Things week one taught us about the Phoenix Suns

The first week is in the books for the Phoenix Suns and some of the picture that is the 2009-10 edition of the team is coming into focus. Here are a few things week one taught us about the Suns.

• Amare is rusty:

  We all knew that it would take some time for Amare to return to form but I’m not sure anyone expected him to look this rusty.

  Sure, he’s continued to fill the scoring column but it’s the way he’s done it that’s been surprising. Stoudemire has scored 55 points in the first three games this season, an 18.3 points/game average, a little low but nothing earth shattering. The surprising part is that 21 of those 55 points have come at the free throw line. That’s 38% of his output attributed to his free throw shooting. It is just three games, but all of last season Stoudemire’s free throw shooting accounted for 28% of his scoring.

  He’s seemed to lack explosiveness at times and he’s yet to power through the lane with the reckless abandon that we’ve come to know and love.

  On top of that he’s turned over the ball at an high rate. He has one assist to eleven turnovers in 108 minutes of play.

  Lesson: Amare will get better as he plays himself into game shape but it seems like the eye injury may have made him a little tentative.

• Steve Nash can still pass the rock:

  The beginning of last season had Suns fans concerned about their point guard and face of the franchise, Steve Nash. They had grown accustom to seeing Nash dish out assists in bunches under Mike D’Antoni but under Terry Porter saw those numbers wither.

  Nash didn’t have 14 or more assists in a game until November 25th against the Oklahoma City Thunder and didn’t accomplish that a second time until January 15th at Denver. In contrast, Nash dissed out at least 14 dimes five times in the first month of Mike D’Antoni’s final season.

  The “old” Steve Nash is back (and that’s not a dig at his 35 years on this planet). In the Suns’ first three games of the 2009-10 season he has returned to form averaging 14 assists a game. What took him almost two months to accomplish last season, Nash did in three games tallying 20 assists in the Suns home opener against Golden State and adding in 14 assists in Sunday’s home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

  Along with passing, Nash proved he can still make clutch shots. He scored 15 of his season opening 24 points in the fourth quarter against the Clippers. He capped off his amazing final quarter with a circus layup to win the game (I’m still not sure how he made it).

  Lesson: A happy Nash is a productive Nash.

• Channing Frye is a shooting guard in a center’s body:

  When Shaq left the Valley for his new “kingdom”, he left a giant void in the Suns roster. The Suns turned to Valley Native —how many times have you heard that already? — Channing Frye to take over.

  Frye was an enigma in his first few seasons in the league. At 6′ 11″ both the Knicks and the Portland Trailblazers expected him to do the things a normal forward/center would do, grab rebounds, contest shots and score in the low post. The Suns’ front office had different expectations for the “big man” when they signed him this summer and it’s paid off through the first week.

  The Suns saw Frye’s ability to shoot from the outside as the strongest skill he posses. Rather than relegate him to the post, Alvin Gentry has let his center spend a vast majority of his time on offense at the three point line.

  Instead of banging against opponent’s bigs, Frye has helped spread the floor for Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire and has already hit a career high for threes in a season, thirteen. While Shaq clogged the lane and slowed the offense, Frye has provided an additional scoring threat while opening up the lane for Steve Nash to create (refer back to the second thing we learned this week).

  Frye is shooting 65% from three point range, 13-of-20 and is averaging almost 20 points a game.

  Lesson: Frye isn’t a conventional center but both he and the Suns will benefit by his presence in the lineup (at least on the offensive side of the ball).

• The Suns are back to the running but the fun is yet to come:

  The Suns have sped their offense back up and let shots fly like it’s 2004. The problem is the Suns have been missing the “fun” in their “run and fun” offense thus far. Don’t worry though, the high flying dunks and exciting baskets are sure to return soon. On top of getting used to Channing Frye, getting Amare into game shape and not having some of the high flyers of previous editions, the Suns were missing Jason Richardson for the first two games.

  Richardson will provide the “highlight reel” material that was missing early on. He’s good for at least one spectacular dunk a game and can score at will. In addition his return will help the team’s second unit by letting the energetic Leandro Barbosa come off the bench.

  Lesson: The best is yet to come.

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