Kerr: "The team is in evaluation mode"

[arwillan]

Suns at early crossroads - make changes or stand pat?

Comments 0 | Recommend 1 Jerry Brown, Tribune

SAN ANTONIO - On the surface, the offseason changes the Suns have made appear to be for the better.

Read Jerry Brown's blog, Rim Shots

Grant Hill is in the midst of a renaissance season and gives the Suns another shooting, slashing weapon. Brian Skinner has produced off the bench, offering a reasonably priced facsimile to Kurt Thomas.

But is this Suns team any better equipped to win a championship? Can they really get their hooks into a top-flight team when games and titles are won and lost?

And when you ask that, you’re really saying, “Do they have any better chance of getting past those darn Spurs?”

This season’s first meeting with San Antonio since that exciting, controversial and gut-wrenching playoff loss last May comes at an interesting time for the Suns. They have lost three of their past four games after a 16-4 start and the same old problems are at the root.

Management held an extended postgame huddle after Monday’s loss to Miami, and it wasn’t to talk about the rainy weather outside US Airways Center.

Has a core that has reached two Western Conference finals and won almost 200 regular season games in 3 1/3 seasons run its course? With eight players soaking up most of the payroll that is already over the luxury tax, cosmetic changes aren’t likely — which leaves only the option of a full-fledged makeover involving one or more of the top eight players.

NBA sources say the Suns brain trust is split between those who want to give this team another shot at success, those who think it’s now time for a major move and those who are on the fence after only 24 games.

“If we’re ever going to be a championship team, we have to improve defensively,” is as far as Suns general manager Steve Kerr would go Sunday. “We’re watching this run of games against top competition (Utah, New Orleans, San Antonio and Dallas) very carefully. We’ve been talking about it but we talk all the time. Are there are concerns? Sure. I’d say we’re definitely in evaluation mode,” Kerr said.

And if the team’s final grade reflects Saturday’s 101-98 loss to New Orleans — where the Suns let a Hornets team that had been struggling and should have been tired run wild in the first 24 minutes of what was supposed to be a statement road trip — changes might be quick to follow.

The Suns are still scoring 110 points a game this year (a league-best 109.5), they still lead the league in field-goal percentage (.492). But if anything, Phoenix’s weak spots have taken a step farther backward this year.

It’s not just the 105 points the Suns are allowing a game, it’s the ease with which they are coming. After finishing near the middle of the pack in field-goal defense over the past three years, the Suns are currently tied with Minnesota and Cleveland for 25th in the league, allowing teams to shoot .463 from the field.

Only Charlotte, Memphis and New York are worse. And that’s not a company Phoenix wants to keep — hence the idea that something big might be on the horizon if current trends continue on this temperature-check.

The record isn’t bad (17-7), but some of the losses have been ugly and even many of the wins haven’t come with a sweet taste. And not being able to count on a consistent level of effort has become a tired subject.

“It’s very, very disappointing,” guard Steve Nash said. “I wish I could find a way to make sure each guy is ready to play. But what do you do, interview each guy before a game?”

Or maybe, you change things up?

Kerr expected a better team chemistry after clearing out the end of his bench and replacing it with a combination of youth and veteran role players. But Boris Diaw has struggled, Leandro Barbosa has been inconsistent and the back of the bench hasn’t been used — putting even more pressure on the starters to produce.

Suns coach Mike D’Antoni has settled on his eight-man rotation and thinks this team could be his best, despite the early-season hiccups. He likes what Skinner has brought to the team, sees Hill as another player who can create offense when the Spurs look to shut down Nash and Barbosa and is looking forward to seeing how those changes play out on the court.

“We’re a better team, better than last year,” D’Antoni said. “They are still really good, but I don’t know if they’ve gotten better. So when you consider how close we were last year … we feel good.

“We’ll see how different matchups might be created. We don’t know how that’s going to work out yet. But Brian has given us toughness and with Grant … as many weapons as we had to choose from last year, now I feel we have more and more guys who can break down their defense and help Steve out when things get a little sloggy.”

very insightful, i guess changes could be on the way.

 

[jandaman]

I think its not just the Spurs who will beat the Suns in a series, given the chance they meet.

As the article has pointed out, the defense has regressed that teams can score with the Suns, specifically teams with superstars.

Bell as tough as he has been, has regressed. Hill has been good, but still doubts on if he can keep this up for the entire 82 game season and the rough and grind playoffs.


As much as everyone love Amare, I seriously think he hurts this team as much as he helps them... basically his offensive contributions are neutralized by his very inconsistent rebounding and non-existant defense.
He is either taking it easy... or is affected by recent physical issues moreso than most of us are willing to admit.

 

[Ciani]

Amare has never been a good defender, but this season is the worst by him, maybe because of the knees, maybe the lack of effort, probably both. And it affects the team D and makes other guys (mostly Raja and Hill) less effective.

I dont know who can be on the trading block. Boris is untradeable. Amare is very risky to take, that leaves Marion and I cant see a realistic trade idea involving Marion that can make the Suns better, he is the second most important player on the team - just dont give him the ball in a clutch play

 

[green machine]

Amare has never been a good defender, but this season is the worst by him, maybe because of the knees, maybe the lack of effort, probably both. And it affects the team D and makes other guys (mostly Raja and Hill) less effective.

I dont know who can be on the trading block. Boris is untradeable. Amare is very risky to take, that leaves Marion and I cant see a realistic trade idea involving Marion that can make the Suns better, he is the second most important player on the team - just dont give him the ball in a clutch play

I think Amare doesn't play as good defense because he is afraid to foul, and when you get as many cheap fouls as he does I don't blame him. The team needs his offense.

As far as Marion being the 2nd most important player on the team, I'd probably say he's at best 3rd, maybe 4th.

 

[Covert Rain]

I think its not just the Spurs who will beat the Suns in a series, given the chance they meet.

As the article has pointed out, the defense has regressed that teams can score with the Suns, specifically teams with superstars.

Bell as tough as he has been, has regressed. Hill has been good, but still doubts on if he can keep this up for the entire 82 game season and the rough and grind playoffs.


As much as everyone love Amare, I seriously think he hurts this team as much as he helps them... basically his offensive contributions are neutralized by his very inconsistent rebounding and non-existant defense.
He is either taking it easy... or is affected by recent physical issues moreso than most of us are willing to admit.

Until we change our system, I don't care what players are here. It won't make a difference.

In terms of Amare, he definitively helps more then hurts. Besides, big men in the NBA (legit ones) don't come along that often. Despite any perceived weaknesses Amare has, you won't be able to replace him any time soon. This franchise cried for years and years before landing Amare.

This team simply cannot afford to trade Amare and hope another big man falls into their laps.

 

[da_suns_fan]

Trade Amare for Marcus Camby.

Maybe it will re-awaken Boris Diaw.

Bell, Marion, and Camby might make up for our defensive shortcomings and give us a shot at making the finals.

Of course the shake-up should include D'Antoni too.

These players don't respond to him. They have no discipline and its due to his "anything goes" attitude.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Amare for Camby? That's ridiculous. I'm all about letting Amare go at this point, but that's the wrong way to do it. Amare/Bell for Camby/Melo/JRSmith/#1 maybe, but Amare for Camby - Hell no!

 

[da_suns_fan]

Amare for Camby? That's ridiculous. I'm all about letting Amare go at this point, but that's the wrong way to do it. Amare/Bell for Camby/Melo/JRSmith/#1 maybe, but Amare for Camby - Hell no!

J.R. Smith?

Only if they took back Marcus Banks in return.

Smith is HORRIBLE and a headcase.

No thanks.

 

[Ciani]

As far as Marion being the 2nd most important player on the team, I'd probably say he's at best 3rd, maybe 4th.

Marion is the best defender and the best rebounder on the team, and the best hustle player, even the transition offense relies heavily on him, he does all the little things for the Suns. You will immediately start to miss him when he's gone.

 

[nowagimp]

interesting tha the suns, in the bottom 4 teams in the league allow 46.3% FG's and the spurs allow 46.0% FG's, it appears that both are pretty poor this year. The suns allow 46.3% with all those easy follow up shots they allow on offensive rebounds. If DA would just play skinner more and they would box out some, the % would probably go down quite a ways.

 

[asudevil83]

well i can see this thread also turning into a "trade _____ for _____" thread:

so

Amare/Banks for Dalembert/Igoudala

 

[WuRaider]

Kerr is an idiot if he trades Amare. Amare has been our best inside player since #34. Its obvious that hes not in his best form yet, giving up on him this early means giving up on our title chances.

 

[arwillan]

well i can see this thread also turning into a "trade _____ for _____" thread:

so

Amare/Banks for Dalembert/Igoudala

hmmm, now that's interesting...
we get a good high-flying offensive player who would do well in this system along with a legit center with a pretty well-balanced game. They get a young guy in amare who will keep some of the fans coming back and a filler in banks who (maybe if given the minutes) could be half-way decent.


As far as amare for camby....
Amare/ATL for Camby/Smith/carter.
we get a great spark off the bench to go with barbosa, the best all-around big man defender in the leaue, and another excellent defending point guard (who costs nearly nothing on the dollar). they get another offensive weapon (since apparently that's all denver cares about) to pair with their 2 perimeter threats. we would need to get diaw going in order to make that all work out, otherwise our power forward spot is as good as dead.

 

[arwillan]

Kerr is an idiot if he trades Amare. Amare has been our best inside player since #34. Its obvious that hes not in his best form yet, giving up on him this early means giving up on our title chances.

not necessarily... if dealt for the right pieces we could give our selves a chance to win just through a different path.

 

[Nash2Amare]

Amare for Camby? That's ridiculous. I'm all about letting Amare go at this point, but that's the wrong way to do it. Amare/Bell for Camby/Melo/JRSmith/#1 maybe, but Amare for Camby - Hell no!

If you're serious about that..then ....Denver would laugh their asses off and then some.

 

[nowagimp]

Kerr is an idiot if he trades Amare. Amare has been our best inside player since #34. Its obvious that hes not in his best form yet, giving up on him this early means giving up on our title chances.

Fortunately, Kerr and not some ASFN poster will make that decision!

 

[Black Jesus]

A major trade will go down in the next week or so... I just pray its not Amare.

 

[cly2tw]

It's not about poor defense per se. It's the incoherence of the total approach to the game up until now.

In seasons gone by, we had young and fresh legs to run opponents out of building. Gasping for air, their offense were that sharp and became easily the victim of aggressive, gambling defense style of the fitter Suns, hence the low field goal % achieved.

In this season, other teams have either learned how to slow down the game against the Suns better and/or have become much fitter themselves to withstand and compete with us at the trackmeet. On the other hand, our roster became older and a lot of lingering injuries that get aggreviated by our own trackmeet style. It's no wonder we couldn't have as well of a defensive fieldgoal %.

The last 3 games we slowed it down ourselves and won 2 out of 3 against the better teams in the league and with the loss due to stupidity in the finishing seconds vs. NO. All the while, Nash was quite bad and Amare was not a real force on offense, with very streaky performances by all but Hill and Skinner, and Diaw with increasing confidence.

This tells me that we have a team that can win the Spurs' or Jazz' style even as is. As long as we do the proper energy management for our roster by abandoning the allout running philosophy, we have a good chance to advance to the finals with healthy legs and disciplined plays.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Ranked with necessity for trade

Banks
Diaw
Dantoni
Piatkowski
Sarver
Bell
Amare
Marion
Tucker
Barbosa
Strawberry
Skinner
Gorilla
Hill
Nash

Did I forget anyone?

 

[TucsonDevil]

I keep typing this, but few read it. Steel Dog is right, unless the system changes, it doesn't matter who we bring in.

LOOK AT OUR ROSTER! It makes the entire league blush! It's the coach, not the players. Even if we brought in Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince for Amare/Banks/ATL pick, Coach D'Antoni would screw it up. BTW, that is the trade I dream about at night.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I keep typing this, but few read it. Steel Dog is right, unless the system changes, it doesn't matter who we bring in.

LOOK AT OUR ROSTER! It makes the entire league blush! It's the coach, not the players. Even if we brought in Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince for Amare/Banks/ATL pick, Coach D'Antoni would screw it up. BTW, that is the trade I dream about at night.

Marion and Prince is overkill. Two players that play the EXACT same position.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Marion and Prince is overkill. Two players that play the EXACT same position.

In D'Antoni's system, Marion will guard centers, PF, SF, and SG... even PG at times (see Marion on Parker). Who says they play the same spot?

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Positions are irrelevant when you have a prince and a marion on the floor. If anything its a disadvantage to the other team to have to guard two of the exact same players. It was make us silly deep too. Just silly.

Nash
Bell/Barbosa
Hill/Prince
Marion/Diaw
Wallace/Skinner

Thats just a silly deep bench

Id even go for a Wallace/Prince/Hamilton for Amare/Bell/Banks/ATL

 

[elindholm]

Id even go for a Wallace/Prince/Hamilton for Amare/Bell/Banks/ATL

You mean, you'd accept TucsonDevil's trade, but with Hamilton for Bell thrown in as well? That's big of you.

 

[Covert Rain]

You mean, you'd accept TucsonDevil's trade, but with Hamilton for Bell thrown in as well? That's big of you.

Completely unrealistic trade scenario. It would never happen.