Phoenix Suns: 30 Team Previews in 30 Days

2009-10 Statistics

Finished 54-28, second in Pacific Division, third in Western Conference

Postseason

First Round: Defeated Portland Trail Blazers 4-2

Second Round: Defeated San Antonio Spurs 4-0

Conference Finals: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-2

Additions and Re-Signings

Josh Childress via free agency, Matt Janning via free agency, Gani Lawal via draft, Channing Frye via re-signing, Dwayne Collins via draft, Hedo Turkoglu via trade, and Hakim Warrick via free agency.

Losses

Amar'e Stoudemire via free agency and Leandro Barbosa via trade.

The Phoenix Suns might have bolstered an already volatile three-point shooting attack to go with their run-and-gun game by picking up Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress, but it will suffer because of one of their few losses of the offseason.

By losing Amar'e Stoudemire, the Suns not only lose one of the most athletic post presences in the league, but also their biggest factor in getting their plethora of shooters open. Stoudemire has always been a huge performer on the offensive side at a career 21 points per game on 54 percent shooting, and his ability to attract defenders in the paint and free up the many shooters on this team will be missed.

The Suns have no other post threat aside from Robin Lopez, who does not command nearly the attention that Amar'e did. While he was a liability on defense, Amar'e gave the Suns another dimension to their extremely dangerous offensive game that features three-point shooting at will and quick shots into the shot clock.

With Hedo Turkoglu as the current starting power forward, the Suns could run into many problems early on in the season. Turk is an impressive shooter, aside from last season in Toronto, and put on a show as a clutch shooter in his past few seasons as a member of the Orlando Magic. In the 2007-08 season, Hedo averaged a career-high 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game as well as hitting two three-pointers per contest.

He could cause a mismatch for opposing teams as a part of the run-and-gun offense, but if the Suns seriously expect Turk to match up against Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, and Tim Duncan, then they have another thing coming. The Suns have never been a quality defensive team, but to have no sort of power forward to match up against the Western Conference's many elite power forwards is greatly going to hurt them.

No, Hakim Warrick and Earl Clark aren't the answers either.

Two-time MVP Steve Nash can make just about any player on his team look like the reincarnation of Michael Jordan, but he's going to have his work cut out for him this year now that the Suns have no Amar'e to look to in the paint. Lopez is the only enforcer in the paint on this team, and only has two years of experience under his belt.

Robin does have the body to become a powerful defensive stopper, but lacks a strong offensive game. He will get more looks now that Stoudemire is off to New York, but will need to improve his offensive game and find ways to get open in order for Nash to find him for easy buckets.

The Suns don't have much time to spare either as Steve Nash is 36 years old. Even though Nash had another career year last season at 17 points and 11 assists per game, he isn't getting any younger and Phoenix shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket, especially if they think they're going to rely on Goran Dragic as their point guard of the future.

Dragic has shown flashes of brilliance, including a memorable fourth-quarter performance against the San Antonio Spurs in this past postseason, and nearly shows off the same game as Nash does today. At only 24, Dragic has plenty of time to develop, but Phoenix needs to acquire another reliable point guard in the near future, even if he shows that he could be the possible starter in due time.

Nash isn't the only aging veteran in the starting lineup either, as the 38-year-old Grant Hill continues to produce, but could be running on fumes by the end of the season. Phoenix wisely invested in a young small forward by picking up Josh Childress, who decided to leave Europe after two seasons.

Childress exhibits a jump shot as well as an ability to drive, and has put up impressive numbers in his short career in the NBA. In four years, he has averaged 11 points and six rebounds, all with the Atlanta Hawks, and should begin to develop a three-point shot now that he is with the Suns.

The Suns are going to have an interesting season ahead of them without their anchor in Amar'e Stoudemire, but with the wizard Steve Nash on the court, anything is possible. They'll need to complete a major deal in getting another post presence on the roster if they want to remain a contender, but as of now, it appears they're going to have a number of three-point shooters who are going to miss Amar'e's presence in the middle.

Projected Starting Lineup

• PG—Steve Nash
• SG—Jason Richardson
• SF—Grant Hill
• PF—Hedo Turkoglu
• C—Robin Lopez

Prediction

46-36

This is part 22 in a 30-day series of previews for each NBA team for the upcoming 2010-2011 season. My profile contains the other teams that I have already previewed.