That is the question, can Steve Nash carry the load of the Suns with the man Amare Stoudamire out for awhile. He is the man, heart and soul of the Suns team. what is the last MVP to do, without his man to help him out? I think the Suns are going to fold and Nash wil have a less than stellar season with Amare there to save him and give him his assists. Sorry Phoneix, the fire is out.
I think Bell and Jones are chipping in for Amare's absence and KT and Marion are going to average double doubles. We'll be okay. Not stellar, but in good shape.
I agree with that thay have a stronger team than people think.They will not have to just rely on nash to get it done he will have plenty of help.
To answer the topic question, I'd say somewhat. Nash is at his best when he gets someone to finish off of his passing. When nobody is able to finish and he is forced to score points the Suns will lose games. However, at the same time he proved that he can score in the Playoffs but that's because Amare, Q, and Joe was able to keep the D off of him. This is a good question nevertheless so you don't what to expect really. Being that he is the reigning MVP I won't count him out just yet, but a part of me truly believes that he will have a very hard time keeping the Suns on a winning pace. Remeber, it's not just Amare that's gone, two other players from the run n gun team of last season are also gone.
Remember this name.........James Jones! He is going to have a very nice season. Will the Suns be the same team without Amare? NO! Will the Suns still be a playoff team without Amare? YES! Steve Nash may just have a better statistical season then last year. I look for him to score more points and for his assists to drop slightly. The Suns will suffer without Amare, there is no doubt about that. When a team has quality players like Nash, Matrix, Bell, JJ, KY, JJ they will still be a quality team.
I think the Suns are going to have a tough time early in the season. It wouldn't have been so bad had they not parted ways with Johnson and QRich, but they don't have either of them. Right there, between those 2 and Amare, they lost about 60 ppg between them. It's going to be hard to make up for those with the current players they have on this roster. Nash and Marion must step it up for them to succeed early on.
I'm impressed with all the assists Kurt Thomas is racking up in the preseason. He's also a very capable scorer even though he's recognized more for defense. In his senior year at TCU he led the nation in scoring, averaging 28.9PPG. Jumaine Jones was a great acquisition for the Suns. He will do everything QRich did last season and be better at it. Unlike QRich, Jones is a natural 3pt specialist. I actually thought Jim Jackson would replace Amare in the starting lineup, but Jumaine Jones has been killing it in preseason. I think the key will be Shawn Marion at PF for the second straight season. He admitted his body took a beating last year and he wasn't looking forward to playing the 4 again. The last thing the Suns need is Marion to take a pounding and deal with nagging injuries all season long. Depending on Amare's situation, they might need to add another big man to their roster. The loss of Jake Voskhul and Stephen Hunter might be the kiss of death for the Suns.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post"> Jumaine Jones was a great acquisition for the Suns. He will do everything QRich did last season and be better at it. Unlike QRich, Jones is a natural 3pt specialist. I actually thought Jim Jackson would replace Amare in the starting lineup, but Jumaine Jones has been killing it in preseason. I think the key will be Shawn Marion at PF for the second straight season. He admitted his body took a beating last year and he wasn't looking forward to playing the 4 again. The last thing the Suns need is Marion to take a pounding and deal with nagging injuries all season long. Depending on Amare's situation, they might need to add another big man to their roster. The loss of Jake Voskhul and Stephen Hunter might be the kiss of death for the Suns.</div>Did you by chance mean James Jones? I mean, c'mon, you being a Lakers fan I'd figure you, of all people would know that Jumaine is still on our roster Nevertheless, James Jones will be great for them. He's got great range on his jumper and I think he's going to play a big part in their offense this year, at least up until Amare comes back.
Nash can score, but I doubt he can do it consistently, for 3 months. I agree a lot of it will fall upon Marion, and I think he'll step up his game once again. But as of now, Pho only has 2 starters left from last season, they definitely won't be placing top seed this season...unless D'Antoni can pull something out of his sleeve.
Have we all forgotten about Raja Bell? I think he is every bit as good as Joe Johnson if not better. Then with Kurt Thomas and Matrix averaging double doubles. They will be a good team and a contender. Steve Nash will not have to carry any load and There not losing any points they have enough shooters that can get it done.
Backdoor playoff team? <div class="quote_poster">Quoting emannen:</div><div class="quote_post">Remember this name......... KY, </div> Without Stoudamire, the Suns will need lots of this stuff!
Yeah James Jones. Raja Bell will be better than a lot of people think, but he won't replace Joe Johnson. The main difference, is JJ's ability to play PG for stretches of the game. Raja Bell doesn't have the decision making and play making ability of Joe Johnson. Bell is a better defensive player, and can probably replace the 3pt numbers JJ put up. The Suns will need Barbosa to replace JJ's play making skills when Nash goes to the bench.
^ I just dont understand why people are willing to reach so far so they can say the Suns are still a contender or whatever. Their starting lineup is CLEARLY NOWHERE NEAR as strong as it was last year. ESPECIALLY now that Amare is out for around 35 games.What are people thinking? Raja Bell as good as Joe Johnson? Erroneous. I think at this point the Suns would be lucky to get 50 Wins.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GiantMidget:</div><div class="quote_post">^ I just dont understand why people are willing to reach so far so they can say the Suns are still a contender or whatever. Their starting lineup is CLEARLY NOWHERE NEAR as strong as it was last year. ESPECIALLY now that Amare is out for around 35 games.What are people thinking? Raja Bell as good as Joe Johnson? Erroneous. I think at this point the Suns would be lucky to get 50 Wins.</div> Totally agreed. Without Amare, the Suns frontline looks atrocious. In last nights preseason game, Brian Grant fouled out with more than 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter (during a preseason game at that), they had to play Diaw at the 4 for quite some time. James Jones is filling in well for Q-Rich but Raja is nowhere near being as good as Joe Johnson (except on defense). That coupled with Amare being out definitely hurts the Suns. I think if they add any half-decent Center that can block shots, rebound and most importantly just provide 6 more fouls and depth would be a nice addition for the Suns. For example, the Warriors just cut Mamadou N'dayie, he fits the bill without being a high-budget player, Jahidi White would also be a nice fit. Right now the Suns have a nice deep backcourt and plenty of SFs, all they need is some depth at PF/C.
Bell cannot create his own shot as well as JJ could that is true. Shape's on it though in that defensively and from downtown the team has lost nothing. JAmes Jones is a better SF than Q any day. He is better defensively and he is a more accurate shooter and Q's vaunted postup game never met with success here so it won't be missed. KT is a solid option to go to but not an interior player, which is the only thing we lack. This will be LB's breakout year and Diaw and House also cover the backcourt pretty well. We'll see what happens.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GiantMidget:</div><div class="quote_post">^ I just dont understand why people are willing to reach so far so they can say the Suns are still a contender or whatever. Their starting lineup is CLEARLY NOWHERE NEAR as strong as it was last year. ESPECIALLY now that Amare is out for around 35 games.What are people thinking? Raja Bell as good as Joe Johnson? Erroneous. I think at this point the Suns would be lucky to get 50 Wins.</div> They won't be a contender without Amare but when he returns they will be. People are underrating what guys like Bell and Jones can do. Both could have very good seasons. As I said before, they still have Nash and he still gets guys open shots and gets fastbreak points. As long as that happens they will continue to win games. The Suns frontcourt isn't great without Amare but hardly terrible. Marion and Thomas are both good players who can rebound and defend.
There is no doubt the Suns have lost an enormous part of their team. They are not championship contenders without Amare Stoudemire. Amare was looking to have an MVP type season and improved in almost all aspects of the game. With that said this team can carry the load until Amare returns. Guys like James Jones, Raja Bell, Brian Grant, Leandro Barbosa, and in limited minutes EDDIE HOUSE (he is shooting the lights out) are playing well. James Jones has really impressed me on both ends of the court and he really has a better jumper then advertised. There are some benefits from Amare's absence. The young players on this team will gain confidence and see more playing time. They will become better basketball players. This team will be even deeper when Amare returns because players will be used to playing big time minutes. When Amare returns I feel they will be the greatest threat to dethroning the Spurs. With Stoudemire this team would probably have been better then advertised. These new additions have looked GREAT so far, which gives me hope throughout this whole process. If the Suns can play decent basketball for 4-5 months they will be a force in the West again. The Suns will not have the same success in the regular season, but look out for this team in the playoffs.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GiantMidget:</div><div class="quote_post">^ I just dont understand why people are willing to reach so far so they can say the Suns are still a contender or whatever. Their starting lineup is CLEARLY NOWHERE NEAR as strong as it was last year. ESPECIALLY now that Amare is out for around 35 games.What are people thinking? Raja Bell as good as Joe Johnson? Erroneous. I think at this point the Suns would be lucky to get 50 Wins.</div> Bell is not as good as JJ, but ima gonna give you a lot of grief this season once you see how good the Suns can be.
