Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks and Wizards correspondent, and his own blog, Hoops Haven.
NBA basketball in Arizona was once all about exciting fast breaks, lighting up scoreboards, and annually contending for an NBA title. The state of the Phoenix Suns has an aire of uncertainty after winning 46 games and trading “The Big Cactus”, O’Neal to Cleveland. The Suns have undergone many changes from coaches, to styles of play, and to personnel over the past year and a half. Does the return of their accustomed uptempo style under Coach Alvin Gentry, favor the 35 year old Steve Nash and 36 year old Grant Hill? I wonder if GM Steve Kerr’s changes are for the better or worse?
The two centerpieces of the organization, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, have been been rumored to be heading in different directions. Nash, the 2 time MVP, has decided to stay in the land of the rising Sun by resigning for 2 more years at $22 million. Nash has been the architect to the NBA’s highest scoring offense since he came to Phoenix 5 season’s ago from Dallas. Should the team have resigned the former MVP who is now 35 years old and played in his fewest games since ’01? His stats, 15.7 pts and 9.7 assists, were slightly down from previous years and defense has never been his strong suit. Although he wanted to stay, the Suns may have been better off dealing Nash to a contender for a few more pieces to build around since his better years are probably behind him.
Amare Stoudemire’s future with the club has been a little more vague. Stoudemire has averaged 21.1 pts and 8.9 rebs and played in 4 All-Star games over 7 injury plagued seasons. He was destined for NBA superstardom before suffering from cartilage damage and undergoing microfracture surgery before the ’05-’06 season as well as suffering a detached retina and partially torn iris in mid ’09. Although he expects a full return by the beginning of the ’09 season, he has been involved in trade rumors with the Golden State Warriors. With the right coach and system, Amare could return to elite status.
The Suns coaching carousel has apparently come to an end with Alvin Gentry being chosen to run the club this season. Gentry’s uptempo style should make Phoenix’s fans happy since scorekeepers should once again find it hard to keep up with the Suns rapid fire attack. After Coach D’Antoni left for the Knicks, Terry Porter took over and installed a slower, half court style offense to favor the older, and slower Shaq O’Neal and Grant Hill. As a result, Nash and Stoudemire’s offensive numbers dipped accordingly. With O’Neal in Cleveland and the uptempo style back, I would expect the two cornerstone’s numbers to once again improve.
The Suns may surprise us since some rejuvenating effects must be in the water in the Phoenix desert since many NBA careers have also seen a rejuvenation while in the land of the rising sun. Charles Barkley, to Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, and even Grant Hill have seen their careers return to prominence in Phoenix. Barkley, after leaving Philadelphia in ’93, won the MVP and took the Suns to the Finals, Nash won 2 MVP’s once he left Dallas in ’04, and O’Neal increased his scoring almost 5 ppg to a respectable 17.8 ppg last season. Stoudemire, is hopefully next in line to make a full comeback from eye surgery like his ’07-’08 season when he averaged 25.2 pts and 9.1 rebs.
Playing in the Pacific division, and possibly a down Western Conference this season, where the Lakers annually rule may not be a bad thing since the other remaining divisional opponents like Golden State, LA Clippers, and Sacramento are all in rebuilding mode. Time will tell since, like the rest of you, I am not sure what to expect out of the Suns this upcoming season.
