The Phoenix Suns, the team that reintroduced basketball fans to the joy and potency of small ball, died last February 6. It was three years old.
I am exaggerating of course. The team is very much alive. But with do-everything forward Shawn Marion’s shipment to the Miami Heat for future Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal, the Suns as we know them are no more.
The Rules of Sports Fandom states that fans should stick to one team per league. But I strongly believe that basketball fans everywhere had a hard time not falling for the Suns. And what's not to love? The team epitomizes the ideal way basketball should be played-freewheeling offense anchored on unselfishness, constant motion, and lots of buckets.
The Suns were a welcome relief from the prevailing basketball mindset emphasizing defense as key to winning. This came after the Bad Boys of Detroit showed that a grind-it-out strategy can frustrate opponents into losses or lull them to submission. Yes, the strategy was effective but it was also boring and ugly. The Suns would have none of it.
The rest of the league were caught by surprise as the defensive schemes of old proved futile against the Suns' offense that came in waves. Facing the Suns is like having to choose what poison to take in. If the Suns, which works on the offensive philosophy of hoisting a shot seven seconds into the shot clock, could not get a transition basket, they would resort to their equally dangerous half-court game. Either way they'll get their basket.
The Suns also overturned the conventional wisdom that a team needs a dominant center to contend for titles as they vied for the top spot season after season with a rotation composed primarily of forwards and guards. As testament to their success, a number of teams now feature small ball lineups.
The Suns of course has its detractors. They don't D-up they said. They're only good for the regular season they added. But are these really valid? The first one, maybe. But not the second one. In the first season, the Suns met a very experienced San Antonio Spurs, the team that would move on to win the title. You could say they were not ready. The next season, The Suns were eliminated in the second round but they were without power forward Amare Stoudamire. You could say they were not at full strength. The season after that the Suns again lost to the Spurs in second round of the playoffs after NBA Commissioner David Stern suspended forwards Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw for a minor infraction. You could say the title was stolen away from them.
This season the Suns are again poised for another deep playoffs run. Number one in the West as of this writing. So what does the management do? Mess it all up by trading one of the player's important to making their game plan work for the player that would fit worst in their system.
The people in the Suns management have probably forgotten more about basketball than what I will ever learn but that won't stop me from calling the deal what it is: stupid.
There have been a number of people justifying the trade recently. They said Shaq would not aspire to be The Man in Phoenix, that he would just be satisfied rebounding the ball and throwing outlet passes to ignite the team's fastbreak ala Bill Walton circa 1976. They said that with Shaq, Phoenix would be able to match the West's big men that have had field days inside the paint whenever they face the undersized Suns. They said that Shaq would help them win the championship because the criticisms would motivate him to prove everyone that he is not yet over the hill. Yeah right.
But more than anything, what really angered fans about the trade was that the Suns were abandoning their identity to win the championship the conventional way. In short, they were selling out. The team that has earlier decided to show the rest of the league that beauty and style can win over ugly and thuggery has raised the white flag.
The heroes of small ball have given up. Long live the revolution!
4 comments:
the trade was a reaction when the lakers grabbed gasol, where they probably soiled their pants in fear. hehehe
Naipasok mo pa talaga yang aspetong yan ah. Hehehe.
Tingin ko ang primary objective nila eh maayus yung internal na gulo nila. Kahit di nakuha ng Lakers si Gasol gagawin nila yan.
Sa tingin ko premature pang tawagin na stupid 'yung trade. 'Di pa naman natin alam na magse-sellout na nga ang Suns. Sabi mo nga, si Shaq 'yung taga-rebound 'tsaka tagabigay ng outlet pass, so in a sense, 'yun pa rin 'yung style ng Suns: run-and-gun. That's not selling out, that's system tweaking.
'Tsaka pang short term lang naman talaga si Shaq. He is there to compliment Steve Nash in his final push.
'Tsaka correction lang: Boston ang number one team mula nung nagsimula 'yung season.
'Tsaka bakit ang haba na nito?
Huli mo ko dun sa number one sa liga. Sa West nga lang pala. tenkstenks.
Pero di ko pa rin isusuko posisyon ko na wrong move Suns sa trade na yan.
Sa ngayon ayus pa yung mga sinasabi ni Shaq. Hindi daw sya mag-a-aspire maging alpha dog. Pero sa tingin ko masyadong malaki ego ni Shaq para pumayag na ganun lang role nya. Easier said than done nga. Magrereklamo yan pag narealize nya na ganun nga yung maging role nya. Magrereklamo sa touches nya tapos hihingin na bagalan yung pace nila. There goes the system.
Naiintindihan ko yung management na one final push. Pero si shaq?
Me nabasa ako ang sabi baka naisip daw ng management jan sa trade na yan "This is so crazy it might just work." Ang problema lang sa crazy part lang sila tumama.
Kelangan nito ng mas mahabang diskusyon. Ilagay na lang naten sa agenda next inuman. Hehehe.
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