The joke goes, “how many Tim Duncan 3-pointers does it take to make a Suns fan cry?”
I’m just going to skip the punch line. In hindsight, it wasn’t very funny. Not very funny at all. But that’s what it was like for the Phoenix Suns for several years.
I’ll just lay the obvious out there; the Suns weren’t known to be a defensive team. Opposing squads almost expected to hit triple digits when they played us, be it home or away. Players weren’t fighting for 50/50 balls. The zone defense looked more like a collection of flustered middle school athletes; assignments were missed, blame was passed around, and the refs were seen as the culprits of foul play. The game’s core strategy for the Suns basically went like this: We won’t defend, but we’ll outscore you! In the NBA, that exhibitionist philosophy can only get you so far. In that style, Phoenix was fortunate to be in the 2nd round as often they were.
Yes, things were precarious in the valley of the sun. But, they reached a formidable apex last year. Coach D’antoni (One supposes after countless losses to the Spurs in the play-offs) was done coaching in Arizona and took his “7 seconds or less” style to the big apple. Terry Porter was brought in to deal with a roster that now lacked a dynamic, slashing forward in Marion and welcomed the massive chink in the Suns’ armor, Shaquille O’Neal. Then there was Terry Porter. Here’s a summary of his transient term: As we all know, Phoenix Suns + orthodox, Slowed down basketball = 90% probability that it was in the L column.
Not long after Porter was fired, a jewel of a coach was found wasting his talents as an assistant to the Phoenix head honchos. Steve Kerr (After a number of moves looked upon by fans as the reason the team was trifling) gives Alvin Gentry the Head Coach position and puts him charge of a Suns team of a slightly new complexion. Here’s what he had to work with for this season (2010-2011): Nash, Hill, Stoudemire, new arrivals Dudley and Richardson (on a trade with GS), Frye (Also new, Portland trade), and a slew of other energetic bench players.
Throughout the season, Alvin Gentry challenged his squad to keep playing their fast paced game, but to also create some energy to feed off of by playing some committed defense on and off the ball. The Suns have done just that and have gone not only to get a past a determined Blazers team but to dominate a series against long time superiors, San Antonio Spurs. If I’m not mistaken, it seems this whole “defense” things is working just fine for Phoenix.
What the Suns will have to do to progress even further is obvious: Stick to it. But with a team known to go on streaks and cool down after facing a formidable opponent (the Lakers, for example), the prospects aren’t 100% bright. Although, with its recent form and seemingly new-found chemistry, who’s to say this team isn’t ready to take it all the way? When all is said and done, we will see just how far the Phoenix can rise from its NBA ashes.
Mohamed Abdihakim is a college student of Biology (minoring in Anthropology) at Nova Southeastern university. He has mad love for the NBA game, but to be transparent Mohamed is a dedicated Phoenix Suns fan..
