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Gear Up For Suns Basketball

As The Sun Goes Down On The Suns…

 
By Adam Brennan
March 30th, 2009 at 2:01 pm

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Last night’s loss to the the Sacramento Kings was painful in so many ways. The Suns after all the difficulties this season could have still been only 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot if they won. However, it seems the Suns could not mentally shake off the previous nights defeat to the Utah Jazz in overtime. The lowly Sacramento Kings (who own the league’s worst record) were able to do anything they wanted on the offensive end. Beno Udrih was able to penetrate all evening and if Shaq came out to help Sacramento got the offensive rebound and scored anyway.

So as the sun sets on this season, what do Sun’s fans have to be thankful for? When Alvin Gentry replaced Terry Porter, he made a concerted effort to get the bench players some playing time. One ray of light has definitely emerged in the form of Jared Dudley.

Jared Dudley played his collegiate career at Boston College and was excellent throughout his tenure there. In his senior season,  Dudley was voted the ACC Player of the Year for 2007 and was a second team All-American. Yet upon being drafted 22nd by the Charlotte Bobcats, he did not crack their regular rotation. Dudley was subsequently a throw in player to the Raja Bell and Boris Deal for Jason Richardson trade. It now looks like the Suns may have gotten a steal out of that deal. The last two games are evidence of Jared Dudley’s potential. Yesterday against Sacramento, Dudley had 17 points and 11 rebounds (6 offensive) and 3 steals in 26 minutes. The previous game against Utah, he was put in with the 2nd unit down by 21 points and was able to help get the Suns back to force overtime. Dudley had 15 points 8 rebounds (3 offensive) in 29 minutes.  When Jared Dudley steps on the court he plays every minute like it was his last. Lou Amundson has this same mentality but is no where near as skilled as Dudley. Jared Dudley also can hit the occasional 3-pointer and with practice could basically be what Shawn Marion was in the past for the Suns.

This off-season is going to be tumultous for the Suns. So many issues to address; here is a brief list.

1. Steve Kerr (Stay or Go) 2. Amare Stoudemire’s eye recovery 3. Whether to trade Shaq 4. Nash’s team option (will the team exercise it and then trade him?) 5. Alvin Gentry (Interim tag removed?) 6. NBA Draft Lottery (will we actually keep our pick?).

Keep your heads up Suns fans…at least the team is exciting to watch and who knows what next year may bring!

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Comments
  • Den
    Adam,
    I will belabor the point re: James Harden. The Suns also have an abundance of two guards who cannot play the point or the forward positions. Tucker, Barbosa and Richardson create a crowd at that position. Would you trade Barbosa or Richardson for Harden? Harden does look more 'NBA ready' than Tucker.
    The NBA game is brutal. There is no place for soft, finesse players. There is not much opportunity for undersized forwards. Why would a team draft undersized players? It is unbelievable that you see it all the time.
    Meer basketball ability will not get you a place in the starting rotation. Harden does appear to have the toughness necessary to play NBA ball. He will have to be a guard to survive in the league.
    Nash and anybody with offensive skills is a good fit!!!
    Thanks for your outstanding blog.
  • Den,
    I see James Harden as a 2 guard not a small forward. The beauty of his game is that he takes what the defense gives him and if Nash is still around that would be a good fit. I agree we need another person inside; unless they keep the band together....very unlikely though!
  • Den
    Adam, James Harden? the same guy who almost got shut out in his last game? What the Suns do not need is another under sized forward. You have to have tall, strong guys to play in the NBA. You need to win the match ups. Look for a James Harden who is 6 ft 10 inches tall.
  • Or go get James Harden and keep our fan base at least a little intact when they blow this team up.
  • Sara Brandt
    I agree with Adam! Send Shaq to another team, and we may be able to get a more compatible player!!!!
  • JJ
    They should fire Kerr and re-hire him just so they can fire him again...that should be the first step this offseason, but it will never happen I feel. Shaq has been great this year, but there's no way the Suns will ever win a title with him. He's too old, too slow, can't play back to backs, and can't provide much unless he's the focal point of the offense. How can you be a consistent team when one of your main players can't play half the time? I hope they keep Nash, but it seems like they won't unfortunately. Trade up in the draft and try to score Blake Griffin...he'd be a force in the Suns system.
  • Eleanor
    I hope Amare stays....Steve Ker can go...
  • Josh
    Great Article! I really hate seeing the suns like this, when a few years ago they were doing great minus winning the championship.
  • Justin,
    The only reason I could see us keeping Shaq would be to not retain Alvin Gentry, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Shaq has truly done a great job this year, but his style of play does not fit the Suns. Amare is still a superstar player and he and Nash have a good rapport on the pick and roll. Amare had 41 the one game he played under Gentry remember. I think Shaq should be given a chance elsewhere and the Suns may be able to get a draft pick in return.
  • Kerr really needs to go...Amare needs to be traded, if he even has value anymore. Nash should be asked if he wants his option to be exercised or if he wants to play somewhere else in the waning years of his career.

    I would really like to see the Suns make sure that Grant Hill and Shaq are here for at least another year. My only advice would be to package their lottery pick and maybe Nash (if they pick up the option) for a proficient point guard.

    Amare should be able to net something good in a trade, if not tell him to stop whining and play basketball. He sure has a lot of attitude for someone who has missed almost two whole seasons because of injuries.
  • The freaking Draft lottery? Thanks Shaq :(
  • We are exciting to watch right now, but I am pretty sure we will be dumping at least two of our big three. Personally, I'd like to keep Amare, but I don't think the organization feels the same way.

    I think they were just plain drained mentally after that loss in Utah and weren't about to recover. What a wasted season, especially because we've seen lately what it couldn't been under Gentry, especially if we had STAT.
  • I hope that we retain Steve Nash. It would be hard to watch him in another jersey. He played his butt off last night 31 points 14 assists. He is still a great player!
  • David
    I think it's time gut this team and rebuild. The first place I'd start with is cutting Kerr.
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