George O'Brien
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It strikes me that last season had four parts: the first six weeks prior to Amare's injury, the period after Amare was injured but before the Marbury trade. the period after Marbury was traded but before Amare came back, and then after Amare returned.
During the period after Amare came back, the Suns played pretty well. If we assume that the trade of Marbury created the cap space for Nash (an oversimplification), then the Suns were only at close to full strength during the first six weeks of the season.
Actually they weren't at full strenght. Amare was not fully recovered from his toe surgery over the summer and was not as explosive as he would be late in the season. Carbakapa was recovering from a hernia operation and was just rounding into shape when he was mugged. Williams was not healthy at the start of the season, White got banged up soon after joining the team, etc.
But the real problem at the start of the season was that the chemistry of the previous season seemed to have gone away. Marbury had reverted to being a ball hogging shoot first player who was struggling with opponents double teaming him. He routinely held onto the ball too long and would only pass when there was barely any time left of the clock. Or else he would take a quick three point shot before there was anyone in position to get the offensive rebound and brick most of them.
Over the off season, Marion had spent his time weight lifting rather than improving his shooting. The result was that he was missing shots he used to typically hit and opponents were backing off and daring him to shoot. Hardaway played mind games on JJ to undermine his confidence while Stephon rarely passed him the ball until there was no time to do anything. Hardaway was able to score, but his defense was so bad that JJ kept getting the minutes inspite of weak offensive numbers.
An of course, there was Frank Johnson. His success in 2002-03 led him to think he was a good coach, but it became clear by that point that he was completely over his head. His favored scramble defense didn't work without Bo Outlaw, he couldn't get Marbury to run the fast break, and Stoudemire was not getting the ball in the low post. Most of all, the team looked confused and listless as they lost games to teams like the Hawks.
D'Antoni fixed some of this and the trade cleared some other things up. But the Suns had traded away two key players for the "future" and it hurt them in the standings.
Compared to the team the Suns put on the court last November, the new look team appears to be a lot more promising. Whether they have put together a team that get to the finals in a few years is impossible to say, but they look a lot better than a year ago no matter what happens with Q.
During the period after Amare came back, the Suns played pretty well. If we assume that the trade of Marbury created the cap space for Nash (an oversimplification), then the Suns were only at close to full strength during the first six weeks of the season.
Actually they weren't at full strenght. Amare was not fully recovered from his toe surgery over the summer and was not as explosive as he would be late in the season. Carbakapa was recovering from a hernia operation and was just rounding into shape when he was mugged. Williams was not healthy at the start of the season, White got banged up soon after joining the team, etc.
But the real problem at the start of the season was that the chemistry of the previous season seemed to have gone away. Marbury had reverted to being a ball hogging shoot first player who was struggling with opponents double teaming him. He routinely held onto the ball too long and would only pass when there was barely any time left of the clock. Or else he would take a quick three point shot before there was anyone in position to get the offensive rebound and brick most of them.
Over the off season, Marion had spent his time weight lifting rather than improving his shooting. The result was that he was missing shots he used to typically hit and opponents were backing off and daring him to shoot. Hardaway played mind games on JJ to undermine his confidence while Stephon rarely passed him the ball until there was no time to do anything. Hardaway was able to score, but his defense was so bad that JJ kept getting the minutes inspite of weak offensive numbers.
An of course, there was Frank Johnson. His success in 2002-03 led him to think he was a good coach, but it became clear by that point that he was completely over his head. His favored scramble defense didn't work without Bo Outlaw, he couldn't get Marbury to run the fast break, and Stoudemire was not getting the ball in the low post. Most of all, the team looked confused and listless as they lost games to teams like the Hawks.
D'Antoni fixed some of this and the trade cleared some other things up. But the Suns had traded away two key players for the "future" and it hurt them in the standings.
Compared to the team the Suns put on the court last November, the new look team appears to be a lot more promising. Whether they have put together a team that get to the finals in a few years is impossible to say, but they look a lot better than a year ago no matter what happens with Q.
