Sports Illustrated picked the Suns to win it all.
They have Miami on the cover though. Is it a cover curse or a #1 pick curse from SI? I think the Suns still have a shot!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basket ... g.reports/
The Suns just resigned Diaw so everyone is under contract long term. Woo!
Jason Kidd, LeBron James and Boris Diaw were the only three players to average 6 rbs and 6 assists a game last year. It's sick to have such a great passing, unselfish, versatile big man in the same lineup as Steve Nash with Amare, Marion, and three point shooting Raja Bell in the same lineup to receive all of those assists.
ESPN's rankings/analysis of the Suns players:
4. Amare Stoudemire, PHO
Scouting report: At his peak, Stoudemire might be the most athletic big man in basketball. His quickness from the high post allows him to blow past defenders with one dribble for a dunk, and his finishing skills around the rim make him a devastating partner for Steve Nash. Stoudemire has never been a great defender and will need to work on that area in coming seasons.
2006-07 outlook: Stoudemire's productivity level this season is very much an open question at this point. The track record of microfracture surgery patients is mixed at best, although Stoudemire was younger than most others, and his knee reportedly had less damage than most as well. Stoudemire signed a six-year extension for the maximum just prior to going under the knife, so look for the Suns to be patient with his recovery. If he can be back to full strength by midseason, Phoenix has a great shot at winning its first-ever championship.
15. Shawn Marion, PHO
Scouting report: Where to begin? Marion led the league in double-doubles and ranked in the top three at his position in two major categories -- Rebound Rate and Turnover Ratio. Despite standing 6-7 and appearing at least 10 pounds lighter than his listed weight of 228, Marion controlled the defensive glass for a club that was badly outmanned inside. His Defensive Rebound Rate of 23.6 ranked first among small forwards and would have cracked the top 10 even at power forward.
He was also able to pump in over 20 points a game while hardly ever making a miscue. Marion's Turnover Ratio of 7.1 ranked 11th overall and third among small forwards. Combined with his 59.1 percent True Shooting, Marion was as efficient an offensive player as there was in the league. That's how he was able to score so much despite a middling Usage Rate -- basically, he didn't get the ball more than anyone else, he just did a whole lot more with it once he got a chance.
Marion is at his best in transition, where Nash repeatedly finds him for easy dunks, but he's also a threat in the halfcourt. He has a weird rainbow jump shot that he shoots with his elbow pointing to the side, but it's proven to be accurate. Marion has hit over 80 percent from the line every year in the league, and is a career 34.6 percent shooter on 3-pointers. When he does put the ball on the floor, he almost always goes left and springs up for a jumper after one or two dribbles.
The one weakness in Marion's game is passing. When he gets the ball, it's almost always with the goal of shooting it. His Assist Ratio ranked only 58th among the league's 64 small forwards.
2006-07 outlook: He's coming off a career year, he's 28, and he had trouble with his knee over the summer that caused him to pull out of the World Championships. All of these are trouble signs, so he'll probably come down a notch from his performance a year ago. The projections see his field-goal percentage dipping, and that's a reasonable bet considering it was 45 percentage points higher than he'd ever shot before. But if the other numbers hold up, Marion should again be one of the league's premier small forwards.
19. Steve Nash, PHO
Scouting report: Nash is a deadly shooter, a brilliant passer and one of the best weak-hand players ever. Because of the passing-shooting combo, he's probably the best pick-and-roll weapon in basketball.
His shooting is particularly underrated. For all the talk of his magical passing, Nash may be the best shooter in the game. Last year he was only the fourth payer in history to go 50-40-90 -- shooting over 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent on 3-pointers, and 90 percent from the free-throw line. The only others do it were Larry Bird, Mark Price and Reggie Miller. As a result, he nearly led the league in TS% -- you'll never guess who beat him out.
Nash is about the last person on earth you'd want to challenge in a game of H-O-R-S-E. In addition to all the running hook shots with either hand, of late Nash has added the statue-of-liberty lay-up to his repertoire, holding the ball out with one hand to keep it away from the defender as he passes en route to the rim. Nash has also perfected a move near the basket where he drives left and then jumps almost straight backwards, shooting the ball with his body angled 45 degrees or more and usually falling on his butt as the ball caroms in off the glass.
His weak hand is another subtle aspect of his play. Nash plays almost as a left-handed player at times, flipping shots up with it off one hand and frequently firing one-handed passes lefty -- a skill rarely seen even at this level. Nash ranked only fourth at his position in Assist Ratio, believe it or not, because he spent nearly as much time scoring as he did dishing. But even with the added responsibility he was a close third in Pure Point Ratio, barely losing out to Brevin Knight and Chauncey Billups.
2006-07 season: The Suns have some mild concerns about wearing Nash out when it matters most, particularly given his helter-skelter style. He's 32 and played a career-high 35.4 minutes per game last year, and seemed to run of gas in the postseason, including a major shooting slump in the second round against the Clippers.
As a result, the Suns signed Marcus Banks in the offseason to ease some of the regular-season strain on their chief orchestrator. Look for Nash's minutes to average closer to 32 or so during the regular season, which would dial back some of his per-game averages and could cost him a third straight assist title.
He's also projected for a modest drop-off statistically, which we'd expect from anybody who had a career year at 31. But the good news here is that big point guards who can shoot historically have aged very well -- including his most similar player and rival for Pacific Division supremacy, Sam Cassell.
109. Leandro Barbosa, PHO
Scouting report: Barbosa is as fast with the ball as any player in the league, especially going to his left. He loves to bring the ball up the left side of the court and then blaze to the hoop for a lay-up. He badly needs to learn how to make a left-handed lay-up, though, as he almost always finishes at the basket with his right hand despite normally coming in from the left side. This makes him a less effective finisher than he might be, but his speed is so devastating that he still gets plenty of easy baskets.
His 3-point performance was more surprising. Barbosa has unusual delivery on his shot, holding his arms well in front of his body and having a low release point. However, he rarely shoots his jumper off the dribble or with a man in his face -- nearly all his 3-pointers were on spot-ups off Steve Nash's penetration. When he didn't shoot a 3, he went right to the rim.
Defensively, Barbosa has great anticipation for steals, but his on-ball and help defense leave a lot to be desired. The Suns were 6.7 points worse per 100 possessions when Barbosa was on the court, a glaringly large differential. Barbosa gets destroyed in size match-ups because of his lack of strength, which on some nights makes it hard to find minutes for him at the off guard spot. The best thing for him would be to be paired with an oversized point guard like Jason Kidd or Baron Davis who could cover for him against bigger guards, but that's not going to happen on this team.
2006-07 outlook: Phoenix signed Barbosa to a five-year, $33 million extension before the season started, ending speculation that the Suns might be forced to let him go due to luxury tax constraints. Based on his explosive performances in the postseason, Barbosa should again be the Suns' top bench performer and has stamped himself as an early contender for the league's Sixth Man award.
Statistically, we shouldn't expect Barbosa to shoot 44 percent from downtown again, but his other numbers should gently increase as he learns how to take advantage of his scintillating speed. Best of all, Barbosa won't turn 24 until November, so he still has plenty of room to expand his game. That five-year extension could end up being a bargain.
113. Boris Diaw, PHO
Scouting report: Everything about Diaw is a little weird and unorthodox, which may explain why it took a little longer for him to get his footing in the NBA. He makes herky-jerky moves to the basket and, like a lot of European players, tends to takes liberties with his pivot feet on the way to the rim.
He'll also do bizarre things en route to the basket. He still has a tendency to avoid going up strong or pass up shots, so sometimes he' ll do a little flip shot when he should dunk it or pass the ball out to the 3-point line when it seems he has a lay-up. And because of his inexperience, he' ll occasionally do some truly bizarre stuff -- my favorite was when he started running up and down the sideline while trying to throw a side inbounds pass when he was a Hawk.
Diaw has improved greatly in those areas, though, and he has a deadly first step that he uses to blast past opposing big men, especially going to his right. He and Shawn Marion also teamed to destroy opponents on a play I rarely see other teams run -- a pick-and-roll set for a player catching the ball in the high post. As weird as it looked, more often than not it ended with Diaw taking one dribble to his right and firing a lob pass to a rolling Marion for a dunk.
On the down side, Diaw isn' t a great shooter, with a line-drive release and shaky confidence. He also doesn't rebound well enough for an inside player, but because the Suns get strong board work from small forward Shawn Marion and center Kurt Thomas it wasn't as glaring an issue.
2006-07 outlook: Is he still on the rise or is he headed back to Earth? The Suns coaches insist that Diaw is still scratching the surface of his potential, and it isn't hard to tick off areas where he could easily take a step forward. On the other hand, it's possible the 52.6 percent shooting was an outlier. Additionally, he may run into problems if the Suns are working a healthy Amare Stoudemire back into the mix -- both are at their best playing from the high post in the Suns' floor-spreading offense, and it's unclear how things would work with both on the court at the same time.
These are important considerations because the Suns need to ink Diaw to an extension this summer before he hits restricted free agency. But in the bigger picture, it's hard not to be excited about his future. Even if he took a slight step back this season, the Suns would have themselves a 24-year-old forward with plenty of upside remaining to explore.
172. Marcus Banks, PHO
Scouting report: By now the book on Banks is fairly well known. He's basically a poor man's Robert Pack -- a great penetrator who often has no idea what to do once he gets there. As a result, he tends to be a turnover machine. Banks ranked 56th among point guards in Turnover Ratio last year, a number which has been stubbornly high his entire career.
There may be a solution here. Banks has a decent outside shot, hitting 33.7 percent on 3-pointers for his career and 76.6 percent from the line, and should learn to utilize it more rather than constantly depending on his quickness. Barely a tenth of his shots were 3-pointers a year ago, but mixing in perimeter shots will help reduce his turnover total and also open more lanes for his drives.
Defensively, he has great quickness and strength and is absolutely amazing pressuring the ball upcourt defensively, but the cost is a high foul rate for a guard. He toned that down a year ago, at a cost to his once-awesome steals rate, but still has room to go. His strength also makes him difficult to post up in the halfcourt, and as he gains experience it's easy to imagine him becoming one of the game's best defensive point guards.
2006-07 outlook: Banks signed a five-year, $21 million with Phoenix in the offseason, where he becomes the understudy to Steve Nash. It should be a great fit for Banks, who is at his best pushing the ball in the open court but struggles in a halfcourt environment. For that reason alone, his numbers might show a slight improvement this season, but don't expect any tectonic shifts. Banks will be a quality backup and perhaps a defensive spark, but until he cuts down the turnovers he's not quite ready for prime time.
187. James Jones, PHO
Scouting report: Besides shooting, Jones' other skill is defense. He was often the biggest player on the floor for the Suns last season and had to defend multiple positions, especially after the injury to Kurt Thomas. Although he was overmatched in the paint, he did well against small forwards, his natural position. Jones isn't a great leaper but has a knack for shot-blocking, sending back six in a playoff game against Dallas and averaging nearly one per contest for the season. Jones is a very poor rebounder, however, which is puzzling considering his solid build.
Jones used his time in Indiana to copy Reggie Miller's leg-kick move when releasing a 3-pointer. Basically, this involves reaching a leg out as a defender flies by to challenge a jumper and baiting the official into calling a foul. He's not as adept with it as Reggie was, thank goodness, but I'm waiting for the day an official with some stones calls an offensive foul on the shooter for this tactic, since Jones is basically deliberately kicking a defender.
2006-07 outlook: Jones' role isn't likely to change much this season, and the projections say the results won't shift much either. Healthy returns by Stoudemire and Thomas would be great news for him, because it would allow him to play his natural small forward position and worry less about defending in the paint and rebounding. If so, look for him to back up both forward spots and see about 20 minutes an night behind Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw.
213. Kurt Thomas, PHO
Scouting report: Thomas is way undersized for a center but makes up for it by moving his feet and playing with a great deal of intensity. Thomas also rebounds well, especially defensively -- he ranked 12th among centers in Defensive Rebound Rate despite his small stature.
Thomas hasn't had a post play called for him in eons and probably wouldn't know where he was anyway, so rarely does he venture down low. He prefers to shoot mid-range jumpers from the elbows or the baseline, and is one of the few big men who does it accurately enough to post a decent TS% with this playing style. It also keeps the turnovers down -- he ranked eighth among centers in Turnover Ratio, and that was an off-year by his standards. On the flip side, he almost never gets to the line or creates shots for others.
2006-07 outlook: Thomas could be in for a tough adjustment, as he is the one player who stands to lose the most playing time with the return of Amare Stoudemire. Phoenix's original blueprint called for the two to start alongside one another, but Boris Diaw's emergence makes that all but impossible now. Additionally, Thomas will be 34 on opening day and his play is gently slipping, so transitioning to a bench role might be better all around. But his role may increase sharply in the postseason, when the Suns will count on him against the Tim Duncans and Dirk Nowitzkis of the world.
216. Raja Bell, PHO
Scouting report: While the shooting was nice, Bell's defensive impact was the real difference-maker for Phoenix last year. The Suns hadn't had a defensive stopper on the wings until he arrived, and the result was a much-improved Suns defensive squad up until the injury to Kurt Thomas.
Bell isn't particularly long or athletic, but he's a feisty defender who moves his feet well and competes like crazy. That's best seen in the insane amount of offensive fouls he drew -- some on charges, but many on push-offs by frustrated opponents. The NBA doesn't keep this as an official stat (and again, I must ask: Why?), but an unofficial analysis by 82games.com had him leading the league in offensive fouls drawn by a wide margin. Sometimes Bell's spirited play crosses the line, however, as when he clotheslined Kobe Bryant near the end of Game 5 against the Lakers.
Offensively, Bell is pretty much a catch-and-shoot player, although he will occasionally fire a jumper off the dribble, especially going to his left. He doesn't look to go the basket much -- only three shooting guards had a worse ratio than Bell's 0.16 free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt, which is a shame since Bell is a good free-thow shooter.
One area Bell could pick up is his rebounding. The Suns aren't a strong team on the glass, and Bell's paltry 4.7 Rebound Rate didn't help matters any. It ranked 53rd among the league's 58th shooting guards and was easily the worst mark of Bell's career.
2006-07 outlook: Bell is a pretty safe bet to match his production from a year ago. Jump-shooters in their late 20s don't normally go belly up out of the blue, and even if his 3-point percentage dips a little from a year ago one imagines his Rebound Rate will, um, rebound and make up for it. Expect Bell to again hold down the starting job as the Suns' defensive stopper while the razzle-dazzle show buzzes around him.
222. Jumaine Jones, PHO
Scouting report: Jones is a tweener but he's more comfortable at small forward, where he can hang out in the corner waiting for 3-point chances and use his size to work the defensive glass. However, he doesn't move particularly well and has trouble defending quicker players. He's often used as an undersized power forward and probably will play that way in Phoenix. From that slot he finds it easier to get free for his jumpers, but his lack of size is problematic underneath. He's a poor ballhandler and a mediocre athlete, so most of his shots are long jumpers, which keeps his field-goal percentage down.
Jones' defensive numbers were terrible, but take them with a grain of salt. He faced impossible size mismatches on many nights that would never have happened on a team that had more competent big men on hand. He won't seem nearly as overmatched on a Phoenix team that can offer better protection.
2006-07 outlook: Jones signed a one-year deal with Phoenix for the veteran's minimum, and at that price he's a screaming bargain. Jones gives the Suns yet another combo forward who can stretch defenses, and his rebounding will come in handy on a team that struggled on the glass. The only concern is whether Phoenix's running style will leave him in the dust.
Of course, his basketball impact will pale in comparison to his impact on the league's TV coverage, because the "Is that Jumaine Jones or James Jones?" phenomenon just ascended to another level.
They both are 6-8 and like to shoot 3-pointers from the corner. Announcers couldn't keep them straight even when they were on different teams. What, pray tell, will happen now? The Suns were already the league's most entertaining team, but now they've unwittingly raised their TV appeal even more.
