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Are 2008-2009 Suns A Lost Cause?

By: Adam Brennan
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 am

When the season began, Phoenix Suns fans were pretty pessimistic as a group due to the departure of Mike D’Antoni and the Suns early exit in last years playoffs. However, the acquisition of Jason Richardson gave a glimmer of hope to Suns fans.

Then came along the game against the Boston Celtics. To be frank, most of the team might as well have stayed at the hotel; the results would have been the same! My main criticism lies upon Amare Stoudemire. How can you play 30 minutes of basketball at 6′10″ and only get 1 rebound? I understand a poor shooting night, however I don’t understand the lack of effort that is required to avoid grabbing rebounds. Over the recent weeks, Amare has released a series of youtube commercials petitioning to be an All-Star. Scoring 3 points and grabbing 1 rebound against an elite team is precisely why he doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star.

It is obvious that the Phoenix Suns are capable of scoring plenty of points with or without Amare Stoudemire. However, the Suns need a Power Forward that is willing to play defense and rebound every night (not only when they feel like it). If they are truly trying to win a title this year, the Suns should actively pursue an Amare Stoudemire trade for a solid Power Forward and a draft pick. Udonis Haslem or Luis Scola would most definitely fit that mold. After all, Amare has already mentioned that he will a 2010 free-agent as well. With comments like that, one could assume Amare will not be on the Suns long-term anyway and they might as well get some value for him in the meantime.

Suns Notes: Courtney Sims was signed to a 10-Day Contract to replace Dee Brown for the open 13th roster spot. Sims is a 6-foot-11, 230-pound center from Michigan who leads the D-League in rebounds (11.6 per game) and shooting percentage (59.6) and is third in scoring (22.4 points per game) and blocks (2.3 per game).

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Comments
  • Joe
    Totally agree on Amare. He's so big and athletic, he should dominate the boards and on D but just doesnt put up any effort (and he never has). Trading him this year would be a great move cuz the Suns dont look like they are going to compete for a title this year and they could probably get great value for him from a contending team.
  • Adam
    Another night Amare gets 4 rebounds and Nate Robinson 5'8" gets 5 rebounds....embarrassing.
  • Den
    Picking on Amare Stoudemire is foolish. It is a long season and there are bound to be down times for every player. The problem with the Suns is the coach and their defensive effort. The Suns are a confused team. They have flashes of coherence/cohesion and then drift off. Running the offense through Shaq is deadly to the team. The other players stand and watch while Shaq shuffles around, gets mugged and misses another layup or gets fouled. Just what is Amare's roll when Shaq has the ball with his back to the basket? Stoudemire is the best player on the team and the only player capable of getting 30 to 50 points on a given night. The other teams in the NBA give total respect to him as they often triple team him when he has the ball. Who should be the focus of this team? Shaq will guarantee that the team finish about 500% for the season if the Suns continue in their present offense. Would you rather have Shaq holding the ball all night or the Suns moving the ball on the perimeter with Nash, Barbosa and Richardson driving to the middle and feeding Stoudemire and Hill who can finish.
    Shaq needs to get his big cactus butt out of the paint on offense to open up the middle. He needs to be the defensive stopper and rebounder similar to Wilt Chamberlain at the end of his career with the Lakers. Now you all know how old I am. LOL
  • Den,
    I have to disagree with you on a couple different points. If Shaq is posting up, Amare should be crashing in for an offensive rebound and put back. I agree Amare is the most explosive player they have, but that being said explosive players dont mean good players...see Corey Magette for example. 1 rebound one night and follow up with 4 rebounds the next night is unacceptable from a journeyman Power Forward, much less a self proclaimed superstar!
  • Amit
    The phoenix suns need to trade Amare. Amare is a really good offensive player when he is the main big man. With the phoenix suns he is not the big man so the suns should think of getting a big man who can defend and also try to get a defender. Also along with Amare phoenix should think of getting rid of LB for a better point guard.
  • Den
    Adam,

    Take a look at what the other 4 Suns are doing when Shaq has the ball in the low post to the left of the basket. They are positioned in a box well out of the paint. This is a coaching decision. The Suns offense has become so very predictable and slooow. It is boring to watch and as I stated it is deadly to the Suns. This worked when Shaq was younger and more mobile and the refs would actually call fouls for hanging on to a player. Now Shaq slowly stumbles backward and collects several defenders. Where is the outlet pass to the 3 pt shooter? Where are the players cutting to the basket? Once again, this is a coaching decision. Give the ball to the Big Cactus.
    We are on the way to the game tonight VS the Spurs. The Suns have only beaten the Spurs if they are missing one or more of their main players. Duncan, Ginobli and Parker collapse on Shaq and strip the ball or force a bad shot so very many times.
    I do agree with you that Amare has nights where you wonder if he is sick, confused, bored or just playing out his contract. We all admire players who bust it every moment they are on the court. The Suns have been blessed with several players in that category in the past. Lou Amundsun has become a fan favorite because he plays hard and doesn't take plays off. But then again he only plays about 20 minutes a night while Amare is at the 40 minute level. There are only a handful of players around the league that play hard consistently.
    I don't see how you can compare Magette with Stoudamire. Amare has/had an opportunity to make the Hall of Fame at the end of his career. I don't know if this will happen in his current situation. Magette and the Hall of Fame? Never a consideration.
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