Huge cloud appears in front of the Suns

[reader]

Huge cloud appears in front of the Suns By Peter May | October 16, 2005

Four months can be an eternity in the NBA. Just ask the Phoenix Suns. A week ago, they were generally seen to be among the top teams in the league, legitimate challengers to the possible Spurs dynasty-in-the-making. Now, they have a hole to fill about the size of the Hull Rust Mahoning mine in Kevin McHale's hometown of Hibbing, Minn. (said to be the largest open pit mine on the planet).


The Phoenix hole has a more familiar name: Amare Stoudemire.

The Suns' franchise forward underwent surgery last week for what team officials thought would be an exploratory pass to find a reason for knee pain. What the doctor found instead was something more serious. A microfracture procedure ensued, and what followed were the dreaded words ''four months." At least it wasn't ''career-ending" or ''career-threatening."

Said Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo by e-mail, ''The doctor feels this [time frame] is conservative given the overall health of the knee, his age, and the location and size of the nominal lesion."

But it's still a knee. It's still a microfracture. And the timetable is for a possible return in February, even as stories emerge about bad things happening to good people who have had microfracture surgery. Still, the Suns, who re-signed Stoudemire to a maximum contract shortly before the latest development, expect the All-Star to play this year, and coach Mike D'Antoni is scoffing at suggestions that the Suns will turn into New Orleans West.

''We've taken account of what's been written and we'll use it as bulletin-board material," D'Antoni told reporters in Phoenix. ''There will be a lot of fight in us, and I'll be very surprised if we're not a good team."

Added Colangelo, ''Our depth should help. We'll see."

If Stoudemire can make it back by February -- and you can be sure the Suns won't push it -- he would be spitting at history. The last noteworthy microfracture case, that of Jason Kidd, required much longer (seven months). Some players, such as Terrell Brandon, Allan Houston, Penny Hardaway, and Jamal Mashburn, have never really recovered from the procedure (although Stoudemire's lesion was regarded to be much less severe than theirs).

With Stoudemire hors de combat, the Suns are now missing three of the five starters who so nobly and capably contributed to their surprising season a year ago. In fact, only Steve Nash returns as a surefire starter, as Jimmy Jackson may come off the bench once again. The team traded Quentin Richardson to the Knicks and Joe Johnson to the Hawks. The depth to which Colangelo refers comes in the forms of Raja Bell, Kurt Thomas, Boris Diaw, Brian Grant, Eddie House, and James Jones. The Suns still don't have a center; that's only been an issue for the last 30 years or so.
But what the injury to Stoudemire does, at least for now, is open up the West a bit for the many wannabes who have visions of dethroning the Spurs. Houston appears to have upgraded considerably with Stromile Swift and Derek Anderson. Maybe even Rafer Alston. Dallas will still be good, but won't be the same without Michael Finley. No one else really stands out except perhaps Denver and Sacramento. The Warriors are everyone's surprise team. The Lakers? Be serious.

But you had to think the Suns -- with a healthy, destructive Stoudemire -- represented the best chance to overthrow King Timothy and his court. And that's not to insinuate they would. Just that they had a chance.




Even before the Stoudemire injury, it had become apparent that the NBA was no longer dominated to a ludicrous extent by teams from the Western Conference. My man Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for ESPN.com, does a weekly power poll, ranking teams 1-30. In the one before the start of training camp, he had three teams from the NBA's former consolation bracket ranked in the top five: Miami, Indiana, and Detroit. The others were San Antonio and Phoenix. You could even make a case for the Nets and Cavaliers to crack the top 10, making it a 50-50 split among the top one-third.

None of this matters in the Valley of the Sun, where Nash and the rest of the lads must keep the pedal to the metal, as D'Antoni promises will be the case. Let's hope it happens. Not only were the Suns good last year, they were extremely entertaining to watch, a welcome diversion from all the years of suffocating defense, inept offense, and 76-74 scores.

Joining writers' bloc

The injury to Stoudemire coincided with a more positive development: the re-emergence of former Celtics/Sixers coach Jim O'Brien. Obie has been pretty much off the radar screen since getting whacked by the Sixers after their first-round playoff loss to the Pistons last spring. (It was coming anyway; the loss to the Pistons only accelerated things.) O'Brien has surfaced as a contributor to ESPN.com, and in his maiden venture into print journalism, here is what he said about the Suns' chances without Stoudemire: ''The Suns will have to continue to play small ball and, if possible, increase the tempo even further." O'Brien also advises the Suns to shoot even more 3-pointers, even after Phoenix cranked up 2,026 from international waters last season, making an NBA-record 796. In the end, O'Brien sees a big drop in the number of victories for the Suns, who had an NBA-best 62 wins last season. ''Realistically," he wrote, ''it will be very difficult for the Suns to get 45 wins." He does say that the team could make a late run with the return of a healthy, productive Stoudemire. Welcome back, Obie . . . While the new CBA has been in effect for almost two months, there still has been no firm word on the promised pension increases for both the pre-1965 and post-1965 players. And we won't know for a while. ''The NBA and the players have agreed to increase pension benefits, subject to government approval," reported NBA information minister Tim Frank. ''If government approval is obtained, the NBA and the [Players Association] have also agreed to discuss an increase in the pension benefits of the pre-1965 players." Here's what could happen. The post-1965 players will likely see their benefits increase to almost $600/month per year of service. But what about the pre-1965 guys? Bob Cousy believes the league and the union will each kick in some cash to increase their benefits. But the two sides should also agree to fund pensions for the three- and four-year players who retired before 1965 and who, by virtue only of their birth, are getting nothing now. That remains an utter tragedy that could be so easily fixed.
But what the injury to Stoudemire does, at least for now, is open up the West a bit for the many wannabes who have visions of dethroning the Spurs. Houston appears to have upgraded considerably with Stromile Swift and Derek Anderson. Maybe even Rafer Alston. Dallas will still be good, but won't be the same without Michael Finley. No one else really stands out except perhaps Denver and Sacramento. The Warriors are everyone's surprise team. The Lakers? Be serious.

But you had to think the Suns -- with a healthy, destructive Stoudemire -- represented the best chance to overthrow King Timothy and his court. And that's not to insinuate they would. Just that they had a chance.

Even before the Stoudemire injury, it had become apparent that the NBA was no longer dominated to a ludicrous extent by teams from the Western Conference. My man Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for ESPN.com, does a weekly power poll, ranking teams 1-30. In the one before the start of training camp, he had three teams from the NBA's former consolation bracket ranked in the top five: Miami, Indiana, and Detroit. The others were San Antonio and Phoenix. You could even make a case for the Nets and Cavaliers to crack the top 10, making it a 50-50 split among the top one-third.

None of this matters in the Valley of the Sun, where Nash and the rest of the lads must keep the pedal to the metal, as D'Antoni promises will be the case. Let's hope it happens. Not only were the Suns good last year, they were extremely entertaining to watch, a welcome diversion from all the years of suffocating defense, inept offense, and 76-74 scores.

Joining writers' bloc

The injury to Stoudemire coincided with a more positive development: the re-emergence of former Celtics/Sixers coach Jim O'Brien. Obie has been pretty much off the radar screen since getting whacked by the Sixers after their first-round playoff loss to the Pistons last spring. (It was coming anyway; the loss to the Pistons only accelerated things.) O'Brien has surfaced as a contributor to ESPN.com, and in his maiden venture into print journalism, here is what he said about the Suns' chances without Stoudemire: ''The Suns will have to continue to play small ball and, if possible, increase the tempo even further." O'Brien also advises the Suns to shoot even more 3-pointers, even after Phoenix cranked up 2,026 from international waters last season, making an NBA-record 796. In the end, O'Brien sees a big drop in the number of victories for the Suns, who had an NBA-best 62 wins last season. ''Realistically," he wrote, ''it will be very difficult for the Suns to get 45 wins." He does say that the team could make a late run with the return of a healthy, productive Stoudemire. Welcome back, Obie . . . While the new CBA has been in effect for almost two months, there still has been no firm word on the promised pension increases for both the pre-1965 and post-1965 players. And we won't know for a while. ''The NBA and the players have agreed to increase pension benefits, subject to government approval," reported NBA information minister Tim Frank. ''If government approval is obtained, the NBA and the [Players Association] have also agreed to discuss an increase in the pension benefits of the pre-1965 players." Here's what could happen. The post-1965 players will likely see their benefits increase to almost $600/month per year of service. But what about the pre-1965 guys? Bob Cousy believes the league and the union will each kick in some cash to increase their benefits. But the two sides should also agree to fund pensions for the three- and four-year players who retired before 1965 and who, by virtue only of their birth, are getting nothing now. That remains an utter tragedy that could be so easily fixed.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2005/10/16/huge_cloud_appears_in_front_of_the_suns/

 

[Chaplin]

Not ONE single mention of Shawn Marion. Not one.

 

[arthurracoon]

Not ONE single mention of Shawn Marion. Not one.

yea. i noticed that too.

TWO returning starters now.

Nash and Matrix.

 

[reader]

I saw that berfore I posted the article. I knew I could count on the posters here to spot that all on their own, no need here for the player line up.

 

[Chaz]

Wow!

And people wonder why Marion has a 'tude and feels under appreciated by the media.

I was reading along and when I got here there was a big WHAT!?!

With Stoudemire hors de combat, the Suns are now missing three of the five starters who so nobly and capably contributed to their surprising season a year ago. In fact, only Steve Nash returns as a surefire starter, as Jimmy Jackson may come off the bench once again.

 

[reader]

For anyone interested, here is the email address for Peter May.

[email protected]

Have at him.

 

[se7en]

So Marion is not a "surefire starter"? Hmmmmm. What, he might come off the bench this season? That really is a slight. This will certainly add to the bulletin board material.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

I can't believe he forgot about Shawn Marion. That in itself should tell you just how much this stooge knows about basketball.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Got a reply from him:

"yeah, i know. i forgot him, which is hard to do to a 20-10 guy."

Mike

 

[arthurracoon]

Got a reply from him:

"yeah, i know. i forgot him, which is hard to do to a 20-10 guy."

Mike

Not to mention, an NBA All-Star.....

 

[Chaz]

Not to mention, an NBA All-Star.....

2-time NBA All-Star.

 

[Dr. Dumas]

He didn't forget it. Thats complete BS and he knows it. He left it out so he could justify his crappy article.

 

[arthurracoon]

He didn't forget it. Thats complete BS and he knows it. He left it out so he could justify his crappy article.

True.

As well as USA Olympian.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

Man I don't think I have ever seen an article you guys have ever liked.

Maybe it was writen by Boris Diaw's mom telling you how awesome he will be..you guys would appluad it.

 

[carey]

Yeah, we're a critical bunch, but the thing is.. we're usually right. Well, except for Eric.





j/k man

 

[Chaplin]

Man I don't think I have ever seen an article you guys have ever liked.

Maybe it was writen by Boris Diaw's mom telling you how awesome he will be..you guys would appluad it.

And you think this article without mentioning Shawn Marion is GOOD??? Gimme a break.

 

[reader]

I emailed May, a very correct and polite missive that included a link to the Suns roster.

I was pleased that he took the time to respond and his oversight appears to have been a freudian slip. To the effect of, "I don't care for him, I shall ignore him, at least subconsciously".

Yes, yes, yes. I know he got left out. My bad. I'm not a big Matrix fan but I know he starts. Mea culpa.

 

[CaptainInsano]

I swear im going to have to start a Marion Appreciation movement. We'll march on Washington.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I swear im going to have to start a Marion Appreciation movement. We'll march on Washington.

Million Matrix March???????