It’s that time of year again, preseason is finishing up and regular season is approaching as rapidly as someone doing 25 MPH in a 65 MPH zone. (Slowly. Very slowly.) To prepare you, the fan, for the upcoming season… here is what you can expect out of the Suns upcoming season. The facts, the various tidbits, and all that other juicy stuff that you wish you knew and I like to act like I know.

Also: Sorry for the sparing updates. Brian seems to be busy, Hersey has crap to do and apparently I’ve got this work and college thing to do. So my apologies go out to all the readers (Current Approximate Reader Count: 2.7 people.) who like to get their Suns info from the good folks here at The Rising Suns.

Roster

When all is said and done, those are the minutes I expect out of D’Antoni. Now, I’m hoping for less minutes from all of the starters and a bit more time out of Alando Tucker, Marcus Banks, DJ Strawberry and Brian Skinner, but I’ll not be expecting any miracles. As is well documented, D’Antoni likes to play a short rotation and the one listed has 11 people on it. (4 over what he wants, 3 over what he expects to play.) I’m very interested to see our young players (DJ, Marcus, Alando) go out there and play some quality minutes, and as always, I’m rooting for Leandro to continue his growth as a player and I pray in earnest that Boris decides that him shooting on occasion would be a good idea. (Another long shot, I know.)

All in all, over the last three years I have been one game off on my prediction every year… and this is the year I intend to hit it on the nose. Expect 60 wins out of the Suns this year… because I’m predicting 61.

Bonus: Scouting reports on key players for the Suns, minus the rookies. Haven’t seen enough of the rookies to do a proper scouting report yet. Hey, who wants to hire a basketball scout? I’m totally available.

Steve Nash
One of the most complete offensive players in the league, equally adept with his left and right hand, both finishing and off the dribble. Better shooting off the dribble than as a set shooter, though you don’t see him getting an awful lot of set shots. Shoots and insane percentage from the field, primarily from jump shots, has one of the purest shots in the league. Gets a decent amount of rebounds for a PG. Arguably the best passer in the league, and the only argument for someone other than Nash would be Jason Kidd. Isn’t as bad defensively as his reputation would say, finds himself in the right position on the court most of the time, but tends to wander off of his man. (This is especially evident when he’s guarding a set shooter, as they get a lot of corner threes.) Draws a lot of charges in the process. Not very good man-to-man defense against quicker guards, but doesn’t do a bad job on big, strong guards. Is pass first, shoot later, almost to a fault sometimes. Plays the pick and roll game as well as anyone in the league, as he can shoot if the defender sags off, hit his man if they trap and can push the ball straight to the hoop if they don’t attack the pick. Looks for his own shot in the final seconds, and generally hits it.

Raja Bell
Very good spot up shooter. Goes through hot and cold streaks with his shot though, can have a great quarter and go completely cold or be completely cold and all the sudden hit four in a row. Can’t finish around the basket. Decent ball handler in the open court, but basically useless as a ball handler in the half court, though he will give a pump fake and put the ball on the floor for a quick jumper or try to make a pass if the defense does collapse. Does, however, throw good entry passes into the post. Tenacious defender, but isn’t as physically gifted as most of the premier defenders or people he’s guarding in the league. Makes up for lack of athleticism and wingspan through pure energy. (Drinks a pot of coffee and has an energy drink before every game.) One of the most notorious floppers in the league, and does a great job of drawing his man into a physical match up and then making the ref notice when his man starts pushing back. Very good understanding of defensive positioning and team defense, makes good rotations. Very competitive, one of those “Can’t stand to lose” players that every team loves. Can be severely limited offensively if you just stay on him at the three point line, as he doesn’t take many mid range jumpers and can’t finish around the rim.

Grant Hill
At one time was considered a premier player in the
league, and still has the same skills and intangibles that made him such a great player, but lacks the athleticism to dominate like he used to. Excellent midrange game, both off of set shots and off the dribble. One of the best finishers in the league around the rim, uses the backboard very well and does a good job of finishing with contact. A step slower than he used to be, and his defense has suffered for it, despite being a very heady defensive player who does a good job with rotations and covering most wing players. Has apparently been working on his three point range in the offseason, and has shot fairly well from beyond the arc in the preseason. Very high basketball IQ, understand the game and does a good job making the opposition make quick decisions. Good passer for a wing man. Extremely injury prone over the last few years… will the Suns training staff, noted for staving off injuries despite long minutes and a fast pace, be able to keep him healthy? (Not the safest bet…)

Shawn Marion
A legit 25-12 player for stretches of the season, and at other times a 10-5 type of player. Not inconsistent game-by-game or quarter by quarter, but instead goes through stretches of time where he is playing great or playing poorly. Gets more plays run for him than most people would realize, though most of them are back door cuts and drawn up lob plays. Great finisher around the basket if he doesn’t get hit or doesn’t have someone big contesting it, though seems to rush lay ups around the hoop if a big man is breathing down his neck. Gets a lot of garbage buckets and hustles 100% of the time on the floor. Relies a lot on the defense losing track of him for his points, a disciplined defensive team that plays man-to-man without much switching gives him fits. Excellent man to man defender and an excellent team defender. Capable of averaging 2 steals and 2 blocks over the course of a season, though it hasn’t happened yet and isn’t necessarily a safe bet. Excellent rebounder, though he doesn’t actually do a lot of boxing out, relies on his athleticism and speed to just beat guys to the spot and grab it before they can. Has without a doubt the quickest second jump in the league, can jump, come down and jump again without losing any vertical in the process. Shaky jumper, can hit them if he’s wide open but you won’t see him hit many contested shots. Not a very good passer, but doesn’t often have the ball in his hands unless he’s finishing a play or grabbing a rebound. One of the best guys in the league at grabbing a rebound and pushing the ball up the floor or making a quick outlet pass, every time he gets a board and there’s an opportunity, it’s a fast break. Very poor ball handler, generally the only time he’s handling the ball is in the open floor. If the defender closes out on the shot fast enough, Shawn generally gives a ball fake and dribbles to his left. Will only take it all the way to the hoop on the rare occasion that there is no rotation so he has a free lane, otherwise will dribble a couple times and pass the ball out or take a quick floater from around 10-15 feet out.

Amare Stoudemire
Probably the best finisher around the basket in the league, not just dunks but has a great touch around the rim with lay ups, finishing after contact, drawing contact, and using the backboard. Perhaps the best big in the league right now at running the pick and roll, does an incredible job of creating angles when moving off the ball. (Yes, it’s not just Nash throwing great passes, Amare creates angles with his movement and does so extremely well.) Will catch any pass that’s remotely catchable, has wide receiver type of hands and makes passers look good with his unlikely catches. (He is the anti-Kwame Brown.) Very reliable shot out to 18 feet and has reportedly been working tirelessly in the offseason to extend his shot to NBA 3PT range. (Shot a couple in the Olympics, going 2/3. Hit a couple in last year’s playoffs as well.) Has an incredible face up game, as he is faster and more explosive than most guys his size and is stronger than the bigs that are able to match his quickness. Has a decent back to the basket game which is almost never utilized in the half court. (Reliable fade away jumper, baseline spin move and a floater in the lane. I can’t recall him ever shooting a hook shot in his entire career.) Despite his freakish athleticism, isn’t a good defender in the post. Man to man in the post tends to use his upper body entirely too much and picks up a lot of ticky tack fouls. Is a good weak side help defender and can definitely block shots, has good timing on his shot blocking too, but goes after fakes too much and gets burned a lot. Has showed more discipline defensively with each passing year, but defense is still far from his strong suit. One of the better offensive rebounders in the league, and hits the defensive glass fairly well, though he doesn’t always do very well positioning wise, he has a knack for going after the ball. Gets to the foul line constantly, and shoots a good percentage. Doesn’t pass an awful lot. Once he gets the ball, chances are he’s going to take the shot.

Leandro Barbosa
Is in the short running for fastest player in the league, and is without a doubt in my mind the fastest player with the ball in his hands in the league, can run as fast with the ball as without it. Very pure shot, even with the goofy shooting mechanics. Will drain threes all game long if you leave him. Good finisher around the hoop, though he does have a tendency to miss some shots he should make due to the speed at which he plays. Uses the glass very well, and will generally look for angles off of the glass rather than the direct approach. Has an underutilized midrange game that would help him tremendously if he used it more, as most of his shots come from either 22 feet and out or 5 feet and in, very little in between. (Has reportedly been working on his pull up jumper extensively in the offseason, and it looked good during the FIBA tournament.) Explosive score-first combo guard who can run an offense but isn’t quite as comfortable running an offense as he is scoring. Decent passer, can hit the open man and can drive-and-dish quite well if the defense collapses on him. Fairly good rebounder, especially at his size. Freakishly long arms, 6’10 wingspan on the pre-draft measurements, and he has actually grown since then. (Could realistically be around 6’4 with a 6’11 wingspan now.) Stronger than his frame would indicate. Is a so-so defender, puts effort into it but seems to lack a lot of the basic defensive instincts that would help him out tremendously on that end. Plays very physical on defense, but wild, and picks up a lot of fouls that he didn’t need to pick up. Draws quite a few charges nonetheless, due to his quickness. Plays the passing lanes extremely well, quite the ball hawk if the opposing team is getting lazy. Tends to get exploited by bigger, scoring two guards who can post up. (Such as Jerry Stackhouse.) Prefers to go drive to his left, but generally finishes with his right hand. Hasn’t shown much consistency finishing with his left hand. Is an exceptional ball handler, ball hounds won’t get many turnovers unless it’s in the passing lanes.

Boris Diaw
One of the most well rounded players in the league, can do a little bit of everything. Can realistically play any position on the floor except shooting guard. (Most people list him as being able to play any position… but he can’t play shooting guard.) Very athletic, though it isn’t very apparent by how he plays. (He won a dunk contest in France. Did you see the free throw line dunk?) Has a nice set of post moves, and actually plays in the post with his back to the basket more often than Amare does. Has a nice little jump hoot in the lane, a floater, and likes to take the ball to the right side of the hoop and go glass. Plays in the high post a lot too. Would be well served to play more aggressively, sometimes it’s like playing 4-on-5 when Boris is refusing to shoot. Is a very good pas
ser, but passes entirely too often… he passes up nearly uncontested lay ups to dish it out to the perimeter all the time. Has range out to about 18 feet, and will take the occasional corner three. Very good ball handler for his size, and can guard most point guards without much problem. Plays good post defense, but shies away from physical contact a lot, much to his disadvantage. Is strong enough to guard most big men, and quick enough to stay in front of most guards. Generally seems to lack intensity when he’s out on the court, despite his talent level. (Which isn’t to say he doesn’t try, it’s just that he’s not a high energy guy.) When he’s playing aggressively he gets all the other facets of his game going accordingly, and is a legit triple double threat. When he’s not playing aggressively, he is basically a secondary ball handler so that Barbosa doesn’t have to set up the offense. Hasn’t seemed to mesh very well on-court with Amare Stoudemire, defying all odds by having a pass-first guy have a hard time meshing with a finish-at-all-costs guy.

Original post by Zei_Zao_LS