If you could take any five Suns in history on one team, who would you take?

[bwgood77]

If I were constructing a lineup from Phoenix history to compete for a championship, I frankly would not be that interested in either Barkley or Stoudemire: ball-stoppers who do not play defense do not win championships. A forward tandem that would intrigue me, conversely, would be Shawn Marion and Larry Nance: two extremely athletic, versatile forwards who could finish above the rim, rebound, and defend on a high level. I would be open to different options at guard and center, but I guess that I would go with Kevin Johnson and Jeff Hornacek at guard and Alvan Adams at center. I would be open to considering some others at center (including Danny Manning as an undersized center, as Manning may have been the Suns' best all-around big man ever between ACL reconstructions and proved about as tall as Adams), and I would be open to considering a bigger, more physical shooting guard, such as Dan Majerle or Joe Johnson, for defensive purposes. I would also be willing to think about playing K.J. and Steve Nash together in a flexible read-and-react/drive-and-kick offense similar to what San Antonio presently employs.

Another option would be to play Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd together at guard with a dangerous three-point shooter—Joe Johnson, perhaps—at small forward to create more floor spacing. In the last 43 regular season games that K.J. and Kidd played together where K.J. played at least 30 minutes, the Suns went 35-8 (.814). Then take Nance or Marion at power forward and Adams or Manning at center.

Of course, I have not even mentioned Tom Chambers and Walter Davis, two Ring of Honor members, not to mention two other Ring of Honor members in Connie Hawkins and Paul Westphal. Chambers possessed the kind of chemistry with K.J. that Stoudemire did with Nash, and he could match-up at all three front-court spots, although he did not play especially good defense at any of them.

I was just rereading this post, and Marion and Nance would be interesting. I think that lineup of KJ, Hornacek, Marion, Nance and Adams might be the best starting five in terms of chemistry.

[Frank Lee]

These hypotheticals are too challenging... especially if your book covers 5 decades

How do you sit guys like Adams, Hawkins, Westphal for the likes of KJ, Barkley, and Stat ? Davis or Joe Johnson ? Nance or Marion ? Short timers Mo Lucas, DJ, Chambers and Kidd.... can't forget Nash can you ? Could-have-beens Manning and Dumas (yes Dumas) ?

Here it goes...

PG.... I gotta go all around... DJ
SG.... Completely biased but perhaps the most joy to watch... Walter Davis
SF .... Loved Larry Nance's time here, but how do you sit Marion ?
PF...This is the toughest selection, as I consider Stat a PF...Chambers was so good, Barkley so dominant, young Stat thunderous, Lucas so damn crafty, but man, Connie Hawkins gets my nod.
C... no questions asked....Alvin Adams

So there is my squad
DJ, The Man with the Velvet Touch, The Matrix, The Hawk, and the Oklahoma Kid.

By far the best 'nickname' team.

[plonden]

PG: Kidd
SG: Majerle
SF: Marion
PF: Barkley
C: Chandler

I'm cheating a little bit here by including Chandler because he technically hasn't suited up for the Suns yet. But this roster could be a defensive force as well as a great offensive team. The team features three excellent defenders--Kidd, Marion, Chandler--at the three most important defensive positions. The offense would be effective both in transition and in half court sets. Every one of these guys also has a very high basketball IQ. Plus, you've got three NBA champions on this squad.

Kidd is the perfect PG for this team. He's a great passer and a great defender. Plus, he became a reliable three point shooter so he can help space the floor to open up the lane and punish double teams. Every great team needs role players. Thunder Dan's three point shooting would make opposing teams pay for double teams on Chuck. Like with the SSoL Suns, Marion is the jack of all trades. He'll lock down the opposing team's best wing player. He'll get easy buckets in transition. Like Nash, Kidd will get Marion open looks and lobs off backdoor cuts. Marion's three point shot, although ugly as hell, is effective and ensures proper spacing. Chuck is the focal point on offense in the half-court. He'll also clean up the glass. Chandler will anchor the frontline defense. He's a great pick-and-roll defender. He's good for a double-double every game. He also blocks and alters shots at the rim.

[GMATCallahan]

As Cotton Fitzsimmons stated after retaking the coaching reigns in 1996, "The worst thing we can do is to throw the ball to Charles, then stand and watch him decide what to do. Kevin breaks the defense down and gets more people involved." Thus one of Fitzsimmons' in-game mantras became "Get the ball to Kevin!" In Game Two of the 1996 Western Conference First Round, K.J. controlled the offense through the first three quarters, running the pick-and-roll/pop to perfection (even with only one true perimeter shooter on the floor and less than optimal spatial concepts, sometimes allowing the Spurs to send two help defenders to the pick-and-roll and get away with a one-on-three defense on the weak-side) and conducted the overall offense about as well as anyone in history could have conducted it, passing for 16 assists through three quarters. (And he should have received credit for at least 17 and possibly 18 assists, but the San Antonio official scorer was very stingy, at least with the visiting point guard.) Barkley remained within the flow of the overall offense, with Bill Walton on NBC talking about the "special relationship" brewing between him and K.J. Then in the fourth quarter, Barkley started dominating the ball in the post; K.J. did not record another assist the rest of the game. Although Johnson scored 6 points in the fourth quarter (2-4 FG, 2-2 FT, with all his points coming late in the clutch), the Suns only scored 21 in the period after scoring at least 25 in each of the first three quarters; Phoenix fell by five points, 110-105.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199604280SAS.html

I tried to post something about this earlier today, but I hit the wrong button and accidentally edited an old post rather than quoting and creating a new one.

Anyway, in about two minutes, NBA TV is showing this game (1996 Western Conference First Round, Phoenix at San Antonio) for the third time today. Little bits may be missing, but you'll get most of it. The visual quality is excellent ... worth a DVR.

... more later.

[BringinDaRuckus]

PG - Kevin Johnson
SG - Raja Bell
SF - Shawn Marion
PF - Larry Nance
C - Amare Stoudemire

This line up would be a blast to watch. Tough not choosing Sir Charles, but i opted a more free flowing offense and feel that Nance is a better defender to pair with Amare.


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[JMac1]

Nash
Joe Johnson
Marion
Barkley
Amare

This

[letsgosuns]

Based on the fact that I 100% believe defense wins championships, this is the lineup I would take:

Kidd
Majerle
Marion
Barkley
Chandler

I think that team compliments each other really well. Barkley obviously is the weakest defender of that group but he is the hall of fame superstar that every team needs to win a championship. Plus he was still one of the greatest rebounders of all time.

[plonden]

Based on the fact that I 100% believe defense wins championships, this is the lineup I would take:

Kidd
Majerle
Marion
Barkley
Chandler

I think that team compliments each other really well. Barkley obviously is the weakest defender of that group but he is the hall of fame superstar that every team needs to win a championship. Plus he was still one of the greatest rebounders of all time.

Agreed. I also picked this exact lineup.

[Antoniov23]

Nash, Kj, Matrix, Barkley, STAT

[Phystic]

Nash, Majerle, Marion, Barkley, Amare

It's tough.... really tough. I am a huge HUGE fan of KJs and would probably prefer him, but I think Nash's 3pt shot is an important aspect that KJ just wouldn't provide. Majerle I love as a do it all player. Marion of course is mr utility knife. Barkley because he's my favorite player of all time(Sun or not). Amare is where I get a bit stuck. I chose him to keep with an up tempo impossible to defend offensive team. But it was extremely close between him and Adams. Though it really would depend on when/who they are playing against.

[bwgood77]

Nash, Majerle, Marion, Barkley, Amare

It's tough.... really tough. I am a huge HUGE fan of KJs and would probably prefer him, but I think Nash's 3pt shot is an important aspect that KJ just wouldn't provide. Majerle I love as a do it all player. Marion of course is mr utility knife. Barkley because he's my favorite player of all time(Sun or not). Amare is where I get a bit stuck. I chose him to keep with an up tempo impossible to defend offensive team. But it was extremely close between him and Adams. Though it really would depend on when/who they are playing against.

KJ was just super clutch. Moreso than Nash. KJ preferred to pass like Nash but he knew when to take the game over. Nash rarely did or tried that. KJ had that mean streak.

Honestly with our 2 pg system, if we had KJ and Nash together, I know that is small, and Hornacek was bigger and a great defender and shot just about as well as Nash and was also a great passer, so he might be the better match with KJ.

Back to KJ and Nash...if you have them as a backcourt with Marion, Nance and Alvan Adams, maybe you have some defense up front to cover for that offense, and two dunkers for the guards. But some smart players.

[Phystic]

Nash, Majerle, Marion, Barkley, Amare

It's tough.... really tough. I am a huge HUGE fan of KJs and would probably prefer him, but I think Nash's 3pt shot is an important aspect that KJ just wouldn't provide. Majerle I love as a do it all player. Marion of course is mr utility knife. Barkley because he's my favorite player of all time(Sun or not). Amare is where I get a bit stuck. I chose him to keep with an up tempo impossible to defend offensive team. But it was extremely close between him and Adams. Though it really would depend on when/who they are playing against.

KJ was just super clutch. Moreso than Nash. KJ preferred to pass like Nash but he knew when to take the game over. Nash rarely did or tried that. KJ had that mean streak.

Honestly with our 2 pg system, if we had KJ and Nash together, I know that is small, and Hornacek was bigger and a great defender and shot just about as well as Nash and was also a great passer, so he might be the better match with KJ.

Back to KJ and Nash...if you have them as a backcourt with Marion, Nance and Alvan Adams, maybe you have some defense up front to cover for that offense, and two dunkers for the guards. But some smart players.

Nash definitely knew when to take over. I'm not sure why you would think otherwise. Nash definitely took on more offense down the stretch of games. He was adverse to scoring outside of those situations though. Again, I LOVE KJ. I grew up watching that team.

Don't see a KJ/Nash backcourt being able to sustain a full game. They would be absolutely punished defensively. KJ would have to defend the SGs because he's stronger than Nash, which leaves Nash to guard quick PGs which he couldn't handle. It would be a mess and put our front court in constant pressure.

[King4Day]

Not the best team but I'd have loved to see nash, JJ, Marion, Barkley, Chandler

[King4Day]

Nash
Joe Johnson
Marion
Barkley
Stat

Wanted to put kj but hard to leave off the back to back mvp

Would have also been hard to be a b2b mvp had Magic and Jordan been in the league.

Valid point but also the same could be said about Shaq and kobe being in the league. But the situation was right for nash. Leading a team turnaround like nobody has ever seen before.

[bwgood77]

Nash
Joe Johnson
Marion
Barkley
Stat

Wanted to put kj but hard to leave off the back to back mvp

Would have also been hard to be a b2b mvp had Magic and Jordan been in the league.

Valid point but also the same could be said about Shaq and kobe being in the league. But the situation was right for nash. Leading a team turnaround like nobody has ever seen before.

Shaq was over the hill by then and I don't put Kobe in the same league as Jordan or even Magic. I don't think Nash would have ever won when Jordan was playing.

But he was great. KJ turned around the Suns too. We basically traded our best player (Nance) for a rookie, and then the following year he led us to increase wins from 28 to 55.