If you manage to get your hands on Phoenix Suns tickets, you need to be ready to move your head back and forth as the ball zooms up and down the court for 48 frenetic minutes. The Suns make no apologies for their style of play, even though their offensive game tends to ruffle the feathers of basketball purists. The Suns have seemingly been in contention for the NBA title for years, and below we’ll take a look at their prospects for the upcoming season.
Additions
The Suns appeared to be relatively quiet during the summer, but they did actually change the face of their team somewhat. The Suns lost Tim Thomas, but brought in Eric Piatkowski and Marcus Banks and got star Amare Stoudemire back from a long battle with a knee injury. Piatkowski obviously brings a sharp shooter to the floor, which could and should be a good match for the Suns’ high-powered, high-flying offense, and Piatkowski could enjoy a year of catching bullets from Steve Nash outside the arc and firing away.
The Stoudemire “addition,” however, is what’s going to determine the fate of the Suns this year more than anything else. When he’s physically right, he’s completely dominant, and he’s worth the effort of obtaining Phoenix Suns tickets all by himself. However, when he’s not 100%, he can slow down the offense and create problems with ball movement. His healthy return is critical.
Strong Suit
It’s all about the offense with the Suns, as has been mentioned. The Suns like to put pure athletes on the floor, spread it out and run the other team into the ground over the course of 48 minutes. That strategy works well, particularly against plodding, physical teams who just can’t keep up with the speedy Suns. They don’t get tired, and Steve Nash is the best in the game when it comes to breaking down a defense and finding the open man. He’s also a master at dictating tempo. Hungry scorers like Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw know that their stat lines will look great if they run with Nash, and that’s exactly how the Suns operate.
Outlook
As fun as the Suns are to watch, there is one flaw that seems to haunt them every year in the playoffs. Their style is ultimately not enough to get them through the rugged Western Conference, as playoff basketball is just a different breed than regular season games. The Suns cannot be counted on the make that “big” stop when they need one, and that will get you eliminated in the postseason.
The Suns should once again cruise through the regular season, but they need to ramp up their defense if they’re going to get through the Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets and other teams with size and speed. If they can do that, they’re a threat to go all the way. If not, it’ll be another playoff disappointment. Regardless, Phoenix Suns tickets are always worth the effort to obtain, as they never fail to put on a great show.
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