Throw It Down Big Fella!

After watching Shaq’s Phoenix debut against the lakers, there is one thing that is absolutely certain. The Phoenix Suns are completely different team now. Sure, it’s hard to make sweeping generalizations after only one game, but if this game is any indicator, I think this trade just might work. The Suns had one major, glaring weakness, and that was on the inside, particularly guarding offensive minded big men, and rebounding. It’s obvious from the beginning that Shaq will immediately upgrade the Suns in both areas, even with minimal direct contribution himself. By him just being out there, teams are going to have to play them differently, thus opening things up for everyone else involved.

On offense, it was obvious that the initial game plan was to feed Shaq the ball, in an attempt to collapse the defense, and free things up on the outside. Right at the onset, it seemed like Phoenix was forcing Shaq to be involved in the offense, and it was slowing down their normally frenetic offensive attack. Players were standing around, seeing what he would do, and then reacting to the ball, as opposed to their usual offense that does a phenomenal job of letting the ball react to the players, creating open shots. The first half showcased numerous failed attempts at posting Shaq, and it really began to look like maybe the Suns made a huge mistake in trading away Shawn Marion for the big fella.

Then, in the second half, it all started to make sense. The offense started operating independently from Shaq, almost in the same manner as it does when Brian Skinner is in the game. The other 4 players played typical Phoenix Suns basketball, moving, passing, and shooting when they’re open. Meanwhile, Shaq just did his thing, setting screens (awkward as they were), gathering rebounds, and generally just taking up a ton of space. He moved reasonably well in and around the key, and when the ball came his way, he was able to make a few nice passes to cutting teammates for easy lay-ins. You could see the comfort level rising with each and every trip down the court, culminating in a 4^th quarter that showed glimpses of the old Shaquille that could simply overpower and dominate opponents into submission. After a slow start where he missed his first 2 shots and committed 2 early turnovers, he finished with a solid 15 points (6-9 shooting) to go with 3 assists and 3 turnovers. Not a bad nights work for his first time out.

On the other end, Shaq’s influence was more obvious early on. From the outset of the game, he gave Pau Gasol and the laker big’s a tough time, using his considerable size to disrupt the lakers offense, and wreak havoc on the boards. Although his final stats show a solid, but not spectacular 9 rebounds, he was instrumental in creating numerous rebounding opportunities for the usually outmanned Suns. Phoenix was uncharacteristically dominant on the glass, outrebounding the lakers 46-33, with Amare Stoudemire and Grant Hill grabbing 15 and 10 caroms apiece. Now, that my friends, is an improvement. Phoenix, who ranked 23^rd in the NBA in rebounding coming into tonight, might have done enough with this trade to become one of the better rebounding teams in the league. Each team has to focus so much attention on Shaq, that it’s going to free things up for everybody else to crash the boards using the quickness and athleticism that has been the Suns calling card the last few years.

In the same way that his presence by itself is enough to dramatically improve their rebounding, it will have a similar affect on their defense (although not in the same overwhelmingly positive way). By having Shaq in the middle, it allows Amare to slide over to his more natural position, power forward. This move gives them a great deal more size and shot blocking ability, as well as a lot more versatility to match up against all kinds of teams. However, it also means that they have a par to sub-par defensive player at every position (except when Bell is in the game). Uh, oh. The key though, is their offense will be given a big boost by potentially giving them two big time post playes that require maximum attention at all times. All these years, the teams that had the personnel would try to make the Suns go big, thus taking out one of their primary offensive weapons. Now? That means a heavy dose of Shaq. If you try to take Shaq out of the game, and go small? They’ll counter with a lineup of Amare, Diaw, Hill, Bell/Barbosa and Nash. I don’t know too many teams that can go small against that lineup and have continued success. Once Shaq gets himself settled (and he will), the Suns might be an even worse match-up nightmare than before, which is saying something.

One other aspect that requires mention, is that by adding Shaq (and thus changing everything about the make-up of the team), it's going to force the Suns to make a great deal of adjustments in the way they all play. On most teams, I'd classify this as a huge red flag, especially for immediate postseason success. One only needs to look at the Nuggets after acquiring Iverson. They had the talent to compete, but they just couldn't pull it all together for the postseason run, especially after having to come from behind in the standings. This Suns team, however, is a different animal. They've been rolling teams year in and year out for a while now, and have just crused through the regular season, until they reached a team that "figured them out", and they would be sent home. By adding Shaq, it's going to force the Suns to fundamentally change the way they do things. Instead of the free-wheeling run-and-shoot style they've been used to, they are going to have to actually install some sort of half court offense, and make these players remember how to win playoff basketball. Too often in the past, the Suns were beaten by their own style, forcing plays that weren't there, and using the "we'll make it up on the other end" excuse each time. That's all fine and dandy in the regular season, but come playoff time, when every possession matters (or so I hear), they need to be able to slow it down if the fast break isn't there, and actually operate in the half court. For most teams, the goal is to become less deliberate, and more free flowing. For the Suns, it's exactly the opposite. That being said, tell me one player in the league that will absolutely make your team more deliberate? There isn't anybody. And, I for one, think that's a good thing for the Suns.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that this game was against a lakers team that is weak inside, playing Pau at center, with Andrew Bynum still out with an injury. It’s also dangerous to jump to too many conclusions after only one game. However, this game did give quite a bit of insight as to how the Suns might play with Shaq, and how they might be successful. While there will undoubtedly be some growing pains, and there will be some teams that can contend with the Suns newfound bulk inside, it was pretty obvious after watching Shaq’s Phoenix debut, that this team will continue to be a force in the Western Conference. Now, will they be formidable enough to make it out of the West, and capture the city’s first pro basketball championship? That’s tough to say. But, they have just as good as shot as anybody, at this point. The only guarantee here is that this will only enhance what is already lining up to be one of the most entertaining playoffs in NBA history.