SB Nation User Blog: JSun

Why the Suns Should Keep Shaq Happy

JSun — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:58:09 -0000

While we're all daydreaming and floating off-season moves ... I've got a thought for next year. Just a random observation that one would throw out at happy hour while watching other teams put on their shows.

Don't D-Wade and Shaq still get along well? That's what I hear from the reports.

I don't know, but I can't believe that Wade is too happy with his situation in Miami right now.

When 2010 comes around, won't Wade be availble?

Would a move from Miami to Phoenix be unthinkable? If so, could we get Shaq to put in a good word for the Suns?

If it were even possible, could Amare co-exist with him? If Nash were around, would Wade let Nash handle the ball and set him up? It might be nice.

Shaq Photo Op

JSun — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:22:09 -0000

Shaq Photo Op

Another one here, too.

Stay Dirty, Phoenix.

Al Bundy is #1!

JSun — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:53:58 -0000

Al Bundy is #1!

Some of you may know that I consider him the greatest tragic hero of the latter half of the 20th Century.

Here We Go Again -- Suns to ReLoad for More of the Same

JSun — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:53:47 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Alvin Gentry watches another parade of shooters scoring on the Suns

Browse more photos »

For some reason, as I started typing this, that Whitesnake song started running through my mind. Here I go again on my own/ Going down the only road I've ever known/ Like a drifter I was born to walk alone ... Does anyone else find it ironic that Jimmy Page bashed Whitesnake and then made an album with David Coverdale? Who's got the back-story on that?

Last night, I went to the Suns' "Town Hall" meeting with Sarver, Kerr and Welts. By the way, my raffle ticket was three integers away from winning Sarver's tickets to a game. Sarver said he could not stomach sitting through a 25-win season in which the team rebuilds. For what it's worth, his goal is a 50+ win season next year.

Both Kerr and Sarver said the team is not a true title contender, and they seemed to indicate they did not believe the team could be a true title contender next year. I guess they know what we all know -- it's going to be tough to make big changes to this team. That being said, they agreed that they should be in the playoffs and should make a run.

I think I heard Grant Hill on the radio a week or so back. He essentially said that the Lakers are alone, but that the Suns should be "the best of the rest." Look at the other wesetrn conference playoff teams and try to determine which one would be a heavy favorate against the Suns in a series.

Mainly, though, we heard more of the same stuff we heard last summer: "We are so good offensively that we just need to get a little better defensively." "We need to keep developing the bench." "Steve Nash has at least a few more good years left in him." "Goran Dragic will make a good backup for Nash and allow Nash to rest."

In my mind, though, a big question (both looking back and looking forward) is, "Did Terry Porter not listen to you, Steve? Or, were you telling him something different than you were telling us?" The question looks backward, because we all like to mercilessly pick apart decisions with the value of hindsight.

The question also looks forward, though, because of the bench. For the most part, the Suns' second unit was competitive with, or superior to, other teams' second units. They were also competitive with, or superior to, the first line of some of the worst teams. This is a nice asset. Now we just need to get the starters to play at the same relative level to their competition.

The bench "developed" under Alvin Gentry, right? Could a few weeks of practice actually have changed them? Probably not. Was the bench just bubbling over with talent, ready to explode, but Porter could not identify that? I guess that's a possibility. Or, was Porter actually in the process of developing the bench and Gentry simply got to reap the fruits of Porter's labor? (Kind of the opposite of when the outgoing president leaves a crummy economy for the next president; Clinton and Bush both did it for their respective replacements.)

Porter had to have been at least somewhat beneficial to the younger players' development. The question seems to be whether it was a large contribution or a small one. Remember, too, that Gentry staffed the D'Antoni bench-less Suns. I just don't know that Gentry is going to give that which we want in regard to the bench next year. There is no guarantee that a bench that was pressed into service after Porter left will continue its positive growth.

From a long-term perspective ("long" simply being past the 2009-2010 season), I am in no way comfortable with the notion that the Suns are "developing" younger players. I'm afraid that they will only get better with more playing time, and in order to become starting-caliber players they're going to have to play against other starters and not the scrubs they seem to be able to beat.

Sarver does not want to rebuild and appears to be very happy with being above-average but not a contender. Gentry's head-coaching career does not inspire confidence. I'm not so sure Gentry is going to get these guys to play defense any better or more consistently. I cannot believe that the bench will continue its upward trend without getting PT against the other teams' starters -- which will mean an increased amount of losses.

As far as potential changes to the roster (and we'll get into this in way more depth later), the most realistic changes would seem to be shipping off Stoudemire, Richardson or Barbosa (espcially given that Kerr/Sarver have pretty much guaranteed they're not doing the unthinkable unless Cleveland wants him for LeBron) to a team under the cap for a combination of young players or picks. If Sarver want to be the "best of the rest" in 2009-2010, such a move probably would not accomplish that goal.

Seems to me like there's going to be a lot of speculation during the off-season, but we're in store for another season of the same with, probably, a few more wins than in 2008-2009.

How Bad Are the Suns?

JSun — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:16:38 -0000

I read somewhere that with 45 wins, they have the third-highest total to never make the playoffs in the 16-team format. Maybe 46 before this is all over. 48, by GSW last year, was the highest total ever.

A list of bad losses (meaning, to bad teams they should have beat) includes:

Pre-Gentry:

Chicago (11/7), Miami (11/28), New Jersey (11/30), Indiana (1/7), Minnesota (1/16), New York (1/21), Charlotte (1/23), Chicago (1/31), Golden State (2/4), Philadelphia (2/9),

Post-Porter:

Miami (3/4), Sacramento (3/29), Memphis (3/10)

Don't read into this; Gentry hasn't had the opportunity to lose too many of those games and he did navigate the 0-6 stretch that killed the Suns in early March. Anyway, that's 13 games. Against those teams, the Suns should have easily won 7 games. The teams of yesteryear would have done at least that much. That's 52 or 53 wins -- maybe more. Right now, Denver is in second with 54 wins (and one game to go). The Suns are also under .500 on the road since for the first time (I think) since the last time they missed the playoffs.

I have no idea what all this means. It could mean that with a little tweaking they are a contender and top-four WCF playoff team. It could mean that the aging vets didn't care enough to give it their best effort against inferior teams. It could mean that the team doesn't care enough to come out and play on a consistent basis. It could mean Porter was doing something wrong. It could mean that next year, the development of a bench could give the aging vets some rest during the season when the inferior teams are on the schedule.

It does mean the Suns have under-achieved this year.

No point, just some observations to keep in mind when considering the necessary off-season moves.

My Grizz Recap (we can have two). The half-time entertainment was great. Best short, current,...

JSun — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:50:24 -0000

My Grizz Recap (we can have two).
The half-time entertainment was great. Best short, current, video I could find.
More here and more here.

Rick Adelman Keeps the Suns' Hopes Alive; Suns beat Rockets 114-109

JSun — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:31:49 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

3 months ago: Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, front, attempts to spin around Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, rear, of China, for a field goal in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 1, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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PhxStan begged for some help with the game recap. Everyone else stepped back, so I guess I was standing there. I warned that it might be a weak Suns-in-Sacramento type of effort.

Bluntman went to the game tonight. He's been dating two girls. One that likes basketball and one that takes him to strip clubs. I wonder who he took to the game. Don't answer too quickly -- he does go to work tomorrow.

I wonder what he thinks about the game. I wonder what SHE thinks about the game.

The thing that interested me most was that the Suns went on an 11-0 (or more, mabye) run in the fourth with Shaq on the bench. Shaq was on the bench because Yao was on the bench. The 20 seconds or so in the game when Gentry went without Shaq on the floor with Yao in the game was pretty scary. Yao and Shaq out at the same time seemed to benefit the Suns more than the Rockets.

I'm also glad that Adelman took Artest out of the game. That bench time really cooled him off. My high school economics teacher (a former bond trader) always used to say, "The trend is your friend." He meant that you shouldn't try to guess the top of the market or the bottom of the market. Why try to guess when Artest is at his high point? Why not until you see him slipping? You can get into trouble when you try to out-smart yourself.

Dudley continues to do his thing. One thing I want to pay more attention to are his minutes in the final 8-game mini-season. If the Suns' chances get even bleaker, I think I'd like to see him starting at the 4. If (good Lord willing) the Suns are able to snooker Cleveland into taking Shaq, then maybe we'll see Amare at the 5 and Dudley at the 4. Could be fun with Gentry and Nash next year.

Familiarity is also comforting.

Nash hit his daggers and dished out those assists (17 to 1 assist-to-turnover ration). Grant Hill continues to play at his consistently high level. Amundson continues to fumble hand-off passes. Goran took his typical step backward after taking a few steps forward. JRich continues to shoot and score.

Overall, it was a good team effort. Almost a great team effort. If Shaqovic-itis had not hit the team, it would have been a more comfortable win. If the Suns had stepped out on the three-point shooters in the first half, the Rockets would not have been close (9 for 14) in the first half. Good half-time adjustments, I suppose (12 for 25 by the end of the game).

The 21 point third period was disappointing, but at least the Rocket returned the favoer with a 21 point fourth. Without Yao centering their offense, with the Suns running and with Artest sitting, the Rockets could not find a groove on offense.

You'd like to think that with a day's rest and Sacramento at home, we could pencil the next game in. In theory, that should work. In theory.

Poll

Who would you rather take to a basketball game?

The good-looking girl who likes basketball games?

145 votes

The very good-looking girl who likes strip clubs? (female "entertainers")

47 votes

192 votes | Poll has closed

I might be able to support a Biedrins trade

JSun — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:53:59 -0000

I might be able to support a Biedrins trade

You know why ...
Don't act surprised

Daily Poll: Have You Seen Enough Yet?

JSun — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:56:46 -0000

I don't care about making the playoffs and I want to pretend for a minute that financial considerations are not going to impact basketball operations (Yes, I also live in a fantasy world where I believe the "Senate Ethics Committee" is not an oxymoron and may actually police its members).

Can you -- do you want to -- imagine 7 Seconds or Shaq with Amare and LB back in the mix?

In all honesty, I don't know how I'm voting. I'm still on the fence. Whatever position I take today will probably change tomorrow.

For all the grief we've given Amare, he was still getting over 20 points a game. With Gentry running the show, why wouldn't he average close to 30? On this point, notice how Nash has gone from, "I've got a lot of mouths to feed," to "I need to be more assertive and get some points." Coincidence or the lack of Stoudemire? If he were still around, there'd be a lot less hand-wringing and furrowed brows about the playoffs. There'd also be a little more optimism than, "If the Suns make the playoffs, they shouldn't be huge underdogs for Game 3 against the Lakers."

I'm still waiting to see if the guys get tired without LB. More than anything else, he can carry the offensive load and offensive energy for periods of the game. This helps during long stretchs of closely-bunched games. I guess we'll find out over the next 3 games.

If the team gets blown up, we're going to get a lot of "hustle play" from guys like Amundson and a lot of fumbled passes from guys like Amundson. Do you want to see that for the next 2-3 years or do you want to bring a team together that could be a dark horse in 2010 and then see Amundson fumbling passes for 2-3 years? Are you good with just delaying the inevitable or is it time to man-up and take your medicine?

Given that it's essentially a foregone conclusion that an 8-seed/lottery team should not pay an 8-figure luxury tax, someone will probably have to go. Mainly because of my affection for the players over the last 5 years, I'd get rid of the overly-expensive new guy. However, I'm thinking doing that unthinkable is the easiest thing to do in regard to other teams' willingness to wheel-and-deal. If that is what happens, Barbosa seems to play better when he emulates Tony Parker than when he emulates Steve Nash (I'm not making comparisons, I'm telling you who LB should emulate). If Hill sticks around, that's a pretty good starting five with a solid bench (as we've seen over the last month).

Even that squad, though, is probably not a top-four team in next year's Western Conference. Maybe -- maybe -- good enough to compete for the fourth spot. With that squad in the 4-spot, Hollinger probably gives you a 13.63982715% chance of winning the title.

Over the last week, I've seen enough of the team working together to give me hope for next season. I'm just worried that I'm setting myself up for another season of frustration.

Poll

Give it another shot or end the pain now.

What have we got to lose (except a $12-15MM luxury tax bill)?

136 votes

Sweet, mericful Lord, put me out of my suffering

45 votes

181 votes | Poll has closed

Barbosa Out 1-3 Weeks

JSun — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:08:22 -0000

Barbosa Out 1-3 Weeks

If there were any questions about the Suns' lottery chances before today, I think they've been answered.