Out with the new, in with the old.

Having suffered a complete system failure under coach Terry Porter's attempts to turn the Suns into the Pistons (I presume he meant the Pistons, pre-AI), the Suns will now attempt a mid-season reboot with a mere 31 games left, only 30 of which they'll have their full roster intact, thanks to this knucklehead. Clearly Phoenix Stan's dream system of defend first, run later isn't going to pan out. Whether that's the players' fault for not giving it a chance, the coach's fault for implementing it badly, or the Suns' management's fault for failing to follow through with the necessary changes to the roster is something that's been hashed to death in the comments on this site. Regardless, it seems the latest plan for the Suns is to revert back to their running ways of the recent past, and hope they can run fast enough to snag a spot in the playoffs.

As Stan (and Steve Nash) pointed out, it won't be as easy as it sounds. The Suns are missing three key pieces from when D'Antoni's system shined the brightest. With Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, and Boris Diaw now playing in other cities, Jason Richardson will need a crash course in D'Antoni Ball--without the benefit of D'Antoni himself leading the way. Shaq will have to settle for being The Big Roleplayer again. Nash will have to put that achy shoulder behind him, and get back to doing what he does. Everyone will have to check their egos and personal ambitions at the door, and focus on playing the best basketball they can. It won't be easy, but the Suns have met challenges before. Just maybe they can find it within themselves to do it again. In the interest of bringing some "bright" back to Bright Side of the Sun, I'll choose to think optimistically.

Here's what I hope to see in the final stretch of the season:

1. Run on makes and misses. I never bought into the "only run if you get a stop" philosophy. Why waste an opportunity to catch the opponent off guard, and maybe get an easy basket?
2. If (and only if) the fast break score isn't there, run the ball through Shaq in the half court. The big fella has played his heart out this year, and what has happened to this team is absolutely not his fault. He deserves to at least be the second option in regards to playmaking--and the Suns need him to be, now that Diaw has left town.
3. Rebound, rebound, rebound. Running game or not, the Suns can't use size as an excuse to get killed on the boards anymore. They'll never be a first-rate defensive team with Shaq, Amare, and Nash in the lineup, but there's no reason why they can't at least make good on the stops they do get by making sure the other team doesn't get a second shot. If you don't have the ball yourself, tap it to a teammate or box out the opponent so someone else can grab it. No excuses. Yes, I'm talking to YOU, Amare.
4. Play as though the game of basketball were actually fun. I maintain that any system can be successful as long as the players are on board with it, and are physically capable of carrying it out, but I'm willing to give the Suns the benefit of the doubt under the theory that maybe the Porter system failed because the pieces didn't fit the plan. Now that they're in a system they essentially voted for, there's no excuse for not bringing the effort every single night. Losing I can handle. Not even showing up makes me want to hurl small appliances at the TV.

Here's hoping the Suns can right the ship and finish out the season strong. Otherwise, the only "bright" around here will come from the Moron Meter overheating.