What now?

One of the stranger seasons in Suns' history ended with yet another tough loss to San Antonio. Turnovers once again proved to be the killer as the Suns could not execute with their season on the line.

So what happens between now and training camp? The teams showed a lot of warts and flaws and the direction of the team isn't entirely clear.

The Grant Hill signing fizzled as he got hurt right before the playoffs.

The Shaquille O'Neal trade changed the team for the better (conventionally) but his awful free throw shooting cost the Suns in the three tight losses to the Spurs.

Amare Stoudemire still needs to be programmed for defense and rebounding.

Leandro Barbosa took a step backward this season.

Boris Diaw came alive in the playoffs, but where was he before that?

Steve Nash made some critical mistakes with games on the line and needs a quality backup more than ever.

Coach Mike D'Antoni appears to be on his way to New York or Chicago. Fuck making adjustments in PHX, time to fix bloated rosters with some run n' gun healing.

This is kind of a sad time for Suns fans. The team that really captured our imaginations (and hearts) a few years back is now fading away.

If you haven't read the Bill Simmons' article on the Suns, you should. He breaks down how all the things we've complained about since 2005 have brought us to now. It's kinda sad. Robert Sarver in his attempt to not lose money has blown a chance at dominating the NBA and getting a title. Why own a team if the goal isn't to win a title?

I'm not one to blame Steve Kerr. D'Antoni convinced Kerr the Shaq trade was a good idea. D'Antoni wanted Jay Humphries over Tom Thibodeau (the guy who helped the Rockets and now Celtics become top elite defensive squads). Sarver is responsible for giving away draft picks that have turned in players who could have help this team. Of course D'Antoni wouldn't play them anyway.

I have no idea what direction this team is going.

I will say this. I went to San Antonio twice during the series. San Antonio is a small market, especially compared to Houston and Dallas. The AT&T Center appears to be on an old military base. The place is kinda plain. There's a few things that definitely stand out. Four championship banners hang from the rafters. People pose and take pictures by the championship trophies in the trophy case. The team that no one likes on TV is loved in central Texas. And for good reason, the organization works to win CHAMPIONSHIPS. 'Go Spurs Go' is the most annoying chant ever though.

It'd be cool to experience that with the Suns. Now that possibility seems further away.

The Spurs Rules

Ah, playoff time again. Nothing like watching a more talented team get demolished by good coaching and their own personal poor defensive play. It's all too familiar territory, any Suns fan will tell you about it, at length, just before they break down in tears. But what if, and this is purely speculation, the Suns were actually defensively prepared to stop the Spurs from getting any shot they wanted on the floor? Like I said, purely speculation, but if this were to happen, there would be certain adjustments to make on the defensive end. (For instance, no buying popcorn from vendors when the ball is in play.) Now, I think the Suns would be able to do this, were they to be given proper instruction on how to play defense against the Spurs. So, without further ado, the Spurs rules! These are the plays that the Suns have gotten burned on a million jillion times this season, and how to stop them...

- Always go under picks on Tony Parker. You would always rather have him take a 19-22 foot jump shot than get in the lane. Always. I don't care if he just hit a no loot around the back full court shot with 19 seconds left on the shot clock, just go under the pick. This allows Shaq to remain firmly anchored to the painted area, as he tends to be regardless, without giving Tony Parker the ability to get anywhere on the floor he wants while simultaneously giving him a passing lane to the roller.

- Unless Manu has hit at least two three pointers in the past 6 minutes, you go under the pick for the same exact reason you go under the pick with Parker. Manu is a streaky shooter who can hit that three pointer if you go under *sometimes*, but it's not within the flow of the offense and you want to make him take those shots more than you want to give Duncan a wide open lay up.

- When the guard can't get under the pick because Duncan or Kurt Thomas sets a moving pick (It happens a lot), the big can't play middle field. The big has to move to contest the shot. Usually when this happens, it leads to a wide open lay up by Fabricio Oberto when Duncan shovels it to him under the basket... but there's more to the plan! The SG or SF has to come over on the wing and pick up Oberto. Yes, you leave Michael Finley, Brent Barry or Bruce Bowen open from the wing or side, but it's better than a lay up. Always. There is roughly a 0.2% chance that Oberto will miss the wide open lay up, while there is roughly a 60% chance that one of those guys will miss the three point shot, and if everyone rotates back once the pass is made (That's what it's called when the big guy who stepped up to contest a shot goes back to his guy so the perimeter guys can cover their guys. It's a real part of defense, trust me on this one.), it will be a partially contested three point shot.

- This is only being run on Amare and Shaq, but primarily Amare and primarily with Michael Finley, but it's how Michael Finley has gotten basically every point he's had in the series. Finley will come off of a screen (or moving screen) from Kurt Thomas or Fabricio Oberto while Raja or Leandro chase valiantly through the screen. The problem with this is that Amare doesn't flash help. At all. He stares blankly at the guy he's guarding. If Amare gives a quick show once Finley gets the ball, Oberto or Thomas will make a move to roll to the basket. Amare's job is to flash the help then run back to Thomas/Oberto and make sure they aren't able to catch a lob pass from Finley.(Amare should be able to do this just fine...) This allows the jump shot to be at least mildly contest if Finley pulls up straight away and allows the wing guy time to get back in front of Finley if he doesn't pull up straight away.

I was pondering making some pictures illustrating these points in vivid detail, with bright shiny colors to keep the attention of the viewers, but it seemed like an awful lot of work for something that wasn't going to get used... so I'm content with putting these in word form. Hopefully the Suns manage a win tomorrow morning, and then we'll see about getting Mikey D a link to this.

Revenge

The regular season kinda sucks after a while. Fans much like players start looking forward to the playoffs. I can't remember a year where I've wanted the playoffs to come so quickly. The ultra-competitive Western Conference has been like the playoffs for the last month. No one could afford a slump or even a loss to the teams close to them in the standings.

So here's a few things we've learned about the Suns from the regular season.

1. The team is at it's best when efficient rather than fast.

2. Turnovers are the barometer for losses.

3. Amare is ready to own the playoffs.

4. Gordan Giricek was a better fit for this team than Brent Barry.

5. The Shaq trade made the team better and more versatile, but...

The series against the Spurs is the real test. We know the Suns can beat San Antonio, but we have to experience it. We have to experience it right away. The looming matchups all seem to pale in comparison. Sure we didn't matchup well with the Hornets or Lakers during the regular season. But how many of those games featured Shaquille O'Neal- one apiece.

How many of the games against the Spurs featured Shaq? Two, both of which we won in tough decisive fashion. However things change with the season on the line. The Spurs are still looking for their repeat title, PHX is looking for their first. The trash talk has already started around the office. I've got my pictures of Nash on my computer and Shaq and Amare dunking on people up in my cubicle.

I know part of you has been waiting for this since last summer. A stupid flagrant foul ruined one of the best series this team would be involved in. We seemed to have turned the corner as foils. As the team that loses, folds or choked on opportunities. The team that got an injury at the wrong time, blew home court advantage or just couldn't beat the glamour franchise. One dumb foul ruined our vision of seeing a fast-breaking and fun-to-watch team win the title.

Now we got Shaq.

Now I want to watch Bruce Bowen fight through a Shaq screen.

We can play both ways now. We can mix it up and beat teams with precision or we can turn up the pressure with solid rebounding and defense.

The regular season wins were impressive but now is where we set the tone. Now is when we see if this team can truly make a run a title. First up, it's the defending champs. They have homecourt advantage. They have a big three that has won together and plays sparing minutes in the regular season. They've got history on their side. And Tim Duncan.

We have more talent. We have 2 former MVPs. We have the memory and a pissed off fanbase.

It's time for revenge. I'll drink my beer and the commissioner's.

I'll be at Game 1. The drunk dude in the KJ jersey