Analysis of Shaq's Debut as a Phoenix Sun

Shaquille O’Neal made his much anticipated debut for the Phoenix Suns in a home game Wednesday, but fell 130-124 to the Los Angeles Lakers in a thrilling fast-paced game.

Shaq finished with 15 points on 6-of-9, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 29 minutes.

Despite the loss, there are several things we can expect for the remainder of the season after this game.

1. Shaq will not slow down the Sun’s offense.  

The Suns responded to critics that questioned Shaq's ability to run the floor by scoring 124 points on 52% shooting.The Suns had no trouble running the fastbreak offense with Shaq on the floor.

When they didn’t score on the fastbreak, the Suns ran many possessions through Shaq in the half-court offense. That resulted in easy baskets for Shaq or drew the double team that allowed the Suns to find open shooters.

The only thing the Suns didn’t do right on offense was hit their 3-point attempts, going 5-of-16 for the game. But they had many open looks, so when the Suns do hit their threes, they will be even more dangerous on offense. I’m not saying the Suns will score 124 points every night, but the Suns will still be able to score over 100 points on a consistent basis.

2. Shaq will give the Sun’s more opportunities on offense.

The Suns always ranked near the bottom of free throw attempts and offensive rebounds, but they got to the line 30 times and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds against the Lakers and outrebounded the Lakers 46-33 overall.

Shaq’s presence and energy allowed the Suns to get second chance opportunities and more free throw attempts. Expect the Suns to get more offensive rebounds and more free throws for the remainder of the season.

Shaq was only 3 of 8 from the foul line but he also helped get the big men into foul trouble.

It was great to see Shaq dive for loose balls, secure rebounds, and create more scoring opportunities. The Suns will be able to feed off of Shaq’s energy once he’s fully integrated into the offense.

3. Amare Stoudemire will be more aggressive on both ends of the floor.

Stoudemire scored 37 points on 13 of 24 shooting and 11 of 11 free throw shooting and also had 15 rebounds and three blocks.

With Shaq in the game, Stoudemire will have mismatches against other power forwards on offense. He is quicker than bigger forwards and stronger than smaller forwards, which was evident when he torched Pau Gasol, Ronny Turiaf, and Lamar Odom.

We can expect Stoudemire to be more aggressive on offense and get more easy baskets. He will also be more aggressive on defense because he doesn’t have to guard true centers. Expect Stoudamire’s overall game to improve for the rest of the season.

4. Shaq will greatly improve the Suns’ defense.

Wednesday night didn’t prove my statement since the Lakers torched the Suns for 130 points on 56.5% shooting. Kobe poured 41 points while Gasol and Odom combined for 51 points.

However, there are several indications that we will see a much improved Suns’ defense for the rest of the season.

The Suns are a much stronger rebounding team and now have two big men to clog the middle. Despite a high scoring night for the Lakers, many shots at the rim were altered or they had to settle for long jumpers, which allowed the Suns to keep the game close. Before the trade, the Suns team ranked last in blocks at 3.7 per game, but had nine Wednesday night. 

Very few teams have players the caliber of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol and the most teams won’t score 130 points, so you can expect to Suns hold most opponents to fewer than 100 points.

Even though the Suns lost, Shaq’s debut was successful and shows a lot of promise for the rest of the season.  

The question now is if Shaq’s presence will be enough to lead the Suns to a championship against the very tight Western Conference.