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But what about the other 40 minutes?
This would be akin to having Yao on the floor with the Warriors.
And yet the only category Shaq beats him in, is time riding the pine, and games missed due to injury.Yes. Marion is the most overrated player in the NBA ...
Marion has more ppg, more rpg, has more steals pg, a of a lot better assist to TO ratio, and a lot smaller contract.
You actually think Shaq is the "missing piece" for the Suns? Maybe 10 years ago.
But what about the other 40 minutes?
This would be akin to having Yao on the floor with the Warriors.
3FirstNames is going to employ a new coaching strategy with Shaq.
He will simply have him stay on one end of the court until there is a stoppage in play, then he will switch ends until play stops again.
It's a genius strategy for a genius coach
That would be the best strategy probably. Let Shaq stand under the basket all game.
Who wouldn't enjoy watching the collective IQs of Shaq and Amare at work? Wow.
Maybe the Suns want to play more half-court basketball, because the run and gun + older Steve Nash are catching up.
Can this Suns team even get far enough to face the Spurs?
By the time Shaq gets to the opponent's basket, 3 possessions will have been run.
not sure what I think about this trade yet, I can't wiat to see how he does in his first game.
As little as I care for Shaq and his antics, the truth of the matter is the guy is smart. His SATs were right up there with DRob.
Amare, on the other hand ...
The Suns on defense would be a joy to watch. Teams now have a choice of pick and rolling Shaq to death, or they can choose to go at Amare 1-1.
I wonder who is going to guard Parker now that Marion is gone when they face the Spurs. If Bell, then who is going to guard Manu?
First time for Shaq with an Elite Guard who passes first. What's gonna happen?
I actually thought that Shaq was a better fit for the Spurs than all the other contenders? The style and pace of play etc. seems to fit. I guess the problem is/was who could the Spurs have given up to entice such a trade in order to make the numers work?
BTW, Shaq with the Suns on offense would be quite tough to match. He takes up the lane, Stoudemire slashes, and Nash penetrates, with Bell/Barbosa/Hill on the flanks, it's really hard to stop them. On defense though .....
I don't see how Shaqs contributions will make up for the loss of Marion.
Unless Phoenix can magically flip its system overnight, this is a stupid move.
We'll see if they can teach old dogs new tricks.
Spurs should have packed Ginobili to Miami. Parker, Finley, Bowen, TD and Shaq would work great with Barry/Udoka from the bench.
Wow, two acquisitions of players this year that scared me 10 years and 10 injuries ago.
Shaq will definitely challenge D'Antoni as a coach on how to utilize him "with" Nash and Amare on their pick-and-roll plays. At least Marion was out of their way spotting up at the corners. Shaq will be right there in the lane while Amare is getting passes at the basket. The spacing will be all weird. I'm curious as to how that offense will run.
Don't know if this has been posted yet, but the following from a Suns beat writer, Paul Coro.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/16512
Coro's Suns dish
Where "OMG, Shaq's a Sun" happens
So what does this do to Phoenix.
Better defense? O'Neal can still protect the rim and hold his own as a one-on-post defender. However, the Suns lose Marion's versatile defense and activity. Steve Nash can't handle all of the top point guards and Marion often hid that. Perhaps Grant Hill can do some of that now.
Better rebounding? O'Neal would seemingly help Phoenix to get out of last in yielding offensive rebounds. But the Suns also lose their leading rebounder in Marion, who was averaging 9.9.
Same style? O'Neal has lost a step or 32 in his 15th year and was the main reason Phoenix was so upset about losing the conference finals to Dallas. The Suns figured they could have run O'Neal off the floor. It's an odd coupling, pairing up a past-his-prime behemoth with health issues with Mike D'Antoni's rapid-fire offensive style. But people tend to not realize that Phoenix almost never has a five-man fastbreak. The Suns look for such quick shots that no more than two or three need to push it. Like Kurt Thomas, O'Neal can be the rebounder or inbounder who starts the break.
Same scoring? The Suns don't run much of a post-up offense, except for Boris Diaw to pass and occasionally shoot. O'Neal is actually a pretty deft passer out of the post and the elbow so he might be just fine in a ball-moving offense, although it is supposed to be a people-moving, well-spaced one too. He pretty much would seem to be opposite Steve Nash's and Amare Stoudemire's pick-and-roll work to take the occasional duck-in for a slam. Just hope he doesn't get fouled too much or Brian Skinner will start looking like a good free throw shooter.
Same spryness? Marion is 29. O'Neal is 35, closing in on 36. It'll be O'Neal (35), Grant Hill (35), Steve Nash (soon to be 34), Raja Bell (31) and Amare Stoudemire (25) in the starting lineup. But give the Suns athletic training staff a chance and maybe they can work some more of their magic on O'Neal. You have to be skeptical of how hurt O'Neal is, given he is on the worst team in the league.
I suspect that there's a power struggle (or, more accurately, that D'Antoni has lost the power struggle) to determine the style of play the Suns will employ. Shaq makes very little sense from an offensive standpoint with that team, other than providing them with a unique option when a team like the Spurs (and pretty much only the Spurs) is able to play them into a half-court tempo.
I do think that Shaq makes some sense for them defensively, if only because he does keep penetrating guards away from the rim when he's in shape. Having watched that matchup closely for a few years now, it's clear to me that a guy like Parker rethinks that drive when he gets into the middle and finds Shaq there. Tony doesn't drive and tear-drop, he drives and kicks unless he has completely beaten Shaq to the rim. I'm not saying its a defensive panacea for the Suns, but it is different than what they've done.
Of course, one benefit to the Suns of Marion's presence was his ability to defend (relatively well) players from 1-4 on the floor, including his efforts to deny Parker penetration at times during the WCSF last season. By moving Marion and acquiring Shaq, the Suns have committed to playing someone like Nash or Barbosa on Parker or Devin Harris in matchups with quick points (I suppose that they could use Bell, too, but that would force either Nash or Barbosa to guard a much longer wing). It will be interesting to see how the Suns try to deal with that.
Assuming Shaq is even healthy for the playoffs, they will be pretty tough offensively. Defense? I'm not so sure about. And that's what boggles me about this trade. It's not like the Suns need help on offense, we're all aware they make it rain. But Shaq on D? 5 years ago he wasn't THAT interested in playing good D, so all of a sudden a trade to phoenix (one of the worst defensive coached teams) is gonna make him get up and play hard on D?
I think this trade was more of a reaction to the Gasol trade. Yes, Shaq and Amare together sounds scary, but not sure about defense. In the end, I think they turn more into the Curry/Randolph combo than the Twin Towers. I will say this, at least the Suns are starting to realize that small ball and no D can't win championships.
I think it will be interesting to see this in action. I agree with the writer in that the Suns don't need all 5 of their players running on the breakaway.
Shaq could stay behind, and wait for the other team to come back. It's not like they crash the offensive board or anything.
Thank you Steve Kerr. I know you are a Spur at heart all along...
suns are now a half-court team. expect more whining from stat.
does this trade makes sense? it does give the suns more of an inside presence. who does nash send the ball to on the low block? expect more whimpering from stat.
are the suns abandoning the run'n'gun style to knock the spurs out or this a reactionary move to what the lakers did? expect stat to cry like a baby in front of the camera coz he doesn't get the ball as much as before.
and like FilSpursFan said, Kerr is a spur afterall.
one last question. will phoenix nation stop watchin the suns now? will they still be excited about watching the ball getting dumped inside to o'neal over and over and over and over again? will they watch stat mope about lack of scoring opportunities?
Last edited by m33p0; 02-06-2008 at 08:47 PM.
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