There's so much that's already been said. But just to recap: responding to the Western Conference Arms Race, the Suns gave up Shawn Marion and his potential cap-freeing opt-out for Shaquille O'Neal and his potential cap-killing $20 million contract next year. The hope (read: realigning of philosophical differences) from both Steve Kerr and Mike D'Antoni was that Shaq would provide defense and turn Amare Stoudemire into a freak of nature. The second happened, and the Suns actually played well.
How They Got to the Dance: By closing out the season 15-5. Bear in mind that this was immediately after the pro-Shaq trade folks had jumped off the bandwagon and well after the haters had gotten their public laughs in. Which is why their matchup against the Spurs seemed like the greatest first round set of all time. The Suns were better down the stretch than we will remember, folks.
How They Got Bounced: An inability to hold a lead and horrible play down the stretch of very winnable games. Nothing more, nothing less, although those certainly are pretty important qualities for basketball teams looking to win big games. Tim Duncan hitting his first three pointer of the season didn't help matters much either.
Can't Blame This Guy: Shaquille O'Neal. What? He did what he was supposed to do and more. If you're going to place blame, it has to, unfortunately, fall on Steve Nash (end of game anti-heroics), Amare Stoudemire (63% from the line, sub 50% from the field for the game) or maybe Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa for taking so long to wake up.
Summer Vacation Plans: It smells like an atomic bomb brewing. Which, in the morning, just smells terrific. (Or some sort of bad A-Now reference.) Mike D'Antoni seems gone, to me. Why stay if Steve Kerr is making your job miserable? Shaq and Amare aren't going anywhere, for absolutely different reasons. Nash, well, he could go, but it seems difficult to find a match in a trade that would make him work, unless Kerr shipped he and D'Antoni to Toronto for T.J. Ford and Jamario Moon. The point being there are serious changes coming. The dream isn't dead though, it's just moving zip codes.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2008 @ 11:31PM
George B Vieto said...
If Mike D'Antoni leaves the Suns for another team then who will the Suns replace Mike with? I understand that the general manager doesn't like the coach. Marty Schottehheimer v. his former general manager scenario this time in the NBA.
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5-03-2008 @ 1:29AM
Matt Young said...
Agree, there is no coach that will do a better job with the Suns than D'Antoni, for better or worse, so I don't see the need to get rid of him. They are stuck with their core group of players (the main 6) for the next couple of years. The only players they can really trade are Diaw and Barbosa, but they should produce next year and be worth their value. They just need to get more out of their bench, a back up PG, get some 3 point shooters, and a definite perimeter defender.
Kerr seems to be pretty smart, so he has to know all of this already. Give the core team one more year, and give Diaw the starting job over Hill.
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5-03-2008 @ 8:49AM
Jeff said...
D'Antoni was outcoached by Pop this year. He is very poor at coaching the details that teams need to win championships. I have always been a fan of his offense but you have to play defense, block out, and at least know how to defend the pick and roll. How can you expect commitment from your team defensively when the coaches aren't? Unfortunately, he thinks you just have to score more points, not realizing that defending your opponents is part of the equation. The worst part, is now I have to root for New Orleans.
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5-03-2008 @ 8:56AM
frank said...
Hornets will not pass thru the Spurs, guarantee!
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5-04-2008 @ 12:08PM
Michael gifford said...
to point to shaq's stats as a measure of "doing what he needed to do and more" is to be naive about his effect on the team...yes, they may have felt a little more defensive minded...maybe....however, there was the great chemistry with marion, the energy and rhythm of the running team that got funneled into the post presence of the Big Ego...Shaq's presence took everyone out of rhythm and yes Amare benefitted but the team lost the series...Shaq is a half court game...the Suns were not...theres's a big difference with what gets someones energy in flow and shaq was not and is not a fit for the Suns. Period.
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5-05-2008 @ 3:26PM
Kelsey said...
The chemistry of Marion has been long gone. He'd be job shopping this summer if the Suns didn't trade him. He wanted to be traded at the beginning of the season. Some even speculated that he wasn't going to show up for the first practice. Marion got traded because he wanted out. He was effecting the chemistry of the team as well.
The Shaq trade has been good. They just waited too late in the season to do the trade.
Now they need a defense plan to take this team forward. Barbosa, Amare, and Diaw all need to be tought how to play D. No one has taken the time to develop them yet. Barbosa needs to look up for an open player too every once in awhile. Instead of putting his head down, drive, and shoot. D'Antoni doesn't press them enough. D'Antoni doesn't rest his players by using the bench. A new coach wouldn't be a bad idea if he's too stubborn to admit his shortcomings.
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