Just a few months ago, the Phoenix Suns had the best record in the NBA, were the most fun team to watch and had a genius of a head coach leading them into the playoffs.
This morning the Suns' season set with a 1st round elimination as the #6 seed playing a bland, personality-less brand of basketball with a coach on his way out the door for his team's lack of defense and inability to close out games.
What happened?
The answer, of course, is obvious - the Suns traded Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal. The trade was supposed to finally get Phoenix past San Antonio. Instead, the Suns fell apart and were nearly swept by the aging Spurs. The trade caused a firestorm of debate when it went down, but there is no controversy about it anymore - it is a disaster. It is David Lee Roth for Sammy Hagar. It ruined the band.
The Shaq trade slowed down the Suns' attack because O'Neal is no longer the same athlete as Shawn Marion. In fact, O'Neal is no longer the same athlete as Shaquille O'Neal. He used to be a defensive force. He used to be unstoppable with the ball on the block. He used to be the most dominant player in the league.
No longer.
O'Neal hurt the Suns more than helped. He failed to score with the ball, failed to stop Tim Duncan inside and failed to make free throws to punish Gregg Popovich for his Hack-a-Shaq strategy (which really needs to be addressed for the good of the game - it is miserable to watch and borders on unsportsmanlike). Without Marion's athleticism on the wing in the fastbreak or ability to make a three to spread out the defense, the Suns became very ordinary very quickly.
The other aspect of the Shaq trade that was not properly addressed when it happened was the mid-season shifting of gears for the team. If the trade happened over the summer, it might have turned out differently. Instead of learning on the fly while losing games, the Suns could have transitioned into a more normal NBA-style. Instead, it lost games that turned them into a #6 seed without any chance to win the championship. The Suns needed to win three road series in the NBA West to make the Finals - no prayer.
Where do the Suns go from here? Steve Nash is showing his age and wear. The same goes for Shaquille. Amare is the franchise player for Phoenix, but he needs shooters around him that are not on the Phoenix roster right now. Boris Diaw finally showed his potential at the end of the San Antonio series, but still plays soft and passively for long stretches. Leonardo Barbosa and Raja Bell have both plateaued as decent enough players, but not championship level. With Coach Mike D'Antoni likely gone, we could see the Suns completely blown up from the most fun, exciting team in the league to Steve Kerr's dream of San Antonio II.
What a shame.
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3 comments:
the suns couldn't beat the spurs with marion either. they are definitely not as fun to watch as they once were, but i don't think the trade helped or hurt them. 55 wins will usually garner a better seed than 6th. at least now this city can focus all of its attention on the best team in baseball. this scherzer kid is the shit.
The D-Backs are saving my fantasy team right now. I've got Webb and Haren at the top of my rotation. I'm tempted to pick up the Big Unit too, but think I'll be pressing my luck.
I think you are wrong about Marion (and I never cared much for him). If they don't make the trade, they finish with more wins and a better seed. They knew when they made the trade that the West was loaded and the regular season was going to be vitally important in terms of that seeding. If the Suns finish 1 or 2, they play Denver, Dallas or maybe Golden State. So with Marion, the Suns are out of the 1st round.
What about Marion & Suns vs. Spurs? Let's face it - Phoenix got NOTHING out of Shaq the whole series. He got into foul trouble in Game 1 when the Spurs looked old and beatable, couldn't guard Duncan throughout and killed the Suns at the foul line (which also killed Phoenix's offensive flow). With Marion instead of Shaq, Phoenix was more athletic, had more shooters on the floor and there was no Hack-a-Shack to be played (unless Pop went to Hack-a-Skinner like he did a couple of times).
The trade is a colossal bust.
you're right, they may have won more games. which would have made all the difference--this year especially. when marion left the suns were 37-17 and finished at 55-27. they played the lakers, celtics, pistons, and hornets during shaq's first week with the team, and they struggled mightily. i'm not excusing the trade, because they made the move to beat the spurs, and failed miserably. my point is that they achieved the exact same result with shaq as they have in the past with marion--good regular season only to get bounced by the spurs.
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