It's so hard for me to stay away gosh darnit. I just came back from the D-Backs game and I'm upset and I need something to take my mind off of it so I'm going to put my opinion down here. This will pretty much be my season preview... I definitely do think the Suns are contenders this year. Let?s start off with their line-up so I have it to look off of.Steve NashRaja BellShawn MarionAmare StoudemireKurt ThomasMarcus Banks Leandro BarbosaBoris DiawJames JonesThis team's problem two years ago was that they had no D at all and 0 depth. Everyone but Joe Johnson and Marion couldn't play D at all and both Marion and Amare were playing out of position. On the bench we had Jim Jackson (no D) and Steven Hunter was very inconsistent and was only good for part of 1 playoff series.The problem this year was injuries to our only 2 big men on the team. One was our big inside scorer and the other was our best, and probably only good interior defender. When a team loses their 2 big men how are they supposed to even try to play a half court game? And then Raja Bell got injured and that was a huge loss.Their defense last year gets some unfair criticism I think Last year's team did have good D until Kurt went out. Like I've said a million times they held opponents to low FG%'s and were doing good in a lot of defensive categories, getting steals and other things... Our problem was rebounding and allowing 2nd chance points. Kurt was great for us there but even with him we were extremely undersized. With our 2nd big man back, even without his freakish athleticism, we will do better there. And Amare really wasn't a bad defender before. His problem was his immaturity and inexperience. He made little mistakes and other times he was slow to get back to the other end because of arguing about calls or some other BS. If he can just be smart about it then he can be solid on D at power forward.I really like this year's team. They should not have problems on the defensive end at all. The only player on the team that has no hope on defense is Nash. I've already explained Amare, but Barbosa may also improve. At times last year he was very good. Game 6 of the Lakers series he really stepped up when he had to take Raja's spot. He has a long wingspan and can get steals and bother other players. There's a chance that he can improve there after getting more experience last year with more playing time and working on it during the offseason. Other than those 3 everyone on the team can play D for sure. Diaw was decent last year and he was a smaller guy playing center. With Amare and Kurt healthy and Marion he could guard players more his size. James Jones was also very impressive on the defensive end for those of you that don't know about him. For the first time in the last two years we have some good depth and most of the players on this team can play defense and even though our rebounding isn't that great that should also improve.The Suns will be a scary team this year. Just look at some of the line-ups they can throw out there:Speed:BanksBarbosaBellMarion AmareThis may be the fastest line-up ever.Defense:BanksBellMarion AmareKurtSo basically the starters without Nash, hah...They can also have a bigger line-up with Diaw (if he improves his shooting) or Jones at SG for defense.As for Amare, he doesn?t need to throw down those dunks all the time. His shooting has greatly improved and he can pass well. His surgery wasn?t as serious as the other microfractures and he is younger than some of the player?s who?s careers have been ruined. He has been working very hard to get back. By next year?s playoffs it will have been almost 2 years since his surgery and I can see him being close to what he was before. Then you add the parts he improved on in his game. Either way he?ll be better than Tim Thomas?Something else that hurt our playoff chances last year was Nash having to play a career high in minutes because he didn?t have a good back-up. Last year he couldn?t get any lift while trying to shoot because of his back. He will get plenty of rest with Banks here so he will be more fresh during the playoffs. The only weakness I see this team might have is rebounding. If we can get someone like Reggie Evans that?ll be great. Otherwise we?ll have to hope that Kurt and Amare are healthy during the playoffs. If they are then our rebounding won?t be too much of a problem since we have Marion, Jones and Diaw who can also rebound well. We may lose to the Mavs, but that is the only team I am scared of next season. This team can definitely be considered a contender.Rushed it, but w/e. So much writing.
I didn't make this thread for debate, I made it for Arizona Fan to come back.... Yes, the Suns are a contender, I agree. Who ever made the thread is stupid...
Yeah, the first time I left last year I said if you say sh*t about the Suns it may make me come back to argue.
i'm actually loving this team more and more with time. I think they have a very legit shot at a title now. i think bringing in marcus banks will prove huge. it gives them depth and more defense. with a line-up like this? how can they not be in the running?Nash/BanksBell/BarbosaMarion/DiawAmare/MarionThomas/Amare
Will the Suns win it? No. I don't care if Amare Stoudemire comes back or not. You can't just say, 'look at how good the Suns were last year, now they have Amare and you can pencil in 10 more wins and a MUCH better season.' I'm sorry but this isn't NBALive, it doesn't work that way. With Amare the offense will be run differently and players roles will change, not to mention that knee will probably continue to be a problem. I like Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw, nice players. But do I think the Suns have the go-to scorer and the defense to do it? No. This team is frightningly streaky often going minutes without scoring and then on scoring tears where they are unstoppable. I know you don't need a superstar scorer like a Dwyane Wade to win a title but this team is not the Pistons....This team realies too much on the jumpshot and i'm sorry but when your in the conferences finals or the NBA finals that is not going to cut it.
Um, Amare is a go to scorer and they relied on outside shooting so much because they didn't have him for the whole season. He changes everything but in a positive way. They didn't have an inside scorer last year. Marion can't really create for himself except for that little floater and Diaw only learned how to score a little bit and drive to the basket efficiently near the end of the year. Amare can score 20+ inside even not being 100% and like I said, by the playoffs it will have been almost 2 years since the surgery and that's more than enough time for him to be close to what he did before.
