The Wizard of Awe
January 24, 2007
By Aaron Blaylock

Flashback to 2004. Michael Jordan had retired, again. The Lakers had their streak of three straight championships broken by the Spurs, the only other team to win a championship since Jordan’s second retirement. The game had devolved into half court contests. A league full of copy cat teams were looking for the next dominate post player, or trying to pair two superstars and make a run at a championship. The NBA finals had become unwatchable. The league as a whole was suffering from the post-Jordan dip in ratings and attendance.

Then something miraculous happened ever so quietly. A struggling Suns team who had already dumped their starting point guard, Stephon Marbury, fired Coach Frank Johnson and promoted assistant coach Mike D’Antoni. At the time everyone, including me, thought they were clearing cap space to go after the biggest free agent of the summer Kobe Bryant. After all pairing Kobe with the Suns young stud Amare Stoudemire would be the dream combo that everyone was looking for, an inside out game with two superstars. It made sense to elevate D’Antoni because he played with Kobe’s father in Europe and Kobe admired the Italian league star. Bryant even wore his number 8. But that’s where everybody was wrong.

The first day of free agency a Suns contingent that included D’Antoni, GM Bryan Colangelo and Amare Stoudemire flew to Dallas to meet with former Sun Steve Nash. The 30 year old point guard had just presided over the highest scoring team in the league three seasons in a row. They offered him a six year $63 million contract to pry him away from billionaire Mark Cuban and his best friend Dirk Nowitzki. Far too long a contract for an aging point guard, right?

D’Antoni had a plan that would not just to improve the Suns but to change the league. He installed a wide open offense to be directed by Nash. He intended to use all five players on the floor, not just one or two. Oh, and they were going to run. A lot. No more walking it up the court and dumping it in to some behemoth who would attempt to back down his opponent or kick it out of a double team. His team would run, his team would pass and they would shoot, often.

The Result?

The Suns have led the league in scoring and 3P% the past two years. They led in FG% last year and finished second the year before. D’Antoni won coach of the year in his first full season as coach and the Suns have been to the Western Conference finals twice.

This year has been more of the same. The Suns currently lead the league in scoring (111.9), FG% (.501), 3P% (.398), FT% (.817) and assists per game (27.12); and second place isn’t even close. They have the second best record in the entire league, behind Nash’s old team the Dallas Mavericks.

Steve Nash is posting career numbers and is in line for his third consecutive MVP since choosing to leave Dallas and return to Phoenix. I will not argue the system versus the player because it’s as fruitless as the chicken or the egg debate. The fact is Nash makes D’Antoni’s team go and D’Antoni’s system allows Nash to showcase his world class skills. Together they are a thing of beauty.

And the best part is this doesn’t stop with the Suns. All around the league teams are trying to emulate the Suns. Some are limited by personnel others by lack of commitment, but make no mistake about it there’s a growing movement. Running and playing at a fast pace is no longer seen as a novelty or a sideshow brand of basketball. The Suns sit on the doorstep of their second 14 game winning streak of the season.

Last night they dispensed with the league’s second highest scoring team, the Washington Wizards, 127-105 in D.C. This game was a snapshot of what the Suns do. They shot 60% as a team and 39% from deep. They had seven players in double figures and finished with 35 assists. Of course they were led by the MVP who had 27 points on 11-13 shooting (3-4 from behind the arc) and 14 assists.  They wowed the crowd and even had the Wizards fans oohing and awing over alley oop passes, monster dunks and picturesque jumpers.

All that’s left for D’Antoni to prove is that this system can win it all. The Suns are poised to do just that. They are on a collision course with Dallas in the Western Conference finals; a series that will change the future of the entire league. When the Suns win it all, the doubters and naysayer’s will be silenced and D’Antoni’s brand of basketball will go from unconventional to the norm. Fans and players alike have felt the void. Something missing for several years now. Whether its players who play like they haven’t got a brain, a front office without the courage to break away from convention or teams that play without heart. The answers can be found from the man behind the curtain.