It's Our Time

I am not a fan of the Suns marketing campaign this season. I understand the idea behind Planet Orange - the tie-in to the science museum or whatever, embracing a population of fans outside Arizona, staying away from the "pressure" of an Eyes on the Prize billboard - but the whole thing smacks of cold and tentative thinking. It says nothing about the path the Suns have taken over the last three seasons (let alone the 36 seasons prior to those), and it doesn't speak to the sense of urgency and determination the team is sure to show us this season.

It's Our Time. That's my marketing slogan for this season. Three words that say everything that every Suns fan already knows.

1. We've been through hell, and we're not going back.

2. We've been robbed of too many chances.

3. We're not giving it away, and no one is taking it away. Not this time.

4. We're not waiting to win anymore. We're taking this one, once and for all.

I've been telling myself those things all summer long, trying to remain optimistic in light of the biggest travesty of (in)justice in Suns history. After watching the Suns in action tonight (sans Barbosa), that optimism has turned to pure confidence.

Yes, it was "just a preseason game." But we learned a lot about this season's Suns in those 48 meaningless minutes of basketball. This was our first look at the new components of the team, and a lot of the question marks are now exclamation points.

Amare Stoudemire.

It was obvious from the start that D'Antoni's goal was to get Amare Stoudemire into the flow of the game as quickly as possible. Despite a few early miscues (three turnovers in his first five possessions), I have no doubt in my mind.

He's back. No question about it, Amare showed the athleticism and at least flashes of the dominance that put him in elite status the first year of the Nash experiment. He also showed signs that he stuck to his word that he would improve his defense over the summer.

Early in the first quarter, Stoudemire found himself guarding Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo tried to drive. Amare was there. Carmelo spun around to free himself. Amare was there. Carmelo went up for a shot. Amare was there. All in one sequence, Amare Stoudemire defended Carmelo Anthony better than anyone I've seen in the last four years. Stat was so quick on Anthony, he made Shawn Marion look like . . . well, Amare Stoudemire.

Grant Hill.

At the end of the season, the "experts" will be lauding Steve Kerr for pulling off the best free agent signing of the summer, forgetting that they ever downplayed it in light of the Kurt Thomas trade. Hill showed the quickness, finesse, and court savvy that made him a seven-time All Star.

A few weeks ago, near the end of training camp, Mike D'Antoni posited that Grant Hill would take around 150 three pointers for the season, and would make around 40%. Hill was 1-2 from downtown (would have been 2-3 if not for the tip of his sneakers on the line). If those numbers pan out for the season, then D'Antoni will be called a prophet by the same "experts" that criticized his assertion.

Marcus Banks.

What can I say? We all wanted him traded last February, and the sentiment held throughout the off-season. It seems, though, that a year in D'Antoni's system under his belt just might pay off. He maintained his focus, didn't get called for any stupid touch fouls, and he kept the ball and himself moving on offense. He only took six shots from the field and made two, but one make was a three pointer in the flow of the offense, and one miss was a slashing lay up that spun off the side of the rim. We forgave Leandro for that last year in Utah, we can let a few of those slide with Banks.

He also recorded the game winning assist, milking more than 20 seconds off the clock in the process. We didn't see that last year - at all.

DJ Strawberry.

Banks looked especially good when paired with the late second round rookie, who showed us all why he was so coveted by the Suns. He also showed 29 other teams why they were fools to pass on him 58 times. The kid can play defense, for sure, and questions about his poor shooting seem completely unfounded, as he shot 6 for 9 from the field, including 2 for 4 behind the arc (both of them long, high-arching rainbow bombs).

Consider that his second three-ball turned out to be the game winner, and we can only conclude that DJ Strawberry is indeed the steal of the draft. Was I the only one who jumped out of his seat yelling "DEEEEEEE JAYYYYYYY" after that shot? (And we're expected to believe that GMs are better judges of league talent than every day sports writers? Please.)

As for his defense - believe the hype. DJ knows the meaning of "no easy baskets," as at least two of his five fouls were committed knocking a driving guard out of the air at the basket. The kid is certainly tough. To top it off, he had an amazing sequence early in the game where he guarded Allen Iverson - one of the quickest players in the league with THE deadliest cross over. As Amare did with Carmelo, DJ did not give an inch to AI. The current killer cross over became Iverson's fight for life as he tried to maintain his dribble with Strawberry covering like a wet blanket on a burn victim.

The defense, the shooting, the passing, the toughness . . . I'm convinced. It is a personal tradition to choose one Suns player at the beginning of the season as my designated favorite for the year. In 2004, it was Amare Stoudemire. In 2005, it was Boris Diaw. Last year, it was Leandro Barbosa. DJ Strawberry earned the honors this year.

Although the Nuggets put up a 66 point first half, mostly due to lackadaisical defense by the starters, there really isn't much to worry about on the defensive end. The Suns came out flat, which is understandable considering the magnitude of the meaninglessness of the game. The Nuggets seemed to be taking the game very seriously, though (Iverson and Anthony weren't even going to play, apparently, until they found out that TNT picked up the game).

So the 12 point first half deficit didn't bother me, especially when the starters came out of half time with a completely different attitude. Suddenly, it was a game. It seemed as if they didn't take too kindly to the bench crew outplaying them. The starters were responsible for both double digit deficits in the half. And the bench (particularly Diaw, Banks, and Strawberry) were largely responsible for the recovery in between.

Some question marks still have to be straightened out, though.

Alando Tucker.

He definitely has an inside game, but Alando Tucker is not ready for prime time with the Suns. Like Strawberry's defense, Tucker's shooting came as advertised. All of his points came underneath the basket, where he showed some nice moves, spinning and juking defenders out of their socks and onto his back. But that's not the Suns' style, even though the offense curiously went through his post-ups late in the fourth quarter. It may be a handy skill come playoff time, but Tucker surely won't be in the rotation when the games mean something. A year of working on his perimeter game (and that godawful jump shot) and absorbing all things Grant Hill, and he definitely has a bright future on the team. But this is now, and his place is on the bench.

Sean Marks and Brian Skinner.

We didn't get to see much of Brian Skinner aside from a couple of nice rebounds, a blocked shot, and his woeful free throw shooting. He at least seems to have a good attitude, cheering his team mates from the bench and giving congratulatory high fives going into time outs.

I have to be honest...I'm not liking Sean Marks. The offense that I saw from him against the Nuggets didn't make up for the lack of defensive presence. He finished with eight rebounds, but none of them memorable. More on my mind are the moments that he forgot to box out or the times he got beat to the basket. The energy is there, but the results aren't.

One key moment came in the fourth quarter, with the Suns holding onto a five point lead. Marks was on the floor with the smallest lineup possible (Banks, Strawberry, Tucker, and Piatkowski), and he ended up shooting a three from the corner that clanked off the side of the rim and ricocheted back to him. Unfortunately, he had already released, leaving Tucker and Strawberry to fend for the rebound. Not a good sign when the only big man on the floor is shooting threes and guards are forced to fight for rebounds.

Yes, it was a preseason game. I know it. You know it. But the point of the preseason is to get the team in shape, as well as to work out the rotation. Aside from some sloppy first half play, the gang did alright.

The team scored 116 points, and the high scorer was Grant Hill -- with 17 points. They also converted 26 assists, less than half of them by our main man and 3* time MVP Steve Nash. Ball movement and balanced scoring are the hallmarks of Mike D'Antoni's system, and this team looks to have a better handle on it than all of the previous teams.

There were some negatives to the game, to be sure. The rebounding was mostly atrocious, but Amare and Shawn played a combined 41 minutes for the game. It did seem to pick up in the second half, though, when the Suns decided to turn on the intensity. And like the scoring, there was nice balance all around. As long as Marks stays closer to the paint, and Skinner stays healthy, the rebounding should be no worse than previous years. Hey...we're Suns fans. We should be used to it by now.

For now, I'll be happy with what I witnessed during our lone televised preseason game this year. It was a good snapshot of what we have to look forward to this season, and I think the Suns are going to be a lot better than most people are predicting. Sure, many "experts" have the Suns winning the Pacific Division (duh) and finishing among the top three in the Western Conference, but they all seem to stop there.

We've not been given a chance to advance deep into the playoffs this year due to the loss of Kurt Thomas ("the only guy who did a decent job on Tim Duncan"). But the Suns aren't playing Tim Duncan for the title. They are playing 29 other teams, and will be facing the usual suspects in the playoffs - except the Lakers, who will be watching from the ESPN Zone in San Bernardino.

I'll remind everyone that these same "experts" picked the Suns to claim the eighth seed and get knocked out of the first round in the 2006 playoffs. If that doesn't jog your memory, then I'll have to say that the Suns were a torn calf away from making it to the Finals that year. That team also did it without the services of Kurt Thomas. Now we have Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, an improved Marcus Banks and Leandro Barbosa, and my new favorite Sun, DJ Strawberry.

Experts, indeed. Someone should remind them . . . It's Our Time.