Phoenix Suns - a Dynasty waiting to happen

[beau_boy04]

I was looking at the Phoenix Suns depth chart and they have quite a team

PG Nash: best playmaker in the nba
SG Raja Bell: defensive minded player
SF Diaw: can play all 5 positions!
PF Marion: best athlete in the league... stats filler
C Stoudemire: enough said!

Contracts: they pretty much have everything under control till 2007/08 and most of their young players are locked for a long time.

Aging: out of their starters Nash is 10y PRO and 33y/o and the second oldest is Marion who will turn 29 this year. Very young team and so promising!

Future:
I heard they have couple of first round picks this season thats alarming coz this year draft looks very promising!

Reference:
http://www.hoopshype.com/depth_charts_pacific.htm
http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/phoenix.htm
http://www.nba.com/suns/roster/

[Matt]

They haven't won anything yet, and if they lose Nash they never will. They might win a championship, stay in the top 5 for 3-4yrs but that's about it. It's too hard to build Dynasty's in pro sports. Closest thing in recent times was the Bulls with 6 of 8, and Lakers had a semi dynasty going with 3 straight.

[Martti.]

They have the Hawks first round pick for 07 draft.

[Laxation]

Until I am proven wrong, defence wins championships...

No dynasty here - unless you want to count regular season wins

[Anthony15]

defence wins championships...

Perfect. That sums it up why Suns will not win a championship.

They can go as far as Conference Championship, but Dallas or San Antonio, defensive minded teams will stop them.

[cyanide]

They're brimming with potential, but as long as Nash and Stoudemire can stay healthy, they have a shot at it all. Nash at 33 isn't very young, and I'm suspecting old age will catch up quickly.

[maes]

Yeah i was saying in another thread it's ridiculous they have Atlanta's pick...with some luck they can get Oden or Durant.

Phoenix already has good defenders in Marion & Diaw, and while Amare isn't a defensive specialist not too many teams run their offense through a Center anymore. They're probably 1 perimeter defender away from being title favorites....that being said i think they're overcap and there's no way they can add anyone significant without trading someone signfiicant like Diaw or Marion.

[Laxation]

The pick is top3 protected - so best case scenario, Noah drops to wherever Phoenix is. Noah would be a perfect fit for Suns...

[scrub]

If Phoenix play as well as they have through winning streaks this season I GUARANTEE come playoff time they will reach the finals.



And should win because the Western Conference Champion is the NBA Champion.

[Axel]

defence wins championships...

Perfect. That sums it up why Suns will not win a championship.

They can go as far as Conference Championship, but Dallas or San Antonio, defensive minded teams will stop them.

Yeah, sure.

San Antonio is old and slow, and last year, Dallas proved that. Devin Harris made the Spurs look like a senior league team. If the Suns face the Spurs in the playoffs this year, I think much of the same will happen. If/when the Suns play the Mavs in the playoffs, it'll be much different than earlier this season. Amare has really come on in recent weeks, and is playing far better than when they went head to head earlier in the season.

The Spurs are a much bigger threat to Dallas than to Phoenix imo. The Spurs have long been one of the top half court teams in the league, and if they can get production out of all of their big 3, I think they have a great chance of advancing just like last year.

People try to oversimplify by saying "defense wins championships", but it's not about defense, it's about match-ups. The Heat were no better than a mediocre defensive team all last season, but when matched against the Mavs, there was no one who could stop Wade, and that is what won them the series.

[Dro]

With Kurt Thomas and Amare Stoudemire in the middle, the Suns are a COMPLETELY different team than they were in last year's WCF. Dallas is the best team in the NBA this year, but their personnel is not much different than it was last year.

In my opinion, it depends a LOT on Boris Diaw. Dude was huge for the Suns in the playoffs last year, and he's really the only rotation player who has been disappointing so far this season. If he can return to last year's form come playoff time, there's nothing stopping the Suns (except for the chance of injuries of course...knock on wood).

[Jackal]

Not to say I disagree with your post Axel, but I just couldn't let this one go...

The Heat were no better than a mediocre defensive team all last season, but when matched against the Mavs, there was no one who could stop Wade, and that is what won them the series.

Basically you just said because the Mavs couldn't defend Wade, they lost. So...doesn't that translate to defense wins championships?

[Carmo]

It could also mean that extremely good offense wins championships.

[Dro]

Not to say I disagree with your post Axel, but I just couldn't let this one go...

The Heat were no better than a mediocre defensive team all last season, but when matched against the Mavs, there was no one who could stop Wade, and that is what won them the series.

Basically you just said because the Mavs couldn't defend Wade, they lost. So...doesn't that translate to defense wins championships?

What it says is that great offense beats good defense.

[Jackal]

The only way to stop mediocre to good offense...is defense, right?

[kinokong]

a good way would be to acquire artest, kirilenko, garnett, marion, and bowen... otherwise stay in front, hassle your man, make him feel uncomfortable, and pray that he misses

[Oznogrd]

a good way would be to acquire artest, kirilenko, garnett, marion, and bowen... otherwise stay in front, hassle your man, make him feel uncomfortable, and pray that he misses

1. Artest is a chemistry nightmare, any team who wants him i personally feel is dumber than my wall. I know the guy can defend and pulled the kings out of the gutter, but they had no choice but to take him. The risks dont outweigh the benefit with him IMO.

2. Marion is on the suns already if i'm not mistaken

3. Why would they get Kirilenko Garnett or bowen? They have diaw at SF who is a budding young star and Marion at PF who is still amazing even after all these years.

4. All this defense wins championships is completely true. It wasnt JUST dallas couldnt stop wade, it was Dallas couldnt match wades production versus Miami Defense. Miami defense may not have been great the rest of the season, but did it what needed to do to beat dallas. Its not so much that your defense has to be stellar to win, it just has to do enough to win. Sort of like the idea in football of some quarterbacks arent there to win the game, they're there to not lose (Rex Grossman example)...

[Matt]

People forget that Miami played pretty good defence in the postseason.....they had Shaq showing aggressively on S/R's. In the regular season they got abused on those because Shaq wouldnt come out. Not in the playoffs though. Alonzo Mourning also played like a beast, and Haslem & Posey frustrated Nowitzki.

[Axel]

Another team people are forgetting about is Houston. Yao and McGrady haven't played together much all year, but they've still managed to have one of the better records. If they can get healthy right around the playoffs, I think they could go a long way.

[Sauru]

no way are the suns are dynasty, if anything they are more like the buffalo bills of the nba, except they cant even make it to the finals lol. so much talent and nothing to show for it so far. i dont care if they go 82-0 for the next 4 years, if they dont atleast make a finals then it is all a waste.

[Axel]

no way are the suns are dynasty, if anything they are more like the buffalo bills of the nba, except they cant even make it to the finals lol. so much talent and nothing to show for it so far. i dont care if they go 82-0 for the next 4 years, if they dont atleast make a finals then it is all a waste.

He said a Dynasty waiting to happen.

and actually, the Mavs are more like the Buffalo Bills of the NBA.

[Sauru]

but axel, how can they be waiting to happen when the are good every year and always nothing. only thing changing is nash is getting older

[The X]

Yeah i was saying in another thread it's ridiculous they have Atlanta's pick...with some luck they can get Oden or Durant.

It's not ridiculous, they did trade away an All-Star after all to get it....granted the Hawks gave too much, but what's new?