Phoenix Suns Team Preview 2010-2011 Season
Key Arrivals: Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick (free agency); Hedo Turkoglu (via trade with Toronto); Gani Lawal (NBA Draft)
Key Departures: Amare Stoudemire (free agency); Leandro Barbosa (via trade with Toronto)
Steve Nash
Returning to their run-n-gun style after bumbling around with Terry Porter and Shaquile O’Neal, the Phoenix Suns were the pleasantest surprise for NBA fans last year. With a deep mix of likeable, high-chemistry players surrounding Steve Nash and [player: Amar’e Stoudemire], the Suns ran though the Blazers and Spurs before succumbing in six extremely competitive games to the Lakers in the Western Finals.
Branded as a fatal weakness by pre-season pundits, the team’s bench – Goran Dragic, Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley, Lou Admunson and Channing Frye – became vital in the Suns’ success. Dragic in particular was phenomenal, developing by leaps and bounds after an extremely frustrating rookie season, his out-of-nowhere improvement served as a symbol for the team’s unexpected strength in numbers.
Perhaps all too aware of that advantage, the Suns opted to invest in quantity over quality this offseason. The team let Stoudemire walk in free agency and invested in a troika of positionally flexible small-forwards, Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick.
With Dragic having emerged as the Suns’ most explosive scoring option off the bench, the team shipped out the expandable Leandro Barbosa to Toronto for Turkoglu. The 6-10 combo forward, who is comfortable playing with the ball on pick-and-roll, was brought in partly to alleviate the huge responsibility placed on Nash to handle the ball, and partly to give the team yet another big man who can spread the floor. Hedo comes with a huge price tag, a huge belly and thus, a huge risk. If he stays in shape and finds energy from playing with Nash though, the Suns will be able to flex maybe the most versatile lineups in the League.
Childress returns from the NBA after his two-year hiatus from America spent in Greece. He’s multi-talented and athletic, and should step right into a poor man’s Shawn Marion role. It’s tough to call Warrick multi-talented, but he is athletic, and should be a semi-decent pick-and-roll partner with Nash.
Further boosting the team’s depth will be a healthy Robin Lopez. When in the lineup, Lopez provided a steady supply of rebounding and interior defense for a team starved in those two areas. With STAT over and out, Lopez’s ability to stay on the floor will be important if the Suns have any hope of remaining respectable on the glass.
Yet, even with a team that is arguably better top to bottom, the Suns will struggle mightily to replace Stoudemire’s production. Though chided by some for his lack of defensive interest, Stoudemire was an offensive force either facing up in isolation or in his favored pick-and-rolls with Nash. With nobody to wreak havoc on the opposing teams’ rim, the Suns will need to adjust their offensive gameplan to become even more perimeter oriented than in years past.
J-Rich & Hedo
The addition of Turkoglu is also concerning. His contract is atrocious, his attitude stinky and quite frankly, he’s really not that good. He’s never been an efficient scorer and he’s always been liability on defense. As he’s bound to see a ton of time at power-forward this year, he’s going to struggle with handling many of the League’s bigger, faster, stronger and more explosive players. Approaching his 32nd year of life, age is an issue to consider, too. Beyond that, as there is nobody better with the rock in their hands than Nash, I wonder why anyone would think it’d be a good idea to stick him off-ball for any extended period, even if Turkoglu is more than capable making plays.
How you think the Suns will adjust with their new roster will go will ultimately determine how you feel about the guy who will be in charge of implementing these changes, Nash. Those who believe in the two-time MVP (he’s won 50+ games nine out of the last 10 years) and his ability to make everyone around him, no matter if they’re an All-Star or a journeyman, will peg the Suns smack dab in the middle of the Western Conference Playoff hunt. Those who feel that the Suns’ off-season strategy, based on egalitarianism and strength in numbers, won’t be enough to cover up their lack of superstar talent at the top, then the NBA lottery is a more likely destination.
I fall in the middle camp: As this team proved last year, you can never count out a Steve Nash team. At the same time, Stoudemire is an irreplaceable talent. While the team may be better 2 through 12 than many of their opponents, it comes with the cost of being worse 2 through 5 as well. Anywhere from 45-50 wins, right on the edge of Playoff contention, sounds like a good bet.
Predicted Record: 47 – 35 (2009-10 Record: 54-26, 3rd in the West)
