The Official Phoenix Suns Thread

TheSixthRing · 2010-10-11T13:46:54-07:00

The season kicks off October 26th @ Portland. The Suns, positions 1 through 3, might be the deepest team in the league. The problem comes with front court size and depth. They have a promising young 7-footer in Robin Lopez, but a late season back problem, a bulging disc, kept him out for the last month of the season and deep into the playoffs. With the departure of Amare Stoudemire, Lopez will be asked to play more minutes this season, and an increase in workload means the risk of reinjury is a genuine concern. Outside of Lopez, the Suns do not have a solid inside defender. Hedo Turkoglu, the projected starter at Power Forward, is a natural Small Forward. How he'll play at that position is anyone's guess. Channing Frye, expected to backup both Hedo and Lopez, is a terrible defender. Hakim Warrick will see time at the 4, and while lengthy, he doesn't quite have the bulk or strength to be an effective inside defender, and is closer to a tweener 3/4 than a true 4. Other options at the 4 include 2nd year man Earl Clark and rookie Gani Lawal, but neither seem ready to contribute at an NBA level. The Suns season will ride on how well the front court can play. The Starters Steve Nash - One of the more brilliant offensive minds in basketball. Terrible one-on-one defender, but isn't afraid to take a charge. He's nearing the end of his career, but keeps in phenomenal shape. I'd expect a slight dip in minutes, but anything under 31.5 would be surprising. Jason Richardson - A great scorer. Shot a career high 45.8% from beyond the arc last season. The loss of Amare means the Suns will expect J-Rich to step up his point production. A good rebounder for his size. Average defender at best. Grant Hill - 38 years old and still going strong. May be the Suns best defender. Not as fast or explosive as he used to be, but makes up for it with his high basketball IQ. With so many swingmen on the team, and with his advanced age, I would expect Hill's minutes to take a big dip this season. Hedo Turkoglu - The biggest question mark coming into the season. Can Hedo handle the load at the 4? May get abused inside by some of the more physical power forwards in the league. Robin Lopez - Solid inside defender. Continues to improve offensively. Word has it he spent the offseason working with Bill Cartwright on his post game. Will his back hold up with an increase in minutes? The Bench Goran Dragic - The third year guard showed flashes of brilliance in several key games last season. A solid defender, Goran will be expected to back up Nash once again, and will be relied upon to lead a deep second unit to the kind of success it had last season. Channing Frye - A virtual castoff from Portland, Channing Frye surprised everybody last season with his sharp shooting ability. Not an especially good defender or rebounder, and he will be expected to step up his point production with the loss of Amare. Jared Dudley - Intelligent, hard-nosed defensive player with a knack for knocking down the 3, Dudley's contributions last season were a key to the success of the bench. He came into training camp looking leaner, so expect Dudley to have another great year in Phoenix. Hakim Warrick - Long, athletic tweener with great leaping ability, Warrick will be expected to play above the rim and help give the Suns the dunking prowess it will sorely miss with Stoudemire's departure. Josh Childress - After a two-year stint in Europe, Josh Childress is back in the NBA. An efficient scorer with all-around good skills, but with the logjam of 2's and 3's on the team will the minutes be there? Earl Clark - Now entering his 2nd year, Clark was a disappointment during the summer leagues. The kid has tons of talent, but his drive to strive is questionable. Gani Lawal - The Suns first pick of the draft. Had an impressive summer league. Plays with ferocity. With aspirations to stay atop the Western conference, it's doubtful the young rookie will play many minutes for the Suns this season. The Rest of the Bench / Camp Fodder Chucky Atkins, Zabian Dowdell, Matt Janning, Dwayne Jones, Garret Siler [ Edited by TheSixthRing on Jun 24, 2011 at 11:08:19 ]

Oct 11, 2010 at 2:17 PM

jrg
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Posts: 166,549

He's playing the 4 for you guys? Did not know that.

The above videos are auto-populated by an affiliate.

Oct 11, 2010 at 2:31 PM

StOnEy333
Hall of Fame
Posts: 99,663

Good luck this year!

Oct 18, 2010 at 12:11 PM

jrg
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Posts: 166,549

Turkoglu Accuses Toronto Fans Of Misunderstanding

Hedo Turkolgu was predictably booed in his first return to Toronto on Sunday.

“People have to realize it’s not always the players,” said Turkoglu. “People just got to see what’s really going on and make a judgment after that. I’m not a random guy. Chris (Bosh) was an all-star. Other guys, all-stars, too. You have to ask them what was the reason that they left. Then people will realize . . . instead of just going after the players. (Vince) Carter, Tracy (McGrady), whatever. I know (Bosh), I hope he doesn’t get booed. He gave a lot of good stuff for this organization. I think he deserves to be welcomed in a nice way.”

Turkoglu will return to Toronto again on February 25th, which will be a meaningful regular season game.

“I’ve got to come here one more time . . . and get booed again,” he said. “When I came here, people think that I wasn’t paying attention or I wasn’t serious. But this is how I play. And if you look at it in the past, that’s how I do. I enjoy the game, and I go out there and I try to do my best. But here, I guess they misunderstand.”

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69605/20101018/turkoglu_accuses_toronto_fans_of_misunderstanding/#ixzz12jthPe92

Oct 18, 2010 at 12:38 PM

TheSixthRing
Beer Gut
Posts: 81,187

Originally posted by jrg:
Turkoglu Accuses Toronto Fans Of Misunderstanding

Hedo Turkolgu was predictably booed in his first return to Toronto on Sunday.

“BALL,” said Turkoglu.

Turkoglu will return to Toronto again on February 25th, which will be a meaningful regular season game.

“there's nothing else to say,” he said.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69605/20101018/turkoglu_accuses_toronto_fans_of_misunderstanding/#ixzz12jthPe92

Fixed

Oct 18, 2010 at 12:53 PM

jrg
Veteran
Posts: 166,549

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
Originally posted by jrg:
Turkoglu Accuses Toronto Fans Of Misunderstanding

Hedo Turkolgu was predictably booed in his first return to Toronto on Sunday.

“BALL,” said Turkoglu.

Turkoglu will return to Toronto again on February 25th, which will be a meaningful regular season game.

“there's nothing else to say,” he said.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69605/20101018/turkoglu_accuses_toronto_fans_of_misunderstanding/#ixzz12jthPe92

Fixed

Ok?

lol

Oct 18, 2010 at 12:55 PM

Dino
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Posts: 22,425

lol @ rashard lewis and turk playing "PF"

Oct 18, 2010 at 12:56 PM

TonyStarks
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Posts: 62,682

Oct 18, 2010 at 12:58 PM

jrg
Veteran
Posts: 166,549

Originally posted by Dino:
lol @ rashard lewis and turk playing "PF"

Hey, think of it this way..when we play twice this year neither of our PF's will be out sized for once

Oct 18, 2010 at 1:01 PM

TheSixthRing
Beer Gut
Posts: 81,187

Originally posted by jrg:
Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
Originally posted by jrg:
Turkoglu Accuses Toronto Fans Of Misunderstanding

Hedo Turkolgu was predictably booed in his first return to Toronto on Sunday.

“BALL,” said Turkoglu.

Turkoglu will return to Toronto again on February 25th, which will be a meaningful regular season game.

“there's nothing else to say,” he said.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69605/20101018/turkoglu_accuses_toronto_fans_of_misunderstanding/#ixzz12jthPe92

Fixed

Ok?

lol

Oct 18, 2010 at 1:03 PM

#10

jrg
Veteran
Posts: 166,549

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
Originally posted by jrg:
Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
Originally posted by jrg:
Turkoglu Accuses Toronto Fans Of Misunderstanding

Hedo Turkolgu was predictably booed in his first return to Toronto on Sunday.

“BALL,” said Turkoglu.

Turkoglu will return to Toronto again on February 25th, which will be a meaningful regular season game.

“there's nothing else to say,” he said.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69605/20101018/turkoglu_accuses_toronto_fans_of_misunderstanding/#ixzz12jthPe92

Fixed

Ok?

lol

Oct 26, 2010 at 11:34 AM

#11

TheSixthRing
Beer Gut
Posts: 81,187

Nash is not optimistic about the lack of size on the team

Nash: I'd pick us to miss the playoffs

Can't really blame his pessimism. The team was blown out in several of the games this preseason, and Hedo did not look good.

I suppose if there was one team to test out our small front court against, it'd be tonight's opponent in Portland, who arguably have the deepest front court in the league.

Go Suns!

Oct 27, 2010 at 8:45 AM

#12

TheSixthRing
Beer Gut
Posts: 81,187

If we plan on starting Hedo at the 4 for the entire season, it's going to be a long, long season.

Oct 27, 2010 at 11:58 AM

#13

TheSixthRing
Beer Gut
Posts: 81,187

I'm already missing Amundson. He was our best rebounder. Letting him walk was dumb.

Oct 27, 2010 at 1:28 PM

#14

Dino
Veteran
Posts: 22,425

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
If we plan on starting Hedo at the 4 for the entire season, it's going to be a long, long season.

yeah, i was in shock when I heard he was going to be playing the 4 for you guys. Then again... Rashard at PF isn't much better.