6 Ways to Remedy, Not "Fix", the Suns

Notice now I say remedy, not fix. In spite of a lackluster start and contrary to popuar belief, the Suns aren't broken. There's just a few things that need to be remedied. Honest.

I'm also not in panic mode. We are only 21 games into the season with an entirely new staff, new roster, new philosophy, and new style. It's not time to panic.

But, I think we can safely say there is cause for concern...

• We are 12-9 and lost 4 in a row before the win against Utah last night
• Barely averaging 100 points per game (last night was the first time we cracked 100 in all of December)
• Averaging only 6 made threes per game (last year 9)
• Negative point differential
• Attempting only 75 shots per game (last year 83)
• Turnovers a league worst 16.6 a game
• Averaging only 20 assists per game (last year a league best 27)
• Ranked 25th in the league in rebounds (average of 39)
• Shaq and more controversy
• Confusion, lack of effort, and hesitancy in both offense and defense leading to frustration

I think us Suns fans expected the team to struggle a bit out of the gates...at least I did. Though it doesn't surprise me they are, it's where they've struggled that has surprised me. I thought we'd struggle with our half court offense and it would obviously take time to learn new defensive schemes. But our losses have been largely due to errors in judgment, lack of effort and lackadaisical play. To quote Mike D'Antoni "the ball finds energy."

Thus far, the Suns are making D'Antoni look like a genius. However, unlike basketbawful and as an eternal Suns optimist, I haven't lost faith. Not even close.

Obviously, our most glaring errors are turnovers, non-chalance, and rebounding. It's easy to say just "fix those". But it's more complicated than that, and we have other nuances we need to "remedy".

Thus, here are my 6 remedies for the Suns:

1. Trust Terry Porter

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Though I loved Mike D'Antoni, we tried his system for 5 years. While it certainly was fun to watch and revolutionized the game it, ultimately, didn't work as proven by our playoff losses. Suns fans, we need to play better defense. We cannot run Nash into the ground and rely on him as much as we have. We need better post play. We need more depth. Steve Kerr and Terry Porter have committed to this and will help us in the long run. Wouldn't your rather lose more games now than in the playoffs? Wouldn't you rather get our bench more minutes now so we can avoid another Game 5 playoff scenario where we played only 5 guys?

Look, Porter needs to get a feel for the team. He's the right guy for the job. He's experimenting with lineups. He's giving different guys shots at minutes. He's doing what any coach should - using trial and error and if it's not working, he'll adjust. And he's willing to adjust for the betterment of the team.

Check out this post by Bright Side of the Sun. He put photos of Porter ripping into Amare in the 4th quarter for lack of effort. Good gracious do I love that.

2. Work on entry passes to the post/inside-out game/spacing

These all go hand in hand and all three have to be fluid to be successful. I've said this before...we must be the worst team in the league passing to the post. This is a HUGE part of the game, especially now with Shaq, that we need to get better at. We really haven't needed to pass into the post the past few years so it's not been a focal point.

With Shaq, the lower he gets the ball on the block, the better. This will allow him to either score, or if double teams come and collapse on him, pass out to a wing. Thus, our spacing needs to be better. Last night against the Jazz, it was nice to finally see Boris Diaw cut to the hoop off an Amare/Nash pick & roll. Guys had better spacing and went to open spots on the court...and we won against a solid, solid Jazz team.

3. Amare Needs to Rebound and Shut Up

Look, I've been a huge critic of Amare and rightfully so. I'm of the belief that players should shut up and play. That's what bugged me so much about Shawn Marion and his constant whining of being undervalued. Just play! The karma will take care of itself. This season, Amare was tapped to break-out into further super stardom judging by his play with Shaq last year.

Well, that hasn't necessarily happened. I want Amare to play like Dwight Howard. I want Amare to ferociously go after every loose ball, every rebound, and attack the rim. I want Amare to act like he cares about playing defense. He simply cannot have 8 total rebounds in two games and expect to win or be looked at like the Dwayne Wade's or LeBron James's. He is too athletic not to get more than 10 rebounds a game.

People will see his stat line from the Jazz game and get excited. While I'm not saying they shouldn't be, he still had a +/- of -4. He will need to consistently demonstrate his dedication to rebounding and defense for us to go anywhere. He's only got double-digit rebounds in 5 games the entire year! Look at his stat line of our 4 game losing streak - 27 total rebounds and 14 turnovers. He is too big a part of our defense not to have rebounding be a major focus.

4. Role Players Need to be More Effective

The key to winning this year is not through Nash, Amare, or Shaq. The key for our season is the play of our role players and bench. By far, our most important role players are Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, and Matt Barnes (I left Grant Hill out because while he is important, he is not relied on as much as the aforementioned players). Barbosa needs to focus on scoring. Diaw needs to focus on being aggressive. Barnes needs to focus on being our version of James Posey, as I wrote before the season started. Thus far, they (collectively) have been inconsistent.

The reason they are so important is because we cannot rely on Nash to win games for us anymore. We cannot ride Nash's back for the entire season and live/die with him anymore. It's not fair to him and it hasn't worked in the playoffs. Our role players need to develop that confidence early in the year to step up. So far, they've shown signs but with lineup experimentation it has been difficult for each to find a niche.

5. We Have to Run and Utilize Nash

It's obvious that we are a better team when we run on a consistent basis. Though I believe that we should have set offensive schemes, they should be utilized when we can't run. We need to begin by running and set the tone early. This will allow Nash to create, and we desperately need to use that ability. This will also allow Shaq to be more effective in the post since he has demonstrated he still is capable.

While I mentioned earlier that we can't rely on Nash to win games for us any longer, we definitely cannot rely on Shaq like we have been. While we need to get him the ball, we also need to use our strengths. By running, this allows teams less of an opportunity to double Shaq. He is still effective in the post and as I said above, when he is doubled, he can kick it out. This will enable our wings to shoot and use their athletic ability to score, rather than being stagnant on the perimeter.

6. Sustainable Effort

Winning isn't going to come easy to the Suns anymore. The league has got collectively better. The West is still ridiculously good. For the Suns to go anywhere, they need to play their ass off and with a sense of urgency. Otherwise, it's going to be a long, short season.

Thus far, our effort hasn't been there. It's a known fact that when you are struggling offensively, your defense and effort on other areas of the game needs to pick up. The Suns haven't done a good job of that this year. When the offense struggles, instead of picking up other areas of their game, they force it offensively leading to turnovers.

It's not rocket science. Just play your ass off.

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Again, it's not time to panic yet. Remember, this new style will sustain us in the long run and better prepare us for the playoffs against physical teams.

Give the Suns a chance to be resilient.