(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs for the first time in what seems an eternity. Their head coach took over late last season, and now wants to speed up the pace in his first full season. They're expected to barely make the playoffs, if that.
Sound familiar?
No, this isn't a re-print of the Suns' 2004-'05 preview. The situation is strikingly similar, however.
Entering a season in which outspoken believers are extinct, the Suns are hoping to run over their competition (and pundits) unawares. Both Suns players and fans are excited for the physical and emotional freedom Alvin Gentry has instilled.
Such a change could be as significant as any big-name acquisition via free agency or trade. Even earlier than the 2004-'05 Suns, the Lakers dynasty at the turn of the century wasn't possible until Phil Jackson released all the talent through his triangle offense.
That isn't to say Gentry is Jackson. He's still got his work cut out for him. But from all early reports, he's putting in the work anyway, barking at the team when they don't run enough to suit his tastes, as well as when they don't perform their defensive duties.
Running game and defense? If Mike D'Antoni were dead, he'd be rolling over in his grave.
Yet that's exactly what Gentry is trying to instill in this transition version of the Suns. Granted, he may have more defensive tools to work with than D'Antoni had half a decade ago (see Lou Amundson, Jared Dudley), but he already has star forward Amare Stoudemire taking charges in exhibition games, something he seemed disinclined to do in the past, when the games counted.
The hope is that the defensive emphasis and the return to running will serve as a second fountain of youth for the Suns' success in general, for Steve Nash in particular. It was painfully obvious that Nash was unhappy under Terry Porter's slower playing style and Shaquille O'Neal's immense shadow.
Free to run at will, Nash may very well have another banner year. Question marks still surround his teammates, with Stoudemire at the center of them.
Will he regain his All-NBA status after undergoing two eye surgeries? Will he cease to talk and start to walk like the superstar he wishes to be recognized as? Will he rebound and play defense as his talent indicates he can? Will his pending free agent status disrupt the new found team chemistry?
Other potential problems are of note. Can Channing Frye show he belongs in the league by hitting outside jumpers and clearing the way for Stoudemire to dominate down low? Will Jason Richardson step up at a consistent rate? Can Leandro Barbosa harness his speed for an entire season? Will Robin Lopez and/or Goran Dragic amount to anything more than bench-warmers who try but don't succeed?
Many, if not all of these questions, may in the end be moot points thanks to the Gentry's decision to turn them loose and let them run. Run equals fun, and when an NBA team has fun (and wins), inside issues tend to melt away.
That would only be appropriate in a place as hot as Phoenix.
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