The Greatest Pre-Preseason Preview Ever!

It's that time again, and it's time for another preview to the upcoming season! Following the disappointing first round loss to the rather cantankerous set of Spurs that keep getting thrown at us, Suns fans have been less than optimistic about the upcoming season. I, however, will have to respectfully disagree, as I'm looking forward to the Suns next tear through the regular season leading to the inevitable raising of the 2009 NBA Champion banner in Phoenix. (I told you I was optimistic! Maybe a bit deluded, but optimistic all the same.)

We all know the Suns are putting themselves in position to make at least one more title run, the 08-09 season may be the last productive season we see out of Shaq, (Not relative to salary, mind you, but productive nonetheless...) and maybe 09-10 if Jesus loves us enough. (Not so sure on that one either.) That leaves us with a two year window for a championship run with the core we have right now and, realistically, this year is our last serious chance to put another ring on Shaq's finger, plus maybe get some rings for the rest of the guys too.

The Situation

Going into the preseason, coming out of training camp, we've been greeted with a plethora of interesting information. Some good, (We signed Dragic! Robin Lopez has been playing excellent!) some bad, (Amare hurt his ankle. Then his eye. He also might start wearing goggles, which is awful!) some that really might not matter an awful lot either way... (Amare was on a Nickelodeon show! Steve Nash and Baron Davis made a movie!) The most important part about this offseason, however, would definitely be the pieces we added (Both player and coaching) combined with the fact that the team will be together for training camp. The offseason addition of Matt Barnes should, by all accounts, be absolutely fantastic. He provides an active defender, someone who can handle the ball, make the right play on offense, shoot from deep, and has played in a fast paced team at a high level for multiple seasons now. The addition of Robin Lopez, on the other hand, will give us an ulta-active legit seven footer who can change the game inside with his shot blocking and activity, plus has apparently shown a fairly nice little interior offensive post game. The duo of rookie point guards (Sean Singletary and Goran Dragic.) should be battling to show what they can do, as both have demonstrated that they are legitimate pass first point guards who will work hard to improve their game. (Dragic is a bit more refined offensively while Singletary was a fairly good defender, especially at the point guard, while in college and should be able to translate that to the NBA.) Louis Amundson should fill our "Goofy white guy at the end of the bench" spot that we needed to fill quite well, also, and if he plays his cards right he may end up being roughly half as cool as Pat Burke. 

The Expectations

It's a bit odd to try to make a prediction having not seen any preseason basketball to this point, not knowing our new head coaches tendencies, (I have rather high expectations our of new head coach, Terry Porter looks to be an amazing coach on both ends of the floor...) or even knowing how much of a difference in player roles will be present... but let's have fun with this thing and try to get it right!

Depth Chart
Position	Starter	Backup	Reserves
PG	Steve Nash	Leandro Barbosa	Goran Dragic, Sean Singletary, Boris Diaw
SG	Raja Bell	Leandro Barbosa	Matt Barnes, Alando Tucker, Grant Hill
SF	Grant Hill	Matt Barnes, Boris Diaw	Alando Tucker
PF	Amare Stoudemire	Boris Diaw	Robin Lopez, Alando Tucker, Louis Amundson
C	Shaquille O'Neal	Robin Lopez	Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw, Louis Amundson

Projected Minutes
Position	Minutes
PG	Steve Nash (30), Leandro Barbosa (12), Sean Singletary/Goran Dragic (6)
SG	Raja Bell (26), Leandro Barbosa (14), Matt Barnes (8)
SF	Grant Hill (24), Matt Barnes (16), Boris Diaw (8)
PF	Amare Stoudemire (36), Boris Diaw (12)
C	Shaquille O'Neal (26), Robin Lopez (18), Boris Diaw (4)

These are somewhat optimistic. I'm assuming Terry Porter is resting the geriatric patients on our team, as the reports have stated, in hopes for the playoffs. I'm assuming Robin Lopez is getting significant minutes. (I sincerely hope he does, especially when Amare is in with him.) I'm assuming Raja and Boris will have reduced roles with the team, and possibly Leandro. (D'Antoni's pet players/projects.) Most of all, I'm assuming that I'm going to end up being wildly inaccurate after we have a big surprise from one of the players that are down a ways in the depth chart. (I'm hoping Alando Tucker...)

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Well, that's what I expect. Feel free to share your thoughts on the subject, interesting updates, or just to tear ruthlessly into my writing, whatever strikes your fancy. First preseason game is on Wednesday, October 8th! I wish you a happy preseason, and a merry regular season for all!