Posted by Killa4luv:

Posted by bobs3304:

Funny you say that Killa. I was hoping more like Steph would put up NASH type numbers...

if Steph puts up 15 and 11 we will suck.

Posted by djsunyc:

Suns say they'll be even better
Colangelo says team taking strides toward NBA title

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 19, 2005 12:00 AM

Tougher, faster, better.

The Suns' recent roster rearranging may go down some fans' throats like hot coals, but coach Mike D'Antoni and executive Bryan Colangelo pledge that the overhaul made the team better.

The Suns introduced new players Brian Grant and Pat Burke on Thursday and will continue to overhaul the roster today, when Joe Johnson's trade to Atlanta is expected to be finalized. But D'Antoni and Colangelo said the Suns undoubtedly are improved, regardless of how pursuits of Michael Finley and James Jones end up. advertisement


Colangelo said the staff "feels like we've dramatically improved our team. I know a lot of people don't think that's the case right now. We're taking a step forward. We're going to keep building this thing. We're definitely not only going to be just as competitive as last year but we're going to strive to win that championship these guys are talking about."

He said the key to judging these Suns won't come in aspiring to last season's 62 wins. It will be how well prepared they are for the playoffs because they have become a deeper team. He alluded to how Johnson's facial fracture altered the team's approach during last season's playoffs.

"A lot of the same stuff became very predictable," said Colangelo, the team's president and general manager. "It was a lack of depth that you could point to that perhaps was a part of that."

This year's bench will include Grant, Burke, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and Scott Padgett. Jones could be acquired in a sign and trade with Indiana and a Finley signing may make Jim Jackson a reserve.

D'Antoni noted all of Phoenix's additions can shoot, run and pass to maintain the high-paced style while improving the defense. Colangelo said Phoenix could be faster because Amaré Stoudemire and Shawn Marion will run more with Kurt Thomas and Grant rebounding and inbounding.

"If you line people up and say, 'Run as hard as you can,' they can run as fast as anybody," D'Antoni said. "I loved Q (Quentin Richardson) and what he did but if you put him in a foot race against one of these two guys (Grant and Burke), (it's) about the same. There's not any difference.
"And even Joe, you're talking outrun him this quick," he added with his hands inches apart.

The Suns feel that close to a title as well, something that compelled Grant to pick Phoenix. Grant, Bell and Thomas were added to address rebounding and defensive deficiencies.

"We can safely put aside that soft label that has been associated with Suns basketball probably for the history of the Suns organization," Colangelo said. "We have certainly addressed a lot of the issues about what we're doing from a physical and mental toughness (standpoint)."

I nominate that for dumbass statement of the year.. I could sit on my couch, eat a whole pizza pie, down a 40oz beer, get up and beat KT and slow ass grant in a foot race with my slippers and houscoat on.....

jeez, what a dilusional bastard...

Posted by anklebraker:

why is it always steph because last yeat we had more dissapointments first it was houston gone then we had timmy playin horrible in the beggining but regarding the suns i think last year was a fluke and they wont play so good this year because last year it was all on one streak this year they will probably have injuries from stevie because you dont know how he is and when he goes down so does the team

Posted by NYK3:


I disagree, I think we'd be pretty good if Steph put up 15 and 11....not sure what the exact record was but im pretty sure we had a good record last season when Steph recorded 10 or more assists

Exactly. I forgot the exact numbers, but we're way above .500 when he collects double digit assists...

Coincidence? No. When Steph shoots less and distributes more, we win. Moving him to SG is either a brilliant move or stupid as hell. Having Crawford play point could also be a disaster, which is why Larry would have asked for Snow, a more pure point g....




[Edited by - bobs3304 on 08-20-2005 12:21 AM]

This year's bench will include Grant, Burke, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and Scott Padgett. Jones could be acquired in a sign and trade with Indiana and a Finley signing may make Jim Jackson a reserve.

Posted by oohah:

This year's bench will include Grant, Burke, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and Scott Padgett. Jones could be acquired in a sign and trade with Indiana and a Finley signing may make Jim Jackson a reserve.

Wow, the suns are loaded, and they don't look to be quite done. What I like about what they are doing is they are getting pretty good player all the way down the bench, but they are not loading up on stars with huge egos at the end of their careers trying to 'steal' a championship (A 'la the Lakers when they got smacked by Detroit.)

oohah

but these guys are also a lot less talented than what they had, and don't you think that totally alters the chemistry?

i think they hit on something special last year which isn't going to be duplicated. like one of those deals when everything happens to click right for a team. the chemistry worked, maybe because jj, q and amare were still young enough to not have to be "the"star on the team, nash is a selfless leader, and marion is as versatile and athletic as scottie pippen in picking up every bit of a slack that a team needs.

now all of a sudden nash, amare and marion have to be bigger stars to pick up the loss of the other 2 while the new guys all have to be the scrubs to fit in around them.

i think they would have been much better off keeping q, jj and hunter. then adding nate to that speedster team would have been as dramatic a boost for them as adding gordon was to the bulls. and they still could have tried to add some rebounding in grant, or even made a play for big game or someone else.