The Suns were one missing piece away from a trip to the NBA Finals last season. They reached the Western Conference Finals and pushed the Lakers to six games, but they came up short once again. After the playoff push the Suns appeared to be a contender again this year to unseat the Lakers, but Amare Stoudemire had other plans.
He took off for New York, and suddenly the Suns were missing more than just one piece. While teams like the Heat, Knicks and Bulls beefed up on free agents, the Suns were on the other end of the equation, absorbing a major blow from which the franchise may not soon recover.
This Phoenix team will hardly resemble the Mike D’Antoni teams of the past decade that lit the nets on fire and regularly ranked No. 1 in offense, though also near last in defense. Only Steve Nash remains from the original core of Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion.
This season should be a major departure from past Phoenix squads, and although it reached the Western Conference Finals last season, it was an unexpected run—maintaining the status quo was not exactly a guarantee for another deep postseason push. A major depa ...
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Article written by Doc Moseman
NBA Phoenix Suns: 2010-2011 Predictions and Odds
October 29th, 2010 by Doc Moseman Leave a reply »
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