Bingo! The only reason they beat people last year is because they shocked people. Even if they had kept last year's team together they would have had a hard time surprising people. Joe Johnson and Q were key players. People are underestimating Richardson big time, the wing attack with those two was potent. It's going to take far more then Nash and Amare to carry them to 60 wins. They didn't even do it LAST year, the supporting cast played a HUGE part in their play. When the supporting cast broke down (Joe Johnson injured, Q and Marion disappeared), San Antonio absolutely destroyed them. It's not a given that Kurt Thomas will make a huge impact in the paint for them, he didn't do it in New York. He put up solid numbers and is a nice pickup, but not to the point to offset the losses the Suns experienced. And Raja Bell!?
I like to think of them like the run n shoot in football - teams weren't prepared for that style, so they we caught off guard...next thing they know the Suns are up 20...
i think they are definitely much worse than last year, but... i believe Amare could improve a good deal this year. he's still very young and wasn't much of a rebounder or defender last year. i think he can and probably will get better in both aspects of his game. i'm not a fan of his, but looking at it objectively i think the guy can become even better.
Hey hey, you borrowed my analogy without paying. Next time it'll cost ya. I look for Amare to be even better next year. Supposedly he's working out this summer like a monster. I'm impressed by his dedication to the game, his desire to get better and a smidgin of humility about his need to improve. All of this is based on reading Phoenix newspapers. Q got somewhat of a bad rap last year because they turned him into a 3pt specialist. That's not what he is. I know he tanked in the playoffs, but look for him to bounce back this year.
OK... so now instead of paying like a young Shawn Kemp, he will be playing like a young McDyess... he still needs nash to get him the rock AND without Q and JJ, he is going to face MAD double teams
I can't believe some here think Phoenix is actually going to be better next year! They're not even going to win 50 games. Everyone is saying that they are now tougher, more conventional, and better suited for the half court game but the complete opposite was the reason they were so damn good last year. With 5 scorers/athletes on the floor last year, they could just gun you to death. You constantly had to worry about every single guy on the floor and every single player on your team had to get back on defense or you were finished. Do you realize how big a difference even having just one guy not rotating back makes in defending a fastbreak? All 5 Suns break downcourt on a fastbreak after a rebound, most importantly Amare, and so naturally the other team's big man can't get back. You have a guard pick up Amare in transition (or the result is a tomahawk jam) and then the result is a wide open 3 for one of Johnson, Richardson, or Marion. And that's if you're lucky. The majority of teams don't have fast enough big guys to get back for BOTH Marion and Amare and now you were completely hopeless. Teams were so worried just about getting back that they couldn't even run their offensive sets efficiently. Now what do you have? A conventional team. I completely agree with the poster earlier who said they got better but got worse in that they were never going to win a championship with that style but in the process they've downgraded their talent so much that its a moot point. The apologists are basing their success on last year's team and using the thinking that now that they have defenders, they should be just as good. It doesn't work that way. Amare, Nash, and Marion as a trio is nothing special. It's a good group of players, but it's not like it's any better than the trio of other playoff teams. There's not a GM in the league who would take those 3 over Yao, McGrady, and Swift. Marion is the greatest garbageman in the league's history but now some of that is neutralized as he moves back to a conventional position. Amare just becomes like any other All-Star forward, in contrast to the All-time great some lunatics were heralding him as last year when he was practically wide open for 80% of his shots. You absolutely cannot underestimate how big a difference Q and Joe Johnson made on that team last year. Those guys rarely missed. Did you not see the difference in how good we were when Wesley, Barry, Howard were hitting shots? Outside shooting opens up the game infinitely. Kurt Thomas isn't a difference maker, and if they don't get Finley, they're in a world of trouble. You can't depend on Jimmy Jackson over the stretch of a 82 game season. He's an inconsistent shooter and one of the worst passers in basketball. They'll make the playoffs but they're no better than Sacramento or Denver or other bottom level playoff teams.
Shocked people? They played like they did every game for over 80+ games, I don't think it was a shock after awhile... More like nobody could stop them and they were a really good offensive team.
Another huge setback that most people are overlooking is Joe Johnson's ball handling ability. Now they have exactly one guy on their roster than can handle the rock. With JJ, he could take some of the ball-handling responsibilities away from Nash. Now defenses can just double off of Bell or Marion and force the ball out of Nash's hand.
In all likelihood the Suns will become more of a half court offense team next season. It is gonna be very interesting to see how Amare will fare in that type of offense.
that's no good. the only reason the suns were good was because they played unconventional basketball. now with a conventional team they are screwed. sucks to be a suns fan right now.
of course, what do we expect them to tell their fans... we replaced two 24-ish year old run and gun shooters (and two first round picks) for an undersized, broke down center and Boris Diaw ... but hey, we might have a lottery pick in 2009 (the same year Nash's back goes out!!)
Ah, take this article with a grain of salt, guys. What else was their brass supposed to say? They had a bad offseason, and expect less wins? It was all lip service.
Interesting read from a radio personality in phoenix..and no he's not the Suns version of Matt jackson (those guys are Tom leander and Kevin Ray)
It wouldn't surprise me if the Suns win 55 next year. Assuming no major injuries they still have 3 All-Stars and Amare is going to be even better next year. Not many teams can say they have 3 legit all-stars. Losing JJ hurts them, but they still could be very good. I still hate them though, just trying to be objective.
