Phoenix Suns NBA Forecast: 2007-2008

Recap: (2006:2007: 61-21) The Phoenix Suns put together a fantastic season. They went on a win streak of 20+ games, and killed the league with outstanding shooting. As one would expect, the team was the most efficient offense in the NBA, and second place was relatively distant. As for the alleged Achilles heel of the Suns, their defense, the team actually finished 13^th. They played basic playground defense last season. Allowing a lot of one-on-one play and offering no help defense. They put players like Raja Bell and Shawn Marion on the other teams' best players and gave up very few assist as a result. But as usual, their defense was not enough to get past the San Antonio Spurs. Some might want to blame the NBA for their edgy suspensions of Stoudamire and Boris Diaw, but you can only play with the people you have on the court. The Spurs won those final 2 games because they played stellar defense and defended the outside shot and pick-n-roll better than anyone had done against the Suns. Phoenix's defense against the Spurs was not nearly on that level.

Off-season: Here's the most troubling of trades I saw in the off-season. Why would the Suns trade Kurt Thomas when they know that they will have to go through the Spurs to win a championship. Maybe they are betting on the fact that the Mavs will beat the Spurs for them, because other than that, there is no logical explanation for this. Kurt Thomas defended the Tim Duncan as good as he can be defended. And had it not been for some "Jordanesque" foul calls, Kurt might have done an even better job against the Big Fundamental. The Suns also traded James Jones for a first round pick, and signed Grant Hill. They drafted to Alando Tucker from Wisconsin along with D.J. Strawberry.

Starters:

C - Amare Stoudemire: Microfracture surgery is a thing of the past for this reigning 1^st team all NBA player.

PF - Shawn Marion: He, like Kirilenko, apparently wants out of his current team, but it doesn't look like it will happen.

SF - Grant Hill: I wonder if his old, and embattled, legs can run with this high-powered offense.