Ever since the Grizzlies set sail for Memphis, Vancouver’s faced a severe drought of NBA exhibition action. It’s a city that’s normally running high on a searing hot fever for hockey, but for one night this October, the Phoenix Suns are invading the newly-named Rogers Arena to take on Canada’s only NBA team, the Toronto Raptors.
As Toronto faces the 2010/2011 season without Chris Bosh and recent Phoenix acquisition Hedo Turkoglu, this is already setting up to be an exciting pre-season match-up. No doubt Suns fans are eager to catch a glimpse of the new face of the Suns, including the additions of Hakim Warrick and Josh Childress.
Tip-off’s at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at Rogers Arena (formerly known as GM Place) in Vancouver. Tickets go on sale this Saturday (July 24th) at 10:00 a.m., available through Ticketmaster. I’ll undoubtedly be at the game checking out all the action and live Tweeting the event, so feel free to follow me.
In fact, I know very little about the Phoenix Suns, their legacy or their history. I can count the number of days of my personal fandom on a single calendar year and the notion of ever memorizing any kind of statistical data related to the team is about as likely as Robert Sarver throwing this club a bone.
None of that, however, should in any way reflect on my passion as a fan. And as one who is passionate about the Phoenix Suns, I most certainly have an opinion on the current state of the team and the upcoming 2010/2011 season. What needs to be stated is that, as a woman, I tend to run on instinct and optimism well before numbers and history will influence my ideals.
In a wham-bam deal with Hakim Warrick, the Suns recently acquired the 6′9″ so-called “power” forward, presumably in an attempt to replace the eastern-bound Amare Stoudemire. Throwing Warrick into the mix with what some fans are proclaiming as “hope on the horizon” in the form of Earl Clark, it’s no doubt that the face of the only Suns team I’ve ever known is going to change drastically. Add to that some whisperings of bringing current Knicks’ forward David Lee to the Valley of the Sun and you’ve got an entirely new ball game.
In case you missed it before: instinct and optimism. While Lee’s stats are certainly admirable, let’s not count our balls before they bounce, shall we? Warrick and Clark are a sure thing to hit the hardwood at US Airways Center this fall, though in my opinion neither player has stats that are worth writing home about. Though Clark averaged less than 10 minutes per game last season, if Alvin Gentry’s work with wonderkid Goran Dragic is any indication of inspiring coaching, I’d like to think that Gentry can do the same for Clark if he’s willing to give the guy a chance. Something tells me he is. When it comes to Warrick, I’m clueless. His current PPG average hovers around 10, which is considerably less than the outbound Stoudemire. But that said, who knows? Maybe it’s simply a matter of the right coaching, the right teammates to back him up and the right city to give his game more edge.
Speaking of Stoudemire, yes, I couldn’t help but take it a little bit personally that he ultimately left Phoenix. It wasn’t really news to anyone, particularly being that he’s spent his entire career playing with the Suns. At the end of the day, whether Sarver screwed our team out of Amar’e or not for the sake of league politics is anybody’s assumption - including mine. However, I think it’s safe to say that whatever part of the decision Stoudemire influenced came down to a simple matter of geography. $97 million to stay with the Suns or $100 million to take a bite out of the Big Apple? I can’t blame the guy - if someone offered me that kind of cash to move to NYC, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The simple fact of the matter is that Amar’e didn’t want to play with this team any longer. And while part of me will miss him, I certainly don’t think his presence - or lack thereof - could make or break the Suns. With the exception of a power surge after the All Star break, his performance throughout the recent season was inconsistent and completely void of passion. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
So what can Suns fans expect of our team once the dust settles on all the trades shooting back and forth? Don’t ask me because I haven’t got a clue. Acquiring Warrick and boosting Clark’s profile with the team could make the club crumble. Or, perhaps the opposite is possible. Hope was scarce for Phoenix as the 2009/2010 season started, but Gentry led the team to an expectation-defying triumphant season, culminating in the Western Conference Finals with the team we all love to hate. No one could have predicted that last October, so I’d like to shelf my predictions and watch the chips fall where they may. Personally, I’ve got incredible faith in the cohesive leadership of Gentry and our coaching staff, and if the momentum that players such as Dragic, Dudley and Lopez (I can’t believe I just said that either) generated continues to build, I’d like to think that we’ve got some serious grassroots potential on our court.
Undisputed for his skill on the court, Steve Nash’s fame is well-deserved. However, the All-Star point guard is quickly gaining notoriety for his rather unique film-making endeavors. Currently kickin’ it in South Africa, and clearly suffering from World Cup fever, this little gem popped up online just prior to his trip overseas.
Now that the Phoenix Suns have chalked up two losses in as many games during the Western Conference Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers, three things about our opposing team have become perfectly clear:
1. When left open, Ron Artest will hit a 3-ball almost every single time.
2. The Lakers are a team that executes each game with a skillfully-crafted cohesiveness that the Suns are only just beginning to understand for themselves.
3. With mammoth-sized players and the ability to spread their size over the court, the Lakers can easily snuff out any competition’s offense.
While it’s easy enough to decipher what the Suns are up against in this series, what isn’t apparent is how they hope to overcome the number-one seed team in the West.
Despite a level of playing that can be described as dismaying at best, I do believe that the Lakers are the first team that have given the Phoenix Suns a genuine run for their money during the playoffs. Until this point, the Suns had yet to encounter a team that was prepared to match the effort Phoenix was quickly becoming known for. Unfortunately, it’s starting to look like they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
So what’s gone wrong in the last week? Though the Suns’ record has been insanely solid since mid-March, they’ve yet to grab ahold of consistency in the way they play on the whole. For a team that’s comprised of accomplished players that each bring specific talents to the game, no one single player brings the same stability to the court each and every time. Why is that? Fill me in because I’m stumped.
In little over a year, Alvin Gentry has turned a team of mismatched misfits into a franchise that has a chance at becoming champions - just maybe not this year. While Gentry’s instilled a fresh confidence in the Suns, it seems the buck’s stopped there. Though it’s all good and well to shake things up with praise and kind words, it’s time for the coaching staff to step up and transform that encouragement into strict expectation. Alvin Gentry simply must stop coddling the Suns and instead demand much, much more from his team.
With the locker room barely cleared out following Game 2, it seems that the Phoenix Suns are standing on somewhat of a pivot point. Will they continue down the well worn path of double-teaming and blown leads? Or will the same Suns that defeated both Portland and San Antonio without breaking a sweat re-emerge and remind us why they made it to the Western Conference Finals in the first place?
There are three strongpoints the Suns definitely have going for them that will be essential components to wins in Games 3 and 4:
1. No team dictates a rhythm like the Phoenix Suns and, once the pace is set, the game is theirs.
2. Have you seen a stronger bench team? I realize that legends like Hill, Stoudemire and Nash should be menacing, but lately even they can’t match the efficient energy and freshness of Dragic, Dudley and Barbosa.
3. For a team that didn’t know the meaning of defense at the start of the season, that train’s been turned around. Now is the time to build on the growing momentum, keep blocking shots and stop egomaniacs like Kobe Bryant in their tracks.
I’m not much of a woman to make predictions, but I believe it’s safe to say I’ll be holding my breath until the final minute of Game 4. Then we can reassess.
If there’s one regret I have, it’s that I didn’t discover the Phoenix Suns sooner. The franchise has a history that stretches back to the swingin’ ’60s, an often tumultuous tale peppered with all kinds of blood, sweat and tears. Part of the fan in me feels slightly illegitimate in that I can’t compare this season’s Suns to anything else because I have no experience to compare it all to. It’s a constant education.
However, as this roller coaster season has culminated in playoffs that have been nothing short of electrifying, I have come to realize that there’s no time like the present. This year’s Phoenix Suns have very quickly proven that history is just that - what’s in the past is no longer relevant. For a team that began the season defining the term “underdogs”, the Suns seem to have defied many of the dismal expectations held around the league regarding this team.
Perhaps a lack of exposure to the Suns of seasons gone by is to my advantage. While I am well aware that “defense” and “Phoenix Suns” are normally as harmonious as oil and water, what I have seen this year is a team that has played nothing short of consistently solid games, backed by aggressive defenders and an untouchable 3-point trifecta of Channing Frye, Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson. This team has displayed the incredible ability to shatter all former prospects and convert cynics into Planet Orange worshipers.
The realistic optimist in me refuses to make any predictions for the Suns’ future match-ups. However, for Phoenix not to move on to the next round would require an unprecedented effort from San Antonio - winning four of the next five games - an effort I’m sure the Spurs simply cannot achieve. Whether the Suns have only a week or two left in the season or they go all the way, I can’t say. What I do know is that winning feels great and it’s a good time to be a Suns fan… a good time guaranteed.
With the 2010 NBA Playoffs in full swing and the first round of the series coming to a close, one thing is evident: the competition is fierce. That said, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone that wouldn’t agree that the match-up between the Portland Trail Blazers and our beloved Phoenix Suns has been a wild roller coaster ride from the first tip-off.
Despite surprising everyone with a win in Game 1, Portland was quickly dished back-to-back losses in Games 2 and 3 from Phoenix thanks to the ferocity we’ve come to associate with the Suns since the All-Star break. While the beast otherwise known as Amare Stoudemire didn’t dominate, and most 3-point attempts from Channing Frye and Jared Dudley came up ice cold, the Suns gave solid play as a whole.
With Robin Lopez still on the mend, Alvin Gentry added Jarron Collins to his starting line-up, a move that complimented the other starters about as well as can be expected. Our bench players have proven to be nothing less than an unshakable support to the starters, particularly in the cases of Leandro Barbosa (what wrist injury?) and Lou Amundson cleaning up where Lopez would otherwise have done so.
Game 6 is on the horizon, a crucial 48 minutes that could send the Suns to the next round or force them to hold tight into a seventh game with the feisty Trail Blazers. Earlier today Suns players were asked what they guessed to be essential elements to ensure a win in Game 6:
“I think it’s controlling the tempo. In all the games that they’ve won, it’s been a low-scoring affair. Those games have been real physical, grind-it-out games.” - Lou Amundson
“I think everybody knows that it’s tempo. Obviously, you want to get the game up and down. Also, I think being aggressive on defense.” - Jared Dudley
“Aggressiveness. Tempo and just going to get that ball on the offensive glass. I think early on when they got hot [in Game 4], we just continued to set the pace of the game.” - Channing Frye
No doubt that the tempo of the game will be on everyone’s mind, and unfortunately, Portland has an uncanny knack for dictating a game’s pace early on. That said:
What do you think will be key to the Suns setting the tempo and putting the nail in the coffin of this series? Do you think something other than pace will be crucial?
And further, will the Suns leave the Trail Blazers sipping tea at the Rose Garden or are we more likely to host Portland in PHX for a nail-biting Game 7?
The Phoenix Suns are in a prime position to go far in the 2010 NBA Playoffs and you’ve got a chance to capture your experience and all your memories (and maybe even the championship win!) on your very own pocket-sized Flip MinoHD camera. To find out how you can win, visit Keira-Anne’s blog for all the details. Contest closes Friday, April 30, 2010.
Lucky for me, purple has been my favorite color since even before Tom Chambers found himself donning a Phoenix Suns jersey. Unfortunately, it’s not a color that goes with everything hanging in my closet. That said, it sure beats the hell out of letting my leg hair grow to Amazonian lengths.
Last week PuckGal asked Coyotes fans of the female variety how they intended to support their team. It seems that painting one’s nails is the only way to go. I’m quite sure that blonde hair streaked with purple and orange wouldn’t fly in my law firm.
Allow me to back up for a moment and tell you all that this playoff business is something entirely new to me. Despite hailing from a hockey-crazy country, I’ve never jumped on the bandwagon and have only been a fickle sports fan at best. It wasn’t until my heart fell for the hardwood and I pledged allegiance to the Purple Palace that I understood the mentality of sports fans during playoffs, why it’s the only thing you talk about with co-workers and why we’re all eating, breathing, sleeping, dreaming and thinking about the playoff series.
After the Suns’ heartbreaking loss in Game 1 on Sunday, I woke up Monday morning with a feeling that can only be compared to a hangover. The final score reverberated in my head the moment my eyes opened and I felt tackled down with a restless feeling that didn’t lift until last night’s tremendous win.
The differences between men and women are far more than any of us can count - that much we can agree on. However, I think I can speak for myself and most of my co-femme fatales that the most appealing aspect to the game is the entertainment value in it. I love to see slickly executed plays, ball movement and the alley-oops that come out of nowhere. Men, on the other hand, are seemingly drawn to the competitive aspect… which is clearly why playoffs are so key. Every part of the game is ramped up, the stakes are higher, team spirit is frenetic and the entire season comes down to a handful of make-or-break games.
And for the first time, I totally get it.
The Phoenix Suns are in a prime position to go far in the 2010 NBA Playoffs and you’ve got a chance to capture your experience and all your memories (and maybe even the championship win!) on your very own pocket-sized Flip MinoHD camera. To find out how you can win, visit Keira-Anne’s blog for all the details. Contest closes Friday, April 30, 2010.
Generally speaking, sports fans can be a tough crowd. Opinions can pivot on a dime and the outcome of any game can dictate the overall sentiment. This is true of any team playing any sport, and as Phoenix Suns loyalists, we’re fiercely passionate about our team. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be reading this, right?
While it’s true that the Suns have yet to claim championship bragging rights, it’s important to remember that history is just that. Despite the almosts, the near-misses and the not-even-close seasons, the Suns have ebbed and flowed like the best of them and the rest of them. It just so happens that this year we’re flowing… right into a top playoff spot.
Since the All-Star break, the Suns have played with a ferocity they had yet to demonstrate throughout the earlier part of the season. Having recently built on the momentum of a solid team, confident plays and stepped-up defense that can only be described as spectacular, we’ve been treated to some intense action on the court. It’s more than fair to say that Alvin Gentry’s leadership has been key to the team’s success since February of last year.
With two games to go to polish off a 50+ win season - finishing our homestand against Denver (I love it when we play the Nuggets) and one last chance to annihilate the Utah Jazz - the Phoenix Suns are no doubt poised to end the season on a high note. Though Robin Lopez’s status is still to be determined, it’s likely he’ll return to help the Suns during playoffs. Jarron Collins has stepped in where needed, but Lopez’s ability to clean up under the offensive hoop is irreplaceable and has become crucial to the Suns team of the 2010 season.
Like most Suns fans, I’m completely wound up for the playoff season and can’t wait to see them dominate any and all opponents. My question to all of you: what do you think will be vital to the Suns’ success during this playoff season? Will it be a particular strategy? An essential line-up? Any one player? Sound off…
1980 was a year that captured the attention of all of Canada and much of the world. A young man by the name of Terry Fox laced up his shoes and set out on what he called the Marathon of Hope, making it his goal to run from the East Coast of Canada and follow the sun all the way out west to Victoria, British Columbia.
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma, Terry Fox had much of his right leg amputated in 1977, making his Marathon of Hope that much more triumphant. Following the surgery, Terry went on to win three national wheelchair basketball championships before materializing his cross-country dream to raise funds for cancer research. Sadly, Terry’s cancer returned and the Marathon of Hope came to an end after 143 days and 3,281 miles in the town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Terry Fox died nine months later.
A six-year-old boy from Victoria was one of many that were in awe of one man’s resiliency. “It was something that I grew up with … I woke up every day that summer and turned on the TV to see where Terry was,” Steve Nash remembers. Though despite his young age at the time, Nash still remembers very clearly the heartbreak his nation felt. Terry’s courage and strength is still an inspiration to this day, and Nash has felt encouraged to resonate Terry Fox’s story and legacy with the world.
Steve Nash has followed in the footsteps of one of his influences, Spike Lee, by expanding into the world of film-making with Into The Wind, a documentary largely based on diaries that Fox kept. “It’s the classic, beautiful words of an athlete,” says Nash. “One day he wrote, can I finish this, am I going to make it, should I stop, will I let everyone down? That whole self-talk that an athlete goes through - and that everyone goes through. This guy accomplished something superhuman, but he was very human.” It’s a sentiment that all of us can relate to on some level.
Produced through Meathawk, the production company Steve Nash formed with his cousin, Ezra Howard, Into The Wind is a far-cry from previous Meathawk creations (including the now-infamous Balls Talk). Nash was at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year talking about the film, which is set to air sometime in 2010 on ESPN as part of their series of 30 For 30 Films. Look for it this September.
The league’s two top scoring teams went head-to-head last night in Oakland in what promised to be a tough contest. The Phoenix Suns were fresh off a home win over Portland the night before but had their work cut out for them against a team that’s notorious for its young energy.
Much of the game went as was expected with rapid back-and-forth baskets, keeping the score within five points for much of the first three quarters. The Warriors surged slightly at the start of the fourth much in part to Stephen Curry’s powerful plays but the Suns managed to put a stop to it. At the 2:30 mark a now infamous - and equally vicious - dunk from Amare Stoudemire over Anthony Tolliver proved to be the catalyst that would turn the game in the Suns’ favour.
Stoudemire’s triumph under the hoop (or should I say over?) gave Phoenix the juice they needed to excel through the final minutes of play, giving the Suns a 133-131 win over Golden State. STAT finished the game with 37 points, followed closely by Jason Richardson with a season-high of 34.
This game marks the Phoenix’s fifth win in a row, keeping them narrowly behind Utah in the race to the playoffs. Phoenix squares off against Mike D’Antoni and the New York Knicks on Friday at US Airways Center.
A seasoned author and rookie Suns fan, Keira-Anne brings her passion for all things basketball to add her take on things from north of the border. Hailing from Vancouver Island, the stomping ground of Steve Nash, this Vancouver blogger has been writing about life on the coast for more than five years. An eternal optimist and sometimes realist, Keira-Anne hopes that her love for the Phoenix Suns will translate into nothing short of exciting views of life on Planet Orange. When not keeping the bench warm at Fanster, Keira-Anne can be found blogging at her personal blog and getting quippy on Twitter.
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Ever since the Grizzlies set sail for Memphis, Vancouver’s faced a severe drought of NBA exhibition action. It’s a city that’s normally running high on a searing hot fever for hockey, but for one night this October, the Phoenix Suns are invading the newly-named Rogers Arena to take on Canada’s only NBA team, the Toronto Raptors.
In a wham-bam deal with Hakim Warrick, the Suns recently acquired the 6′9″ so-called “power” forward, presumably in an attempt to replace the eastern-bound Amare Stoudemire. Throwing Warrick into the mix with what some fans are proclaiming as “hope on the horizon” in the form of Earl Clark, it’s no doubt that the face of the only Suns team I’ve ever known is going to change drastically. Add to that some whisperings of bringing current Knicks’ forward David Lee to the Valley of the Sun and you’ve got an entirely new ball game. 
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