Twenty Reasons The Suns Will Flame Out

[duncan228]

Some silly, some real?

http://ocregister.com/sports/suns-stoudemire-nash-1959287-marion-team

20 reasons the Suns will flame out
Even though Phoenix still stands shakily among the elite today, the Suns won't look so good by the time the season ends.
Kevin Ding

They remain right there at the top of the Western Conference because so many opponents simply can't deal with their skill, but everything behind the scenes feels wrong for the Phoenix Suns.

Here are the top 20 reasons the Suns, for all their talent and experience, won't win the West this season:

1. They can't play the Clippers every night. (Tonight at Staples Center is the Suns' last gimme after three boosts from the Clippers already, and the Clips might even win this one considering how disjointed the Suns are right now.)

2. They are the worst rebounding team in the NBA. The worst.

3. Lead assistant coach Marc Iavaroni left to become head coach in Memphis. Iavaroni was the main pipeline into immature Amare Stoudemire, who crazily believes this should now be his team.

4. Coach Mike D'Antoni lacks the strong personality this team has grown to need: He took the easy way out and set the wrong tone for the season by giving Stoudemire a third slice of Steve Nash's and Shawn Marion's captaincy.

5. Nash's new "got milk?" print ad has him soaring through the air in a way that is all wrong. He looks like a ballboy using a trampoline so he can dunk.

6. The Suns are 1-6 against the other West teams currently slotted for the playoffs – and the one victory came when San Antonio was missing Tony Parker.

7. Owner Robert Sarver's bizarre approach – come in and cut payroll right away to pre-empt winning a championship that would establish personal credibility – has left them now sorely lacking depth. Athletic Joe Johnson is, in fact, just what this team needs, and even James Jones (leading the NBA in 3-point shooting for Portland) would be key.

8. Boris Diaw, acquired for Johnson, has seen his stats disappear and his waistline expand since getting his five-year, $45 million contract extension before last season. The Suns' best course of action now would be to put some French pastries on top of Diaw's contract and hope he cleans his plate, thus invalidating the horrible deal.

9. Nash's health, with chronic back problems, is an increasing concern. He turns 34 on Feb. 7. Such a marvel for three years in Phoenix, Nash could soon begin the sudden decline that Dallas' Mark Cuban expected much sooner.

10. Stoudemire already twice has called out teammates after losses in which he didn't get the ball enough – totally oblivious to his part in Phoenix giving up 122 and 118 points in those losses (Dec. 25 vs. Lakers, Jan. 5 vs. Hornets). Captain Stoudemire proceeded to skip practice the day after that loss to New Orleans.

11. Stoudemire didn't have to say he missed practice because his dog ate his playbook because D'Antoni doesn't even have a playbook: All he runs is the pick-and-roll, which continues to be a problem in the playoffs when your opponents can prepare properly for your pet plays.

12. With no hair on his head yet a huge dangling orange goatee, Brian Skinner looks frighteningly like an upside-down Carrot Top.

13. Both the father (Jerry Colangelo) and the son (Bryan) who built this have been pushed out by Sarver. New General Manager Steve Kerr is smart – smart enough to say: "In many ways, the league has adapted to us and our style."

14. Very much in Phoenix style, the Lakers have adapted with their effective pre-triangle-offense secondary fast break and are now quite good. Dallas is getting very good again. San Antonio is still really, really good.

15. Nash can't defend. The Suns are putting Marion on more and more opposing point guards these days.

16. That's tough duty for Marion, but he's even crazier than Stoudemire in thinking this should be his team. You might've missed that Marion requested a trade; the only way the world would've taken notice at the time is if Kobe Bryant had announced it for him. But Marion is making $16.4 million – $5 million more than Nash – even though Marion can't even create a shot. How about some appreciation for what you have instead of what you don't?

17. Little Leandro Barbosa is averaging 14 shots per game … the same as Stoudemire. See Amare's beef?

18. Grant Hill managed 34 consecutive starts before an appendectomy Wednesday knocked him out for 2-3 weeks, but don't be fooled. Many a time this season Hill's five-surgery ankle has been so temperamental that he thought about not playing. Beware.

19. Stoudemire is 24 and Kevin Garnett is 31. But by doing that deal and getting the defense and teamwork Garnett has brought to Boston, the Suns would've been a lock.

20. "You can't win at this level," Nash said, "if you don't have great chemistry and you don't pull for each other and if you're worried about your shots or worried about yourself or making excuses or pointing fingers at other players. That's for losers. We've been a winning ballclub here and if we want to take that next step that (chemistry) has to be a big part of our character."

[z0sa]

it must be boring to be the most hyped up nba team year after year since nash's arrival and still know deep down inside, that the spurs are gonna kick your ass come playoff time.

[JamStone]

I think the Suns have a very good chance to win the West this year. Just my opinion.

[DazedAndConfused]

Anyone that thinks the Suns are gonna win the West this year is outside their minds.

They have worse defense than last year. Any team with a big interior presence will own them, like the Lakers have two straight times this year. The Suns are finished ,their championship was supposed to be last year but Amare and co. blew it.

[JMarkJohns]

In a nutshell, every reason can be summarized by...

1. Mike D'Antoni
2. Mike D'Antoni
3. Mike D'Antoni
4. Mike D'Antoni
5. Mike D'Antoni
6. Mike D'Antoni
7. Mike D'Antoni
8. Mike D'Antoni
9. Mike D'Antoni
10. Mike D'Antoni
11. Mike D'Antoni
12. Mike D'Antoni
13. Mike D'Antoni
14. Mike D'Antoni
15. Mike D'Antoni
16. Mike D'Antoni
17. Mike D'Antoni
18. Mike D'Antoni
19. Mike D'Antoni
20. Mike D'Antoni

[JMarkJohns]

I think the Suns have a very good chance to win the West this year. Just my opinion.

If the Suns pulled a hockey move and fired a winning coach, then went out and netted Skiles, then I could see this happening, but D'Antoni is too great a weight for the Suns to overcome, in my opinion. His chaotic, opportunistic offense doesn't get as many mistakes to take advantage of against the better defensive teams like the Spurs, and his refusal to change when added to his inability to manage a rotation and develop young players don't lend confidence to Suns fans who've seen it all before.

He's a C+ coach with an A+ roster and all he's managed are B+ results the past several years.

Save for his lone bright spot as a strategist in 05-06 with getting a frontcourt of Marion, T.Thomas, J.Jones and Diaw to the Conference Finals, he's yet to show he has the know how to guide a team, or the willingness to adjust when things prove incapable.

Just my opinion, but With Nash and Marion getting fed up with his rotation this year and voicing concern behind closed doors a few weeks back, it seems to me several of the Suns best players are now realizing D'Antoni failings and trying to right the ship in spite of D'Antoni still being at the helm.

[BonnerDynasty]

When the Suns do come out and decide to play defense they can be pretty damn pesky with the deflections/strips/steals.

They shouldn't be any competition if the Spurs can get their head out of their ass come playoff time. But as we saw in game 5 vs PHX last year, the Spurs DO play shit games in the playoffs. I doubt a full Suns team will blow a lead like that against the Spurs this year in the playoffs.

[Purple & Gold]

Their team is just built wrong. No emphasis on defense whatsoever. It also hurts when you can't rebound the ball for shit.

[JamStone]

Suns are not an A+ roster. They have great talent but very little big man depth. When they lose they are likely getting out-rebounded. If they had a Tyson Chandler or Samuel Dalembert type of player on their roster to complement the rest of the rotation guys, then it would be an A+ roster. As it is, Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw have to play a lot of minutes at power forward and center and the fourth big man off the bench is Brian Skinner. That is not an A+ roster even with the style of play they have. With that said, even though it's unlikely in the playoffs four out of seven games, the Suns can still outscore teams. And, they showed they can compete with the likes of the Spurs if some of the breaks go their way. True they don't have Kurt Thomas anymore. I still think they have a very good chance at making it out of the west. Just a feeling. Just my personal opinion.

[samikeyp]

In a nutshell, every reason can be summarized by...

1. Mike D'Antoni
2. Mike D'Antoni
3. Mike D'Antoni
4. Mike D'Antoni
5. Mike D'Antoni
6. Mike D'Antoni
7. Mike D'Antoni
8. Mike D'Antoni
9. Mike D'Antoni
10. Mike D'Antoni
11. Mike D'Antoni
12. Mike D'Antoni
13. Mike D'Antoni
14. Mike D'Antoni
15. Mike D'Antoni
16. Mike D'Antoni
17. Mike D'Antoni
18. Mike D'Antoni
19. Mike D'Antoni
20. Mike D'Antoni

Beat me to it. :toast

[vicphoenix]

Why did Kevin Ding waste his time with this dumb article? You could write 20 reasons why any NBA team won't win a title except for the Spurs.

[stretch]

No defense.

No rebounding.

No championship.

[hater]

7 seconds or less LMAO

[vicphoenix]

It's fine to believe the Suns won't win a championship. But I hate it when people make it such a big deal when they lose in the playoffs. They aren't favorites and it shouldn't be a shock if they lose to the Spurs or Mavericks.

[sa_kid20]

A lot of Spurs fans on here talk about the Suns way too much for some reason. I'm a Spurs fan and thats my team and could care less about anything that has to do with Suns or what people say about em. The only time we should even care about what the Suns do at all is if we play them in the playoffs. Anything else just makes it seem like we have some weird obsession with them.

[lefty]

Letting Joe Johnson go has been their worst move; huge mistake

[Jeremy]

18. Grant Hill managed 34 consecutive starts before an appendectomy Wednesday knocked him out for 2-3 weeks, but don't be fooled. Many a time this season Hill's five-surgery ankle has been so temperamental that he thought about not playing. Beware.

Actually, I believe he is reading false things into the East Valley Tribune article, which said the following:


After missing so much basketball to injuries over the past seven years, every game is a gift he wants to embrace. So much so that there were nights during the first 34 games this season when he worked through pains that would have kept him out in the past in hope of playing a full season for the first time in a decade (he played 81 for the 1997-98 Pistons).

[...]

“If it wasn’t for this training staff, I don’t know if I would have made it (to this point) without missing a few games,” said Hill, who took his wife, Tamia, to lunch the day after his 45-minute surgery and was back watching practice Friday.

“There were times in the morning (of game day) when you leave the shoot thinking, ‘There’s no way I can play tonight.’ But I’d get in early, and (trainers Aaron Nelson and Erik Phillips) do their stuff, you know like Mr. Miyagi (the mystic healer from “The Karate Kid”) and they got me ready.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/106527

I don't think Hill has had any problems at all with his ankle this season. I believe he's talking about the other minor injuries that he's suffered this season.

[Kriz-Maxima]

It's fine to believe the Suns won't win a championship. But I hate it when people make it such a big deal when they lose in the playoffs. They aren't favorites and it shouldn't be a shock if they lose to the Spurs or Mavericks.


For the last couple of years they have been the favorites. Alongside Lebron James they receive the most hype from the media.

[OldDirtMcGirt]

For the last couple of years they have been the favorites. Alongside Lebron James they receive the most hype from the media.

Nobody saw us coming in '04-'05, and the Spurs were the favorite then. In '05-'06 we weren't even the favorites in the first round, and in '06-'07, the entire ESPN panel all picked the Spurs to win.

[Tippecanoe]

17. Little Leandro Barbosa is averaging 14 shots per game … the same as Stoudemire. See Amare's beef?

my fantasy team says thats not a problem

[ludda]

The thursday Suns-Lakers (w/o Bynum) game will be a statement game for the Suns, if they lose to the lakers AGAIN I see all hell breaking loose

[m33p0]

last chance for the suns.

[Cry Havoc]

There are four keys to winning games.

Defense, rebounding, offense, and work ethic/intangibles

You need to do all four of these well to win titles.

This isn't some made-up concoction. It's not potions and double bubble troil and trouble that just magically produces winners year after year. It's not something you can just circumvent because you're flashy. Not a single team I've ever seen has won a title from luck, except maybe the Rockets, but I honestly think they were good enough to take Jordan's Bulls to 6 or 7 games that year. They earned it, too.

Look at the champions of the league. Go on, look. Even the Heat, arguably the weakest champions in the past couple of decades, fought hard, crashed the boards, and shut the other team down.

We all know the Spurs and Pistons did it. The Lakers did it too. And they could all score on you and were all willing to go for loose balls like their lives depended on it. Jordan's Bulls, the Bad Boy Pistons, Dream's Rockets. Four things. Defense first, which goes hand in hand with rebounding. Solid fundamentals which lead to scoring opportunities. And out-hustling the other team.

The Suns will never be able to defend. They will never rebound well. Therefore, this team as it stands will never win a title.

The Suns do one thing extremely well, one of them so-so, and are absent in the other two categories.

Even if they beat the Spurs last year, I think they would have had fits with Utah.

This year they won't make the WCF. Too many other teams out there that can score now AND play defense.

[m33p0]

There are four keys to winning games.

Defense, rebounding, offense, and work ethic/intangibles

You need to do all four of these well to win titles.

This isn't some made-up concoction. It's not potions and double bubble troil and trouble that just magically produces winners year after year. It's not something you can just circumvent because you're flashy. Not a single team I've ever seen has won a title from luck, except maybe the Rockets, but I honestly think they were good enough to take Jordan's Bulls to 6 or 7 games that year. They earned it, too.

Look at the champions of the league. Go on, look. Even the Heat, arguably the weakest champions in the past couple of decades, fought hard, crashed the boards, and shut the other team down.

We all know the Spurs and Pistons did it. The Lakers did it too. And they could all score on you and were all willing to go for loose balls like their lives depended on it. Jordan's Bulls, the Bad Boy Pistons, Dream's Rockets. Four things. Defense first, which goes hand in hand with rebounding. Solid fundamentals which lead to scoring opportunities. And out-hustling the other team.

The Suns will never be able to defend. They will never rebound well. Therefore, this team as it stands will never win a title.

The Suns do one thing extremely well, one of them so-so, and are absent in the other two categories.

Even if they beat the Spurs last year, I think they would have had fits with Utah.

This year they won't make the WCF. Too many other teams out there that can score now AND play defense.

what about scoring more points than the opponent? that should work everytime, right?


...ah, right. this is the suns. my bad.

[DazedAndConfused]

The thursday Suns-Lakers (w/o Bynum) game will be a statement game for the Suns, if they lose to the lakers AGAIN I see all hell breaking loose

If they can't beat the Lakers WITHOUT BYNUM they are pathetic. Seriously. Bynum is an integral part to that Laker team and their current success against PHX.

[T Park]

RIght now Phoenix is gettin spanked by the Clippers.

Out worked, out hustled, out everything.

[Findog]

Phoenix may not win the title, but they will be a tough, tough out for whoever they play.

[DazedAndConfused]

Tough??? Tough like tonight when they lost to the worthless Clippers???

OK. The Suns are DONE, they aren't winning sh!t unless they address their defensive problems.

[mavs>spurs2]

Tough??? Tough like tonight when they lost to the worthless Clippers???

OK. The Suns are DONE, they aren't winning sh!t unless they address their defensive problems.

Nice take Jeff

[Findog]

Tough??? Tough like tonight when they lost to the worthless Clippers???

Yes, because as we all know, their postseason fate is sealed by a game in January. How are the Spurs doing these days? Phoenix will be a tough out. I know it's hard, but you have to try to be this stupid. No, they won't be winning a title, but like Dallas, they've been shit on so much since their playoff exit that they're probably underrated at this point.

[T Park]

Phoenix loses to the Clippers.

Rockets lose to the Sixers.

WTF is in the water tonight? :lol

[Hemotivo]

LA Clippers 97, Phoenix 90

[Hemotivo]

Rockets lose to the Sixers.
:bang

[Xylus]

90 points? WTF.

[DazedAndConfused]

I know that regular season records don't mean that much, but you can't say the regular season doesn't mean anything.

I look at the Suns and the trouble they have against any team with a strong interior presence and I just can't see them making it out of the WC. UTAH, SAS, and LAL are all teams I can see knocking them out.

As of right now there is no clear front runner in the WC outside of SAS. Now that Bynum is out for the Lakers they are back to where they were last year, which is a mediocre WC team. It's a shame because they were really picking up steam and clobbering teams left and right. Bynum was literally transforming into a 20/10 guy as well.

[vicphoenix]

Yes, because as we all know, their postseason fate is sealed by a game in January. How are the Spurs doing these days? Phoenix will be a tough out. I know it's hard, but you have to try to be this stupid. No, they won't be winning a title, but like Dallas, they've been shit on so much since their playoff exit that they're probably underrated at this point.


One thing you can count on is that the Suns will not go down easily in the postseason. They don't have the pieces to win a championship but they play a style that is difficult to defend. Alot of pundits claim that the Suns style doesn't work in the postseason. But the Spurs are the only team that has been capable of completely shutting them down.

[Findog]

One thing you can count on is that the Suns will not go down easily in the postseason. They don't have the pieces to win a championship but they play a style that is difficult to defend. Alot of pundits claim that the Suns style doesn't work in the postseason. But the Spurs are the only team that has been capable of completely shutting them down.

The Spurs are probably the best example of a conventional "right-way" team that has what it takes to beat an up-tempo fast-break team like Phoenix. Detroit is as well to a lesser extent. While the Pistons have a disturbing tendency to play down to the level of the competition, I think they would be tough for Phoenix in a seven-game series.

But we're both in agreement that whoever eliminates Phoenix will have to go into fifth gear to do it.

[m33p0]

:bang
randy livingston in the d-league has been waiting for an opportunity for aeons.

[Kamnik]

In a nutshell, every reason can be summarized by...

1. Mike D'Antoni
2. Mike D'Antoni
3. Mike D'Antoni
4. Mike D'Antoni
5. Mike D'Antoni
6. Mike D'Antoni
7. Mike D'Antoni
8. Mike D'Antoni
9. Mike D'Antoni
10. Mike D'Antoni
11. Mike D'Antoni
12. Mike D'Antoni
13. Mike D'Antoni
14. Mike D'Antoni
15. Mike D'Antoni
16. Mike D'Antoni
17. Mike D'Antoni
18. Mike D'Antoni
19. Mike D'Antoni
20. Mike D'Antoni


:toast

[JMarkJohns]

I was probably a little unfair to D'Antoni with my initial 20 reasons list. A handful of listings of cheap bastard owner, Robert Sarver, should be sprinkled amongst the D'Antoni's.

[Shred]

Obsession noted.

*

[BillsCarnage]

Bump

This Kevin Dung sure does know his stuff.

[Findog]

Bump

This Kevin Dung sure does know his stuff.

Ooh, Internet Tough Guy bumps a thread after splitting a home and home with the Nuggets.

[BillsCarnage]

Ooh, Internet Tough Guy bumps a thread after splitting a home and home with the Nuggets.


:lol :lol

Too bad he didn't do any research on the Mavs :drunk

[Findog]

:lol :lol

Too bad he didn't do any research on the Mavs :drunk

The Mavs have as good a shot as the Suns. And the Mavs have no shot.

[BonnerDynasty]

I lmao when I read Suns forums and they are confident against Spurs all of a sudden because they have a 2-1 reg season lead hahahaha

Delusional Suns fans.



Suns are a threat still :depressed ... but fuck their fans :lol

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The series will be tied next week

book it

[m33p0]

... San Antonio is still really, really good.
The only reason you need to know.

[ElNono]

Somebody let the cockroaches in again. Two weeks ago Suns fans were nowhere to be found, and now all of a sudden we have an infestation. Talk about bandwagon fans.

[Findog]

Somebody let the cockroaches in again. Two weeks ago Suns fans were nowhere to be found, and now all of a sudden we have an infestation. Talk about bandwagon fans.

Yeah, and after they LOST to Boston and Detroit, but took care of bidness against Philly and NJ.

[monosylab1k]

At least Mavs fans stick around and bitch about their team when they suck. These Sun fan pussies find the nearest bomb shelter and hide when their team loses.