Phoenix Suns: Reach for the Top

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Phoenix Suns 08-09
The Suns have been a playoff contender every single year for the past years since the arrival of former Suns 1st round draft pick, Steve Nash. Although they have not made much progress since his arrival (furthest in playoffs is Western Conference Finals). Head coach, Mike D'Antoni have been very successful during his years with the team. With Nash leading the fast paced offense, the Suns' best year came in the 2004-05 season when the team won 62 games. In 2008, the Suns have made changes to their head coach, and their playing style. The Suns have also added veteran big man, Shaquille O'Neal. As everyone knows, Shaq is a dominating player in the half court set, and is most known for his years with the LA Lakers with Kobe Bryant. The aging Shaq is looking for another championship, but this means the Suns and their players would have to slow down to adjust for Shaq. Terry Potter is hired, the defensive minded head coach, will look for the Suns to play defense first. This is very different from the D'Antoni, Run-n-Gun style. Some players did not like it but Nash says his team is willing to sacrifice for success. What can the Suns do to get closer to their ultimate goal? Do they need to add more pieces to the team to make it better? How much longer does Nash, Shaq, Hill have in them?

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The Phoenix Suns are ready to go for launch, ready to get to the top!

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Roster


Juza's Roster, Sliders, Settings
Platform: PC
Playoffs: 7-7-7-7
Season: 82 games (play majority)
Played: 10 minutes per Quarter
Sim: 12 minutes per Quarter
Prospects: ReeC's real draft 09 rookies

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Player Intro and Roles


Starters:

Steve Nash* PG
DOB: February 7, 1974
Height: 6 ft 3 in
Weight: 178 lb
College: Santa Clara University
Awards: 2x MVP, 6x All-Star, 3x All-NBA First Team, All-NBA Second Team
12 year veteran, 2 time mvp looking to bring home the NBA championship. To start out his career, he was drafted by Phoenix, played behind hall of fame point guard Jason Kidd. He didn't have much success in Phoenix and left for Dallas. Played in Dallas in 1998-2004, had been their starting point guard, helping Dirk Nowitzki into one of the best big man in the league. Finally, in 2004 off-season, Nash accepts the offer from his former team to a 6 year 63 million dollar contract. As Steve leaves Dallas, he joins the young Phoenix team at the time, with rising stars in Marion, Stoudemire and Joe Johnson, the team would go on to their best season in franchise history with 62 wins. Nash wins his first MVP award. The next year, Nash continues to play like an MVP making his teammates better and would take the Suns to the West finals for a second time until they're knocked out by Dallas. Nash, at 34 years old, is looking to end his career in Phoenix with a championship.


Amare Stoudemire PF-C
DOB: November 16, 1982
Height: 6 ft 10 in
Weight: 249 lb
High School: Cypress Creek
Awards: ROY, 4x NBA All-Star
Amare was drafted by the Suns in 2002, 9th overall. Amare is regarded as the franchise player when he was drafted and as he won the Rookie of the Year award. Amare is most known for his thunderous dunks and alley-oop plays. Playing alongside Steve Nash, the forward has averaged more than 20 points every season, when he was healthy. He is the team's scoring leader and he looks to be even better. There has been rumour that Amare will leave Phoenix to play elsewhere for a winner, but he is the fan favourite and the team will try to resign him once his contract finishes.


Shaquille O'Neal C
DOB: March 6, 1972
Height: 7 ft 1 in
Weight: 325 lb
College: Santa Clara University
Awards: 4x NBA Champion, MVP, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 2x NBA Scoring Champion, 3x All-Star MVP, 15x All-Star
Shaq started out his career in Orlando, being the first overall draft pick, much was expected of him. Shaq had took his Magic to the finals in 1995, but was swept by the Rockets. After the Magic, he moved on to the Lakers. At LA, he would go on to win 3 straight championships with Kobe Bryant. In 2005, Shaq goes back to Florida, and plays for the Heat. Shaq, wins a championship
with Dwayne Wade. Finally, Shaq was traded for Marion to Phoenix.


Jason Richardson SG-SF
DOB: January 20, 1981
Height: 6 ft 6 in
Weight: 225 lb
College: Michigan State
Awards: 2x Slam Dunk Champion
Jason Richardson is known for his offensive abilities when he played for the Golden State Warriors. J-Rich is an explosive dunker, like Stoudemire, thrives in fast break opportunities. J-Rich is a reliable scoring source after Stoudemire and Shaq. The swingman is looking to be a solid defensive player, replacing Raja Bell, who was known for his defensive toughness against stars such as Kobe Bryant.


Matt Barnes SF-PF
DOB: November 28, 1982
Height: 6 ft 7 in
Weight: 226 lb
College: UCLA
A key role player for the Suns, he is a versatile player that could play the 2-3-4 positions. During the playoffs in the 06-07 season, Barnes and the Golden State Warriors (last west playoff spot) defeated the first place Dallas Mavericks. Matt Barnes had shown his ability to defend bigger players and thrive in the fast paced offensive system.

Key Reserve Players

Leandro Barbosa SG
DOB: November 28, 1982
Height: 6 ft 3 in
Weight: 202 lb
Country: Brazil
Awards: Sixth Man of the Year
Barbosa had been drafted 28th overall by the Spurs in 2003, and had been traded to the Suns. Barbosa is the key man off the bench and has been a proven scorer off the bench. Barbosa, at 6-3 is an undersized 2 guard, he first played the point, but had switched to shooting guard because of his scoring abilities. The speedy guard is a key candidate to another 6th man of the year award. The Brazilian continues to be one of the key
players in the Suns offense.


Grant Hill* SF-SG
DOB: October 5, 1972
Height: 6 ft 8 in
Weight: 225 lb
College: Duke University
Awards: 7x NBA All-Star, 5x All NBA Selection, co-ROY with Jason Kidd
Grant Hill was known for his college years at Duke where he won a championship. Grant was drafted third overall by the Detroit Pistons. He has had a lot of injuries throughout his career. His best years were his years with Detroit, but when he got to Orlando in 2000 things went downhill. Hill was signed by Phoenix in 2007 and has been a key veteran player in the Suns system.

Energy Players
Louis Amundson PF
DOB: December 7, 1982
Height: 6 ft 9 in
Weight: 225 lb
College: UNLV
Louis Amundson will be the energy man off the bench for the Suns. He will come in the game looking to rebound, and play defense. Amundson is known for his high energy play. Amundson will be the back up big man behind Shaq and Amare. Amundson will likely to be one of the more valuable players the Suns have when they play back to back games.

Goran Dragic PG
DOB: May 6, 1986
Height: 6 ft 4 in
Weight: 180 lb
Country: Slovenia
Dragic has been a player that has played in Europe for a several years. He will be looking to play his first season in the NBA. Dragic will take the important role of back up point guard, until the Suns find a veteran player to take the role. Dragic is still young and will take some time to develop, he will play key minutes until the arrival of a veteran point to back up Nash.

Stromile Swift PF-C
DOB: November 21, 1979
Height: 6 ft 9 in
Weight: 220 lb
College: LSU
Stromile Swift is a player that is known for his athletic ability. Swift can be another Amare, he can provide some key minutes if Shaq or Amare goes down. Swift is one of the more experienced player amongst the bench players, and can help guide Rookie big man, Robin Lopez.

Deep Bench
Robin Lopez C-PF
DOB: July 10, 1985
Height: 7 ft 0 in
Weight: 255 lb
College: Standford
Robin Lopez is a rookie drafted 15th overall in the 2008 draft. Robin is a 7 footer that is known for his defensive abilities while he played along side his twin Brook. Robin Lopez is a prospect that will key to the Suns future. Would he be Shaq's successor at center? If Lopez can improve immensely defensively in the coming years, he could be the Suns starting center.


Jared Dudley SF-PF
DOB: April 1, 1988
Height: 6 ft 7 in
Weight: 235 lb
College: Boston College
Jared Dudley is an impressive defensive player that could defend players on the perimeter and post players. Jared will see playing time when the normal rotation players hit injury. Dudley needs to improve his jump shot and will receive more playing time as he improves.

Alando Tucker SG-SF
DOB: February 11, 1984
Height: 6 ft 6 in
Weight: 210 lb
College: Wisconsin
The Suns drafted Tucker 29th overall in the 2007 draft. Tucker has bounced between the NBA and D-League level since he has been drafted. Tucker will be a bench warmer and come in to play garbage minutes. Tucker needs to be improving his overall game. The Suns will hope he could develop into a defensive specialist that could come off the bench in the future.

* Captains

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October 28, 2008
Season Opener 2008-09:
The Suns come out red hot against their rivals, the Spurs.
1st Quarter: 30-21
Suns start out the game with swagger and determination. Shaq shows what he could give the team, with a dunk and key defensive plays on Tim Duncan.
2nd Quarter: 54-48
Spurs stops the Suns' momentum with a run.
3rd Quarter: 79-72
Suns tries to pull away.
4th Quarter: 106-96
Suns finishes off the Spurs in last 4 minutes.

Player of the Game:
Shaquille O'Neal

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Post Game Interview:
Reporter: Shaq, you were great tonight, with a monster 33 points and 9 boards. What did you think of your team's performance tonight?
Shaq: This is what we need every night, the aggressiveness we brought out tonight was great. I could still bring the energy, I could still get 30 points! With Grant, Steve, they knew how to close out the game.
Reporter: Steve, how did your team get the win tonight?
Nash: We played defense, it wasn't perfect, but good enough to stop them. Shaq is showing he's still one of the most dominating big man in the league. I'm sure if it is not Shaq the next game, someone else could step up for us.
Reporter: Coach, what did you like the most about your team's performance tonight?
Porter: We tried to play tough D, and got some stops. Our guys attacked the rim and got to the line. We have got a lot of room for improvement though, how did Tony Parker dish out 18 assists? I trust in my guys though, with Nash, Shaq, and Grant, these guys are really experienced and just knows how to win every night.


Next Game:
Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

[Rudy]

t-pane, theyre very good... lets go t-pane

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t-pane, theyre very good... lets go t-pane

Thx bro!
This is my first association/dynasty so if you have any suggestions or anything please tell me!
I am looking for a good back up point guard, can anybody suggest a good back up point? I would be willing to give up Tucker, and the other bench warmers.

[cavs4872]

Good win against San Antonio. Your starting bigs dominated the inside. Good job holding Tim Duncan to a low percentage.

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October 29, 2008


Anticipated to be a battle of the best point guards in the game.
Home Opener:
The Suns come out red hot against their rivals, the Spurs.
1st Quarter: 22-18
Suns shows home crowd some heat, but cannot crack the game wide open.
2nd Quarter: 39-37
Suns hold slight lead.
3rd Quarter: 63-62
Amare gets his 5th personal foul and his forced to sit with 2 minutes left in third.
4th Quarter: 84-93
Hornets pulls away with 4 minutes left in the game. Stojakovic hits key treys to take Hornets to victory.

Player of the Game:
David West
17 pts, 12 boards.

Post Game Interview:
Reporter: What happened tonight, coach?
Porter: Amare got in foul trouble, and some of our veteran guys showed their age against the younger Hornets. We are now seeking some help at the point, we may initiate a trade soon. Our guys played hard tonight, but we didn't come up clutch in late game situations.
Reporter: Do you think fatigue and age had you lose the game?
Nash: A little bit, but we will be ready for the next game for sure. We must have to save our energy for the next game, we're playing 3 games in 4 nights.
Reporter: Shaq, did you think you guys played good enough tonight?
I wish I could get out there and play more minutes, but I have to try to stay out of injury problems at the same time. They're (Hornets) in luck today, I guarantee they will not be able to win the next time we play them.

Next Game: Portland Trailblazers

[cavs4872]

Tough loss. What happened to the pictures and video?

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Sorry forgot to post picture, thx for ur support, XxCavaliers, this association may end because of lack of support, but I'll try to add more things in the following week.

[Angelo]

If you want a good backup point guard try delonte or maybe telfair

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I have acquired Kevin Ollie and I am at the playoffs with the #1 seed now, because of lack of support I decided to end this thing.

[Cartar]

I have acquired Kevin Ollie and I am at the playoffs with the #1 seed now, because of lack of support I decided to end this thing.

Now that's a blockbuster deal.

I actually liked the player intro and roles, but the recaps weren't as good as they could've been.

[Alejandrov011]

I played a season with the Suns. They are by far the best team in 2K9 and becomes boring... I went 28-1 losing only to Cleveland :S