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The Spurs are going to own them again.
None of this is new information, but it's still a nice look at the Suns of next year. (First post!)
http://suns.realgm.com/articles/110/...._where_is_it/
The seemingly innocent trade of Kurt Thomas to Seattle shows a lot more of where the Suns are going and what they are planning in the 2007-08 season. Now that Thomas is gone, the Suns currently have, uh, let me check…zero guys over 7-0 and two guys over 6-8. What does that tell us? Read on to find out…
The Size Situation
Let’s get the facts down on paper first. As of now the Suns have Amare Stoudemire at 6-10 and Sean Marks at 6-10 as their bigs. Stoudemire will have to start every single night at center. So what about the PF and SF to fill out the front line? In my estimation the 6-8 Boris Diaw will be the starting PF and the 6-7 Shawn Marion will be the starting SF.
After that, the Suns roster is filled with a bunch of players that fall in the 6-5 to 6-7 area including Raja Bell (6-5), Grant Hill (6-8), Eric Piatkowski (6-7) and rookies Alando Tucker (6-6) and D.J. Strawberry (6-5).
Smaller players include Steve Nash (6-3), Leandro Barbosa (6-3) and Marcus Banks (6-2).
Outside of the height, the only player on the Suns to crack 250 pounds is Sean Marks.
Are the Suns Running Scared?
Clearly the Suns are one of the smallest teams not only in the West, but in the entire NBA. They are sleek, agile and can get up and down the floor faster than any team in the league. The Suns are, flat out, sexy and exciting to watch, but are they putting all their eggs in one basket?
With the Spurs, Dallas, Utah, Denver and Houston possessing bigger front lines, not only in height, but in weight, the Suns management has clearly come to the conclusion that if they are going to beat teams they are going to do it their way, by running.
Maybe the Suns decided this out of choice, out of lack of choice or because they feel the only way they can beat teams is by outrunning them. No matter why, we have to wonder will it work?
Why Running Suns Will Work
Over the past three years the Suns have run more than Forrest Gump, and during those years they have posted regular season win totals of 61 (04-05), 54 (05-06) and 62 (06-07). They clearly can beat any team put in front of them.
Compared to the aforementioned years, this Suns team is even quicker and smaller with a starting line-up of Nash, Bell, Marion, Diaw and Stoudemire and key bench players in Barbosa, Hill, Banks, Tucker and Strawberry.
No other team will be able to match up quickness and speed, except for perhaps the Warriors and Hornets, and players like Yao, Duncan, Dirk, Nene and even Boozer and Brand will have to take oxygen frequently.
With the addition of Tucker and even Strawberry, who I actually like, the Suns defense on the wings becomes even more tenacious. It will be extremely important, if not vital, for the Suns to get their long arms and quick hands in the passing lanes to force turnovers so they can execute their fast breaks.
If they do force the turnovers and get out on the break, they will have easy options with all the finishers on the team. Expect the Suns point total be at or over their 110 ppg average of last year, and expect their point differential (7.30) to increase. The teams that will be able to keep up them or can control the tempo will, and those who can’t will be blown out by 25.
With this arsenal of firepower, quickness and skill the Suns should have no fewer than 55 regular season wins and will be a contender yet again.
Why Running Suns Won’t Work
So why won’t the Suns running more (with a downsizing) work? As mentioned above it should get them 55 plus regular season wins…unless…there are injuries. Just one injury to one of the key bigs would spell doom. If Amare or Diaw go down, something they’ve both done in the past, what will the Suns do? They will get owned in the paint by the very talented bigs of the West. Big guys getting easy points in the paint dooms any hopes of the fast break.
Outside of injury, a few other factors will play big into the Suns’ success. First, Amare and Diaw are foul prone so Suns’ fans better get used to Sean Marks. Having Marks on the floor not only slows the fast break, but the talent drop off is tremendous.
Another major concern is that with running there is more fatigue. Every Suns’ fan knows that Nash, and a lot of the other guys, wore down in the playoffs last year. If they are running more throughout the season, it will take a toll on their bodies. With no back-ups for Amare or Diaw, those two will wear down even more, and Diaw isn’t in the best shape to begin with anyways and Amare is playing a lot this off-season.
Finally, the biggest concern has to just be the size differentials. The Suns are fine at the starter positions, but if one person; Marion, Stoudemire or Diaw get injured or in foul trouble the Suns become thinner than, an even pregnant, Nicole Richie. Suns’ fans know what Duncan, Boozer, Nene and others do to Amare. They get him in foul trouble quick and often. Add in other talented West big men like Brand, Yao, Oden, Garnett and Gasol, and Diaw and Amare will have their hands full all season long.
In the history of the NBA, there have been zero teams who have won an NBA championship running and gunning to the extent the Phoenix Suns will. Most championship teams are opportunistic runners, but have the capability, and prefer, to execute in a half court set. I hear all of you saying, ‘but this is a different NBA.’ But is it really? Go through the last two decades of championships and show me a run and gunner champion. Call me old school, but I think the championship formula will always be the ability to play defense and execute in the half court offense something that the Suns will have to be able to do.
However, there is a first for everything, and this season will prove that the Suns can outrun the compe ion or run themselves into the ground.
Discuss.
The Spurs are going to own them again.
suns have always used a wrong formal
tell they change no le
even with nash
I can't wait to see Amare guard...check that...attempt to guard Tim Duncan for a whole series. If Tim is healthy next year, he just may flip those 2005 numbers right back in Amare's ing face.
suns are getting garnett.
IMO the Suns are worse.
Trading Kurt Thomas has taken alot of rebounding, toughness, veteran leadership, and defense away from that front line, that was already thin frontcourt to begin with.
that's alright Garnett already knows how it feels to be spanked by the Spurs.
exactly... they are up to something...
I hope Seattle trades Kurt Thomas to SA.
I think the Suns will have to add another C/PF to their team before the season starts. If not, they have major match-up problems. How will they defend Duncan, Boozer, Yao? Amare is not a great defender, and could never stay out of foul trouble.
I thought I saw on this website that the Suns had a much better +/- with Thomas in the game in the Spurs-Suns series. He was the only player they had to defend Duncan.
What about a team like the Rockets? With Yao and Scola on the floor at the same time, and T-mac, the Suns will have a hard time defending. Can they force the Rockets to play a fat up-tempo game? If not, they're screwed.
I think the Suns know they have to add a big who can play defense.
Suns are attempting to land PJ Brown.
How come there are now suns fans posting anything here??? I swear we have Kerr on our payroll!
if they don't understand that small, run n gun doesn't work in the playoffs of the league they're in, i have no sympathy....
Last I heard, he was leaning toward retirement.
The reason for unloading Kurt Thomas is because the owner(Sarver) is sweating the luxury tax which the Suns were going to exceed this year. Thomas only had one year left with an option. I think he was going to make 8 Million. Basically they were looking to dump salary. They should have just let him play out this year, bite the bullet and give it one more shot. So far Kerr traded away a draft pick and gotten rid of Thomas. It was not a popular move according to the fans, but it sure seems that Sarver's money is winnig out instead of a chance for a championship
I agree with SequSpur. The playoffs last year, among other things, showed the Suns and the league just how thin Phoenix is down low. Then, they get rid of Kurt Thomas, the one guy who does a halfway decent job on Duncan, for trade exceptions.
I'm guessing Minnesota is wanting to "Suns-up" their team in return for giving up Garnett. I think the Suns plan to keep Nash and Amare. They give up Marion and any other 2 SF's, plus the trade exceptions for Garnett. That gives them: Nash, Bell, Jones, Hill, Diaw, Amare, and Garnett. And with the dual bigs, Marks can come off the bench and spell whoever, while you've got the other big still on the floor.
This explains why they would go after Grant Hill, and it also helps the fan base wanting a championship soon for Nash.
I believe you can not combine the trade exception with another players salary to acquire a player from another team with a larger salary. Im pretty sure.
The Suns aren't pursuing KG.
Their coach blows
How's that been going for you guys?With the Spurs, Dallas, Utah, Denver and Houston possessing bigger front lines, not only in height, but in weight, the Suns management has clearly come to the conclusion that if they are going to beat teams they are going to do it their way, by running.
The obsession continues. What's the longest this board has gone without a Spur fan starting a Suns thread?
Whats the longest you've stayed away from this board? Your obsession with the Spurs continues.
Dance!Whats the longest you've stayed away from this board? Your obsession with the Spurs continues.
There's no way they use that trade exception. They bought it so they could keep Marion. There might actually be some folks in that front office that believe that they had a chance against the Spurs. Since D'Antoni wasn't going to use KT enough to actually make a difference against Duncan it certainly didn't make any sense to pay him. I have a feeling the Suns are going to stand pat and pray for injuries to the Spurs.
the suns are so fun to hate. first the second round knockout, then atlanta gets a top three pick, robbing the suns of what would have been a lottery pick. then, knowing their two biggest deficiencies are defense and short rotation, they trade away their only big man that plays defense and they end up with an even shorter rotation than last year. I LOVE IT! i can't wait to see some more tantrums from dantoni, more excuse making from nash, and more whining from amare, sarver, and the rest of that pathetic organization.
Dance!How fresh. When in doubt pull out your weak "dance" card. It still doesn't change the fact that your obsession with the Spurs brings you to this board every day.
I never quite understood what he was trying to say with that. After all, the rest of us are actually here to talk about basketball. A troll is like a stalker that doesn't have the balls to leave the house.
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