Shaq Trade Already A Bust?
In Phoenix it all boils down to whether Shaq's leadership skills and offensive impact be enough to compensate for his defensive shortcomings? Do we know it won't after just one game?
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Grading The Deal: Marion Shipped For Shaq
This was a trade to build team chemistry in the locker room. But it takes away from team chemistry on the basketball court. Shaq can't run with the Suns, no matter how convinced they think Shaq will be in wanting to beat the Lakers in the playoffs.
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Marion Is Right And Should Remain A Sun
One of the drawbacks of making athletes larger than life is assuming that money is the great solution to all problems big and small. In truth, these guys grapple with the exact same emotional issues as any of the rest of us at our jobs. And therein lies the need for perspective in the Shawn Marion situation.
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Sizing Up The Suns.. 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…
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The Suns' Sarver-Saver Draft
This draft stinks of Mike D’Antoni’s decision making or perhaps they’re Robert Sarver’s directives. Suns’ fans can only hope that Steve Kerr is truly the boss and can make independent decisions, but either way, a pattern not akin to NBA success is forming within the Suns’ organization.
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30 Teams, 30 Days: Phoenix Draft Preview (29th)
Since the offseason that saw both Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson change cities, they have experienced a drought at the two-guard position, being ‘forced’ into using Leandro Barbosa as a shooting guard.
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30 Teams, 30 Days: Phoenix Draft Preview (24th)
Looking at their depth chart, it is obvious that they are missing two key components: a team-leading pass-first point guard to allow Nash to rest and an athletic rangy big man who can run the floor and guard Tim Duncan.
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Sun Of A Gun: Phoenix Needs To Reload
In order to avoid decline and to finally get over the hump to the Finals, this off-season is critical for the Phoenix Suns. Major questions that they will have to answer revolve around Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion and their overall depth. What does their salary space look like, can they make a trade or can they do anything to keep the Suns from disappearing over the horizon?
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Will All The Pieces Finally Be Healthy?
How many seasons have the Suns played under Head Coach Mike D’Antoni where they have played without a starter missing games in the playoffs due to injury? How many championships have they won in those same seasons?The answer is the same.
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The Indianapolis Colts Of The NBA?
The Suns are undersized, fragile and can be taken advantage of in so many areas of the game, something that cannot be said for San Antonio, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland.
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Follow The Leader
Any expression can be used. Monkey see, monkey do. Lead, follow or get out of the way. Well, those are the only two expressions I can think of. But the point has to be made: with the recent success of Phoenix’s run-and-gun style, more and more teams are following suit. So are the Suns really going to attempt to run more than they have?
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Suns’ Front Office Just Fine Sans Colangelo
The 2006 off-season has proven that the Suns were left in more than capable hands with decisions being made by owner Robert Sarver, coach and GM Mike D’antoni, with assistance from David Griffin, Mark West, and a tremendous team of scouts. Not to mention the ultra-professional presence of Bryan’s father Jerry still casting his considerable influence over the team. The result has been a significant improvement of a team that has advanced to the Western Conference Finals in each of the last two years despite significant injury issues in each season.
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Suns Lock Up Barbosa, Diaw Next?
The Phoenix Suns have locked up Leandro Barbosa, a crucial piece of the puzzle for their success this past season. All that is left is for the team to extend the contract of Boris Diaw.
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Phoenix Suns Missing Golden Opportunity
The Phoenix Suns have been so intent of finding that “right” point guard they cannot see the forest for the trees. They are missing a golden opportunity by ignoring a player by the name of Reggie Evans.
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Suns’ Approach Towards ’06 Draft Correct?
Phoenix needs a backup point guard for Steve Nash. Everyone knows that by now. This past draft was supposed to be the one where they found their future point guard to go along with Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for years to come. So why did they draft two point guards, then trade them away?
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Suns Were Nowitznesses In Game 5 Loss
If Phoenix cannot have the Raja Bell that flops and hustles and, most importantly, shoot the lights out from 3, they don’t have the championship team Amare Stoudemire envisioned them having at the beginning of the season. The team may be different, but the team name is still the Phoenix Suns.
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Raja's Willis-Like Return Leads To Game 4 Win
A partially tron calf muscle would hold a lot of players on the bench, even in an important series like this. Raja Bell is not like many other players. Bell only scored nine points in 30 minutes, but his play on both ends of the floor sparked a Suns’ team in need of a jolt. His hustle, along with help from the bench, helped the Suns even up the series 2-2 in their 106-86 win over Dallas. Phoenix shot the lights out the entire game, eventually outscoring the Mavericks 29-4 in the second half and 11-0 in the first quarter.
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Suns Lose Offense, Game 3
Dallas outworked the Suns on defense, offense, transition buckets and the glass, winning the game 95-88. The Mavericks had three offensive rebounds in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, ensuring their win and taking back home court advantage.
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Suns Can’t Close Out, Lose Game 2
With Raja Bell out, the Suns figured they would have a tough game ahead of them. They actually played great, up until when it mattered the most: the tail end of the 4th quarter. Dallas, led by both Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, took control late in the fourth quarter and won 105-98.
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Suns Take Home Court With Game 1 Stunner
One player on the Mavericks set a career-high in scoring. So did one player for Phoenix. Lucky for the Suns, it was this Suns' last bucket that gave them home court from here on out.
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That Will Be It Los Angeles!
With a 7-man rotation and 4 small forwards in the frontcourt, Phoenix was considered lucky to be where they are. For the second year in a row, they are just four wins away from reaching the NBA Finals. This time their road will take them through Dallas, and for the first time since the Jazz in 1998, the West will not be represented by the Lakers or Spurs.
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L.A. Will See Us For Another Game 7
Besides Leandro Barbosa and Shawn Marion, the Suns had a hard time making shots. It's can't get much simpler than that. Well, Elton Brand having another big game was a part of the Clippers dominance, too.
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Suns Pull Out Stunner, Win Game 6
Raja Bell, the Suns' best three-point shooter in the entire series, sent the game into double overtime with a three point shot. Phoenix then capitalized on L.A.’s collapse, winning a classic 123-118 and sending the Clippers one game away from elimination.
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Suns Still Can’t Shoot But Take Game 3
Even with Radmanovic lighting it up in the fourth quarter, and Phoenix having one of its worst offensive stretches in their playoff history, they found a way to close out a close game and win 94-91. They found a way to shut down Brand, rebound and play some D. It’s about time.
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Suns Can’t Find Shot, Lose Game 2
If Phoenix thought they had it all figured out, they may need to rethink their game plan heading into the Staples Center once again. The Clippers took advantage of the reemergence of Cuttino Mobley and took control early on, never trailing in their defeat of the Suns 122-97. From the get-go Phoenix couldn’t find their stride on either side of the ball and L.A. made sure they wouldn’t for the rest of the game.
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Suns Can’t Miss, Take Game 1
If the Suns keep shooting like this, the Clippers don’t stand a chance. Even with Elton Brand going off against the diminutive forwards Phoenix calls a front court, the Suns just couldn’t miss their shots. They wound up with a big win in Game 1, winning 130-123.
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Game 7 Not Even Close, Suns Advance
A Hallway Series. Wait, what’s that? Isn’t that where two teams from the same building meet? Isn’t it? Oh, wait. The Lakers didn’t win one out of three to send the Suns packing? No? You sure? Positive? Word!
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Not Yet On That Hallway Series
This game was all about Shawn Marion. He scored, he rebounded, he collected a lot of steals. But his defense on Kobe Bryant is what turned the game around for the Suns. He gave Bryant many problems on both ends of the court.
When he was on defense, Bryant got his points, but Marion made sure Bryant didn't score when it mattered most: at the end. He came within inches of blocking Bryant's potential buzzer-beating shot, instead altering it into an air ball. Whenever Bryant tried to make something else for his teammates, it didn't work, so he felt he had to play by himself. And Marion made sure he did just that, taking the entire Laker team out of the game in the process.
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Suns Regain Confidence, Win Game 5
Behind a revamped confidence, Phoenix won the first out of the three games they needed, beating and crushing the Lakers 114-97. The win cost them Raja Bell, who will be suspended for Game 6. Before and after the hard flagrant foul, Phoenix found the shooting touch and confidence that they had in the regular season. And right at the perfect time.
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Suns Can't Hold Onto Lead, Lose Pivitol Game 4
When Shawn Marion fouled out, every Suns fan was thinking about three words: hold the lead. That's all we need. A five point lead with less than ten seconds? Piece of cake. Everyone else was thinking about three other words: it's Kobe time.
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Suns Can't Come Back, Lose Game 3
It's clear Nash is not 100%. It's clear this team is winded, but the only way they can run and run and runs if they attack the weakest part of the Lakers, which is the inside themselves. Normally, I wouldn't share the same opinion with Bill Walton, but in Game 3, he had a valid point: neither team has a shot blocker. When the Lakers would go inside, they would succeed. When Phoenix would attack off the dribble, they would succeed. The difference is the Lakers have been doing it more.
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Suns Win Game 1 By Slim Margin
Many people feel Thomas was a bad signing because he was an offensive minded player coming in. That may be the case now, but looking at how he was cleaning the glass, it was clear he became the Suns go-to rebounder in this series. Marion needs all the help he can get on the glass.
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Suns Season Wrap-Up/Playoff Preview
As long as the Suns can score, which they did plenty of in the regular season, they have a chance to prove skeptics wrong about the Lakers upsetting them. L.A. was 1-3 against Phoenix in the regular season series between the two teams, with the Lakers winning the last one with Nash and Bell sitting out.
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This Year’s MVP “Race” To Be Settled On The Court
There are the obvious names, like Dirk Nowitzki (26.5 ppg, 9 rpg, 41% from behind the arc and 89.7% from the line), Dwyane Wade (27.5 ppg, 6.8 apg, and 5.8 rpg), and LeBron James (31.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 6.6 apg). Each of these players deserves mention and carries championship-caliber teams. What a great problem for the NBA to have, all the deserving names playing second fiddle to the little guy out of Santa Clara.
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Amare Versus The Blazers
Stoudemire’s start lasted only 5 minutes or so and was storybook from the start. It seemed that every Suns player went out of their way to get the young superstar buckets. Off a planned play, Stoudemire came off a screen to hit an 18-footer on the games first shot. On a fast break, Raja Bell slowed down to allow Stoudemire to cut down the middle for an easy lay-in. All in all, a confidence booster for young Amare playing against a lackluster Blazers squad and finishing with 19 points.
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Reunion In Phoenix May Result In A M.I.P. In 06-07
If there is one place where Nikoloz Tskishvilli can turn himself into a solid NBA player, it is Phoenix. Head Coach Mike D’Antoni was the Head Coach of Benetton Treviso, the same team that signed a young Georgian to a long-term deal early on in his career. D’Antoni knew what Skita was capable of and convinced a friend of his, at the time, a former assistant for the Denver Nuggets, to draft him because he could become a Dirk Nowitzki with better ball handling. Not even looking at a single second of game tape, the Nuggets went ahead and drafted him.
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5 Ways the Suns Can Become Legit Contenders
Phoenix has been playing great. Too great, in a way. They’ve done it without Amare Stoudemire. They’ve done it without Leandro Barbosa for half the season. They’ve done it without Brian Grant, who’s going to be out for another month, at least. In all, the Suns have played like the defending Pacific Division Champs, without three key contributers.
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Suns Close Out Warriors, Win 8th In a Row
Facing a team a little depleted like themselves, Phoenix made sure that they closed out this game, winning it 118-110. Both teams were missing a couple of key palyers, but both played to their strengths: up-tempo and led by their point guards. The Suns had four players, all starters, finish with double-doubles. Each starter also finished in double digits in scoring. Phoenix leads the season series 2 games to none.
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Suns Will Be More Than Competitive Without J.J.
With Johnson gone, the Suns without two of its starters from last year’s 62-20 team, however, this new Suns team should be equal to or even better than last year’s team.
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Suns Learning Defense Wins Championships
Scoring was obviously not the Suns problem last season. Without Richardson, and possibly without Johnson, the Suns will still be able to put up points. Why? Steve Nash.
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Suns Have Options With J.J.
The Suns have made it clear that they are in not interested in renegotiating the current trade with Atlanta, but if a third team were added to the mix to sweeten the deal the Suns might bite.
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Suns Shine When The Bell Tolls In Phoenix
With the off-season kicking off on July 1st, Phoenix wasted no time in getting the most underrated free agent in the guard class, Raja Bell. They also solidified why they made the trade for Kurt Thomas, even though they had to give up the most exciting and athletic player in the draft. If that was what it took to get the deal done, then it worked out for the Suns.
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With Max-Contract On The Way, Suns Should Consider “McDyess Factor”
Although he is a lock to receive a max-contact, The Phoenix Suns should keep the "McDyess Factor" in mind when signing Amare Stoudemire to a long-term deal.
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Suns' Dream Season Ends in Game 5 to Spurs
If it wasn’t for STAT’s heroics in games 4 and 5, the Suns would have been watching the Eastern Conference Finals along with everybody else. Stoudemire took 32 of the Suns' 87 field goal attempts, connecting on 16 of them.
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Suns Avoid Elimination, Win Game 4
The Phoenix Suns avoided elimanination becoming the fourth team to win in San Antonio this season.
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Suns Not Quite Ready To Set In San Antonio
If the Phoenix Suns do manage to pull off the greatest playoff comeback in NBA history, they’ll look back on three outstanding plays in Game 4 that rescued them from elimination.
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Suns Lose Game 3, Facing Elimination
The San Antonio Spurs are usning defense and poise to show the Phoenix Suns what it takes to win a championship, going up 3-0 in this best of seven Western Conference Finals.
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Nash’s Three Falls Short, Suns Lose Game 2
Steve Nash became the first player in NBA history to score at least 25 points and collect 10 assists in four consecutive playoff games but it was not enough to beat the Spurs as the Suns fell to 0-2 in this best of seven Western Conference Finals.
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Suns Lose Game 1, Allow 43 Points In Fourth
If Game 1 is any indication of how the Western Conference Finals will play out, then the Suns are going to need a healthy Joe Johnson as soon as possible and more offense from Shawn Marion.
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Suns Win Game 6, Series in Instant Classic
Down by 16 in the third quarter, things were not looking good for the #1 seed. Lucky that there was another quarter, where Phoenix came back to send the game into overtime thanks to the MVP's five points in 8.7 seconds. He and Shawn Marion combined to every, EVERY point for Phoenix as they took the series from Dallas 130-126 in overtime.
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Suns Win Game 5, One Away from W.C. Finals
Steve Nash showed the Mavericks why he is the NBA's MVP scoring 34 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and handing out 12 assists en route to a triple-double.
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Suns Win Game 3, Gain Back Home Court
Phoenix used a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to open up the game, beating Dallas 119-102. The Suns were led by center Amare Stoudemire and point guard Steve Nash.
Stoudemire was once again too much for Dallas, scoring (mostly dunking) 37 points, clutching 14 rebounds--eight offensive--and blocking a playoff high 5 shots.
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Give This Canuck His Due
A Canadian created Basektball so why can't Nash be a legitimate MVP?
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Suns Lose Game 2, Home Court Advantage
The Suns' main problem in Game 2 were missed shots. When they shoot better than 45%, they are very hard to stop. But when they miss their shots like they did, they don't have the same leverage offensively.
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Suns Win Game 1, STAT Unstoppable
It didn't take long for Amare Stoudemire to make his presence known on the series. Stoudemire lead the way for the Phoenix Suns as they cruised past the Dallas Mavericks 127-102. Stoudemire finished with 40 points and 16 rebounds.
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Suns Bring Brooms Out, Sweep Memphis
Phoenix scored 39 points in the first quarter and never looked back, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 123-115. Joe Johnson led all six Suns who scored in double figures, scoring 16 of his 25 points in the first quarter. MVP-candidate Steve Nash scored 24 points and had nine assists, but had seven of the team's series high 19 turnovers.
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Suns Win Game 3, Get Scare From Nash
Steve Nash gave Phoenix fans a scare in Game 3, but came back to lead the Suns to a 3-0 lead over the Grizzlies.
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Suns Win Game 2, Amare Shines
Not known for his defense, Suns guard Quentin Richardson made the game-saving block on Pau Gasol.
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Suns Win Game 1; Get 30 From Bench
Phoenix took Game 1 versus the Grizzlies, however, it was far from convincing.
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This Sun Must/Will Rise
Joe Johnson will be the hottest item on the free-agent market this coming off-season. Will the Suns be able to retain this complete package?
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The Rotation Of The Suns
Early last week life was good for the Phoenix Suns, but then they lost one on the road to a surging Golden State team and then dropped a heartbreaker at home to the Rockets.
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Marion Steps Up Again; Leads The Suns To Victory
Marion does it again leading the Suns to an important victory over the Houston Rockets.
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No Stoudemire, No problem
The Phoenix Suns pulled off a big win versus the Denver Nuggets minus their monster in the middle Amare Stoudemire.
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Suns Bounce Back With Win At Memphis, Gain A Game On Spurs
The Suns improved their record to 49-16, gaining a game on the Spurs who were defeated by the Pistons.
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Why The Phoenix Suns Are Contenders For The NBA Title This Year
Coming from nowhere, and despite some major flaws, the Suns have an opportunity to win the title this season.
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Nash Is Back!
Steve Nash returned to the Phoenix line-up to lead the Suns to victory over the reigning NBA champs.
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Suns Prove They Can Win Minus Nash; Now Let’s Hope They Don’t Have To
At full-speed Steve Nash dictates the tempo and runs the Suns. A full-speed Nash is vital if the Suns hope to advance far into the playoffs this season, great record or not.
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Are The Suns For Real?
The Phoenix Suns have been called a lot of things this year; title contenders is not one of them. Why is that?
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Amare, The Big Ticket And The Big Fundamental Contrasted And Compared
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Run and Gun Suns Having Fun
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Playoffs, Baby...
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Down the Stretch
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Chris Manzione
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Chris Manzione
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Chris Manzione
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Renada Granger
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Renada Granger
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Chris Manzione
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By Chris Manzione
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Draft Musings...
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We Sure Showed Them...
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Looking Toward the Second Half...
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Kidd should take lesson from Marbury
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Training Camp Report
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New Sun Rises in Phoenix
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Roll the Dice: Free Agency and the Phoenix Suns
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Foreign Land: Phoenix and the Finals
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Random Thoughts: From Marion to Match-up Zones
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Introduction
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Regardless of how happy he is to be out of Indiana, there will always be a part of Indiana in Jermaine O'Neal's 6’11” frame.
When Brand scribbled is name on an $82 million dollar deal Wednesday, that all ended. Iguodala's short reign as "Batman" in Philadelphia was mercifully over.
The Orlando Magic will be limited by the NBA's Luxury Tax in terms of filling the remaining spots on their roster. It is also possible it could cost them Keyon Dooling or Maurice Evans.
The Raptors are bringing in a player who will have an immediate impact (unlike Hibbert or whomever the Raptors would’ve drafted at 17), plays a position of need (unlike Ford,) and carries a reputation of intimidation (unlike Nesterovic).
It ended up not being Roy Hibbert for Utah, which could be a good thing because Kosta Koufos has more upside.
The Cavaliers have many options with the 19th pick in the draft. The burning question is will they draft a proven college player who can contribute right away, or will they select a project player who has a little more upside. 
What the Griz lack is a household name. Someone that your grandmother knows about even if she can’t tell the difference between a pick on the hardwood and an interception on the gridiron.
The Lakers’ big issues next season will be re-integrating Bynum and Ariza, and shifting Odom to small forward. That, instead of a big trade, should be all that is done to tinker.