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**Dissonance19** · 10-01-2007, 11:18 PM

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And let’s not forget you-know-who was blowing a whistle in Game 3 — which sent local conspiracy theorists into overdrive, breaking down every Tim Donaghy call in search of a possible smoking gun. The epic struggle had everything — except a happy ending for Phoenix.

As another chance to rewrite history beckons as training camp opens Tuesday in Tucson, the Suns’ focus is on unfinished business.

On the plus side, the Suns have added seven-time All-Star Grant Hill to the fold and immediately plugged him into the starting small forward spot. Stoudemire, who was hobbling with an unsure future last October, is primed and ready to go. Diaw is fit and ready to rebound from a disappointing season. Rookies Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry have coaches smiling.

But there are negatives. The Suns traded veteran defender Kurt Thomas to save money, replacing him, for now, with Brian Skinner.

TOP 10 SUNS QUESTIONS

1. How will the Shawn Marion saga play out?

Despite Marion’s request to be sent elsewhere, and despite the Suns’ interest in shaving some payroll, the most likely scenario still has Marion remaining in a Phoenix uniform and playing without the hope of a contract extension.

Proposed deals with Utah (Andrei Kirilenko) and Los Angeles (Lamar Odom) don’t appear to have life and any team not only has to make the numbers work, they have to be willing to extend Marion’s deal or risk him opting out at the end of the year.

Marion is high-maintenance, but he’s also a professional who plays hard, through injuries and does a lot of dirty work on the floor.

2. How much can be expected out of Grant Hill?

Coaches and players alike are impressed with what they have seen from the 35-year-old Hill, who finished last season healthy and worked out without restrictions all summer. After watching him run the floor for two weeks, the Suns management was making sure Hill’s name would be included on this year’s All-Star ballot – just in case.

The hope — and in the minds of Hill and Mike D’Antoni, the expectation — is Hill will play 30-plus minutes a night, every night. But Hill hasn’t played that much and that often in a long time, so there is an adjustment period for Hill himself to discover what he can and can’t do.

3. How much is lost without Kurt Thomas?

Phoenix will miss Thomas as a defender in the paint, a shooter from 15 feet, a confidant for Amaré Stoudemire and a wily veteran who knew when to deliver the hard foul and when to back off the physical play and still be effective.

His absence puts more pressure on Stoudemire to be the man in the middle. If Stoudemire can step up into the defender the Suns feel he can be, and stay out of foul trouble, the Suns will be tough for anyone to handle. But if he has trouble corralling a big man or has to sit for long stretches, the Suns will have to go small with Boris Diaw or turn to journeyman Brian Skinner – if they don’t make another deal along the way.

4. Which Boris Diaw will show up this season?

The Suns are hoping for a model close to the NBA’s 2005-06 Most Improved Player who saved the season.

Last year was inarguably disappointing. Diaw was slowed by (take your pick) weight issues, position switches, back injuries and confidence problems. But as he begins a five-year, $45 million contract extension, the Suns expect Diaw to be their first big man off the bench, play heavy minutes and flirt with triple-doubles on a consistent basis.

Diaw reported to camp in shape and had coaches smiling. He played basketball all summer with France and worked out with Suns assistant trainer Erik Phillips. He will play a lot when Amaré Stoudemire is sitting, which could go a long way toward solving some of last year’s chemistry issues.

5. Will they finally ease up on Nash’s regular season minutes?

For three years, Mike D’Antoni has talked about scaling back the workload on his MVP and whittling him down toward 30 minutes per game. And each time, Nash soared toward or over the 35-minutes-a-night mark.

Nash will be 34 in February and the Suns don’t have a true No. 2 point guard on their roster. Grant Hill and Boris Diaw will handle the ball at point forward. Leandro Barbosa is getting more and more comfortable as a distributor. Marcus Banks has been a point in the past but hasn’t worked here.

So look for a similar scenario this season. Expect lot of lip service about how D’Antoni would like to take some of the workload off of Nash, only to find out those minutes keep piling up.

6. Can the team get off to a better start?

Two years ago, the Suns were 4-5 after nine games, but rebounded to win 54 games without Amaré Stoudemire. Last year’s 1-4 start was blamed chiefly on jet lag from Europe — where training camp was trumped by travel to Italy, Spain and Germany.

But by design, the 2007-08 schedule closely resembles the 2004-05 slate that saw the Suns win 31 of their first 35 games and never look back. This schedule would seem to lend itself to a faster start.

7. Can they get anything out of – or for – Marcus Banks?

They are going to try. After a frustrating season for both sides, Banks will be moved off the ball and used as a backup shooting guard and defensive player. The idea is to have Banks use his speed up the floor without the ball to keep the tempo high and concentrate on shooting instead of trying to make a play.

But if the Suns do make a trade, expect Banks to be involved.

8. How much will they miss Marc Iavaroni?

Now the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, Iavaroni served not only as D’Antoni’s lead assistant but as an excellent buffer between the players and the staff.

Well liked and respected by all, Iavaroni not only mapped out the main strategy for some of Phoenix’s fiercest rivals (like San Antonio), he is an excellent teacher with great patience and work ethic.

The Suns still have a lot of experience on the bench, with Alvin Gentry now assuming the lead assistant role with Phil Weber and Dan D’Antoni also returning along with the newcomer, ex-Sun Jay Humphries. The returnees are a tireless group and Humphries is said to be no different. But Iavaroni was a fixture and his absence will be felt.

9. How much will the rookies play?

The Suns like both Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry, and are particularly impressed with what they saw from Strawberry in the Las Vegas Summer League and in organized workouts over the last month.

Both players are athletic, smart hustlers who will endear themselves to local fans.

But D’Antoni is a creature of habit. Critics who constantly point to his small circle of trust won’t be surprised to learn there are signs that he has already penciled in a rotation of starters and bench players that may not go much more than nine-deep.

This team has a myopic goal of winning a championship, so any rookie with designs on a major contribution will have to have the kind of training camp that Diaw had two years ago, when he forced his way into the rotation

10 . How far is Robert Sarver willing to go to win a championship?

Those who call Sarver cheap don’t have much firm ground to stand on. He shelled out $400 million to buy the team and assume its debt and will pay out nearly $70 million in salary this season — $3 million over the luxury tax.

Three players on the roster (Marion, Stoudemire and Nash) will make $11.3 million or more this season. Diaw makes $9 million. Not bad for a market not named New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.

If the Suns are winning games but have an obvious shortcoming that needs to be addressed at the trading deadline will Sarver go for it? Maybe the taste of champagne and the feeling of holding up the WNBA trophy last month will only whet his appetite for an even bigger celebration at all costs.

**IceMan23and3** · 10-02-2007, 12:29 AM

That's really encouraging to hear that Diaw is in as good of hape as he was two seasons ago.

Too bad about Marion though. It seems like we have an idiot for an owner. Colangelo would never have handled Marion like this. He is first class all the way. It's too bad to hear him saying things like this:

Quote:

"I don't want to be bothered by this no more," Marion said. "What's done is done. It's happened. It has nothing to do with the team, the city or the fans."

link

Tiz · 10-02-2007, 10:19 AM

Thanks for the article. Definitely a good read.

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