Phoenix has some tough decisions to make this offseason because they are screwed. Shaq's contract is going to kill them for the next two years, and he's showing no passion for the game. He's indifferent out there, truely a disgrace. Boris Diaw has quite a bad contract himself, but he's movable.
Next year is really their last chance to accomplish anything, but what I'm seeing from Shaq makes me believe that they won't be much of a factor. They have to start thinking soon of moving Nash and try to get something for him.
I'd stand still for next season. Training camp will make a huge difference to this crew. It's impossible to change from Marion and their style of play to Shaq. They have no identity, they'll be able to create one during camp and throughout the regular season. There just wasn't enough time for this season.
For one, I'd like to see them use Shaq more in the low post, they've gone away from that as the series has gone on.
They need another wing or/and a backup point to let Barbosa concentrate on scoring. I'd consider moving one or some of the supporting cast but not their main guys (without there being some type of special offer).
They need to find a way to play defense. They are no longer the fast breaking team.
They're absolutely a fast breaking team and they will be next year. They need to continue running.
They have one of the best fast break point guards in the game. One of the best fast break power forwards in the game. A great open court player in Grant Hill who is simply the best on that team at leaking out on the break. Then they have Raja who's solid on the break. That's a fast breaking team.
Then you go to the bench with Diaw and Barbosa. They should absolutely continue running.
But they don't run.
They did run. They stopped running.
Inconsistency under pressure. This is where the value of training camp and a full season together come to fruition. Their execution in the playoffs has fallen off with each half of basketall. They're unsure of what to do out there. They're not a team, they're just a group of individuals.
I don't have the stats on hand but after the Shaquille O Neal trade they took a smaller percentage of their shots early in the clock but their shooting percentage was much higher. They were running a more efficient fast break than before and scoring a similer number of fastbreak points on less opportunities. What changed was the first 7-10 seconds of the shot clock, those points were harder to come by and their half court offense slowed down and it wasn't as good because of that. Their running game wasn't the problem, their half court game was the problem and it still is the problem.
Execution has killed the Suns. They stopped running, that's the problem. They stopped using Shaq in the low post, that's the problem. Execution killed them.
Grant Hill's injury hurt too. Only game San Antonio won in the regular season was when Grant didn't start. He's the only guy capable of creating in the halfcourt ouside of Nash and their best fastbreak finisher. He's clearly been a shadow of himself on the court this series. Putting your hopes on his health is a scary proposition. No backups on the wings only made his loss worse.