Season Preview Suns

[KG-MVP21]

I'll say it at the outset and be done with it: No one knows what to expect from Amare Stoudemire this year after a year spent rehabbing his surgically repaired knee, so suffice it to say that I expect him to come back down to Earth considerably while probably logging roughly 35-38 minutes per game.

That out of the way, let's preview the run 'n' gun Suns.

Much like the Miami Heat, the time for this Phoenix team is now. It can't be said any simpler than that. Each year that they fail to reach and win the NBA Championship is a year they get further away from the ultimate prize. This team will chug along for exactly as long as Steve Nash's aging body will allow them to, and then it will be time for Mike D'Antoni to regroup and rebuild.

The positive side to that reality, though, is that they are in just as good a position today as they've ever been to nab the NBA crown, and sit among the best in the league who are waiting to see how the seeding works out for the playoffs and the real season's beginning next April.

Last year, the Suns unlikely trip to the Western Conference Finals proved how close this Suns team is to being ready to suit up in June. The real issue with this team didn't come down to defense or rebounding, but depth. They were simply exhausted by the time they faced off against Dallas, having gone seven games in their two previous series and the waves of players they faced from the Mavericks bench was simply too much to overcome.

So going into the summer, freshly promoted GM D'Antoni opted to go the quiet route to try and shore up some bench players of his own for his speedy group of ballers. What he ultimately came up with was gunslinger Eric Piatkowski, veteran forward Jumaine Jones and, most intriguingly, point guard Marcus Banks. Piatkowski and Jones offer a skill set that meshes perfectly with this team, since both can nail the three-point shot and play multiple positions on the floor. They will both allow for starters Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to get some rest during the regular season without throwing in the towel in the process.

However, the dark horse here, and ostensibly the most important acquisition, remains Banks. He will be asked to spell Nash for as many minutes as he can to allow the 32-year-old Canuck as much downtime leading up to the playoffs as possible. Nash, as his two MVP trophies will attest to, is the undisputed leader of this team. Everything about the way the Phoenix Suns ball is predicated on having Steve Nash on the court as much as possible. The catch is that he is nursing a bad back, as he has for years, and running him into the ground throughout the season is becoming less and less desirable with each passing year. Banks, therefore, will have to not only be able to come into the game to get Nash some breaks, he'll need to do it at a high level for it to matter.

The thing is, Banks has only really proven that for half of a season last year with the Timberwolves he has enough game to keep him relevant in the NBA. His averages of 12 points and 4.7 assists were nice numbers considering it was the first time he'd seen regular minutes in his professional career. What needs to happen now, though, is for Banks to be able to lead the offensive charge for the Suns squad, at least as much as he is able to. He is going to have to be able to make quick decisions with the ball, he'll have to read the court, and he'll have to score when necessary.

He by no means has to play at the level of Nash, because that would be an obscene expectation, but he does have to play his role on the floor. The Suns beat teams with their offense, and their offense is based on flow more than on plays. This team gets out and runs as a unit and plays within itself to win games. However, when they bog down against good teams, all they can do is keep trying to play their style and hope they find their rhythm again. The Suns want to get Nash down to around 30 minutes per game during the regular season, which means that for a third of the game Banks will be running the show. He's going to have to maintain that offensive flow for as much of his court time as possible to help the Suns the way they need him to. He shoots a high percentage and won't let the team down there, but he'll have to prove that he can lead the team in other areas when he's on the court to give this team a fighting chance late in the playoffs.

This season doesn't revolve around Banks - no team's fate should revolve around a backup point guard - but Banks playing effectively with the minutes he's given will allow Nash, the player the season does revolve around, to be at his best when it matters. If he can step into this role and succeed, the Suns may be able to squeeze a few more years out of their captain before their window closes as a contender.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP

PG - Steve Nash

No matter how tired Nash must have been at the end of last season, he never let it affect his game. He was blazing up and down that court for every second until Dallas eliminated the Suns in the Conference Finals. His back was seizing up on him, but he played through it, and now it becomes a waiting game to see when his body will stop listening to the competitor inside his chest. Until that day comes, Nash will continue to be the best point guard the NBA has to offer, ushering in the return of Showtime and the flash of playmaking. He's brought the point guard position, as it should be played, back into vogue, and hopefully it's a trend that far outlives Captain Canada's career.

SG - Raja Bell

The fact that this unheralded, journeyman guard could come into Phoenix's high-powered offense known solely as a defensive specialist and make people forget about sweet-shooting powerhouse Joe Johnson simply doesn't get talked about enough. He stepped right in and was effective from the word go, and while everyone was agog at the play of fellow newcomer Boris Diaw, it was Bell and his defense that proved invaluable during the playoffs last spring. He was Phoenix's priority signing last summer, much to the apathy of the rest of the league, but here he is one year later and I don't know if I can think of a veteran who's stock soared any more than Bell's did last year. It was an unheralded signing then and it's an unheralded signing now, but the Suns would've been lost without him last year and it's as simple as that.

SF - Shawn Marion

He had a career year last year as he stepped up every part of his already-impressive game in an attempt to shoulder some of the burden the loss of Stoudemire brought this team, and while he's still not satisfied with the recognition he gets for it, he has to be pleased with the team's success that comes as a result of his efforts. There simply isn't a facet of the game that Marion doesn't impact in some way, and his career-best year extended all the way down to blocks (1.7 per game) and field goal percentage (.525) and this elevation will make the transition back for Stoudemire that much less taxing. If he feels that he was snubbed for MVP consideration last year, I'm sure the Suns hope he comes back and puts up an even better year in an attempt to catch the voters attention.

PF - Boris Diaw

The lanky Frenchman was seen as a throw-in to the Joe Johnson deal and he walks away with the Most Improved Player award and is currently negotiating a colossal extension that should keep him in Phoenix for the foreseeable future. Diaw is a truly positionless player, a fact that is augmented by playing for a coach like D'Antoni. He will make an impact at whatever position he is asked to play, and did so last season as he logged minutes at all five positions at one time or another. This year he will have to adjust to playing alongside a powerhouse like Stoudemire, and he'll have to do what he can with the ball to try and free up Stoudemire around the basket as much as possible to get his in-game confidence back up. For some players coming off of a career year, being asked to scale back and accommodate would be met with serious disdain, but for a chameleon like Diaw, it's just another trick for him to show off to his public.

C - Amare Stoudemire

No one really wants to say it until they absolutely have to, but Stoudemire looked downright pedestrian in his three games last season, he looked entirely average on the court this summer in the Vegas Summer League and he got left off of Team USA because he still had a ways to go with his rehab. I'm not going to say that he's going to bust because by all accounts he was still recovering at all three of those points and betting against Stoudemire has been a lame idea thus far, but at the same time he's never faced an obstacle like coming back from microfracture surgery. No one can help it if this is one of the most played out stories heading into the regular season, because the future of one of the brightest stars in the league hangs in the unfolding, but if he does come back at near full strength, Phoenix will be out of excuses for not going all the way.