Anyone else get the feeling that Steve Kerr is in over his
head?
The Suns' general manager officially pushed the reset button last February
when he jettisoned coach Terry Porter, a scant seven months after hiring him
to replace the popular and successful Mike D'Antoni.
D'Antoni's "seven-seconds-or-less-offense" propelled the Suns to an average of
58 wins per season during his final four years in the desert but the team
could never get over the hump, losing in the conference finals in both 2004-05
and 2005-06 before taking a step back in each of the coach's last two seasons
in the Valley of the Sun.
Armed with five rings as a player and the ear of owner Robert Sarver, Kerr
took over the Suns' basketball operations in June of 2007 and made the same
assessment every armchair GM playing EA Sports' NBA Live had already made.
Results don't lie. Despite a couple of 60-win seasons under D'Antoni and
owning the league's most exciting brand of basketball, Phoenix had little to
show for the success of Steve Nash and company.
So Kerr went in a different direction and allowed D'Antoni to flee to New
York, while settling on the defensive-minded Porter as his handpicked
successor.
A 28-23 start in the competitive Western Conference was all it took for Kerr
to press reset on his very own game of NBA Live.
"I hired Terry because I believed he would be able to provide the balance our
team needed in order to perform at a very high level," Kerr said at the time
while trying to justify his own mistake.
Of course, it's hard to play to your potential when you are asking your best
players to ignore their strengths and play a totally different brand of
basketball.
The Suns possess the generation's best playmaker in Nash, one of the league's
most athletic power forwards (Amare Stoudemire) and a swingman that can run
the floor like few others (Jason Richardson).
Last I looked, Sidney Moncrief, Bobby Jones and Paul Pressey weren't suiting
up for Phoenix. Yet, Kerr still hired Porter to pound the square peg in the
round hole.
Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with that. I can respect any general
manager who formulates a plan with the ultimate goal, an NBA championship, in
mind. The Suns failed to get it done with D'Antoni's high-octane system, so
maybe it was time to take a step back in the hopes of taking two forward in a
year or two, when Kerr could acquire the type of players Porter coveted.
Instead, like some teenager upset with the way his video game season was
playing out, Kerr pulled the plug on his "vision" 51 games in. Alvin Gentry,
who took over for Porter, went back to running-and-gunning. Nash was
ecstatic, Stoudemire backed off trade demands, and up-tempo basketball is
back in Phoenix.
If only D'Antoni was there to run it.
In the offseason, center Shaquille O'Neal was shipped to Cleveland in an
attempt to save money and open up the floor again. Now, the questions
revert back to defense, rebounding and toughness.
2008-09 Results: 46-36, second in Pacific; Missed playoffs.
ADDITIONS: F Earl Clark, C Channing Frye, F Taylor Griffin
SUBTRACTIONS: F Matt Barnes, C Shaquille O'Neal
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:
PG- Steve Nash
SG- Jason Richardson
SF- Grant Hill
PF- Amare Stoudemire
C- Channing Frye
KEY RESERVES: G Leandro Barbosa, G Goran Dragic, F Earl Clark, C Robin Lopez
FRONTCOURT: Stoudemire has fully bounced back from 2005 microfracture knee
surgery to regain his status as one of the best offensive big men in the
league. Now he has to overcome eye surgery and persistent trade rumors. The 6-
foot-10, 250-pounder combines rare athleticism with a brilliant mid-range
jumper. On defense, Stoudemire is a bit of a gambler.
Grant Hill is just a shadow of his former self as numerous injuries
have robbed him of much of his explosiveness. But, when on the floor, the
former Duke star can be still be effective thanks to his high basketball IQ.
Channing Frye is expected to take over the center spot in place of O'Neal at
least at the start of games. Frye has a nice jumper and the passing ability to
be an inside/out pivot.
"(Frye's passing is) going to open up the floor for guys like Jason Richardson
and Leandro Barbosa," Gentry said. "It's going to open up the passing lanes
for Steve (Nash) and it's going to open up the areas where Amare likes to
work. So the one move changes a lot."
BACKCOURT: The team picked up Nash's option indicating they wanted to get the
band back together for one last gig. Nash is no longer the best point guard in
basketball but he hasn't slipped much. A superlative ball-handler with an
innate sense of the floor, Nash has an uncanny ability to take over games.
When his teammates are struggling he can take over offensively. When they have
a hot hand, Nash inevitably gets them the ball in the right spot. That said,
defense has never been his strong point and he now deals with a balky back.
Richardson is a special talent. A superlative athlete, Richardson runs the
floor with few peers and Gentry would like to see him drive to the basket
with more regularity.
BENCH: Leandro Barbosa remains one of the best sixth men in the league on the
offensive end and has the athleticism to excel at the other end.
Alando Tucker is an interesting player because he offers the ability to have a
solid defender on the wing.
The Suns would like young Goran Dragic to spell Nash for 15 or so minutes a
night. The Slovenian is much more comfortable in the open floor and will need
to learn how to execute in the half court.
Up front, second-year center Robin Lopez is raw but offers size, defense and
shot- blocking ability.
Earl Clark, the team's first round pick, is a 6-foot-10 small forward who
can fill it up, has great vision and strong interior passing ability.
COACHING: Gentry has learned under Larry Brown, Pat Riley and D'Antoni so he
certainly knows a plethora of different styles and that might be the problem
with this team, they just can't find the balance they are looking for.
"We're going to be a running team," Gentry said. "We've got to go back to the
culture we've always had here since I've been here and that's to be an attack
team on offense."
STEVE SCHWARZ'S FANTASY FOCUS: The up tempo Suns have five players who put up
solid numbers, beginning with superstar Stoudemire. With Shaq in Cleveland,
Stoudemire should be a 25-10 player this season. Nash is one of the top point
guards and Richardson should rebound to have a solid season. Add Hill who
amazingly played in 82 games last season after all those years of injuries and
Barbosa who should be the team's starting shooting guard on opening day after
years of coming off the bench.
OUTLOOK: Phoenix will be one of the league's most compelling teams to watch as
they continue to make the transition back to run-and-gun team. You have to
expect hiccups but there is too much talent on this team not to get back to
the playoffs.
"I don't know how good we can be, but I'm excited, really excited for the
season after last year's disappointment," Nash said before the start of
training camp. "Everyone, I think, fits together well."
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