FIO Preview: Phoenix Suns

2008-2009 Phoenix Suns season preview and fantasy impact, courtesy of Fantasy Insider Online. Read the team preview here in the Yard, and then visit the FIO link for the rest. - Zach Harper Last Season Recap: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly The Suns had another good regular season the Suns had another frustrating playoff loss to the Spurs. This seems to be a running theme with the fast-paced version of this Phoenix Suns franchise and one that has frustrated fans for some time now. The Phoenix Suns under Mike D'Antoni became must-see television over the past four seasons and even crept into the title contention conversation. But in three of those four seasons, the Suns have won over 50 games, only to fall to the San Antonio Spurs at some point in the Western Conference playoffs. This time, it was with a revamped roster that included Shaquille O'Neal and excluded Shawn Marion. The Suns made a bold trade of Shawn Marion and change to the Miami Heat with Shaquille O'Neal as the return product. It gave the Suns an entirely different direction as a franchise and made Steve Kerr look like the GM with the biggest pair in the league. Unfortunately, it didn't get the Suns any closer to the championship as they were ousted in the first round. As always with the Suns, Steve Nash was the key component to their success and was able to remain healthy throughout the entire season. Nash had another stellar year with 16.9 points and 11.1 assists per game despite turning 34-years-old (point guards generally begin to decline at the age of 32). He also was arguably the most efficient scorer in the league by shooting 50.4% from the field, 47% from the three-point line, and 90.6% from the free throw line. Amare Stoudemire was also incredibly efficient, scoring 25.2 points per game on 59% from the field. The Suns also received solid seasons from Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa, and Raja Bell. Raja Bell hit 176 three-pointers. Hill played 70 games for Phoenix with 13 points and 50% shooting. Barbosa had another great season off the bench with 15.6 points per contest and finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year balloting. The Suns won 55 games and were the third highest scoring team in basketball. Even though I thought it was a good gamble at the time, the Shaquille O'Neal trade may have been the thing that went wrong for this Suns team. They finished the season 18-11 with O'Neal in the lineup and were 21-13 after the Shawn Marion trade. While O'Neal did come in and have a nice 28 games (12.9 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 61% FG) with the Suns, they never became comfortable with him on the court and often missed the breakout ability of Shawn Marion in the open court. Once again, the Suns suffered from poor locker room chemistry and no backup for Steve Nash. Marion's sour attitude often turned the Suns practices and locker room into an episode of the Real World (without the drunken fights and skinny dipping), and that was the main reason for the trade. Also, Steve Nash played 98 more minutes than the previous season despite the fact that Suns management wanted him to play fewer in the hope of saving him for the playoffs. Unfortunately, Marcus Banks was the best option as the backup before being included in the Shaq deal. Once the playoffs came, a discombobulated offense and a worn down seven-man rotation were unable to beat a Spurs team that seemed to catch all of the breaks. 2008 Draft Impact (Low) The Phoenix Suns made an attempt to get more physical and defensive-minded inside with Shawn Marion on a new team. They drafted Robin Lopez (the lesser-skilled of the Disney Twins) out of Stanford to be the first defensive big man off the bench to relieve Shaq and Amare. Despite being obsessed with Disneyland (as is his twin brother, Brook), Robin is surprisingly tough inside and has good instincts as a shot blocker. He doesn't rebound well for a player his size and his offensive skills are somewhere stuck on the Small World ride, but with the new direction the Suns seem to be headed in, Robin could eventually be a valuable role player for the team. The Suns also brought in Goran Dragic (No. 45 pick from San Antonio) in an attempt to groom him quickly to become the backup for Steve Nash. You cannot expect Dragic to come straight from Slovenia and instantly be effective enough to get consistent playing time. In fact, I'd venture to say he doesn't play 200 minutes this season. But Dragic does have potential and could very easily be the backup on this team for the next eight years. Off-Season Impact Moves The biggest impact move of this offseason for Phoenix was definitely the coaching situation. Mike D'Antoni decided to leave the changing Suns and head off to the New York Knicks for more money and less chance to win this coming season. And that might have been the writing on the wall for the direction of this franchise. With Mr. Pringles departure, the Suns hired Terry Porter to get Steve Kerr's franchise direction pointed properly. Porter had mild success as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks a few years ago and has been one of the top assistant coaches in the league ever since his unfair firing from the Bucks. Porter has enough intelligence as a coach to get the Suns headed toward a championship, but it will be up to the players to believe in this new system and accept a slower style of play. If the players won't listen to Porter's words of wisdom, D'Antoni's departure will be a significant blow to the Suns success. In an effort to bolster the bench in an inexpensive manner, the Suns pulled off two small, but potentially significant moves. They signed Matt Barnes away from the Golden State Warriors to fill the athlete role that Shawn Marion left. Barnes is a great athlete who can occasionally knock down the three. If Porter allows this team to run more, Barnes can be a valuable commodity with the help of Steve Nash. The other move was trading second-year player D.J. Strawberry to the Houston Rockets for rookie point guard Sean Singletary. Singletary was a phenomenal scorer at Virginia and could prove to be a decent option for 10 minutes per game as Nash's backup. Preview for the 2008-2009 Season Team MVP: Steve Nash, PG - This team still only goes as far as Steve Nash takes them. Even as good a scorer as Amare Stoudemire is, the way Nash sets him up makes Stoudemire so much more efficient. If Nash can lower his minutes this year and save some more energy for the playoffs, the Suns will have a much better chance at winning that elusive NBA title. Breakout Player: Alando Tucker, SG - Alando Tucker was a good scorer at Wisconsin. Even though he was virtually useless last season, Tucker is a good shooter who could be a valuable role player for the Phoenix Suns. Porter will not play as short a rotation with the Suns as D'Antoni did, and Tucker will get some time if he can knock down shots and play defense. Bust Player: Grant Hill, SF - As much as I love the comeback story of Grant Hill, it's hard to believe he can play another 70 games with his history of random injuries. Hill turns 36 in October and will not be as effective as the Suns need him to be. He'll be a good player for nearly half of the season, but it's unlikely he can keep that up for 70+ games. Playoff Contender or Pretender? This team is technically a contender because they'll win 50 games again and be one of the better teams in the Western Conference. But you have to wonder if they actually have what it takes to win the championship. This team has a couple of players who could continue to regress (Barbosa, Diaw) and several players thwhoat could break down at any moment (Nash, Shaq, Hill). With so many questions and so much uncertainty, it's hard to think that everything can come together and this team will go on to learn some defense and come through under pressure. With that being said, they still have a lot of dynamic players and a lot of talent. Steve Nash continues to be one of the best point guards in this league. Shaquille O'Neal in a limited role is still better than most of the centers thrown out onto the court. Leandro Barbosa is still one of the best scorers off the bench in the NBA, and Raja Bell is still one of the ultimate role players in the league. And Amare Stoudemire was unstoppable with a presence like Shaq inside. Stoudemire could easily score 30 points per game. This team is a contender, but they're also a Steve Nash setback away from pretending.