khandor’s sports blog

After sliding down into the NBA’s Draft Lottery last year …

What exactly has happened with the Phoenix Suns this season to propel their team back toward the top end of the Western Conference?

1 Robert Sarver … once vilified as a “spendthrift” owner, to the worst degree … is now perceived as a “champion of the people.”

2 Steve Nash is still a terrific offensive Point Guard and a first-class leader.

3 Grant Hill is still a consumate professional.

4 Amare Stoudemire is still a dynamic force at the Center position.

5 Leandro Barbosa is still a whirling dervish capable of providing instant offense.

6 Robin Lopez – drafted [No. 15] by S-Kerr summer 2008
7 Goran Dragic – acquired via Draft Day trade [No. 45] by S-Kerr summer 2008 
8 Louis Amundson - added by S-Kerr summer 2008
9 Jason Richardson – acquired via trade by S-Kerr 2008-2009 season
10 Jared Dudley – acquired via trade by S-Kerr 2008-2009 season
11 Earl Clark – drafted [No. 14] by S-Kerr summer 2009
12 Alvin Gentry – appointed head coach by S-Kerr 2008-2009 season
13 Taylor Griffin – drafted [No. 48] by S-Kerr summer 2009
14 Channing Frye – added by S-Kerr summer 2009
15 Jarron Collins – Added by S-Kerr fall 2009
16 Dwayne Jones – added by S-Kerr 2009-2010 season

* Bold – individuals who are sound defensively and in terms of rebounding.

October 24 2008, this is what was written in this space about Steve Kerr, the current GM of the Phoenix Suns:

Making the correct decisions in the Valley of the Sun

April 28 2009, this is what was written in this space about the immediate future of the Phoenix Suns, under the direction of Steve Kerr:

Where the Suns go from here, under Steve Kerr

12 months later …

After sweeping their 2nd Round Playoff series againgst arch-nemesis, San Antonio, today, Phoenix is basking in the glow of a return trip to the Western Conference Finals … courtesy of the fine work done by STEVE KERR. 

If you do not happen to know exactly who Steve Kerr is … and what his personal history happens to entail … then you should take a minute to read THIS and, then, understand fully that – in the opinion of yours truly – he has the make-up [i.e. the basketball pedigree, the list of basketball-related accomplishments and the personal attributes] of someone who is going to be an outstanding General Manager in the NBA for an extended number of years with his commitment to a Balanced Approach to the game.

Related:

Phoenix Suns News

Yet another reason to like the job which Otis Smith [GM] has done, thus far?

NBA Countdown: No. 8 Orlando Magic
Reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 14 years and second in franchise history was a wonderful accomplishment for the Orlando Magic-but there was no guarantee a championship would follow.The Magic will go into the 2009-10 season determined to defend their Eastern Conference title but looking different than when they won it. Yes, they still have All-Star center Dwight Howard as their foundation and high-priced Rashard Lewis (who’s suspended the first 10 games of the season after testing positive for an elevated testosterone level) shooting 3-pointers, but the Magic changed their late-game, go-to guy by switching from Turkoglu to Carter.

It’s why general manager Otis Smith didn’t take any bows, or even take the time to catch his breath.

And it’s also why he made one of the boldest moves of the summer, changing his carefully crafted team chemistry by trading for All-Star Vince Carter and letting go of free agent Hedo Turkoglu, a key player in Orlando’s recent rise.

“You can’t stand still in this league,” Smith said. “If you do, you’ll be going backward.”

The Magic also added free agents in power forward Brandon Bass from Dallas and small forward Matt Barnes of Phoenix. They even added point guard Jason Williams, who last played during 2007-08 with the Heat. Surprisingly, they kept backup center Marcin Gortat by matching the offer sheet Dallas gave him.

With the Celtics adding Rasheed Wallace and the Cavaliers trading for Shaquille O’Neal, the Magic tried to keep pace with the other serious contenders in the East.

“There are less than seven teams every year that really are trying to win a championship in our league,” Smith said. “Those three (in the East) are trying to win now, as opposed to saying ‘We’re OK where we are. Let’s stay the status quo.’”

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Otis Smith was hired by the Magic on May 6, 2006.

This is what the team’s roster looked like on that day:

Augmon, Stacey F
Battie, Tony PF-C
Cato, Kelvin C
Diener, Travis PG
Dooling, Keyon G
Francis, Steve G
Garrity, Pat PF
Hill, Grant G-F
Howard, Dwight C
Kasun, Mario C
Morris, Terence PF
Nelson, Jameer PG
Outlaw, Bo PF
Stevenson, DeShawn G
Turkoglu, Hedo F

This is what it looks like today, 41 months later:

Almond, Morris G
Anderson, Ryan PF
Barnes, Matt F
Bass, Brandon PF
Carter, Vince G-F
Foyle, Adonal C
Gortat, Marcin C
Howard, Dwight C
Johnson, Anthony PG
Johnson, Linton F
Lewis, Rashard F
Nelson, Jameer PG
Pietrus, Mickael G-F
Redick, JJ G
Williams, Jason PG

This is Orlando’s record of performance, since that date:

2008-2009
59-23/.720, 1st Atlantic, 3rd Eastern Conference, NBA Finalist 
2007-2008
52-30/.634, 1st Atlantic, 3rd Eastern Conference, Lost 2nd Rd
2006-2007
40-42/.488, 3rd Atlantic, 8th Eastern Conference, Lost 1st Rd

This was their record of performance the season before Smith arrived:

2005-2006
36-46/.439, 3rd Atlantic, 10th Eastern Conference, No Playoffs

3 full seasons into his tenure with the Magic, Otis Smith should be considered as one of the best GM’s in the NBA.

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By way of comparison, for the benefit of Raptors fans, this is what Toronto has accomplished under the direction of Bryan Colangelo [2-time NBA EOTY award recipient] during this same time-frame:

2005-2006 Roster [Feb 28 2006]
Araujo, Rafael PF
Bonner, Matt PF
Bosh, Chris PF-C
Calderon, Jose PG
Davis, Antonio PF-C
Graham, Joey F
James, Mike PG
Martin, Darrick PG
Peterson, Morris G-F
Sow, Pape PF
Villanueva, Charlie F
Williams, Eric G-F
Woods, Loren C

2009-2010, Current Roster
Banks, Marcus G
Bargnani, Andrea C
Belinelli, Marco G-F
Bosh, Chris PF-C
Calderon, Jose PG
DeRozan, Demar G-F
Douby, Quincy G
Evans, Reggie PF
Jack, Jarrett G
Johnson, Amir PF
Nesterovic, Rasho PF-C
O’Bryant, Patrick C
Turkoglu, Hedo F
Weems, Sonny G-F
Wright, Antoine G-F

Year #1-3
2008-2009
33-49/.402, 4th Atlantic, 13th Eastern Conference, No Playoffs
2007-2008
41-41/.500, 2nd Atlantic, 6th Eastern Conference, Lost 1st Rd
2006-2007
47-35/.573, 1st Atlantic, 3rd Eastern Conference, Lost 1st Rd

Year Prior
2005-2006
27-55/.329, 4th Atlantic, 1st Eastern Conference, No Playoffs

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In the NBA, the cold harsh reality is that there are only 2 distinct tiers of teams:

Tier 1
Those few that are actually trying to win the League Championship.

Tier 2
Everybody else.

Much R.E.S.P.E.C.T. to Otis Smith for “cutting to the chase” and improving the Orlando Magic each season, thus far.

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re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 18 – vs Phoenix [Sun Nov 29]

Originally, this was a game which yours truly thought the Raptors could/should/would win during this initial stretch of 20 games to start the season … that is … until the individual match-ups were examined in closer detail, especially, in the light of last night’s exhibition games vs Boston [aka, Hedo Turkoglu's debut with the Raptors] and Portland [for Phoenix].

The pre-season injury to Robin Lopez is going to impair the Suns’ ability to match-up physically in the post with a number of teams in the league this year. However, at the same time, Suns’ opponents are going to have their hands full coping with the different/unusual 5-man combinations which Phoenix will now be able to put on the floor together, playing at a very high tempo [e.g. last night Phoenix closed their game with Nash + Barbosa + Dudley + Frye + Stoudemire]. 

When healthy, this group of Suns is going to be too much for the Raptors to handle, given that:

1 The only match-up advantage in Toronto’s favour is Chris Bosh; 

2 The Raptors’ defense and rebounding will continue to struggle this season with the addition of Turkoglu; and,

3 The Suns are now capable of shooting the lights out with the 3-ball.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 6-12

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 10– @ Phoenix [Sun Nov 15]

The Suns are a much more stable team this season, provided they have a healthy Stoudemire at the Center position, with 8 of their first 10 players as returnees from last year’s squad. If Earl Clark turns out to be as good as this corner thinks he is going to be … i.e. a starting calibre #3/SF, who can score the ball, defend and rebound his position effectively … Phoenix will have a very solid rotation that’s 10-men deep and capable of playing well at a high tempo for the entire season. In this specific spot on their schedule, the Raptors will most likely be over-matched in a high scoring shootout.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 4-6

There’s a tonne of information on-line right now but this one, courtesy of John Schuhmman, is as sound and concise as any:

Position-by-position: Top 5 free agents
As we’ve seen in the NBA Draft over the years, the best strategy is usually to take the best player available. You never know how draft picks will turn out, so selecting the guy closest to a sure thing, even if you’ve already got a similar player on your roster, is often the prudent way to go.

In free agency, though, teams pretty much know what kind of player they’re getting. Teams have seen what these guys can do and are able to better evaluate what they’re capable of and what they can bring to their team.

So the next few weeks will be about finding the right fit, both on the court and on the payroll.

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By position, the following players are under-rated [#, indicates where they should be ranked] in this year’s Free Agent class, according to yours truly:

POINT GUARDS
* Ramon Sessions [#1]
* Jarret jack [#2]
* CJ Watson [#6]

OFF GUARDS
* Anthony Parker [#1]

SMALL FORWARDS
* None

POWER FORWARDS
* Antonio McDyess [#3]
* Brandon Bass [#7]
* James Singleton [#9]

CENTERS
* Johan Petro [#4]

Two highly interesting points of view …

Steve Kerr – the lost interviews, part I
A mid-April conclusion to the Suns season just leaves more time for second guesses about last season and first suggestions about next season.

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr tackled both departments after a 46-36 that was better than 17 other NBA teams’ records but considered by many as the most disappointing outcome in the league. The season was marred by Leandro Barbosa’s absence and an uncomfortable coaching change early and Amare Stoudemire’s and Barbosa’s injuries later. In between, Kerr shook the team’s core up by trading Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary to Charlotte for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round draft pick.

“I don’t see a massive overhaul as being necessary,” Kerr said. “We won 46 games in a season in which we endured a lot of turmoil, from the coaching situation to the injury to Amare to a pretty big trade. We had a lot of change.

“I know all of us in that room feel like that 46 should have been about 52, 53. I have no doubt that this team is a very, very competitive good playoff team. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it. That doesn’t mean we’re going to blow up the team and start over. It also doesn’t mean there couldn’t be some changes. We have to evaluate everything. We could’ve done better. This was not a championship team. This was a very good team that could’ve done better but we have to improve and we have to make improvements this summer.”

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Shaq – the lost interviews, part II
The Suns talked about trading O’Neal at midseason and will explore the idea again. He has made himself a tradeable commodity despite the $20 million price tag ($21 million cap number) and the Suns will be looking to begin to transform itself into a younger team. Part of that redesign could include seeking a center who is more mobile to defend and help defend.

“I realize every summer something might happen,” O’Neal said. “Something will change. I just told Steve (Kerr) that ‘I’ve been under a lot of general managers but no one treated me the way you did,’ ” O’Neal said. “Whatever happens, I understand the business and we all just have to move on. Steve was great. At the trade deadline, he didn’t have to call me and ask me if I wanted to go. A lot of guys would’ve just did it. He promised me if something would go down, that he’d call me and he called me. I love him for that. I respect him for that. I played for a lot of great GMs and he’s up there.”

FINAL SCORE: Raptors 113, SUNS 133
Complete Game Info

At the start of the 4th quarter the score of this game was 96-92, in favour of the Suns.

From 09:52 to 03:29 of the quarter, this is the Full Play-By-Play, which shows the individual possession outcomes for the two teams:

during which you should be able to see clearly where and how the Raptors lost this game:

Possession Conversions into Points [%]

Tor, 5-13 = 7 pts [38.5]; PHO, 9-17 = 18 pts [52.9]

FGM-FGA = %

Tor, 1-8 = 12.5; PHO, 8-15 = 53.3

2nd Chance Points

Tor, 0; PHO, 6

Possessions ending in Layups/Tips/Dunks/FTs

Tor, 5; PHO, 13 

when the teams were matched-up with the following line-ups:

and Shaquille O’Neal manhandled the Raptors’ bigs.

When the Raptors use line-ups like these:

i. With only 1 or 2 solid Rebounders on the floor together;

ii. With Roko Ukic and Jason Kapono at the PG & OG positions;

iii. With Shawn Marion at the #3/SF position, instead of at the #4/PF spot;

iv. With Andrea Bargnani at the #5/C position [instead of Chris Bosh], and without three [3] other solid Rebounders on the floor beside him;

they are going to consistently come up short against the majority of the Middle-of-the-Pack teams in the NBA and every one of the High End teams.

Shaq bringing out vintage moves
“You always take what the defense gives you, but I couldn’t always do that last year,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of young, energetic, new-millennium trainers here, and they’re really into their craft.”

O’Neal said his problem was major.

“A muscle in my (rear) wasn’t firing,” he explained. “So they left me for dead. ‘He’s old. He don’t have it anymore.’ Now I’m doing things I couldn’t do last year because my (rear) wasn’t firing.”

Makes sense. O’Neal without his gluteus muscles is like Allen Iverson without his crossover, Tim Duncan without his bank shot, Rasheed Wallace without his rants.

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Since trading for Jason Richardson the Suns are 8-3.

At present, Phoenix is in 2nd place, in the Pacific Division, with an overall record of 21-13 [.618].

As has been said in this space … since the off-season … the Suns are going to be a tougher out in the Playoffs this year than they were last spring.

Providing that they can qualify for the post-season tournament, in the first place, the Suns might just be one of the Top Four teams in the Western Conference come May/June … with the following line-up:

STARTERS

1/Steve Nash
2/Jason Richardson
3/Grant Hill
4/Amare Stoudemire
5/Shaquille O’Neal

KEY BENCH SUBS

1-2/Leandro Barbosa
2-3/Matt Barnes
4-5/Louis Amundson
5/Robin Lopez

RESERVES
1/Goran Dragic
2-3/Alando Tucker
4-5/Jared Dudley

as long as their innovative training staff can continue to work their magic on the Big Cactus’ rear end.

Actually, it’s a super interesting process …

Whither the Suns: An Update

gradually becoming more and more active on-line, in a variety of different places.

What a difference a year makes … when you add a new head coach to a veteran team.

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Suns starting Barnes at small forward
“Grant brings a lot to that second unit with a lot of stability as a veteran with possibly two rookies on that second unit,” Porter said. “He can relieve some of the pressure that Goran (Dragic) may get at times and I like Grant to have the ball in his hands. That’s one of his strong points – to make decisions and make plays.”

With the goal to limit Hill to about 25 minutes per game, Hill would have sat for long stints if he started. Instead, he must adjust to a bench role after doing it only eight times in a 705-game career.

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Those who under-estimate the Phoenix Suns this season will be in for a rude awakening, both, in the regular season and at playoff time … given:

i) This new role for Grant Hill;
ii) A reduced role for Shaquille O’Neal;
iii) The additions of Matt Barnes, Alando Tucker, Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic, Sean Singletary & Louis Amundson; and,
iv) The arrival of Terry Porter, with his focus on Rebounding, Defense & Team Offense.

If they eventually fall this season, sometime in May … let’s say, to the Lakers’ juggernaut, it will not be because they are once again ill-equipped to go the distance as they’ve been in seasons past under the premise of Seven Seconds or Less.

Thus far, every decision the Steve Kerr/Terry Porter tandem has made, in an effort to re-tool their once mis-directed team, has moved the Suns closer to realizing their long term goal of reaching and then winning the NBA Finals Series.

For the 1st time since the 1995-1996 season, this team has the type of Marquee Players, QUALITY DEPTH throughout the roster, Coaching & Style of Play it takes to be considered a Legitimate Contender for the League Championship.