However, the Suns will definitely make the playoffs. I am predicting a 5 or 6 seed which means little chance for making the second round.

Stoudemire and Richardson’s defensive liabilities are minimized with the run and gun style which bodes well for the upcoming season. Hopefully a miracle can be performed by Gentry and the Suns can learn how to play half court defense for a few possessions in the playoffs. Don’t count on it though.

I was skeptical of the Frye signing at first, but once I saw that we did not over pay him, I am more optimistic about what he can do for the team. Frye’s perimeter skills are better than I thought. Hopefully Frye’s skill set will force Stoudemire to operate in the post, which is where he should be.

Jay,

Robin Lopez is too slow. Hes a typical tall guy who cant move like we need him too. Not only that he always appears to be confused on the court(how long has he been playing basketball now in his life–10yrs or so?) He just doesnt fit on our team. I know hes young so send him to the DLeauge and let him grow until hes actually good enough to be a Center in the NBA. I will admit that in last years PreSeason he played GREAT. Its been all downhill from there. Its no wonder our players struggle, its because during practice our starters are playing against the 2nd and 3rd string guys who are horrible (Barbosa, Dudley, Amundson not included).

Dragic will NEVER be someone the Suns build around. He clearly cant pass and cant shoot the ball(pretty important for a PG position). Someone was saying well look at Nash when he was with the suns…. First of all you could see that Nash wasnt a typical Point Guard. He could run, pass, and shoot, and understood the game. Secondly he was NEVER EVER given a chance because Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd were on the same team.

Jay, I do agree that we MUST get a better backup Point Guard for Nash. I dont know if Barbosa can be a true point guard. He plays much better off the ball and is more of a shooting guard than a PG. I personally think that Hill should backup Nash. I say start Hill and Nash together then take hill out after 5 mins for a rest of 3 and bring him back for Nash and let nash rest(or something along those lines).

If a trade doesnt happen soon we will be LUCKY to be a .500+ team. By doing nothing our Season will be one of the most boring in the last 5 seasons…

I do agree with you that we should have kept that point guard. I do not like Dragic at all.

P.S.
Look at Gerald Green and email Kerr about him!!! I promise all phoenix fans that he is our missing link right now.

Steve, trust me on this one!!!

Also, Jared Dudley is a very important player. We need players like him, not get rid of him. It’s also great how we have a center who can knock down three’s. However, that is also a negative because we will not get as many rebounds as a bigger player. Its either one or the other. If the Suns get the rebound, they will win. Although I am sort of worried, I remember that the 2005-06 SUNS were playing with small players as well. Their tallest players were Marion on PF and Diaw (6′ 8”) on C.

Every year there is an underrated team that makes big noises, and as long as SUNS stay healthy, I believe that it will be us. I also believe we need some help in trades or something though. But, at this point, I believe we can make it to the second round. With some luck or a good trade, we can get back to the Western Conference Finals.

I was looking at the predictions before the season in ESPN from this year and Past years. This year, most so called ‘Experts’ believe SUNS will be 7-8 and even a lot for the 9th position. Every single season, there’s always a team who is rated too high and doesn’t live up to its expectations and every year there are also teams that are underrated and somehow goes deep into the playoffs or the FINALS because of how everyone looks over them or they acquire someone.

We need to get rid of Dudely!!!!

As for Amare and his Dunks… If you remember Shawn Marion a few years ago would dunk the ball more than Amare and thats because Shawn makes moves to the basket and always makes sure to get open. Dunking is neat and all but as a Power Forward if you cant dribble the ball and back your apponent to the basket to score you are hurting your team more then helping.(Amare backing down another guard doesnt help). Example: Last year we played Minnasota Twolves and they won even though they were the worst team in the leauge. They were able to do this because Al Jefferson ran over Amare and EVERY time Amare tried to make a play towards the hoop he was stopped. I think it was a season low in scoring for Amare that game. My point is that Amare cannot dominate in the paint against any of the top teams or really any team with a decent Center/Power Forward. So I still say trade him while there is a little value left. Compare Amare to Boozer who can dominate in the paint and back apponents down. Thats what we need. Points in the paint is extremely important for this team. Whenever we have more points in the paint than the other team we win.

Dickau should have NEVER been cut! He moves faster, passes better, and plays better defense than Dragic. Sorry to see him go with all his potential. Talk about a guy who never got a chance.

As far as Dragic playing great overseas. Well thats great and all but it would be similar to him playing in the D-Leauge here. He is playing against guys who cant make it in the NBA. It would be like Nash playing at a local YMCA. Of course Nash would be the best player out there.

Lastly, I would LOVE nothing more then to Eat my words if the suns make the playoffs. I just dont see it without a major Trade happening.

Go Suns!!!

For Amare, he is a very dangerous offensive player with the ball, fearless to get to the basket with it and gets beat up for it, he has a nasty shot just behind the free-throw line as well as having a very high ft%, which is good for someone who has more “and-ones” than anybody else on the team. His weakness is indeed his defense, his fault is that he doesn’t move laterally, he has lead feet on D, however where he is good on defense is when the ball is up, he is aggressive on D when it comes to jumping up, he can do that all day.

Dragic will become our future PG, I just know it. If you saw him in Euro league this year all you can say from him is “wow” what a difference 1 year makes. Someone above mentioned he was nervous and trying to not make an embarassing mistake being in such a professional league as the NBA and it slowed down his style. Gentry told him exactly what he needed to hear “if you look at me with the ball, you’re going on the bench”. Expect him to be a legit 2nd PG this year, with between 12-20 minutes a game, exactly the amount of time needed to give Nash a break and not break!

The Suns I predict will be in the bottom 4 of the playoffs assuming everyone stays healthy, if I’d pick a number I’d say either 6 or 7. Dallas is a playoff contender but the chemistry just isn’t around as it once, Marion just finds himself (again) in a team as the 3rd most important person which he complained about when he was on the Suns too… The Jazz are a threat with their all around brick wall Boozer and sharpshooter AK47… The Spurs are still the Spurs, but the dusty Texas landscape is jamming the joints of the oldest team in the NBA… The Rockets are gone, Yao who?… The Lakers are biggest competition, however they are not unbeatable, Suns will not get beat up as much like last year… Portland and Denver are our biggest issues and whom I see will be with us at the end of the season. Portland is a young energetic and aggressive team ready to outscore even our Suns and Denver has defense and offense that will make just as much suprises as the Suns will.