Fans in Arizona have become so used to the Phoenix winning ways. Since the Nash-D’Antoni era started, the Suns enjoy a 50-game winning season every year. They also thrill the fans every game with their sleek up-tempo run and gun game. This year though, that may not be the case.
The Suns, last year gave the managing chores to a guy named Steve Kerr. Kerr immediately made his presence felt by trading long-time Suns All Star Shawn Marion for future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The O’Neal plan obviously backfired when the Suns bowed badly against the San Antonio Spurs last year.
Then here comes the offseason. Mike D’Antoni left Phoenix for the big apple and Terry Porter was hired. Kerr wanted a “change of philosophy” and the coaching change obviously implied that a change would happen. Porter never had a good season as far as record is concern but the management still showed faith in him. Suns under the new “slower tempo” game were not that good. They were never consistent. Players were whining and showing discontentment and Phoenix kept underachieving. Kerr made an early trade acquiring Jason Richardson and sending Boris Diaw and Raja Bell away. The excitement poured in Arizona at the start, but the Suns still never gained their winning ways.
Here comes the trade deadline. Because of Amare’s discontentment with the system (and him being a crap), he was put into the trading block, making a lot of teams interested. Teams put their best offers possible but at the end Amare wasn’t traded. Instead it was head coach Terry Porter getting sacked and Alvin Gentry became the interim coach. The Suns showed great potential then. Gentry was a disciple of D’Antoni and he implemented the run-and gun game back. Suns first game was totally amusing as they scored 80+ in one half. The fans were totally ecstatic and just when it seems that everything is gonna be back, it’s not.
Amare had a season ending eye injury. Steve Nash had some various injuries as well and the whole Suns core just couldn’t seem to get the juice going. They were still the same inconsistent team the fans witnessed at the start of the season. Shaq sure had a nice season, getting his dominance back and reminding the opposite big men that he’s still dominant and capable of doing what he used to. He had some 40+ point games but the Suns kept on losing.
As of this writing, Phoenix is in the 9th position in the Western Conference behind another struggling team named Dallas Mavericks. Obviously, they’re out this year and it’s unlikely to see the same core for them next year (as what their owner revealed). It’s sad to see a team like Suns miss the playoffs. I mean 3 years ago, they were the surprise, then the darkhorse. Then they became the contender, a title contender if you will. Then they acquired Shaq, and they immediately looked like the team to beat that season then. D’Antoni left them the next and their game totally became a crap.
One can sure blame Mike for leaving Phoenix or maybe Steve Kerr for turning Phoenix into a crappy team or maybe Terry Porter for being “incompetent” or whoever in the team for whining. But then one thing is for sure, this is just one of those NBA “dramas” that we would always see every season. Dramas that give the league more twists that draw interests from people like us. Future of the Suns? Dunno…
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