Bright Side Of The Sun: FanPosts

The world is schocked -- Tony Parker's Comrades Cheat, Too

2009-11-19T15:35:40Z

Henry, a close friend of San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, patted the ball down like a basketball player before remembering to use his feet.

Anywhere I go, I cannot get away from the Sp*rs. I suppose that's my lot in life.

While the article reports that Henry was offside, I don't think he was the player in the offside position so he should have been able to receive the ball. But Gallas was offside.

Here's some video:

For more on the general tenor in the Emerald Isle, check this guy out.

For more, go to ESPN soccer or Fox Soccer.

luke ridnour??

2009-11-16T08:32:03Z

The suns are looking like themselves again and are playing the best basketball in the league at the moment

but, we need to address one major isssue early if they are going to keep this pace all year.

steve nash is 35 and getting older everyday, goran has been great but he hasnt got the experience to carry a lead for more then 5 minutes.

Luke ridnour is only 28 and would be a true backup that this team needs. sure he is making 6 mill or something this year but under the guidance of nash he could possibly be worth the money.

the way brandon jennings is playing, im sure they are already are looking for suiters.

thoughts?

The new Suns bring this thousands-miles-away fan back to the good ol' days

2009-11-16T01:54:55Z

Even though I consider myself a great Suns fan, so much that I'm pretty sure I bleed purple and orange (seriously, I just cut myself and that surely doesn't look red to me. Well, at least it's not purple and gold. That much I'm sure about), my first really vivid memory of the Suns is a highlight reel of a Phoenix-Memphis game of the 2005 NBA playoffs. The upbeat notes of "Winter in the Hamptons" by Josh Rouse were blaring in the background, as Steve Nash was sending a perfect pass down court for an easy Shawn Marion dunk in transition.

You might be asking yourself why a 23 year old self-defined "great" Suns fan, has such a recent event has his first big memory as a Phoenix basketball aficionado. Why? Well, the answer is simple. I'm a "thousands-miles-away" fan, that's why. I'm an "Italian-currently-living-in-Spain" fan. I grew up being able to watch only the NBA finals when I was a kid, since the Italian TV bothered to broadcast only the final act of the long hoops season (you gotta love how much we, the Europeans, are obsessed with soccer: TV stations show more Russian soccer league games than NBA games). There was no Internet back then, no NBA.com or ESPN.com highlights, no web streams, no International League Pass. Only when Nash got back to the desert I really started following the Suns on a daily basis. It also happened to be the perfect time technology-wise (the Internet was an established thing and web streams started being very popular). Beware though, I was already a fan. I've always been a fan ever since my mom bought me a Suns orange cap (proudly displayed on a shelter in my bedroom) when I was 6. A silly purple hat is the reason I became a Suns fan. Funny, right?

Fun is exactly the best word to define that memorable 2005 Suns season. And that's why they really got me hooked up. I have to admit that my initial interest was rather slim. Then, when the playoff rolled around and I was able to watch every game, I was completely riveted and from then on I never looked back. That '05 spring was certainly unforgettable for me. I witnessed a thrilling playoff run that made me waste nights after nights and I got my first taste of disappointment, which, begrudgingly, is a long-time Suns constant: the first of a seemingly endless series of playoffs defeats against the Spurs.

I didn't let the first disenchantment water down my love for the team. Actually, it made me care even more. I decided that I'd watch every possible game the following season. Mind you, that was no easy task. Yeah my satellite provider was broadcasting an NBA game every night, but certainly not every Suns game! So I had to resort to some shaky Chinese webcasts, with Cantonese commentary, no less. That was the best I could find at the time and you know what? It was great. I couldn't care less that I didn't understand a word or that the picture quality was so bad that sometimes I was left wondering if the latest basket had been scored by Steve Nash or Teen Wolf. All that mattered was that I could watch my beloved Phoenix Suns.

Internet streams allowed me to witness some of the best moments in the Suns recent history. I remember Nash's three to send the game in overtime against Dallas, after a timely Marion's rebound (a game in which the two-time MVP went totally nuts scoring 32 along with 16 assists and 8 rebounds). That night I was so psyched that I started jumping in front of my computer trying not to scream in delight to avoid waking up my parents (remember the time difference: it was probably 5 am here, when this bizarre scene took place). The same thing happened when Raja Bell nailed that three from the corner against the Clippers, or when Tim Thomas saved our orange asses against the Lakers. Again, I was jumping all over my room fist pumping and high-fiving myself like an idiot, hell, if I had two chests I would have chest-bumped myself too!

I still remember when Nash rallied the team back in an amazing come-from-behind victory in San Antonio to tie the series and give us all a real hope that, maybe, this time we could overcome the big black hurdle: the much-hated Spurs (or like Bill Simmons refers to those 2007 Spurs: The San Antonio Donaghys. Personally, I think The San Antonio Stu Jackson's would've worked just as well). It was the best game I ever witnessed, well, until the infamous Horry hip check that sent my favorite Canadian (alright Jim Carrey, let's say "co-favorite") flying to the scorer's table. That sequence made me scream at the TV and drop F-bombs on Horry for five minutes (this time I couldn't care less if I woke up my parents). Then we won and my veins were still so overloaded with adrenaline, that I watched the TNT post game show, even though it was 6 am and I slept only 4 hours on the night before an ordinary day of college classes. In the studio nobody was talking about the big win, everybody was worried that Stoudemire and Diaw might be suspended for the pivotal game 5 because they left the bench during the altercation that took place after the shameful Horry's cheap shot. Talk about bittersweet. I couldn't sleep very well that night, and I definitely couldn't sleep well when the Spurs sent us and our title dreams back to the desert after a tough game 5 loss capped by a killer Bowen trey.

After that, as you all know, everything started to go wrong. And when I say wrong I mean awfully, terribly, painfully wrong. I definitely don't want to delve into the details here, really, it's just something I'd rather forget. The last D'Antoni year, the early wins, the dumb Shaq trade, the fluky Duncan three-pointer (I mean, are you kidding me!? Duncan hitting a three?? How is that even freaking possible?!?) that led to yet another playoff exit and the incredibly dumb Porter hiring. Seriously, nobody knew at the time but choosing Porter as the Suns coach because the front office wanted to "play more defense" and "slow things down" would have been just like McCain picking a young, unexperienced and completely ignorant Alaska governor as his running mate in the 2008 elections (oh, wait. That really happened. You get the idea though, you saw how that turned out).

The Porter Era was just a really bad time for us fans, actually "bad" doesn't describe it appropriately, I'd go with "atrocious" or "anguishing". Watching Nash walk (walk! Not run!) up the court and half-heartedly throw a lob pass to Shaq in the post was so harrowing that I regularly threw up during those games. Last year was just a season to forget. Even the promising Gentry era was immediately marred by an untimely Stoudemire injury.

You know the rest of the story, we barely missed the playoffs and got into the lottery, dumped the Fat Cactus and re-signed Nash and Hill, as both players turned down the opportunity of jumping the sinking ship at the right time because they wanted to stay with "their team". I think that was the early turning point of this year's Suns. When Grant and Steve showed everybody how much they cared about the team everything started to click. Players came to Phoenix early in August to start practicing with each other, they were routinely cracking jokes during the workouts (watch the video when Dudley dunks in a pick-up game), having fun with each other and, you might not believe this, but nobody was stealing his teammate's ideas for a TV show.

To be honest, nobody saw this coming. Yeah, the chemistry was great. We knew that and everybody from within the organization kept reminding us. But really, how much can the chemistry count when you have Channing Frye as your starting center? Or Lou Amundson as your backup PF? (No disrespect for Lou, I love him, but he's doesn't exactly posses Tim Duncan skills).

Yet, the ball started rolling and the Suns started running, shooting, having fun and, most of all, winning.

How much will it last? The latest loss against the Lakers might have been a reality check, although you have to consider the fact that it was the second game of a back-to-back set and that the Suns have been in 7 different cities in the last 10 days (seriously, thank you, jerk-who-makes-the-nba-schedule). Still, it always hurts to be beaten up by those guys in gold and purple. However, and 8-2 start is simply amazing. Raise your hand if you would've believed it if anybody told you 1 week before the start of the regular season.

I guess the bottom line is that we should already be grateful that these new Suns are making us have fun and enjoy their games again. I don't know about you but they're certainly bringing me back to the good ol' days. And ultimately, after all we've been through last year, this is all it matters now.

Dudley + Jrich trade

2009-11-15T21:36:36Z

A year ago when the Suns traded Boris and Bell for Dudley and Jrich, most of this site, and Suns fans were upset about the trade, thinking the Suns got the worse of the deal. Also multiple announcers would make comments regarding how the Suns made the trade thinking they would be under Terry Porter, and if they had it to do over knowing they would still SSOL they wouldn't have made the trade... WHAT?!

Well my stance is the same it was when the trade was made last year. We got the most talented player in the trade, someone that fits the RUNNING GAME perfectly, he can spread the floor, shoot, create for himself, post up, finish, and run the floor. Clearly a skill set that puts him head and shoulders above Boris and Raja. Most saw Jrich as the replacement for Raja, I disagreed at the time, and even more so, do now. Jrich replaced Boris offensively. Defensively most thought Jrich was a downgrade compared to Bell. Again, same stance as when the trade happened. Bell was overrated defender, as much as I loved him, his rise to mainstream was from grit, and more or less his clothesline on Kobe. Which we all loved. But it certainly made him appear as a better defender than he actually brought to the table. He didn't rebound his position well, he had no offensive game in the paint or off the dribble, he couldn't run the floor in space and finish at the basket. Comparisons of Raja to Jrich are embarrassing.

So, at the time not even knowing too much about Dudley, if we traded Boris and Bell for Jrich we had gotten the better deal. This was by far the best move Kerr has made. The production from Dudley offensively and defensively this season makes him a better player than Bell.

Teske 1 Bright Side of the Sun Readers 0

Best part of a bad LA game

2009-11-14T22:43:18Z

So what do you guys think was the best part of the loss to LA. Was it the highlight dunks by Shannon Brown or maybe the Lake show getting a taste of thier own medicine in their loss to the ThugNugs. My peronal favorite was Lou Amundson personnaly taking away free tacos away from the entire city of Los Angeles and giving them to Phoenix. That is my opinon, but you all tell what you think.

Poll

What was the best part of th Lakers Suns game on Thursday.

Suns playing the best basketball in the league....

2009-11-12T21:53:14Z

Okay....I'm not saying the Suns are the best team in the league. What I'm saying is that right now, the Suns are playing the best basketball in the league. They're outscoring everyone, blowing teams away with their up-tempo basketball, a plethora of three's, and their ageless field general Steve Nash who is making some incredible passes and getting everyone involved in the game. He is putting on a clinic out there. And I like how Dragic is playing as well, because it allows Nash to get his rest minutes in. This will be big for us down the stretch.

What I'm really impressed with is the chemistry this team has. It's a thing of beauty to watch! It's amazing how one team can look so different from one season to the next. They are exciting to watch and look like they're having fun playing. And, I agree with Coach Gentry's assessment. Amar'e's game is going to get better as he gets in better basketball shape. He's already looking pretty darn good. And, the team will continue to learn to play great together. It looks like J-Rich is looking to fill his role as the second leading scorer on the team. But hey, he might end up the first. The really nice thing about this team is that on any given night, there's about five or six guys that can score over twenty points. As a matter of fact, we've had at least two players with more than twenty points a game already several times this season.

But what I really think is the reason why we're winning and playing so well together is that the entire team, including the bench, is playing hard and making contributions. The whole team has bought into the idea of playing hard and hustling to make shots and rebound the ball. And that translates into wins. We can outscore anyone in the league, but now we're also at least hanging in there defensively and scrapping for the ball. This is something new for this team. One final point, Barbosa is obviously not 100%, and Lopez hasn't been able to play with his foot injury. Just imagine how much better our bench will be if and when we get these two guys back healthy! Right now, it look's like the sky's the limit for this team.

All praise Steve Kerr: Genius not Moron!

2009-11-12T09:29:03Z

All praise Steve Kerr: Genius not Moron!

This fan post is where we can all eat crow, myself included, for all the Kerr-bashing we've been doing the past couple years. This will be awkward for a lot of us. When Steve Kerr traded Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal, he bluntly proclaimed that history would either see him as a genius or a moron for making the deal. With the early success the Suns have had, it seems like we don't have to label him a genius or moron for that deal alone. The Terry Porter Experiment didn't work out so well, so Kerr cut his losses (and his buddy Porter).

This year Steve has got the Suns the best bench the team has had in many years. The team is also tied for the best record in the league. Yes it's early and we are probably one Steve Nash injury away from the lottery but the early returns are promising, very promising indeed for this Suns team. Now's everyone's chance to hop on the *gulp* "We Love Steve Kerr!" bandwagon!

"All aboard!!!"

Analysing the offense of the Suns

2009-11-11T04:49:29Z

First I must apologize for my English as I am from the opposite half of the globe.

I’ve been keeping track of the offensive plays the suns used in the D’antoni, Porter, Gentry w/Shaq, and finally this year’s Gentry w/o Shaq era. A lot can be said in the different plays preferred by the coaches, but let’s look at how they come together and lead to our current early success.

Many of us don’t want to recall our failed experiment last year, may be especially the players who suffered a lot mentally. However, things don’t just happen without leaving any footprints, and in this case, I think it’s a positive one.

In the D’antoni era we seldom see players doing post-up offense, except maybe Diaw and STAT (whom I think is not really good at that). Mismatch is emphasized only if the defending teams switch pick and rolls on Nash and STAT, and Nash will either drive or shoot over the bigger defender.

If the Suns do a group offense it will first start with a side pick and Nash driving to the middle, then another cutter curves in from the opposite side and Nash pass to him. Then a third "curver" will come in from the original side and receive the ball and drive or the ball is kicked out to the wide open Diaw shooting 20ft jumper from top of key because all defenders will be drawn into the paint.

In the Shaq era, there are several plays being emphasized:
1) the forever-present mismatch of Shaq, and there should be a lot of drills on how to space the shooters on the floor and cut in when he got double-teamed.
2) Mismatch is also emphasized when PG (Nash) picks and rolls with SG or SF (Hill or JRich) on wing situation, and the SG or SF would be posting up the PG of the other team.

3) The most successful play, top-of-the-key pick-n-roll of Nash and STAT, is only used in key situations like at the end of the quarter or in clutch time. The side effect of these is Nash assist numbers go down, because there were a lot more 1-on-1 plays.

4) There was a special play which had made a strong impression. Shaq posts up and Nash dribbles on top of the key. JRich or LB, standing near baseline behind Shaq, curves around Shaq from outside to cut to the middle and catch the pass from Nash near the FT line and drives for layup. They were quite successful with the play during last season.

How has AG changed the offense?

On fast-breaks:

First, AG is NOT doing 7-secs-or-less, unlike what many analyses are saying (by-default) out there. The main difference between D’antoni and Gentry fast breaks is that D’antoni focuses a lot of transition 3s. At that time we have Bell, LB, Nash, and even Diaw to run the transition 3. But this year, we only nash and LB who can shoot transition 3s stably. Frye is not as athletic in running up the floor, and Hill was not as accurate from downtown. Also, Gentry prefers a more traditional layup attack with higher accuracy, especially with Shaq in line-up. Second, last year after Porter was dumped, many other players threw fastbreak outlets from baseline or after getting rebound (mostly Nash, Shaq, and Barnes). But this year the ball has to go through the PG to make the decision.

On half court:

Gentry brought back the top-of-the-key pick-n-roll as the default execution, but this year Nash has the luxury of Channing Frye rolling out to 3s. All left is the PG reading the defense and improvising and finding open shooters.

Gentry kept the JRich and LB curve in middle from behind play from Porter. And somehow the Suns learned to how to make use of the mismatches by posting up JRich or Hill. This play helps to get the team going when it is a bit sluggish, which can be seen in first half playing Wizards and 76ers.

The beneficiaries:

Nash definitely benefitted the most from this system because he is more of the key of offense than in Porter / Shaq era. He makes more decisions and directs the ball to the open guys and that’s why he is now the leader of assists in the league.

The whole team learned a few more tricks from Porter which helped them a lot this year as well, especially on moving the ball to find open shooters, and that accounts a lot for the many 3s made.

Leandro's Brazilian Bash

2009-11-10T20:26:24Z

Attn Suns fans, u should think about joining Barbosa and his teammates for Leandro’s Brazilian Bash! A great night of Brazilian-style entertainment featuring drinks, music, dancing, dinner, and a silent auction to benefit the Desert Mountain States Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This event is in memory of his mother, Ivete Barbosa who passed away in November of 2008 due to complications from lymphoma. More info and tickets avail at www.tiny.cc/leandro

Suns vs. Lakers, 11/12: What I see

2009-11-10T17:15:24Z

I know, I know. The SUNS do play a feisty and dangerous Hornets team on Wednesday night. This is definitely a team and a game we do not want to overlook. The Hornets have had our number recently, so we do have something to prove on Wednesday. That being said, the matchup on Thursday with the LAKERS will be the biggest test thus far this season. One could argue the Boston game was, but this game will be for the lead of the Pacific Division and all NBA eyes will be on this contest.

Okay, first things first. Damn the NBA for yet AGAIN giving the Lakers every scheduling advantage for key games. I seem to remember this last season -- I believe it was for the first game in LA; we were playing the 2nd game of a back to back and the Lakers were coming off a day off (someone correct me please if I am wrong about that). This year however, the Suns play the Lakers AT STAPLES for the first two contests and both times we will be coming off a game the prior night while the Lakers will be coming off a day of rest. Pathetic! If that doesn't signal an NBA bias towards the Lakers I don't know what does!

Okay, I got that off my chest. Now to the game. I think the way the Lakers will approach this game defensively is that they will utilize KOBE on the defensive end in an attempt to shut down JRich. As much as I dislike the Lakers, I must admit that they are very well coached and prepared. They will know that JRich has been going off lately -- I think Jackson will direct Kobe to exert more of his energy on the defensive end in an attempt to LOCK DOWN on JRich. And as much as I hate Kobe, I must admit that when he puts his mind to it, he can be a lockdown defensive player. I've seen him do it against McGrady where Tracy couldn't even get a shot off for an entire quarter. If the Lakers choose to utilize Kobe in this way, it will be of primary importance that AMARE have a big game offensively , to compensate for what I see as potentially fewer points from JRich.

If I were Gentry I'd come out early with a heavy dose of pick and roll with Nash and Amare, and also direct Amare to attack the basket off the dribble in hopes of getting Bynum and Gasol (if he plays on Thurs, and it looks like he might) in early foul trouble. I think this is the Suns best chance of winning this game. Amare needs to have a big game offensively, and in particular, attacking the basket to get the two Laker bigs in foul trouble. I don't think Jackson will let us kill them with 3's the way we have been killing opponents on the road trip.

On the defensive end for the SUNS I think it will be important to run the Lakers off their 3 attempts and limit their second chance points.

If these things happen I can see the Suns winning on Thursday night. If, for some reason we don't then the next game on Dec. 6 becomes a must win, primarily for psychological reasons. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but in order to potentially beat the Lakers in the playoffs I think this team will need two things to have happened in the regular season, and one depends on the other: 1) I think we need to have HOME COURT advantage in a potential playoff matchup, and this means 2) We need to WIN the Pacific Division. This may seem like a tall order at this time, but we don't know what the season will bring. It will most certainly be difficult, but I don't think it is an impossibility.

09-10 Suns better than the 04-05 Suns?

2009-11-10T09:14:20Z

I honestly did not realize this, but if you look at it position by position, an argument can be made that these suns can be just as good if not better than the 62-20 suns, if everything flows the way it's been.

Nash and Amare are honestly about the same. amare if better if anything. amare still has the ability to go 20+9 average per game, but now with a midrange J and shooting 80% from the line (to compensate for the lack of old STAT explosion). Nash on the other hand I feel is still about the same. In terms of production per minute I don't think he's dropped off at all due to age.

Now to move on to the rest of the guys.

LB i think will be (if not greater) the LB we knew and loved from 06 this year. clear mind, focused, and now here to work.

The big big thing is replacing matrix., but the two headed beast we have at the 3-spot between grant hill's defense and rebounding ability combined with JYD's scrappy-ness and 3's covers all the basis to fill the matrix+qrich void and more.

Joe Johnson is an irreplaceable player, but JRich's offensive as of right now is doing things JJ has not been able to do.

Channing's play right now is something that throws us over that team for sure. His ability to stretch the defense to the 3, yet allowing STAT to do his thing in the paint is better than Steven Hunter.

Lou's hustle and blocking ability is better than jake, walter, and lampe combined.

I know there are a lot of factors I'm not covering, and a lot more involved, but outside of the fact that the west has gotten a lot better since then, and Joe Johnson's ability to cover Nash's PG duties when he's out, what seemed to be a dismal look on a season is showing it's true colors. The real tests come in the following days as CP3(If he plays) has always lit us up, and then LAL on thursday

power rankings - suns #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-10T03:36:41Z

Well...here's the link

Link to nba.com power rankings

I'm not saying the Suns are the best team in the league...but wow!!...this has been a beautiful week for suns fans!! I can't remember seeing the bench be so helpful, I can't remember being excited about some rebounds or defensive plays...plus seeing Nash play like we know he can...it really says a lot about players and chemistry...I honestly believe Nash could've been playing this well last year...but the team makeup wasn't there. But add Dudley and JRich playing some incredible ball...man!!..this is just simply awesome!! And to think Amare and Barbosa aren't at their best yet...and lopez is out..If Lopez can make people change their opinion of him like dragic has been doing...

Bottom line...I'm not expecting a win against the Lakers coming up...but for the first time in 2+ years...I'm not expecting a loss either....if only they hadnt been able to add artest...sickening...just think of these four players...bryant...gasol...bynum...artest..seriously...all 4 are clearly all star level players...and I hate the lakers...more than the spurs...with effort and fast play and great shooting like the suns are showing...this is looking great!! Go Suns!!

The JYD Bark

2009-11-08T05:04:31Z

What I can't figure out is why the PA doesn't have a bark every time Dudley makes a hustle play.

Amundson has got the "Louuuu!" thing.

LB gets a "beep, beep"

Dudley yelps and barks if he gets a box out that prevents the other team from grabbing a rebound, resulting in a Suns' side-out.

He deserves a bark. Let's vote on it.

If I was talented like Stan, I might have included clips so everyone could hear what I'm sayin'

Poll

Which bark is most appropriate for JYD?

Between being and becoming..

2009-11-07T08:17:49Z

There are some of us here who remember the 05-06 team with fond memories. Not because they won a championship, which they didn't, and not because they played flawless ball, which they didn't either.

But because a team consisting of maybe two legitimate NBA starters, and a collection of anonymous and otherwise underachieving players won 54 games and got to the WCF. And not smoothly either: They lost their all-star center for the whole year, before the season started, and his backup/replacement for a third of a season, just after the all-star break. And sometimes that team was beaten like a red-headed stepchild caught with cigarettes.

But that group had heart, grit, tenacity, fearlessness, self-belief and unity. Some players, like Boris and Raja, stepped up from nowhere to show how good they really were. Others like Trix, wallowed in their new found respect and status. All of them, though, played the season of their careers, because of their trust in each other and their leader. That team, ultimately failed, but not for reasons of it's own doing or control. They went down fighting and with defiance.

It's too early to make a true comparison, but this team is starting to have that kind of feel. As back then, the departure and absence of a domineering, egotistical personality, has allowed the current set of players to find their space. Just like Trix, Amare is content to subdue his considerable ego, to be a quiet Doc Holliday, to Nash's Wyatt Earp, all for the team (and a new contract), because that void isn't being filled.

It occurred to me, after this evening's game vs Boston, that we're winning games we're not supposed to win. And not by luck, but by identifying winnable opportunities, and pursuing those chances aggressively; by teamwork, communication and a willingness for each player to play with and for his teammates, and to accept his role, however big or small, with relish.

We're seeing a near 36 year old, two time MVP, roll back time and play at a level close to that of his award winning years, and show what a true playmaking point guard can do for his teammates, and what it actually means to be one (as opposed to the consensus best point guard, whose limitations as a player, despite gaudy stats, have been cruelly exposed this season).

We're seeing the self proclaimed star of this team, find some humility, and through that, transform himself into a different, more intelligent and selfless, and ultimately more dangerous player. And this time it feels like a permanent change, and not the result of misplaced self pity. We're seeing an allegedly washed up veteran small forward, heal himself, ride shotgun for his point guard and provide quiet but confident and firm leadership, and whatever the team needs on the floor.

We're seeing a young backup point guard mature, and finally fill the role on this team that has been missing these past few years; a backup PF/Center play with fire and resolute tenacity, and other bench players come in, and spark both the offense and the defense. For the first time, since Nash came back to Phoenix, we have a solid bench that's capable of maintaining and even building leads.

In short.. this is a real team, where the union of the parts exceeds the sum of each individual contribution.

I think we know what this team, as constructed, is and what it can do, right now. The real question is how good can it become? Is the current level of play simply a mirage, or an artifact of the start of a season, when all teams aren't quite there? Or is it the real thing? Is this team really that tough, mentally? Can this team become profoundly better? And do we owe Steve Kerr an apology?

Sometimes, the journey is it's own reward.

Already Dumping Dragic? A Tragic Mistake

2009-10-21T01:53:53Z

Inspired by recently intensified comments and murmurs concerning Goran Dragic's performance so far as a member of the Phoenix Suns - hear out my two cents as to why I believe jumping on the 'dump Dragic' train would be a tragic mistake.

To start off - I will concede that the front-office hype surrounding Goran Dragic was too much last year. I blame a small part of the sour taste in the mouths of a seemingly growing group of Suns supporters on that. But I feel the major source of the Dragic negativity lies within those very same Suns fans who were swayed by an over-excited and almost giddy new GM in Steve Kerr, who saw a diamond in the rough in Goran. You see - a majority of Suns have forgotten how spoiled they really are when it comes to the PGs who have graced our team's roster. For practically the entire history of the franchise we have had all-star caliber, if not hall-of-fame caliber PGs.

From Westphal to Hornacek - to Kevin Johnson to Jason Kidd - even Starbury to Nash. How long has it been since we haven't had an all-star PG commandeering our team? In fact... how long has it been since we have had to endure the development of a PG... does it go back to Hornacek? (Nash did a lot of his development in Dallas)

The truth is - as Charley Rosen succinctly put it in an article, "the point position is the most complex, and is therefore the most difficult for young players to master". Development of point guards requires A LOT of on the court minutes - feeling the game - learning the opponent - mastering and perfecting technique. In the most recent history I can only think of Christ Paul in 05' to be a starting rookie PG who drastically affected his team positively and put up big numbers. He is a freak of nature. So besides CP3 - PGs are slow developing players. Be Patient with young Goran the Dragon - give him time, it's not an 'add-water' recipe, even with Steve Nash as the supervisor.

In fact - coming into your rookie year as back-up PG is even tougher than coming in as a starter because of the lack of minutes given to the back up PG. Though I think being a back-up of a future hall-of-famer as a new player in league can only accelerate future progress (see Steve Nash). It will just take a little more time. Be patient with Dragic. Before I prove this with some sweet charts I spent a grip of time making - consider this:

We know what kind of a roller-coaster year it was for our Phoenix Suns - I won't bore you - but it is interesting to see the major improvements Goran Dragic made after the coaching switch was made from Terry Porter to Alvin Gentry and a more up-tempo style was unleashed once again. Take a look at some of his important statistics before and after the coaching change.

The difference is pretty drastic. While improving practically all of his stats, the most notable improvement was in his PPG and his 3P% where they basically were doubled. I think it's safe to say we can expect more of that kind of improvement and production as Goran gets more playing time and as he gets more comfortable in the league in a more stable environment this year compared to that of his rookie year. All signs so far (with the exception of his poor pre-season shooting numbers) this offseason point in this direction. Again - be patient.

Now to the good stuff. I've taken the rookie year 'per game' stats of the current top 6 point guards in the league and placed them next to Dragic's season average numbers... (keep in mind the minutes played - and the vast difference in Goran's numbers from the beginning of the year under T.P. to the end of the year with A.G.)

The biggest discrepancy accross the board is in the minutes played - out of the 7 point guards examined - 5 were basically starters their rookie year and logged major minutes learning, acclimating and feeling out the PG position - yet compared to the 2 other players who weren't starters right away (Nash and Davis), Goran's numbers aren't as bad the naysayers and Dragic haters would like you to believe.

So in order to really see how well our young Slovenian stand-out did his rookie year compared to these top point guards we need to adjust the numbers according to a constant variable. Luckily for me - most stat sites already do that by providing the average stats a player puts up 'per 36 minutes played'. (What would I do without www.basketball-reference.com?) So take a look at this next graphic and see where Goran stands. It doesn't look bad AT ALL. In fact - according to these numbers he is performing extremely well and in some cases has out-performed some of these superstar's rookie numbers. (Note that CP3 was already averaging 36 minutes a game - so his numbers stay the same).

To finish up - I am not trying to convince anyone that Goran Dragic is the next Steve Nash or the next Deron Williams. But what I am suggesting is that we take the blinders off and lend some patience to this young talented player. We have seen flashes of brilliance and exhibitions of dominance and style from Dragic already - the consistency and confidence will come with time.

Be patient, he'll make mistakes and make you pull some hair, but give the hating a rest... - and enjoy the fact that we are able to witness first hand the development of PG - that's something that hasn't happened here in Phoenix for a long time.

Poll

What do these numbers tell you?

Do you guys even realize

2009-11-02T18:54:53Z

what you had?

Knick fan here... just wondering if it is eating at you guys that you traded our first round pick away to Utah... It kills us that it was sent away in the first place... Possibly one of the worst moves of all time was Thomas not even top 5 protecting it.

Isiah Thomas sent it to Phoenix, who then sent it to Utah. In a hilarious chain of events, the Jazz will have acquired a potential top-five pick for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten.

My experience at the filming of "Nothing but Net"

2009-10-30T18:46:57Z

Yesterday I had the amazing experience of being a member of a small studio audience made up of Suns and Amare Tweeps for the filming of the season's first episode of "Nothing but Net".

It was a fun and exciting experience to hang out with Amare Stoudemire, Tim Kempton, Jamie Morris, Scott Williams, and the stellar Suns production crew. Just watching them work and listening to all of the other responsibilities and projects the Suns crew has going I really gained a better understanding of how hard they work. I also sat and felt grateful for how fortunate we are here in Phoenix to have a Suns Organization that is so open and candid with its fans, from all the Twitter conversation from the organization and the constant contact they keep with fans - to the fan-connection our players like Jared Dudley, Amare Stoudemire, JRich, and Steve Nash cultivate through their use of social media.

All in all the taping took about 3 1/2 hours - but with the humor of Tim Kempton and Scott Williams keeping things lively it was a quick 3 1/2 hours. For lunch Dan Hilton was kind enough to order us all pizza and while we ate I spoke with both Williams and Kempton. Tim Kempton was very happy to talk all about his oldest boy who just started High School at Brophy - and I spoke with Scott WIlliams about his amazing ability to spontaneously manufacture impressive metaphors for game play during the Suns broadcasts!

(FYI - all of those who participated in the Clippers game-day thread will appreciate that! I told him his 'like lions after a steak' line was kind of corny!! haha - but I did ask if he thought of those funny lines during the break or if they were off the top of his head and he said, "Nah man, that's just what comes out my mouth! I'll work a little harder on those for you!" - It was all in good fun)

The first Suns guest for the first episode of Nothing But Net was none other than #1 - Amare Stoudemire. While we filmed the segments with just Tim, Jamie, and Scott, Amare was at practice with his teammates - we were told he would arrive at a certain time to film his segment, but he didn't show... they sent someone down to look for him and we didn't hear back from them for about 30 minutes. When we finally received word about STAT's whereabouts we learned that he was in the shower. Someone made a joke that he'd be in there for 45 minutes because of how tall he his - "that's a lot of man to wash!" they said. While we waited - Tim Kempton gave away a pair of lower bowl seats to a member of the audience via a trivia question, and I took a walk to take a look at the arena (see picture above).

About an hour after the original ETA, Amare finally came up the elevator so fresh and so clean and we filmed his segment - Afterward he thanked us all for coming out and took pictures and signed autographs for us.

It wasn't until this morning that Phoenix Stan informed me that STAT was late because not only had the team practice time been bumped to an hour later (no doubt because of their win the night before against the Clippers) but that Stoudemire had stayed after practice to work on his game some more! "Ball before show" - said Stan. Amare is a class act - he kind and amiable with his fans, and he really does work hard on his game.

It was a fun opportunity for me - I thought I would share!

Hope you enjoyed!

Steve Nash moments

2009-10-30T13:19:16Z

After reading wattdoggs great piece about the first time he truly relised just how unbelievable our mighty leader Steve Nash is, I felt now would be as good a time as any to ask all of you - What's been your favourite Steve Nash moment? What was it that made it so special? What happened?

Be as descriptive as possible people - we all want to bathe in the Nash-love that we all know we have.

Maybe the NBA did have it in for the Phoenix Suns

2009-10-29T16:38:27Z

http://phoenix.fanster.com/2009/10/28/the-sports-retorter-maybe-the-nba-did-have-it-in-for-the-phoenix-suns/

Stampchez posted an excerpt from Deadspin's copy of the Donaghy book yesterday. Today we've got another tantalizing little quote as well as some interesting commentary.

As was stated in Stampchez's thread, it's Tim Donaghy, so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. But still, they are allegations that should at least be considered by Suns fans.

We're way beyond this at this point. We're a semi-rebuilding team just looking for the playoffs now. But what would/could have happened if we had actually won the title in 2007? How different would this team look today both on-court and in management?

An exceprt from Tim Donaghy's book.

2009-10-28T22:28:16Z

My favorite Tommy Nunez story is from the 2007 playoffs when the San Antonio Spurs were able to get past the Phoenix Suns in the second round. Of course, what many fans didn't know was that Phoenix had someone working against them behind the scenes. Nunez was the group supervisor for that playoff series, and he definitely had a rooting interest.

Nunez loved the Hispanic community in San Antonio and had a lot of friends there. He had been a referee for 30 years and loved being on the road; in fact, he said that the whole reason he had become a group supervisor was to keep getting out of the house. So Nunez wanted to come back to San Antonio for the conference finals. Plus, he, like many other referees, disliked Suns owner Robert Sarver for the way he treated officials. Both of these things came into play when he prepared the referees for the games in the staff meetings. I remember laughing with him and saying, "You would love to keep coming back here." He was pointing out everything that Phoenix was able to get away with and never once told us to look for anything in regard to San Antonio. Nunez should have a championship ring on his finger.

http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read