MVN - Most Valuable Network

Suns are an elite team

Over the course of the season, several people have questioned whether the Suns are a true championship contender.

Now Suns fans can tell the haters to shut the f— up.

Boston has a 41-12 record, best in the NBA. But they still lost to the Suns. This was a great statement win as it proves that Phoenix can beat the other elite teams in the NBA.

What the Suns did well:

• Rebounding - Phoenix had 50 rebounds, compared with 32 for the Celtics. Shaq had 14 of them, Grant Hill had 13, Steve Nash had 7. Generally you would expect KG to grab more than 5 rebounds. Luckily for the Suns, Garnett was clearly not at his best.

• Defense - Ray Allen could only manage 11 points, on 3-12 FG shooting and 1-7 3pt shooting. Paul Pierce finished with, wait for it, 8 points! He clearly had trouble from the Suns defense, and if the Suns can keep players to 2-13 FG shooting life is good.

• Shaq is providing a post presence and despite his age he is still quite intimidating. When he is on the court the other team is reluctant to try and push players around.

This game was a massive confidence boost for players and fans alike. If the Suns can win the upcoming game against Detroit, and beat New Orleans on the 27th, that would really get the critics to shut up.

In March there are a few tough games. From March 5-9 we play Denver, Utah and San Antonio. On the 22nd there is a home game against Houston, followed by an East trip that includes games @ Detroit and @ Boston.

Who cares if Shaq is old

Shaq is old, Shawn Marion is young. Thats all I hear when people mention the Shaq and Marion trade. But is Shaq the only old player? How about Steve Nash? I don’t see anyone barking that Steve Nash is old. He is 33 turning 34 in the next few months. Although that age might not seem that old, think about it this way, in 3 more years, he is going to be 37 years old, the year where most point guards retire. If the Phoenix Suns couldn’t win the champion in the previous 3 years where Steve Nash was in his prime, what makes you think they are going to win in the next 3 years with the same exact roster as the previous years (besides the addition of Grant Hill.) but this time with an older Steve Nash?

Shawn Marion is a very good defender. Infact he is still going to be a very good defender in the next 4-5 years. But by that time, Nash will be 38 years old and retired. (If he isn’t going to retire at that age, he at least won’t be the same Steve Nash were used to). What good is a Phoenix Sun’s team if they have a great defender but don’t have their star player? We all know how the Phoenix Suns are without Steve Nash. Basically what Im trying to point out is by the time Shaq is retired, so will Steve Nash retire. Call me crazy by even saying that but its true. Centers have longer careers than point guards in most cases. My prediction is Shaq and Nash are going to retire at the same time, Shaq at 40 and Nash at 37. So it doesn’t matter if we kept Marion or traded him. Without Steve Nash, it really doesnt matter.

You’re probably thinking that the Suns would rather have a retired Nash and a playing Shawn Marion than a retired Nash and a retired Shaq. You guys are missing the point of Phoenix Sun’s goal. Their main goal is to bring a title to Phoenix. After that they will care less about Steve Nash or Shawn Marion or even Shaq They might even trade them when they win a title. Shawn Marion and Nash couldn’t bring a title to Phoenix so if that’s not working out why keep the same roster. So you can lose again and again? We know Shaq might not stop Tim Duncan or the other great centers in the playoffs but he will do much better than what Marion will do. I’ll admit that Marion is better than Shaq in the season but when it comes to the playoffs, the bigger Shaq is going to be better. We all know that the season doesn’t really matter and its the playoffs thats important. Don’t believe me? Ask the Dallas Mavericks. If the Sun’s can make it past 60 games without Shawn Marion, then Steve Kerr is a genius. Anyways back to my topic.

With new strong teams emerging, (Lakers, New Orleans, Portland) The Sun’s chances to win the title will be disappearing. Those teams are only going to get better each year but I doubt the Suns are. I know they have a young Amare but thats not going to be enough to bring them over the hump if Steve Nash isn’t playing like he used to. Shaq is their last hope. If they can’t win the title this year or next year, then its over.

So stop mentioning that Shaq is old because Shaq isn’t the star of the team Steve Nash is. Weather they kept Marion or Shaq, Nash is going to retire in the next couple of years whether they have Marion or an old Shaq. Period. With Shawn Marion on the team, the Sun’s couldn’t win a champion so we should give Shaq a chance.

Steve Kerr did the right move

When Steve Kerr was asked about the trade, he said either he is a genius or a moron.

I think Steve Kerr is a genius.

Everyone’s argument with the Shaq trade has to do with the conflict of the uptempo style of Phoenix. They think Shaq won’t be able to run at the pace of the other players. First of all, you really think that when the Suns used to run up the court during a fast break, that all 5 of their players were running at the same pace? Steve Nash even said that it was usually 2 or 3 players who ran up the court fast and the other 2 usually trailed behind. How about the Showtime Lakers of the 80’s? Didn’t they have a 40 year old center running up and down the court with them? Everyone seems to look at the trade from a bad perspective, but what about the advantages?

When you have a guy Shaq’s size in the post that can harm you, I don’t think you’d want to drive in for a layup or attack the basket. Although that’s not the case for some slashers, I would say most of them would think twice before driving in on Shaq. You’d just be intimidated by Shaq’s physical body and his personality. He is one of those people where if you get near him, he will most likely cause harm to you. Ask Dikembe Mutumbo when he had to guard Shaq in the 2001 Finals.

Another thing is Amare Stoudemire isn’t a true big center. He is more of a power forward. How do you think the Spurs beat them in the playoffs?  They attacked Amare. 

Amare isn’t a good center, period. When you move him to forward position, you’re talking about great size advantage and quickness over other forwards.

One of the Sun’s biggest flaws was double teaming. They would double team a big guy, leaving other players open. This was true in the Suns-Spurs series last year. Two players would double team Duncan, leaving Finley or Ginobli open. But now that you have Shaq, you don’t need double teaming because Shaq by himself can double team the player with his size. This minimizes easy shots for the opponent.

Tell me one player on the Suns who is worth double teaming? Certainly not Steve Nash, mainly because he does the passing and not the scoring (he can score but his focus is on passing), certainly not Amare Stoudemire because he is inconsistent in his scoring, and Grant Hill doesn’t pose any real scoring threat. Basically, no one on the Suns team is worth double teaming.

Now that you have a player who is very consistent in his scoring ability, you will have to double team him, which leaves other Suns players including Raja Bell and Steve Nash open and therefore gives them higher field goal percentages. (Steve Nash currently has the best 3 point percentage in the NBA, if not one of the best. Imagine him getting open when teams start double teaming Shaq??)

A healthy Shawn Marion is averaging 15ppg, 10rpg, 1.4bpg
An unhealthy Shaq is averaging 14ppg, 8rpg, 1.7bpg

Those numbers are pretty close to each other. So what’s the difference?? Well, Phoenix gets a true center, a player twice the size of Shawn Marion that can guard any big man without any help. Shawn Marion however is half the size Shaq is.

Ya, I know Shaq is old and probably has 2 more years left in him, but so is Steve Nash. Steve Nash is 33 years old and his numbers will soon begin to decline. If the Suns don’t win a champion this year or next, it might be over for them. Think about it.  What’s a Suns team without Steve Nash? What most people don’t realize is Steve Nash wasn’t named MVP for nothing. An MVP is awarded to the player that made the people around him better. Who knows if Shawn Marion will post the same numbers in Miami that he posted in Phoenix without a player like Steve Nash finding you open.

A lot of Sun players didn’t like Marion. A lot of times, Shawn Marion would get into fights in the locker room. Even the coach confirmed this. This affected their chemistry. In fact, Marion demanded to be traded because he didn’t like where he was at. He was constantly arguing with Amare all the time. Look at Marion’s numbers since 2006.  They have been going down ever since. You can’t win championships with bad chemistry.

Like Shaq said, when he is mad, he is known to win champions. Hopefully Shaq will silence the critics and bring a champion to the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns have screwed up, big time

You have probably heard by now that Shaquille O’Neal has been traded to Phoenix in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.

This is one of the most UNBELIEVABLY STUPID trades in the history of the Suns franchise, and will likely cause the Suns to lose their status as a championship contender.

A lot of people in the Suns organization must have either been stupid or too scared to argue when the idea of trading for Shaq came up. Personally, I blame Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver. What were you guys thinking?

If you read this article on the trade, you will see that Suns owner Robert Sarver lied to the fans and the media a few weeks ago when he said that there will be no major trade.

I know that the Suns’ post defense needs improvement, and Shaq can help in that department, but how will Phoenix replace Shawn Marion’s brilliant defensive effort? There are plenty of other big men who can play D. Why did it have to be Shaq?

10 other reasons why this trade sucks:

One) The Suns use a ‘run and gun’, fast paced offense. Shaq is 35, he is slow compared to other NBA big men, and he ain’t gonna be able to keep up. The offense will have to change.

Two) The players are used to the ‘run and gun’ offense. If the offense changes, there is the possibility that they won’t adapt well.

Three) O’Neal is not the center he used to be. Shaq used to be the kind of guy who would have 25 point, 10 rebound games easily. Not anymore. He has numerous problems with injuries and unfortunately, he is likely to be injured more often than most players.

Four) Shaq’s salary. He is earning $20 million a season and according to ESPN, has three years left on his contract.

Five) Phoenix had to give up Shawn Marion. Phoenix gave up an athletic, hardworking forward in his prime and got nowhere near equal value. He averages a double double and by himself is better than O’Neal. The fact that the Suns had to give Miami Marcus Banks is crazy.

Six) Shawn Marion is a better defender and rebounder than Shaq. It looks as though Phoenix wants O’Neal to improve team defense and rebounding, but Shawn Marion does so much defensively that it will be very hard to replace him.

Seven) The Suns could have used Shawn Marion to secure someone who is almost as good, such as Ron Artest, or used Marion to get a GOOD big man, someone like Gooden, Kaman, Ilgauskas, etc.

Eight) Right now the Suns are 1st in the Western Conference. It is likely they would’ve been in last year’s finals if not for the unfair suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. There was no need for such a big trade.

Nine) If Shaq gets injured or just isn’t playing well, his salary could prevent the Suns signing other players.

Ten) What happens when the defense uses the ‘hack-a-shaq” technique and intentionally fouls him on his shots? We all know what his free throws are like!

The bottom line is that this trade is awesome from Miami’s point of view (they get rid of Shaq’s contract, and add 2 players who will contribute quite a lot) but from a Phoenix point of view, THIS TRADE IS TERRIBLE.

Goodbye Shawn and Marcus, you have done so much for this team and you’ll both be missed.