the Suns to a title if he thinks he's worth $20 million. Marion will be fine. It'll be a shame to see him go next summer. Gilbert Arenas will look good in purple though.

3. Is Grant Hill the missing piece? Part of me has flashbacks to the Sprite commercials (He's a Cowboy), the dunks and even the Duke highlights and I hope he gets the Gary Payton championship. Sure he's a little worn down but he'll make plays and even win a game or two himself. The other part of me thinks about his injury history and I want him to travel everywhere by Segway and hope that D'Antoni sits him during back to backs. More than anything, he's the slasher and midrange player the Suns have been missing. This might be the most complete offensive team we'll ever see play. The overhyped D'Antoni "style" (you know passing and shooting when open) may breakthrough because no defense can account for all the options.

The Suns are a year older and have learned from being at the center of controversy during probably the worst NBA season ever (unless you count 1999 when the Sp*rs won the lockout title). They have a chip and it will translate into playoff success. The Sp*rs are just a year older. They are a target than can be beaten and that will be beaten without the aid of 1990's rules or crooked referees.

While the whispers about Amare being 2005 good, Grant Hill being 1995 good and Marion being a distraction may be season-long storylines- most of the focus will be on Nash. He's the NBA's best leader and while this group is very talented, they'll need some guidance, great performances and good chemistry to win it all.

The playoffs are a loooooong way away though. Personally I'd much rather see a 10 man rotation, starters minutes in the low 30s and a bench who stretches leads more than 60+ wins. (Both would nice though.) How the Suns approach the regular season will be a major part of their overall success this year. It's time to run.

Phoenix Suns - 07-08 Season Preview

It's that time of year again, preseason is finishing up and regular season is approaching as rapidly as someone doing 25 MPH in a 65 MPH zone. (Slowly. Very slowly.) To prepare you, the fan, for the upcoming season... here is what you can expect out of the Suns upcoming season. The facts, the various tidbits, and all that other juicy stuff that you wish you knew and I like to act like I know.

Also: Sorry for the sparing updates. Brian seems to be busy, Hersey has crap to do and apparently I've got this work and college thing to do. So my apologies go out to all the readers (Current Approximate Reader Count: 2.7 people.) who like to get their Suns info from the good folks here at The Rising Suns.

Roster

Name	Position	Height	WT	School	Years Pro
Marcus Banks	PG	6'2	212	Nevada-Las Vegas	4
Leandro Barbosa	PG/SG	6'3	202	Brazil	4
Raja Bell	SG	6'5	215	Florida International	7
Boris Diaw	G-F-C	6'8	235	France	4
Richie Frahm	SG	6'6	202	Gonzaga	3
Grant Hill	SG/SF	6'8	225	Duke	12
Shawn Marion	SF/PF	6'6	230	UNLV	8
Sean Marks	PF/C	6'10	250	California	7
Steve Nash	PG	6'3	178	Santa Clara	11
Eric Piatkowski	SG/SF	6'7	215	Nebraska	13
Brian Skinner	PF/C	6'9	255	Baylor	9
Amare Stoudemire	PF/C	6'10	249	Cypress Creek (Orlando, FL)	5
D.J. Strawberry	PG/SG/SF	6'5	201	Maryland	R
Alando Tucker	SG/SF	6'6	205	Wisconsin	R

Things to look out for:
Don't expect Richie Frahm to last past the preseason. If he's still on the roster, it will be because he really showed something good to D'Antoni (unlikely, despite his nice shooting nights against the Clippers), but other than that, the roster is pretty much set in stone short of an unforeseen trade.

Position	Starter	Back Up	Reserves
PG	Steve Nash	Leandro Barbosa	Marcus Banks
SG	Raja Bell	Leandro Barbosa	Alando Tucker, DJ Strawberry, Eric Piatkoski
SF	Grant Hill	Alando Tucker	DJ Strawberry, Eric Piatkowski
PF	Shawn Marion	Boris Diaw	Brian Skinner, Sean Marks
C	Amare Stoudemire	Boris Diaw	Brian Skinner, Sean Marks

Player	Projected MPG
Steve Nash	32
Raja Bell	34
Grant Hill	28
Shawn Marion	36
Amare Stoudemire	34
Leandro Barbosa	30
Boris Diaw	28
Alando Tucker	4
Marcus Banks	4
DJ Strawberry	4
Brian Skinner	6
Everyone else	Negligible

When all is said and done, those are the minutes I expect out of D'Antoni. Now, I'm hoping for less minutes from all of the starters and a bit more time out of Alando Tucker, Marcus Banks, DJ Strawberry and Brian Skinner, but I'll not be expecting any miracles. As is well documented, D'Antoni likes to play a short rotation and the one listed has 11 people on it. (4 over what he wants, 3 over what he expects to play.) I'm very interested to see our young players (DJ, Marcus, Alando) go out there and play some quality minutes, and as always, I'm rooting for Leandro to continue his growth as a player and I pray in earnest that Boris decides that him shooting on occasion would be a good idea. (Another long shot, I know.)

All in all, over the last three years I have been one game off on my prediction every year... and this is the year I intend to hit it on the nose. Expect 60 wins out of the Suns this year... because I'm predicting 61.

Bonus: Scouting reports on key players for the Suns, minus the rookies. Haven't seen enough of the rookies to do a proper scouting report yet. Hey, who wants to hire a basketball scout? I'm totally available.

Steve Nash
One of the most complete offensive players in the league, equally adept with his left and right hand, both finishing and off the dribble. Better shooting off the dribble than as a set shooter, though you don't see him getting an awful lot of set shots. Shoots and insane percentage from the field, primarily from jump shots, has one of the purest shots in the league. Gets a decent amount of rebounds for a PG. Arguably the best passer in the league, and the only argument for someone other than Nash would be Jason Kidd. Isn't as bad defensively as his reputation would say, finds himself in the right position on the court most of the time, but tends to wander off of his man. (This is especially evident when he's guarding a set shooter, as they get a lot of corner threes.) Draws a lot of charges in the process. Not very good man-to-man defense against quicker guards, but doesn't do a bad job on big, strong guards. Is pass first, shoot later, almost to a fault sometimes. Plays the pick and roll game as well as anyone in the league, as he can shoot if the defender sags off, hit his man if they trap and can push the ball straight to the hoop if they don't attack the pick. Looks for his own shot in the final seconds, and generally hits it.

Raja Bell
Very good spot up shooter. Goes through hot and cold streaks with his shot though, can have a great quarter and go completely cold or be completely cold and all the sudden hit four in a row. Can't finish around the basket. Decent ball handler in the open court, but basically useless as a ball handler in the half court, though he will give a pump fake and put the ball on the floor for a quick jumper or try to make a pass if the defense does collapse. Does, however, throw good entry passes into the post. Tenacious defender, but isn't as physically gifted as most of the premier defenders or people he's guarding in the league. Makes up for lack of athleticism and wingspan through pure energy. (Drinks a pot of coffee and has an energy drink before every game.) One of the most notorious floppers in the league, and does a great job of drawing his man into a physical match up and then making the ref notice when his man starts pushing back. Very good understanding of defensive positioning and team defense, makes good rotations. Very competitive, one of those "Can't stand to lose" players that every team loves. Can be severely limited offensively if you just stay on him at the three point line, as he doesn't take many mid range jumpers and can't finish around the rim.

Grant Hill
At one time was considered a premier player in the league, and still has the same skills and intangibles that made him such a great player, but lacks the athleticism to dominate like he used to. Excellent midrange game, both off of set shots and off the dribble. One of the best finishers in the league around the rim, uses the backboard very well and does a good job of finishing with contact. A step slower than he used to be, and his defense has suffered for it, despite being a very heady defensive player who does a good job with rotations and covering most wing players. Has apparently been working on his three point range in the offseason, and has shot fairly well from beyond the arc in the preseason. Very high basketball IQ, understand the game and does a good job making the opposition make quick decisions. Good passer for a wing man. Extremely injury prone over the last few years... will the Suns training staff, noted for staving off injuries despite long minutes and a fast pace, be able to keep him healthy? (Not the safest bet...)

Shawn Marion
A legit 25-12 player for stretches of the season, and at other times a 10-5 type of player. Not inconsistent game-by-game or quarter by quarter, but instead goes through stretches of time where he is playing great or playing poorly. Gets more plays run for him than most people would realize, though most of them are back door cuts and drawn up lob plays. Great finisher around the basket if he doesn't get hit or doesn't have someone big contesting it, though seems to rush lay ups around the hoop if a big man is breathing down his neck. Gets a lot of garbage buckets and hustles 100% of the time on the floor. Relies a lot on the defense losing track of him for his points, a disciplined defensive team that plays man-to-man without much switching gives him fits. Excellent man to man defender and an excellent team defender. Capable of averaging 2 steals and 2 blocks over the course of a season, though it hasn't happened yet and isn't necessarily a safe bet. Excellent rebounder, though he doesn't actually do a lot of boxing out, relies on his athleticism and speed to just beat guys to the spot and grab it before they can. Has without a doubt the quickest second jump in the league, can jump, come down and jump again without losing any vertical in the process. Shaky jumper, can hit them if he's wide open but you won't see him hit many contested shots. Not a very good passer, but doesn't often have the ball in his hands unless he's finishing a play or grabbing a rebound. One of the best guys in the league at grabbing a rebound and pushing the ball up the floor or making a quick outlet pass, every time he gets a board and there's an opportunity, it's a fast break. Very poor ball handler, generally the only time he's handling the ball is in the open floor. If the defender closes out on the shot fast enough, Shawn generally gives a ball fake and dribbles to his left. Will only take it all the way to the hoop on the rare occasion that there is no rotation so he has a free lane, otherwise will dribble a couple times and pass the ball out or take a quick floater from around 10-15 feet out.

Amare Stoudemire
Probably the best finisher around the basket in the league, not just dunks but has a great touch around the rim with lay ups, finishing after contact, drawing contact, and using the backboard. Perhaps the best big in the league right now at running the pick and roll, does an incredible job of creating angles when moving off the ball. (Yes, it's not just Nash throwing great passes, Amare creates angles with his movement and does so extremely well.) Will catch any pass that's remotely catchable, has wide receiver type of hands and makes passers look good with his unlikely catches. (He is the anti-Kwame Brown.) Very reliable shot out to 18 feet and has reportedly been working tirelessly in the offseason to extend his shot to NBA 3PT range. (Shot a couple in the Olympics, going 2/3. Hit a couple in last year's playoffs as well.) Has an incredible face up game, as he is faster and more explosive than most guys his size and is stronger than the bigs that are able to match his quickness. Has a decent back to the basket game which is almost never utilized in the half court. (Reliable fade away jumper, baseline spin move and a floater in the lane. I can't recall him ever shooting a hook shot in his entire career.) Despite his freakish athleticism, isn't a good defender in the post. Man to man in the post tends to use his upper body entirely too much and picks up a lot of ticky tack fouls. Is a good weak side help defender and can definitely block shots, has good timing on his shot blocking too, but goes after fakes too much and gets burned a lot. Has showed more discipline defensively with each passing year, but defense is still far from his strong suit. One of the better offensive rebounders in the league, and hits the defensive glass fairly well, though he doesn't always do very well positioning wise, he has a knack for going after the ball. Gets to the foul line constantly, and shoots a good percentage. Doesn't pass an awful lot. Once he gets the ball, chances are he's going to take the shot.

Leandro Barbosa
Is in the short running for fastest player in the league, and is without a doubt in my mind the fastest player with the ball in his hands in the league, can run as fast with the ball as without it. Very pure shot, even with the goofy shooting mechanics. Will drain threes all game long if you leave him. Good finisher around the hoop, though he does have a tendency to miss some shots he should make due to the speed at which he plays. Uses the glass very well, and will generally look for angles off of the glass rather than the direct approach. Has an underutilized midrange game that would help him tremendously if he used it more, as most of his shots come from either 22 feet and out or 5 feet and in, very little in between. (Has reportedly been working on his pull up jumper extensively in the offseason, and it looked good during the FIBA tournament.) Explosive score-first combo guard who can run an offense but isn't quite as comfortable running an offense as he is scoring. Decent passer, can hit the open man and can drive-and-dish quite well if the defense collapses on him. Fairly good rebounder, especially at his size. Freakishly long arms, 6'10 wingspan on the pre-draft measurements, and he has actually grown since then. (Could realistically be around 6'4 with a 6'11 wingspan now.) Stronger than his frame would indicate. Is a so-so defender, puts effort into it but seems to lack a lot of the basic defensive instincts that would help him out tremendously on that end. Plays very physical on defense, but wild, and picks up a lot of fouls that he didn't need to pick up. Draws quite a few charges nonetheless, due to his quickness. Plays the passing lanes extremely well, quite the ball hawk if the opposing team is getting lazy. Tends to get exploited by bigger, scoring two guards who can post up. (Such as Jerry Stackhouse.) Prefers to go drive to his left, but generally finishes with his right hand. Hasn't shown much consistency finishing with his left hand. Is an exceptional ball handler, ball hounds won't get many turnovers unless it's in the passing lanes.

Boris Diaw
One of the most well rounded players in the league, can do a little bit of everything. Can realistically play any position on the floor except shooting guard. (Most people list him as being able to play any position... but he can't play shooting guard.) Very athletic, though it isn't very apparent by how he plays. (He won a dunk contest in France. Did you see the free throw line dunk?) Has a nice set of post moves, and actually plays in the post with his back to the basket more often than Amare does. Has a nice little jump hoot in the lane, a floater, and likes to take the ball to the right side of the hoop and go glass. Plays in the high post a lot too. Would be well served to play more aggressively, sometimes it's like playing 4-on-5 when Boris is refusing to shoot. Is a very good passer, but passes entirely too often... he passes up nearly uncontested lay ups to dish it out to the perimeter all the time. Has range out to about 18 feet, and will take the occasional corner three. Very good ball handler for his size, and can guard most point guards without much problem. Plays good post defense, but shies away from physical contact a lot, much to his disadvantage. Is strong enough to guard most big men, and quick enough to stay in front of most guards. Generally seems to lack intensity when he's out on the court, despite his talent level. (Which isn't to say he doesn't try, it's just that he's not a high energy guy.) When he's playing aggressively he gets all the other facets of his game going accordingly, and is a legit triple double threat. When he's not playing aggressively, he is basically a secondary ball handler so that Barbosa doesn't have to set up the offense. Hasn't seemed to mesh very well on-court with Amare Stoudemire, defying all odds by having a pass-first guy have a hard time meshing with a finish-at-all-costs guy.

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I might do the scouting reports for Brian Skinner, Sean Marks, Marcus Banks, Alando Tucker and DJ Strawberry at a later date, depending on if... well, if D'Antoni actually plays them enough for me to realistically give an accurate depiction of their game.

Questions? Comments? Critiques? Post in the comments section or email me about it!

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From Start To Finish

While watching the first game of the preseason, something struck me as peculiar towards the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. We went through a stretch of the game where the most consistent outside shooter on the floor for the Suns was Marcus Banks... which means a couple things. One, Marcus Banks' shot looks much better than it did before, I no longer cringe and hope for a long rebound as opposed to expecting the shot to go in when he gets an open look. That's definitely an upgrade. But it also means something else, which is both fascinating and funny, given the team that had done it.

The Suns came out with a line up including Marcus Banks, DJ Strawberry, Alando Tucker, Boris Diaw and Sean Marks for a period of time... and the Suns pulled away. They didn't do it through the usual array of irrepressible scoring prowess, flinging three after three at the hoop in a barrage that made the opposition hang their heads in shame... nope... they played defense. Excellent defense. And, following that, put their head down and went to the rack, clawing desperately at a chance for a lay up, dunk, or free throw. It's not something that Suns fans are used to seeing, outside of the occasional Amare isolation play.

Through this stretch, DJ Strawberry played outstanding man and team defense, Marcus Banks pressured his man all the way up the court, Boris Diaw denied the ball in the post, Alando Tucker stuck his man through screens, and Sean Marks made a legitimate attempt to block every shot that came at him. (He still wasn't actually playing good defense, but he made an effort to do so.)

The Kings second (and part of it's third) unit scored 9 points in the 6-7 minutes from where Barbosa left the game to when Barbosa had to come back in after Marks somehow managed to foul out. Now, I'm about the biggest Barbosa fan out there, and in no way am demeaning his game... but the Suns can now field a legitimate five man unit that is all about defense and can still score. Substitute Sean Marks with Brian Skinner, and you've got a legit interior defender, and only one man in the starting 7 of the rotation involved (Diaw).

The new look of athletic finishers who play gritty, hard nosed defense could find the Suns starters resting easy as the Suns have a line up available where, once they have taken the lead, they ought to be able to keep it, and even get some opposing players in foul trouble when things are clicking properly, something that was never available before and something which always seemed to push D'Antoni into having to keep his starters in well after they should have gotten some rest. Garbage time has a new meaning in Phoenix... but does it have to be garbage time?

An eight point lead leading late into the 3rd quarter, a unit to bring in when the opposing team is making a run on the oft-beleaguered defense of the starting unit, perhaps a unit that will find it's way permanently into D'Antoni's game plan. It may be a lot to ask, but hey... sometimes, dreams come true.



Added bonus:

Watching Grant Hill with a Suns uniform was a thing of absolute beauty. The Suns have plenty of players who will shoot the open three or dish it off to the next player for their attempt at a three... but with Grant Hill, the Suns have someone who will force the issue, take the mid range jumper, take it to the basket (and finish), and force defenders to make a decision on how they want to get beat. I love it.

More Surgery

Arizona Republic

Suns All-Star center Amaré Stoudemire did not get on the team bus to Tucson today because he is scheduled to undergo an arthroscopy on his right knee Tuesday morning.

It will be Stoudemire's third knee surgery in two years but it is not the knee that undwent the microfracture procedure two years ago, when he left the Suns' last training camp in Tucson for an exploratory scope. That scope showed a lesion requiring a microfracture procedure to repair.

All I can say is: Let's hope it's just loose debris. If he ends up with another serious surgery, I think I'm going to cry.