RGM Pre-Draft Summits

[APerna]

Hey posters,

First of all, I'm sorry that your team wasn't able to make it to the second round of the playoffs. I definitely identify with you, since my Pacers weren't even able to make it that far. I am looking to put together NBA Summits for each team as the Draft draws closer.

I put together a ton of these on the NFL forums heading into the draft and they were wildly successful. I hope for the same here, and I know the population of these boards will lend itself to many responses.

Editor Chris Reina and I have put together these seven questions for you all to answer, with the best answers making it into posted pieces on our main page. The only thing that I ask is that you please limit your responses to two sentences per question. Please try your best to heed that request, it makes the Summits easier to read and quicker to put together.

Thanks gang, and best of luck in the Draft.

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
2. Where were the team

[ClosAZ]

Hey posters,

First of all, I'm sorry that your team wasn't able to make it to the second round of the playoffs. I definitely identify with you, since my Pacers weren't even able to make it that far. I am looking to put together NBA Summits for each team as the Draft draws closer.

I put together a ton of these on the NFL forums heading into the draft and they were wildly successful. I hope for the same here, and I know the population of these boards will lend itself to many responses.

Editor Chris Reina and I have put together these seven questions for you all to answer, with the best answers making it into posted pieces on our main page. The only thing that I ask is that you please limit your responses to two sentences per question. Please try your best to heed that request, it makes the Summits easier to read and quicker to put together.

Thanks gang, and best of luck in the Draft.

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
2. Where were the team

[albasuna]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
-Develop the bench a bit more.

2. Where were the team

[Sarlonus]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
They had too many defensive lapses. They did not execute or finish plays successfully (especially in late game situations). Everybody started missing free throws. They needed to make adjustments earlier.

2. Where were the team

[TASTIC]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?

Prior to the playoffs even starting, limit Nash and Bell's minutes. Try and use guys like DJ and Skinner for more than mop up/destruction derby minutes, so the starters wouldn't be so buggered come playoff time.

2. Where were the team

[b-ball forever]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?

-Not hired Steve Kerr
-Not traded away Marion for Shaq. Marion's defense on Parker last year was 1 of the biggest reasons we kept the series close, and the Spurs exposed Shaq's shiyty PnR defense and crap free throw shootin bigtime the entire series.
-Not dumped KT and James Jones
-Kept down Grant Hill's playtime in the reg season, so that he doesn't get injured just in time for the playoffs
-Started Diaw at 3 the whole series instead of just the last 2 games

2. Where were the team

[eastsidecrossover]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?

Better coaching in preparation of a LONG season. Bad front office management of the big picture, and mental laps. Better D and toughness.

2. Where were the team

[Cash]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?

Not made the Shaq trade. Alternatively, developing DJ Strawberry during the year would've helped, though I don't know if he'd have been the difference against the Spurs.

2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?

Offensively, the ruthless efficiency of Nash & Amare. Defensively, none.

3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?

Grant Hill - I was very skeptical before the season, but he surprised me by how much he had left in the tank. And Amare's beastly offensive run after the Shaq trade was also a pleasant surprise. And to be fair, Shaq's effect on team rebounding was surprisingly positive.

4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?

Raja Bell's defense was straight-up bad for the first few months, and though he rebounded somewhat, he really had an off year. Leandro Barbosa is at an age where you expect him to get better each year, yet he improved no facet of his game from last year to this. In fact, he regressed badly in several areas, most notably shooting and distributing.

5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?

Slightly more confident than I am in the Bush administration.

6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?

1. Post-Shaq trade, the Suns may have had the worst perimeter D in the league, so that's a major need. 2. Given Nash's decline last year, and coupled with Barbosa's regression as a distributor, a true backup PG is a must. 3. Outside shooting, already a weakness before the Shaq trade, was sorely lacking afterwards. 4. A true Center to back up/replace Shaq - especially important considering that Shaq will probably miss at least 20 games this year. If the Suns are serious about having Diaw play much more at SF next year, this becomes a much bigger need.

7. Who would you like your team to select?

At #15, the Suns will have to decide between a role player with a higher chance of helping the team this year (a must if they're serious about winning it all), or a potential star who's unlikely to make much of an impact on a playoff team as a rookie, but might help keep the team out of the lottery once Nash retires. If they go the first route, which I expect, I've been high on Brandon Rush since last year's draft. He'd fit in right away as a big, tough defender and good shooter at both swing spots.

[tsherkin]

1. What could the team have done differently to advance in the playoffs?
2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
7. Who would you like your team to select?

1.

Play the bench some during the regular season and the playoffs to prevent fatigue from catching up to the starters. Here, I mainly refer to the reserves behind Bell and Nash, because those were the guys who suffered the most.

Pulled the trade earlier? If the Suns had more time to work on a halfcourt offense, they might have done better against San Antonio.

Against San Antonio, the Suns experienced the following problems:

- uncharacteristically poor 3pt shooting (33.8%)
- rebounding deficit (as usual)
- uncharacteristically TERRIBLE FT shooting (63.8%; this is on Shaq and Amare)

Their defense wasn't hugely poor but they did struggle to contain Parker.

Their offense was the problem... and surprisingly, some of that was Shaq. He shot only 44% from the floor in the series (50% from the line).

Barbosa and Giricek flopped hard and Shaq actually hurt the team offensively... not so much with the FT shooting as the routine shots he was missing, it was frustrating. In the regular season, he was at least still hitting at a high percentage but on 10 shots a game, he just wasn't putting the ball in the hole.

I don't think the Spurs would have won even with Marion, though, so thoughts of not pulling the trade probably aren't meaningful.

Still, the bench and a more coherent offensive set in the halfcourt would have been most valuable.

Too, a healthy Hill would have been valuable because he was doing a decent job defensively on the wings and guards, plus he was a backup ball-handler and a decent scorer.

2.

Offensive strengths; Amare's scoring when Shaq was on the floor, the Nash/STAT high sidescreen.

Transition buckets when they ran.

Not much else and certainly nothing defensively (except the individual defense of Bell).

3.

Shaq, Amare and Hill, for mostly the reasons Cash mentioned.

4.

Same as Cash; Bell looked AWFUL for a few months and Barbosa... well, I have no respect for him right now.

5.

Amused as I am by Cash's comment, I think Kerr will do a decent job. It sounds like they are intent on keeping their draft pick and maybe even looking to chase Alexander, which would be wonderful if it actually happens. I won't say I'm strongly confident in them but I saw Kerr take a risk to try to take advantage of the win-now window that this team MUST adopt, so I'm at least confident that Kerr will try to address what he sees as the problem.

6.

Can I just quote Cash? Perimeter D, perimeter shooting, backup PG...

Giricek was a flop and Barbosa had the worst season imaginable. We can't rely on a healthy Grant Hill and we need a proper backup/replacement for Shaq. Someone not named DeAndre Jordan, at that.

7.

I think Cash's comment on Brandon Rush is pretty much straight-on; he's a perimeter defender with a nice outside shot and the athleticism to involve himself in the running game. Not much at creating for himself but that's what Nash, Amare and Shaq (and, to a lesser extent, Hill and Diaw) are for. Rush fills an immediate need and if Joe Alexander isn't available to select or in a trade, then Rush is probably the best option.