Even though the season is still in its infancy, the initial Phoenix-Dallas confrontation demonstrated exactly why the Suns, as presently administered and constituted, will not and cannot mount a serious challenge for the championship.
They have absolutely no defense. Every Sun bit on every fake. Without his long, stringy hair emphasizing unfair body contact, Nash's routine floppings went unwhistled. Stoudemire exhibited little lateral movement. Barbosa gambled for steals and overreacted in his assigned rotations. Boris Diaw is out of shape.The basket was always unprotected (Dallas shot 54.8 percent), as was the defensive glass (Dallas had 14 offensive rebounds). Overall, Phoenix collected only 25 rebounds (Dallas had 37).
With D'Antoni wielding the whip, the Phoenix Suns are more of a freak show than anything else. Freaky enough to win a bunch of regular season games, but not sound, or balanced enough to seriously contend for the gold ring
2006-11-11 21:18:27 · 7 answers · asked by #15mwu 5 in Sports ➔ Basketball
?? Raja Bell isn't a rookie... But he is their only other dependable defender (besides Marion) but he's injured right now
2006-11-11 21:25:26 · update #1
they don't play defense and they don't play well in a halfcourt offensive set doesn't look too good to me in terms of them wanting to win a championship
2006-11-12 10:04:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Phoenix Suns are basically a team going through their third transition in three years. In 2004, the Suns signed free agents Steve Nash and Quintin Richardson away from the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers. This set the stage for their fast-braking offense featuring the aforementioned Nash and Richardson, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, and Amare Stoudemire. The result, a spot in the Western Conference Finals which they lost to the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs.
Last year, the Suns had to undergo major changes again when Amare Stoudemire was sidelined for practically the whole year due to microfracture knee surgery; Joe Johnson being traded (as he got a big contract, $70 million dollars) to the Atlanta Hawks for seldom used Boris Diaw; Richardson being dealt to the New York Knicks for Kurt Thomas who subsequently suffered a stress fracture to his leg and missed most of the season; Lastly, the Suns also signed free agent guard Raja Bell.
No one gave the Suns a chance to return to the Western Conference with all the injuries and changes that the team made. But they were able to overcome the odds and make it back with the emergence of Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Leandro Barbosa.
This year, it's a different story. This early into the season, the Suns feel that they need to reestablish Stoudemire in the middle. And to be honest, he is a shadow of his former self, as his body will no longer allow him the athletic freedom he once had. The Suns are also battling injuries with Raja Bell and Steve Nash suffering hip injuries. Their are also rumors that Boris Diaw has weight problems. At this point, their only positives are Leandro Barbosa taking his game to the next level; Kurt Thomas playing well and adjusting to his role as a reserve rather than a starter; and lastly Marion just being the same old effective Marion.
Can they contend for a championship? I believe so. If this new Suns team (who for the first time have established post players in Stoudemire and Thomas for what looks like the whole year) can blend their fast-braking style with ocassional low post play. They may not finish with the best record but I'm pretty sure that no one would want to play them in the NBA playoffs.
Time would tell if they can again return to the NBA Western Conference finals.
Hope this was able to help!
2006-11-12 05:50:53 · answer #2 · answered by tedi31 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Phoenix will improve. The new players need room to improve. If you saw the game last night against the Grizzlies, the Suns defense looked much better. The rebounding was much better. We will have to see how the new plan goes against better teams. They can win a ring.
2006-11-12 15:06:31 · answer #3 · answered by Einstein 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can't forget Raja Bell. last year he made a lot of rookie mistakes. if he can cut down on the turnovers, they'd do a lot better.
2006-11-12 05:22:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yea they Kind of have a chance 2 win the Champions!!!!!!!
2006-11-12 08:58:27 · answer #5 · answered by GtzBabygyalo6 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you ask me,being a contender is the best thing they can do.
they cant be champs.
2006-11-12 05:57:16 · answer #6 · answered by Eternal Law 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes...They cant finish when the game is on the line..
2006-11-12 08:53:14 · answer #7 · answered by samdesign78 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋