layupdrill
02-21-2009, 02:54 PM
A LayupDrill.com Exclusive
The Phoenix Suns franchise has endured one of the more memorable weeks in recent NBA history. In the past seven days, their city has hosted the league’s premiere showcase of its greatest talent(All-Star Weekend), had their biggest piece of their future rumored to be heading out of town, pissed off the Big Cactus by having his name rumored to be heading out of town, fired the defensive minded head coach, and went back to the run-n-fun that Mike D’Antoni made famous. They have scored over 140 points in two straight games against the Clippers, had their reserve forward sucker punched by Zach Randolph in the first game vs. Los Angeles, and had their All-Star starting forward who was rumored to head out of town suffer a season ending eye injury in the second game. The Suns respond by scoring another 140 points against the OKC Thunder Friday night.
What a week. As Alvin Gentry tries to keep the troops together in a bid to salvage this season amidst all the adversity, the fans in Phoenix have been there through it all. Though it is obvious the bandwagon is nowhere near as full as it was during the Nash MVP seasons of earlier in the decade, the return of the run-n-fun full court offense is welcomed in the desert.
Whether or not this is a long term fix for GM Steve Kerr and Suns management is debateable, but for the franchise to survive a week like they have just had with a three game winning streak speaks volumes. Currently, the Suns sit at 31-23, which is good for 9th place in the West. The good news is they are only four games out of the number 4 seed, and only 1/2 game behind the Jazz for 8th. Speaking to two good friends of mine that are die hard Suns fans since the Barkley-KJ-Thunder Dan days, there are two schools of thought running through their heads regarding this season.
One of my friends, who I will call “The Optimistic One”, believes not only will the Suns rally behind Alvin Gentry and make the playoffs without Amare Stoudemire, but that the team will prove to their fans and management they are better off without him. For Phoenix to end up in the playoffs, Optimistic believes they need to get to 48 wins, or win 17 of their remaining 28 games. Looking at their current records, they are barely above .500 on the road, and only six games above .500 at home. They have 13 games remaining on the road, including trips to New Orleans, Dallas, Utah, Portland, San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, and Los Angeles. If they win 11 of the remaining 15 games at home, Phoenix could afford to go 6-7 on the road, and still get to the magical 48 win mark to secure a playoff spot.
My other friend, who I will say is “Wait Till Next Year”, has another theory. He believes its poetic justice that Amare went out for the season the day after the trade deadline, and had the Suns shipped him out to Chicago, Cleveland, Memphis, or elsewhere, he would not have been injured. With Amare down, he wants the Suns to not make the playoffs, because even if they are lucky enough to be the 7 or 8 seed, he does not feel they have enough to beat the Lakers or Spurs in a 7 game series. His best hope if they did make the playoffs would be to hope they meet up with Denver in Round 1, who they match up well with. But if they don’t make the playoffs, they could be in the lottery, and who knows, they could wind up like the Heat last season and get lucky.
Whichever side you agree with, one thing is certain, I for one hope that the franchise never sees a week like this week again.
The Phoenix Suns franchise has endured one of the more memorable weeks in recent NBA history. In the past seven days, their city has hosted the league’s premiere showcase of its greatest talent(All-Star Weekend), had their biggest piece of their future rumored to be heading out of town, pissed off the Big Cactus by having his name rumored to be heading out of town, fired the defensive minded head coach, and went back to the run-n-fun that Mike D’Antoni made famous. They have scored over 140 points in two straight games against the Clippers, had their reserve forward sucker punched by Zach Randolph in the first game vs. Los Angeles, and had their All-Star starting forward who was rumored to head out of town suffer a season ending eye injury in the second game. The Suns respond by scoring another 140 points against the OKC Thunder Friday night.
What a week. As Alvin Gentry tries to keep the troops together in a bid to salvage this season amidst all the adversity, the fans in Phoenix have been there through it all. Though it is obvious the bandwagon is nowhere near as full as it was during the Nash MVP seasons of earlier in the decade, the return of the run-n-fun full court offense is welcomed in the desert.
Whether or not this is a long term fix for GM Steve Kerr and Suns management is debateable, but for the franchise to survive a week like they have just had with a three game winning streak speaks volumes. Currently, the Suns sit at 31-23, which is good for 9th place in the West. The good news is they are only four games out of the number 4 seed, and only 1/2 game behind the Jazz for 8th. Speaking to two good friends of mine that are die hard Suns fans since the Barkley-KJ-Thunder Dan days, there are two schools of thought running through their heads regarding this season.
One of my friends, who I will call “The Optimistic One”, believes not only will the Suns rally behind Alvin Gentry and make the playoffs without Amare Stoudemire, but that the team will prove to their fans and management they are better off without him. For Phoenix to end up in the playoffs, Optimistic believes they need to get to 48 wins, or win 17 of their remaining 28 games. Looking at their current records, they are barely above .500 on the road, and only six games above .500 at home. They have 13 games remaining on the road, including trips to New Orleans, Dallas, Utah, Portland, San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, and Los Angeles. If they win 11 of the remaining 15 games at home, Phoenix could afford to go 6-7 on the road, and still get to the magical 48 win mark to secure a playoff spot.
My other friend, who I will say is “Wait Till Next Year”, has another theory. He believes its poetic justice that Amare went out for the season the day after the trade deadline, and had the Suns shipped him out to Chicago, Cleveland, Memphis, or elsewhere, he would not have been injured. With Amare down, he wants the Suns to not make the playoffs, because even if they are lucky enough to be the 7 or 8 seed, he does not feel they have enough to beat the Lakers or Spurs in a 7 game series. His best hope if they did make the playoffs would be to hope they meet up with Denver in Round 1, who they match up well with. But if they don’t make the playoffs, they could be in the lottery, and who knows, they could wind up like the Heat last season and get lucky.
Whichever side you agree with, one thing is certain, I for one hope that the franchise never sees a week like this week again.