The Killer Crossover 5.01.08: End of the Suns Era?

Posted by Todd Spehr on 05.01.2008

With their elimination at the hands of San Antonio, the expected departure of their head coach, aging stars and sold draft picks, it may appear that the run-and-gun era of the Phoenix Suns may be coming to an end. 411's Todd Spehr sure hopes not, and he analyzes the Suns' situation this week.

This isn't the end, is it?

With Tuesday's elimination loss to the Spurs, the run-and-gun era of the Phoenix Suns sure has that air of finality to it. And with Jack MacCallum (author of the brilliant basketball book on these very Suns two years ago) reporting late Tuesday that Head Coach Mike D'Antoni is gone after four-and-a-half years of high octane service, then it really feels like the curtain is coming down on one of the most exciting mini-eras in offensive hoops history.

When you consider that Shawn Marion was dealt for Shaquille O'Neal in February, that Steve Nash isn't getting any younger, and that the team's faster pace has become, shall we say, somewhat slowed in recent months, is it entirely possible that we have seen the beginning of the end of these Phoenix Suns?

How shall we sum up these last four years? One part unripe (2005), one part gutsy (2006), one part unlucky (2007), and one part outsmarted (2008).

This postseason was pure torture; you can try to pinpoint a bazillion things that went wrong – the Duncan three-pointer in Game 1, the third quarter collapse in Game 2, the turnover inferno that burned the final two minutes of Game 5 – but in the end they were beaten by a team (San Antonio) that, I guess, was always destined to be their albatross.

And with losing, constant losing, constant losing to the same team, questions arise.

The most popular guy to singe was D'Antoni, who built this empire of high-scoring-can-win-championships and did his best to stick to it. It became evident that, while stubbornly dedicated to the style of play he was convinced could win titles, being undermined by the team owner (Robert Sarver) and GM (Steve Kerr) was more than enough to push him out the door.

Ultimately, D'Antoni may be remembered for either A) his insanely efficient offensive basketball teams during The Nash Era; or B) for getting out-coached in three separate playoff series' by perhaps the only guy on the planet who could: Gregg Popovich. But people forget, D'Antoni covered every blemish that threatened to kill their season with brilliant improvisation in 2006 (the year without Amare, the year they actually went as far as any other Suns team), and he also incorporated Shaq into this juggernaut on the fly – mid-February to be exact, with roughly 30 games left in the season to make it work – with results that exceeded everyone's expectations.

But you always got the feeling that this year was different for him. There was a little grind there. For a guy who smiled an awful lot on the sidelines, that seemed to have disappeared. D'Antoni was wound just a little tighter this year. Heck, in what may turn out to be his final game coached at home (Game 4), he was ejected with less than four minutes to go with his team well ahead. Apparently Kerr had issue with his lack of bench use (for better or worse, a D'Antoni staple during his time in Phoenix), the lack of defensive focus, and his inability to use Stoudemire more in post-up situations.

Those things may have spelt his demise.

And if D'Antoni ever had a kindred spirit in his offensive vision, it was Nash. And sadly, this San Antonio series also, for the first time, showed that even he is capable of coming up short individually. Not only did he put forth (for lack of a better term) un-Nash-like playoff offerings, including a decrease in assist totals in every game, but he also failed in several crucial situations, sealing its fate as his worst series as a Sun.

Everyone is quick to point to his age, his weary body, or being over-matched by quicker players every night, but despite all that feels wrong with Nash, he still did have an amazing year. His numbers (17 and 11 on 50/47/90 shooting) were better than his first MVP season, believe it or not, and like D'Antoni, he didn't get near enough credit for his adaptation to O'Neal mid-season. His assists took a nosedive (eventually costing him an assists title he had all but secured at the time of the trade) while using whatever games they had left to figure out a way to successfully incorporate such a drastic addition.

And this year, Nash finally sacrificed his title as The Best Player to Stoudemire, who undeniably flourished after the two-pronged effect of playing "without Marion" and "with O'Neal." It's not unrealistic to think that he could maintain his pace of 30 and nine boards per over the course of a full season with Shaq. But of course, as is the case with every Sun it seems, Stoudemire had his own shortcoming: Defense. For all his confidence, ability and athleticism, STAT (Standing Tall and Talented) was more often STAD (Standing Tall and Defenseless). He promised plenty, but delivered few. Of course, the guy is still young; all young players are attracted to statistics first before realizing, after time in the league, that they need to do the things to win. That first thing for him is defense.

From now on, one probably won't be able to talk about Stoudemire without mentioning O'Neal, who from Day One as a Sun declared his number one mission was to oversee the project that was Stoudemire. While he is well on the way to succeeding, it may come as a surprise that you could see his acquisition as somewhat of a success. Even in defeat, he put Phoenix in a position to beat San Antonio. His bulk, size, and defensive ability on Tim Duncan gave Phoenix dimensions previously inexperienced. But at 36, and the sands of time sifting, one only wonders about how much, and for how long, Shaq can contribute. We know his mouth will still run; can his body keep up?

There are so many questions with Phoenix, but really, that has always been the case. What if Joe Johnson had've been healthy for the 2005 WCF? What if Amare had've been healthy in 2006, during a year when someone else (Dallas) took care of San Antonio? (It's not crazy to assume they would've beaten Dallas in the WCF, and then Miami in the Finals, to win it all in '06). What if Nash didn't smash his nose in Game 1 or get decked by Horry in Game 4, which led to Amare and Boris Diaw leaving the bench, which got them suspended against the Spurs in 2007? All HUGE questions. All unanswered. All history now, long gone.

Speaking of gone, let's hope this isn't the last chapter of the Suns era. After all, they have given us: The sudden focus on offensive hoops again; that amazing 2005 series with Dallas that saw both Nash and Amare average over 30; the 47-point quarter on Miami in January of '06; the amazing and gutsy playoff run of '06 that produced three different cult heros (Tim Thomas, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell) at different times; three of the best playoff games I have ever watched live (Game 6 against the Lakers, Game 5 against the Clippers, Game 1 against the Mavs) in 2006; a two-time MVP (Nash) who changed the way his position was played; the 161-157 win over New Jersey in December of 2006; the best stretch of basketball (winning 33 of 36 in 2006-07) of the post-MJ era; that amazing double-OT game in Dallas in March of '07 that should've decided the MVP; that crazy series with San Antonio in '07; a blockbuster trade (the Shaq-Marion deal); and in the end, daring to dream that a different style of hoops could in fact win championships.

With their elimination, yet again at the hands of those dreaded Spurs, this off-season will feel longer than ever. Whether we see the end of an era or not, is another question. The Suns sure have a lot of those, don't they?

You can read Todd Spehr's NBA column every Wednesday at 411mania.com. To read more of his stuff, check out his recently launched blog "Runnin' The Point," which has daily updates for the NBA playoffs, analyzing every PG who takes the floor.