!!!)Okay so I know for many Suns fans rooting for this team has felt somewhat like being in a nice car with a flat tire thumping down the road.
Your going to have to pull over soon and give this tire attention before it causes anymore damage.
The Suns are going to have to start lining up some real prospects that come cheap, because there is chance that this team may have lost a little and salary capped itself.
What if Steve Nash looks like Michael Jordan did his final year or two in the NBA. Steve dropped off quite a bit last year. He is no longer that do all kid, he is however still one of the top 5 in the NBA last year. This new style game may prolong Steves longevity in the league or the demands of defense may cause manangement to explore other possibilities. Steve is a very valuable commodity no matter if a team is run and gun or not.
We could get into management and some of the moves they have made or didnt make, but that really doesnt help the casual fan lately feel any happier with this team. Today, July 7th, 2008 We are going to look at what players may be able to help the Suns besides the likes of Stoudemire, Oneal, Nash, Hill, Diaw, Barbosa, Bell, and Nash all of whom you know inside and out. No today before I leave for Las Vegas I would like to share with you the evaluation notes I have of the incoming Suns players and their possible impact on the team.
Number 1.) Robin Lopez Center/Power Forward - Stanford Cardinals
- First round draft pick number 14 overall.
Of all the players the Suns are hoping to lean on for extra minutes. Robin Lopez is all but guaranteed major minutes as a paint player for the foul proned duo of Shaq and Amare. Even on the nights the tandem escape foul trouble Robin should be in simply to give Shaq a breather. The Suns are very weak after the big two, but with Robin the Suns really are ringing the bell that small ball is gone and there is a changing of the guard to a slow down tempo game.
Number 2.) Terry Porter Head Coach and Steve Kerr (Puppeteer)
Absolutely the most important role to the Suns team is what is going on behind the scenes. Steve seems like the guy anyone would annoint the role he was given. However, early reports seem like he isnt nearly as savvy as one would hope. There cannot be a more important role than what management and coaches have to play on this team in the offseason. I do believe this management will find away to make this team win, but many fans feel if your going to blow it up. Do it fast and lets get on with it the new look Suns. Speaking of New Look Suns: Terry Porter will be at the helm and I am afraid at the moment you couldve put __________insert here any name. Simply because I am not sure the coach for the Phoenix Suns can do anything but be a professional puppet to some degrees. It would be nice to see Terry take the reins during his reign if he truly has a philosphy to build on. (Btw: I know Dan Majerle is coaching in Vegas on the sidelines)
Number 3.) DJ Strawberry Combo guard
DJ is on a short leash in my eyes this season for one reason only. DJ is not a good shooting guard and he has yet to prove he wants to be Steve Nashs backup. While I do believe DJ will be in this league for a while. I am not sold the Suns truly have a spot for him, unless it has to do more with not resigning Raja Bell. DJ has the oppurtunity above Alando Tucker to be the combo guard for this team for some time to come. DJ needs to tear up the Summer League and then take that same attitude into October and November.
Number 4.) Marcus Vinicius
Your probably saying who>? what? please!
You could be right about the last, but the truth is Marcus is the main person past the others mentioned that I will be looking at in a Suns uniform. The funny part is we will know pretty quick if he has developed mentally and physically enough to make the Suns roster after Summer League. Marcus possible road to the NBA has been a slow development but he has started lately to put some solid games together in the D-League. I do believe Marcus needs about another 10-15lbs to make it to the NBA, but that may be as much a fat chance as actually catching lightning in a bottle. The question for Marcus Vinicius boils down to this summer and next. After that if he is not made an NBA team he is plenty good already for an international team. Marcus is the darkhorse but could be the sleeper to keep our eyes on. What made him 4 is he has a higher ceiling than any other player on this Summer league team. He also has a high probability to play another year in the D-League.
Number 5.) Ekene Ibekwe
Ekene is exactly what Terry Porter will be looking for and in all honesty if scoring doesnt matter and role playing does. Ekene will be a Phoenix Sun before the new season begins. To be honest theres far more upside to Ekene that one would expect. This kid is a tremendous athlete and one of the best defensive paint players I ve seen in the ACC for some time. Ekene biggest crux was the fact that he was too lite to stay in the paint. Now Ekene has gained about 10lbs since last season and he may only be another 10-15 from making an impact. If we are honestly going to have our bigs play defense this is a fantastic player to give 10 minutes a nite to. Simply a role player at best Ekene I hope is rewarded for his hard play. With Ekene and Marcus I do believe this team will be competitive this season in the summer league. I know some of you follow my scouting evaluations and if you notice last year I had DJ Strawberry, Ekene Ibekwe, and Alando Tucker all in the same tier and in the top 30 picks. What makes Ekene so special is his ceiling for defense is through the roof, but if the refs dont respect his effort. He may be in foul trouble in a hurry and ultilmately not on the team. This kid is probably best defensive player behind Bell and Hill that would be on the team if he made it.
Number 6.) Alando Tucker
In some ways I felt Alando was a shoe in at shooting guard when I saw him as freshman at Wisconsin. Now I am not sure his game isnt more of an undersized small forward. That type of player wouldve been fine under the Mike D reign. It just doesnt seem to fit the Phoenix Suns style now. Alando can lite it up since his days as a Badger, however that college team depended on him so much on offense that he plays defense not as a fleetfooted two guard. More like a physical contact wing and with the NBA ruleset what it is today. Very little contact is allowed on the perimeter. The most positive thing about Alando is this kid can score and is very creative once he gains his confidence.
Number 7.) Jared Jordan
Jared actually made the ranking of being a true point guard. I am not sure however at this next level his body is strong enough to play on a nitely basis. Jared however is crafty and I feel he has no plans of going overseas to play. He either makes it in the NBA or moves on to the next phase of his life. You can bet Jared is going to be running the point the way we havent seen a backup run it.
Number 8. ) Ivan McFarlin
Ivan is trying to make another short stint in the NBA. However, I really have never seen enough from him to stick. He is a defensive minded player so I think many of you readers see where the new regime is headed.
Conclusion;
It takes a far far bigger bench to play defensive style game with role players being inserted for different moments and situations of the game. EVERYONE no longer has to be on the same page like Mike Ds system was. Instead everyone must absolutely be incredible at what they do as a role player. Thats right even your starters in many ways will be role players. If this team has any prima donnas we are going ot find out soon. Furthermore, we are also going to find out if the NBA refs allow the Phoenix Suns to touch opposing players without a whistle blowing every time down the court. I honestly do not believe that any Suns fan really wanted the style of the Phoenix Suns to go away. They simply wanted a deeper defined bench and players to be held accountable somewhat for defending the basket. It really feels like a bunch of ground work is being laid for some serious TNT to cause this team to be sent in all directions if it doesnt adapt quickly to this new style of ball. Face it the Celtics tweaked their team and added starpower and defined roles to their team. It got them a championship, and ultimately every fan wants a parade in their downtown streets in late May or June.
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