It goes without saying that up-tempo, high-scoring Phoenix will be the most fun team to watch in the 2007-08 NBA season.
But will it be the best?
The Suns are coming off a 61-win regular season, but what most will remember was Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio. Suns stars Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the bench in that game when Steve Nash was flagrantly fouled by the Spurs' Robert Horry. Noble of Stoudemire and Diaw to come to their superstar's defense, but it cost those two Game 5 because of suspension.
Phoenix would lose Game 5 without those two and then Game 6, and its season of promise was over.
Some believe the Suns' championship window is closing, with two-time MVP Steve Nash getting up there in age at 33. WagerWeb.com lists Phoenix as the third favorite to win the Western Conference at +250, and third favorite to win the NBA title at +400 (both behind the Mavericks and Spurs).
However, a motivated Suns team, with the addition of Grant Hill, will finally take the NBA title back to the Valley of the Sun this year.
"We've been pretty good the last couple of years, but I think we're potentially as good or better than ever," coach Mike D'Antoni said.
It all starts with Nash, +450 to win his third MVP award at WagerWeb.com, who is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.6 points and 11.6 assists, shot 90 percent from the free-throw line, 53 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point range. He reportedly now is in the best shape in his career despite his advancing age (at least in NBA terms for a point guard).
"It will take him a couple of games to really get going," D'Antoni said, "then I expect him to have the same type of year he had the last couple."
Nash, who turns 34 in February, thinks this year's Phoenix team may be the one that wins a title.
"We are older, wiser, more experienced," he said.
"Potentially we should be the best team we've had since I've been in Phoenix."He bases that largely on the fact Phoenix added Grant Hill in the offseason. The oft-injured former Orlando Magic forward signed for a pittance with Phoenix to try and win his first championship ring.
"He's another weapon," Shawn Marion said.
But can Hill finally stay healthy for a full season, something he hasn't done in years? The seven-time All-Star spent seven frustrating years in Orlando, missing almost two-thirds of the Magic's games, mostly with ankle injuries.
"There's nothing I can say to make anyone believe, or to make fans not skeptical," Hill said. "All I can do is just go out there and try to be consistent, be reliable to my teammates day in and day out, week to week, month to month, and hopefully get through the season healthy."
But last season he played in 65 games and averaged 14.4 points, 2.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds, and his minutes will be limited to around 25 to keep him fresh and, hopefully, healthy.
The Suns did trade one of their few post players in Kurt Thomas, so much will be on Stoudemire's shoulders.
Stoudemire, who came off two knee surgeries to play in all 82 regular-season games last season, missed three weeks during the preseason after undergoing microscopic surgery on his right knee but returned late in the preseason.
Stoudemire, a first-team All-NBA pick last year along with Nash, also believes this is the best of the recent Suns teams.
"With the experience that we had over the past years, and the players that we have, and the understanding of the game now, I think we're definitely a lot better," he said. "We're looking forward to winning the title this year."
Add in Diaw, Marion, Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell, and this team is deep. Marion was a third-team All-NBA choice last year, Bell was first-team all-defense, and Barbosa is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.
"This is a machine," Hill said, "this team and players and what they've done over the last few years. You don't want to come in and mess it up.
"This is a special situation. This is the season."
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