By Chad Ford ESPN.com Editor's note: ESPN.com is once again visiting all 29 NBA teams during training camp and the preseason. The tour continues with a report on the Phoenix Suns. Amare Stoudemire thinks the Suns are 'still hungry' despite what Frank Johnson says. PHOENIX -- Frank Johnson is fuming. The Suns' second-year coach has just concluded a morning practice and doesn't have many nice things to say about his young, upstart squad. "We are struggling, when we should be flourishing," Johnson says as he shakes his head. Johnson keeps his players in practice an extra hour after an embarrassing loss to the Nuggets the night before in Denver. In that game, the Suns gave up 113 points to Denver -- a team that many thought would struggle to score this year. Phoenix petered out in the second half and was outscored 57-42. "Fatigue. Lack of discipline. No sense of urgency. Lack of depth," Johnson said. "All of those things are coming into play." Johnson makes his players run a suicide. After a few drills, he runs them again. He's pushing, imploring his team to regain the attitude that carried them into the playoffs last season. At one point Amare Stoudemire appears on the verge of beating Cezary Trybanski to a pulp. Johnson doesn't mind. "We had a high level of defensive intensity at the end of last season," Johnson said. "We have seven, eight guys who played in the Spurs (playoff) series last season. They know how to play at a certain level defensively. We haven't exhibited that so far. "I told our guys, last year we were picked as the 28th-best team in the league. Now we're picked anywhere from seven to 15. Are we complacent? I don't know. Are we playing with a sense of urgency? No. Last year when we went to training camp, everyone had a chip on their shoulder because it was embarrassing how low we were picked. Now we're picked a littler higher and some guys think we've made it." The perils of success. Ask just about any general manager in the league and they'll tell you that the Suns are the best young team in the NBA. They ooze athleticism, size, talent and attitude. Last spring, they played the world champion Spurs better than anyone in the playoffs. The Suns were supposed to be at the beginning of a rebuilding project, but they shocked the league with their poise and rapid development. Just a few weeks into last season, it was clear they were going to be much better than anyone expected. Stephon Marbury played unselfishly and with a newfound passion. Shawn Marion put up All-Star numbers. Penny Hardaway bought into his role as a complementary player. And the rookie Stoudemire looked nothing like the raw, just-out-of-high-school kid he was supposed to be. This year, the team has nine returning players. But did too much early success spoiled the Suns? "I think that's just coach trying to pump up his players," Marbury said. "It's the preseason, man. We don't have all of our offensive sets in yet. No pick and rolls. We spend all of our time talking defense. But everyone knows the Suns play offense." “ We think we're good and we're not that good. If you're good, you compete. Tonight we were a lot closer to what you all predicted last year than to what we're supposed to be this year. ” — Frank Johnson That's the type of thinking that makes Johnson's blood boil. Johnson and GM Brian Colangelo know this team has the talent to compete with anyone in the West. But the fact that the players know it can be a problem, not a strength. When asked whether the Suns were the best young team in the league, Marbury smiled. "That's a fair assessment," he said. "That's our mindset. We feel that we can play with anyone." Even the Lakers, Kings, Mavericks, Spurs and Timberwolves -- the pride of the NBA? "Those teams are good," Marbury said. "But if you watched the playoffs, you know we're just as good. Plus, those teams made changes. We've got everyone back. We're just getting better and growing together." Stoudemire disagreed with Johnson's critique, too. "I think we're still hungry," he said. "I think things are going well. We're working hard. We're focused. I'm not going to panic after two preseason games." Neither is Colangelo, because there is some good news in Phoenix. Though Stoudemire spent the first half of the summer fixing his vision (he was almost blind in one eye) and having some minor surgery on his toe, the 20-year-old also began working this summer on a lethal 15-foot jumper. In two preseason games, Stoudemire's jumper has been falling with scary regularity. Adding an outside game to his inside game may make him unstoppable. The Suns are also counting on third-year swingman Joe Johnson. His steady play in the summer league and in the preseason has Colangelo finally believing he's found a replacement for the aging Hardaway. "Joe has lacked consistency in the past," Colengelo said. "But he's maturing. I don't think you can name 10 guys his size in the league that are capable of doing what he can do. If this is his year, I like our chances." Alas, another game against the Nuggets, this time at home on Saturday, ends in defeat. For the third straight game, the Suns give up over a hundred points. Stoudemire and Johnson shine, but the rest of the team (Marbury goes 2-for-13 from the field) can't pick up the slack. Moreover, the Suns are consistently outhustled the entire game. Johnson emerges from the locker room after the game with some more tough love for his team. "We think we're good and we're not that good," he said. "If you're good, you compete. Tonight we were a lot closer to what you all predicted last year than to what we're supposed to be this year." Hmmm, I thought a player needed to be able to be a #1 option offensively, or be deemed a go-to-guy (with the ability to CREATE HIS OWN SHOT) to be deemed unstoppable.
Looks like everyone still refuses to acknowledge the fact that we beat them 3-1 last year, and the one game they did win was done with less than a second left.
I tend to agree. The Suns have a solid lineup. As usual, they are weak in the middle, but their young trio of Marbury, Marion and Amare more than make up for it. I dont see any championships in their future, but they will be exciting. Oh, and that Brazillian that they drafted, Leandro Barbosa (or however the hell it is spelled) is a great player...and just like Steve Nash, I can see the Suns trading him for something valuable. The Suns got a good thing going right now.
O-v-e-r-r-a-t-e-d!!!!!!! I think Amare is a great player and Stephon has really upped his game, but I think they are at best the 6th best team in the West.
Agreed. They're fun to watch (and Amare/Marbury/Marion are freaks), but they don't have a consistent inside presence. Yet. With work, Amare could be an awesome post player. He's a few years from being a "go-to" kinda guy on the low block. Until that happens, though, the best role the Suns will play will be that of spoilers.
I like Amare and Joe Johnson and Bo Outlaw. They are pretty good... But Chad Ford..bleh! Outlaw's gone too.
Other then Stoudemire the Suns don't have a frontcourt. And considering Stoudemire doesn't have a wide array of skills I wonder how he is going to react to other teams adjusting to him and double and triple-teaming him like people did to Yao Ming last year. The Rockets are deep, balanced, and talented and loaded up front. The additions of A. Griffin, Jimmy Jackson and Eric Piatowski is goign to be big, outstanding, veteran role players. I think the Rockets will make their statement. I'm pumped!
Has anybody else noticed that Amare is a Shawn Kemp clone? I mean, their games are identical: no real skills outside of 8 feet from the basket. That type of play is purely dependent on physical ability, as Kemp has now shown us. Once Stoudemire gets at all out of shape, he'll be utterly ineffective. He'd better develop an outside game if he actually wants to become a superstar.
I dont think ford was saying they are going to be top 3. Top 6 is very fair. A lot of the love which is spilling out from the media is a make up from the amount of underrating down last year... I mean they were picked to be at least in the bottom 5 last year. Suns Rockets and Nuggets this will be a FANTASTIC rivalry for the next 5 years for ANY basketball fan
