<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns were the NBA's heartthrob a season ago -- a fast, fun reminder that the game can be entertaining, especially with the amazing Amare Stoudemire accomplishing acts of wonder inside. A not-so-funny thing happened to that 62-win team over the offseason -- only two of the starters were back for Tuesday night's season opener. Quentin Richardson was traded to New York for Kurt Thomas; Joe Johnson moved to Atlanta by his own insistence. And, most significantly, Stoudemire is out for at least four months while recovering from knee surgery. Yet the Suns don't expect to tumble to the bottom of the standings while waiting for their big guy to return. They still have last season's MVP, Steve Nash, and All-Star Shawn Marion, after all. "We're not going to get to the foul line and we're not going to get as many dunks, that's for sure," Nash said. "But I think we can still find ways to score." Thomas will start at center. Raja Bell, signed as a free agent, will man the shooting guard spot. James Jones, acquired in a trade from Indiana, will be the small forward -- with Marion again having to go against bigger foes at power forward. Off the bench, the Suns have Jim Jackson, Brian Grant, Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw. All of them will be expected to score on a team that still hopes to reach triple digits every night, Coach Mike D'Antoni said. Nash, the NBA's assist leader at 11.5 per game last season, is the reason for the offensive optimism. "When you have guys that know how to play and you have the best playmaker in the league, it's not a real stretch to think they blend pretty quickly," D'Antoni said.</div> Source I don't think there's any disagreeing with that, but keeping the first game of the season in mind, do they really have the manpower to do what they set out to? I think the part about substituting mundane layups for thunderous dunks is a telling bit. Without the flair that Amare provides, something tells me the marketing wizards behind the NBA aren't going to pay as much attention as they did last year.
I think if we took the suns a couple months from now after they've had a chance to gel (assuming they will), they could have beaten the mavs just fine. It's still way early to make any real predictions yet.
True or False: The suns should have won their first game, without Amare, against a serious contender in the western conference. I think they are still in good shape for the rest of the season, or at least until amare gets back. It would be a different story if, i dont know, they got blown out by a powerhouse like Atlanta or Charlotte. All that I'm saying is have faith and dont give up just yet...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting CoryMania:</div><div class="quote_post">True or False: The suns should have won their first game, without Amare, against a serious contender in the western conference. I think they are still in good shape for the rest of the season, or at least until amare gets back. It would be a different story if, i dont know, they got blown out by a powerhouse like Atlanta or Charlotte. All that I'm saying is have faith and dont give up just yet...</div> I'm nowhere near to giving up, I think Darrell Armstrong was the only reason the Mavs won that game. Had the Suns just one more notable offensive option (which could happen from any given player on any given night), they would have had the game in the bag. Had they someone not quite as tired as Shawn Marion to man Dirk, he never would've seen that hot streak, and the game would be in the bag. There are far too many postives and what ifs in that first game to be negative about the season. Personally, I think they handled it very well. But, let's be honest, they aren't the same (offensively or defensively) as they were last season.
