Basketball on the brain
I'm a big Phoenix Suns fan. I have been for a long time, but my interest renewed and went to another level when Phoenix resigned Steve Nash 3 years ago. I always thought Nash would be a great player since he was backing up Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd. I was bummed when they traded him. Of course, his game blossomed in Dallas. After enduring a stretch with Jason Kidd, whose hustle and game I love but who is not a great shooter, and Stephon Marbury, who is more of a scorer than a true point guard, I was thrilled with the pickup of Nash. I thought he would be a great complement to Amare, Marion, and Joe Johnson but it amazed me how quickly things went to a new level, and it became a pleasure to watch them play.
If you remember 3 years ago we were looking at a league enamored with the "offensive" offense of the East Coast, where you would see a final score in the 70's. The offense was about isolation, and hoping to draw a foul. One guy would hold the ball and the other 4 players would stay out of the way so that the rest of the defense couldn't easily help out the defending player. If the defense did double-team, the offense might have to take an outside shot which they missed more than they made. It was boring basketball.
Granted this is an over-generalization. After all Nash and the Mavericks, and the Kings played a more entertaining style, but it seemed things were heading down, not up. Things changed when the Nash-ified Suns burned up the league two years ago. It was a breath of fresh air which attracted people.
That breath of fresh air lasted, and perhaps even strengthened last year when they duplicated their ride to the Western Conference finals without their dominating interior player, Amare, and their new defensive stopper, Kurt Thomas. They seemed to play faster and smaller than the year before which seemed impossible.
This year was heralded as another potential championship year. The question marks coming into the season was how would the loss of Tim Thomas, and the addition of Amare Stoudemire would effect the team that was so successful the year before. They stumbled out of the blocks, before blasting off to eventually peak with the best record in the league (as a winning percentage), shortly before the All-Star break.
Tim Thomas' contribution might have been a nice to have, and might have held down a place in D'Antoni's short rotation, but obviously the Suns were able to get along fine without him. I always thought that Tim Thomas, as most players, really benefited from the Suns system. It made him look better than he would look anywhere else. Perhaps that is an under appreciated side-effect of their system.
Amare has returned with a vengeance, with his best game coming recently in the double overtime win in Dallas, where he scored 41 points and only missed a few shots. He has also shown signs of being a defensive presence, shot blocker, and strong rebounder.
Of course, naysayers still abound. Defense wins championships, we are told. The Suns style will work during the regular season but will fail in the playoffs when the pace slows to a half-court struggle.
Not to mention the fact that as hot as the Suns have been, they still trail the Mavericks by five losses, and have not been very successful against the elite teams of the the league. The Spurs, Jazz, and Pistons certainly are looking like championship caliber teams.
Still I believe that the Suns have the best team in the league. They have the best point guard and 2 time league MVP in Steve Nash. They have one of the most dominant big men in the game, who is only likely to keep getting better in Amare Stoudemire. They have the best utility player in the league who deserves the title of Best Defensive Player in the league, in Shawn Marion. They have one of the top 6th in the league in Leandro Barbosa, who also is getting better in better. When he is on, there is no way to guard him. They have the best passing big man in the game in Boris Diaw, who has the potential to dominate a game by scoring and passing (though we have only seen glimpses this year of the greatest he displayed last year). They have one of the best low post defenders in the game in Kurt Thomas. Then they have pretty much 4-5 other players that would be starting or in the rotation of most other teams in the league sitting on the bench.
The weapons are there. The potential is there. Key players seem to have the desire to get it done. They are a great shooting team: free throws, jump shots, and three pointers. Occasionally, off nights happen but there is no stopping them when they are on.
People have been counting them out for the last 3 years, and they have overcome. Let downs are human. Getting bored with the NBA's ridiculously long season is human. They realize more now than before that the regular season is really a long pre-season to the playoffs. Top seeding is nice but not necessary.
Do they have a shot? Yes. Will they win? Only God knows at this point.
As good as any team may look on paper, chance or providence affects everyone.
If you remember 3 years ago we were looking at a league enamored with the "offensive" offense of the East Coast, where you would see a final score in the 70's. The offense was about isolation, and hoping to draw a foul. One guy would hold the ball and the other 4 players would stay out of the way so that the rest of the defense couldn't easily help out the defending player. If the defense did double-team, the offense might have to take an outside shot which they missed more than they made. It was boring basketball.
Granted this is an over-generalization. After all Nash and the Mavericks, and the Kings played a more entertaining style, but it seemed things were heading down, not up. Things changed when the Nash-ified Suns burned up the league two years ago. It was a breath of fresh air which attracted people.
That breath of fresh air lasted, and perhaps even strengthened last year when they duplicated their ride to the Western Conference finals without their dominating interior player, Amare, and their new defensive stopper, Kurt Thomas. They seemed to play faster and smaller than the year before which seemed impossible.
This year was heralded as another potential championship year. The question marks coming into the season was how would the loss of Tim Thomas, and the addition of Amare Stoudemire would effect the team that was so successful the year before. They stumbled out of the blocks, before blasting off to eventually peak with the best record in the league (as a winning percentage), shortly before the All-Star break.
Tim Thomas' contribution might have been a nice to have, and might have held down a place in D'Antoni's short rotation, but obviously the Suns were able to get along fine without him. I always thought that Tim Thomas, as most players, really benefited from the Suns system. It made him look better than he would look anywhere else. Perhaps that is an under appreciated side-effect of their system.
Amare has returned with a vengeance, with his best game coming recently in the double overtime win in Dallas, where he scored 41 points and only missed a few shots. He has also shown signs of being a defensive presence, shot blocker, and strong rebounder.
Of course, naysayers still abound. Defense wins championships, we are told. The Suns style will work during the regular season but will fail in the playoffs when the pace slows to a half-court struggle.
Not to mention the fact that as hot as the Suns have been, they still trail the Mavericks by five losses, and have not been very successful against the elite teams of the the league. The Spurs, Jazz, and Pistons certainly are looking like championship caliber teams.
Still I believe that the Suns have the best team in the league. They have the best point guard and 2 time league MVP in Steve Nash. They have one of the most dominant big men in the game, who is only likely to keep getting better in Amare Stoudemire. They have the best utility player in the league who deserves the title of Best Defensive Player in the league, in Shawn Marion. They have one of the top 6th in the league in Leandro Barbosa, who also is getting better in better. When he is on, there is no way to guard him. They have the best passing big man in the game in Boris Diaw, who has the potential to dominate a game by scoring and passing (though we have only seen glimpses this year of the greatest he displayed last year). They have one of the best low post defenders in the game in Kurt Thomas. Then they have pretty much 4-5 other players that would be starting or in the rotation of most other teams in the league sitting on the bench.
The weapons are there. The potential is there. Key players seem to have the desire to get it done. They are a great shooting team: free throws, jump shots, and three pointers. Occasionally, off nights happen but there is no stopping them when they are on.
People have been counting them out for the last 3 years, and they have overcome. Let downs are human. Getting bored with the NBA's ridiculously long season is human. They realize more now than before that the regular season is really a long pre-season to the playoffs. Top seeding is nice but not necessary.
Do they have a shot? Yes. Will they win? Only God knows at this point.
As good as any team may look on paper, chance or providence affects everyone.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 (New King James Version)
11 I returned and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all.
posted by A Forgiven Man at
9:11 PM
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