<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">As a ceremonial gesture, I looked into eating a plate of cooked crow, maybe with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. It's not a good idea. "Look at what they eat," Suns owner Robert Sarver said. Roadkill. Just like the people who dare question this basketball franchise right about now. "We're in a really good position," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. Yes, and of all the enduring images attached to the recent postseason, I'm stuck on the final night in Dallas, after the Suns had made a furious rally in the third quarter. As the arena grew silent, two NBA scouts could be heard discussing the Suns. They were in total disbelief. Even they couldn't figure out how a team so undermanned could be so resilient, or a how a team without Amar? Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas could be playing so deep into the Western Conference finals. It has been a mind-tripping journey, indeed, and maybe it all gets back to the presence of Sarver. He is the roundball Rumpelstiltskin, and everything he touches turns to gold. In two years of tumultuous ownership, his teams have made successive trips to the Western Conference finals. That's a pretty good record, and just what you'd expect from a guy who has never lost money in a business deal. Maybe it's the great karma imported by D'Antoni, the most affable, down-to-earth coach you'll ever find. His feel-good approach has greatly aided the Suns' image on a national level, and for all the time and patience he gives to the media, I hereby recommend he receive a lifetime contract. Or maybe it's really just the team-building brilliance of Steve Nash, the guy who has put this franchise in the express lane. You hope his back holds up long enough to lift that trophy because, clearly, something special is happening here. To wit: Sarver took a huge risk in trading Joe Johnson, and here comes Boris Diaw, morphing into one of the sweetest, smartest, most versatile players you'll ever find. And now Diaw has begun dunking on people, leading the Suns in scoring three times during the Western Conference finals. "In Atlanta, they said he was non-competitive," D'Antoni said. "In a year, he's become one of the most competitive players I've ever coached." Sarver took another huge risk in pushing Bryan Colangelo out the side door. Pretty dumb, right? Well, without the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, the Suns merely acquired Tim Thomas after the trade deadline. Naturally, Thomas resurfaced as a model citizen and big-time asset, not at all like the petulant problem child who was sent home in Chicago. "I don't know what it is," Sarver said. "But I've always felt that I've been really lucky, and that's goes beyond basketball." Of course, that doesn't mean everything runs smoothly in the Suns' universe. When Sarver said on the radio that he wouldn't give young Bryan a ring if the Suns won a championship, it created another brushfire inside the empire. Word is, Jerry Colangelo aired him out plenty on the phone, and the language wasn't pretty. But here's the thing with Sarver: He is maniacally competitive. During Game 6 against the Mavericks, he frequently gestured at Kip Helt, the game operations director, to replay controversial calls on the scoreboard or get the fans cheering even louder. The owner is brash, bold and occasionally abrasive. Just as he infuriated the Spurs and head coach Gregg Popovich, he is now in a nifty spat with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. But Sarver wants to win badly, more than I thought he would, and best of all, he usually gets what he wants. So as the Suns disband for the summer, there is a great deal of optimism in the air. Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are suddenly big components of the future. D'Antoni's system of up-tempo basketball was validated by the Suns' remarkable playoff push, and in the aftermath of Game 6, he boldly proclaimed the Suns would play fast and small for as long as he is head coach. Best of all, fickle fans in Phoenix get to experience the journey. As great as the Diamondbacks' championship felt in 2001, that team accelerated from expansion franchise to World Series champion in just four years. It was almost too quick, and fans were robbed of context, of full appreciation for how hard it really is to win a trophy. Ask Michael Jordan and those old Bulls, a franchise that had to first overcome the Bad Boy Pistons. Ask baseball fans in Boston, the ones who had to overcome the curse and those damn Yankees. </div> Source
It all starts at the point. Nash has clearly reached his prime the past two seasons with the corps of athletic receivers assembled in Phoenix and when they are in rhythm, even for 20 minutes or so, they can turn any game around. The key for Phoenix will be Nash's health and continued dominance of the game. He has definitely been the most compelling and important player in the League this year and last. Without Nash Phoenix would be Atlanta.
i think if phoenix doesnt win in the next 2 years, they wont have a chance for quite a while. nash's skills i think will start declining in 2 years, and their offense probably wont run as smoothly with an aging (not to mention injured) nash.
You put Steve Nash on any other team in the NBA and he's no where near as good as the Suns system makes him out to be. He's a product of Mike D'Antoni. He's definetly the MVP of the Suns but that's about it.
I agree somewhat with the past two posters: I think alot of Nash's and the Suns success is due to Jerry Colangelo and Mike D'Antonio. Where I differ is that I believe the Suns will be competing for the West Conference indefinitely as long as the team is managed and continues to identify talent the way it has over the past 3 years. There's only one Nash but he's not playing for Dallas and they won the championship behind an Allstar. When Nash is gone or playing sparingly, Phoenix will still have at least one and probably two Allstars and an assembly of talent.
