The Fall Of The Phoenix Suns: Thank You Steve Kerr

Ever since I was a small boy, I loved the Phoenix Suns. My older brother was a die hard Suns fan, and he got me hooked on it as a kid. I remember the days of the Madhouse on McDowell. And I remember the mighty day, that one Charles Barkley came to Phoenix.

I watched that season as the Suns went 62-20. And made it to the NBA Finals. That season, Easter day, 1993, was the day I went to my first Suns game. It was the most exciting day of my life, my brother took me and the Suns beat the Utah Jazz to capture the Pacific Division title. Sadly, sitting in the hospital room where my Dad had just undergone triple bypass surgery, I watched as John Paxson rose up, and launched a wide open 3, ending the season, and destroying championship dreams.

After that season, all hope was lost, there were many years of heartbreak to follow, it was almost a decade later, when hope returned.

2004 - 2005, Steve Nash, returned to Phoenix, and joined rookie of the year Amare Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion, and the Suns, once again, went 62-20. The best record in the NBA. It was then that Championship dreams returned. Sadly, injuries plagued the Suns in the Playoffs, and after making it to the Western Conference Finals, the Suns lost to the Spurs.

I was destroyed. But, was happy to see that the team would return the following season, with all players together to just get stronger.

2005 - 2006, The year of the Championship? Could have been. Before the season even started, Amare Stoudemire underwent surgery to his knee, and missed all but three games that season. Without the star forward, the Suns entered the Playoffs and fell 3-1 against the Lakers. But, a miracle happened. Two miracles, their names? Raja Bell and Tim Thomas. Brought the Suns back, and the Suns eliminated the lakers, 4-3. The Suns then went on, and made it to the Conference Finals once again, only to lose to the Mavericks, and once again, be haunted my injuries. The season was over, just shy of a NBA Finals appearance once again.

2006 - 2007, The Suns were the favorites to win the NBA Title this season. Back and stronger than ever with Amare in full force, the Suns were back. And headed for glory... That is until the biggest incident in NBA Playoff history. The San Antonio Screw Job. With seconds left in a Suns victory, Robert Horry checked Steve Nash into the scorers table, they got into each others faces, and Amare and Boris left the bench area to help calm the fight down. But in return, Amare and Boris were suspended the following game for leaving the bench area. How is that a screw job you ask? Tim Duncan also left the bench area. And with that simple suspension over nothing, the Suns lost, and this time, just shy of the Western Finals, they were elminated by the Spurs, in the Semi Finals.

That summer. Summer of 2007. Steve Kerr took over as General Manager of the Phoenix Suns.

And during that season, the biggest trade of all time happened. Took me back to the day I heard Barkley was on the way. The Suns had traded the player I hated the most, Marion, to Miami, for SHAQ. Shaq was brought in for the soul purpose of kicking the crap out of the Spurs, and finally catching the NBA Title. Shaq was in the stands before his debut, stood up, and pointed to his finger. The crowd went crazy. Critics got all over Shaq for being too old, he said it was making him upset, and when he gets upset, hes known to do things, like win championships.... Hey wait a minute, take a look at that picture, what finger is he pointing at?

The Suns were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. By the Spurs. 4-1.

Confusion struck, no one knew what to do. My heart hurt. I thought for sure the Suns would finally destroy the Spurs in the playoffs. And yet, nothing.

Shaq laid down some mighty bold words, saying that the next season, the Suns would not be elminated in the first round. He promised, garaunteed it.

And in a way, he was right, the Suns won't be eliminated from the first round, because, there is no first round. The Suns went from Conference Finals appearances, to Semi Finals, to First Round, to not even making the Playoffs. This is the first time in 16 years, that Shaq will not make the playoffs. So what was the main problem besides Shaqs LIES?

Steve Kerr.

All was well, Steve Kerr came along, and suddenly, things went to crap. Complete crap. The Shaq trade was a bad idea now that everyone thinks about it. And the trade earlier this season, sending away Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, was even worse. Not bringing back the coach that brought the Suns from no playoffs to conference finals and bringing in a coach that destroyed it all. Steve Kerr has single handedly dismantled and destroyed the Phoenix Suns.

This summer, Nash, and Shaq, will probably be traded. And the Suns will be back to having to rebuild, and waiting possibly another decade, before they are back on top.

R.I.P. Run and Gun Phoenix Suns.

LOL @ San Antonio Spurs Fans. Suns Vs. Spurs Recap.

Wow, take a look at this tool before the Phoenix Suns Vs. San Antonio Spurs game last night.....



TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT! I GOT THE SAME CLOTHES I HAD ON MONTHS AGO! EEEEEEEE!!

Anyways, here is same douche bag, a few hours later, AFTER the game....



I really like how he goes from this...


To this....


BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA..

Anyways, here is the recap of the game...

Phoenix Suns Dancer Kayla

So here is pictures of Kayla. A dancer for the Phoenix Suns. She's is just about as hot as it comes. And yes, she is hotter than Scarlett Johansson.





Kayla: 2008-09 Phoenix Suns Dancers Finalist

Phoenix Suns New Head Coach Is Terry Porter!

This news makes me very happy. I am so so glad that Mike D'Antoni is gone. Mike is the main reason behind the Suns choke fests every year in the playoffs. Mike has gone on to now be the head coach for the New York Knicks, ha, good luck with that.

But the news is that Terry Porter is the new head coach for the Phoenix Suns. He signed a 3 year 7 million dollar contract. He is a former head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks and did a pretty great job there. After his job there he then went on to be the assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons. Now the fans of the Phoenix Suns will see more than just 8 players. Mike D'Antoni was famous for only playing 8 players in his rotation while everyone else, especially the rookies, sat almost every game. The only time you would actually see some of the deep bench players was if the Suns were up by 20 or more points with 5 minutes remaining in the game.

The Future Of The Phoenix Suns: The REAL Reason Why They Will Never Advance To A Title

So a while back, G.C. here wrote a blog about why the Suns will always choke in the Playoffs. And almost every one of the reasons were way off, and wrong. Last night the Suns, were yet again, eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs. For the 4th time in the past 6 years. Now, is that choking? No. The Suns are a 6th seeded team, the Spurs are the defending world champions. I think everyones main problem is ever since Shaq came to Phoenix, expectations went flying through the roof way too soon. As for me, I said from the start, I do not expect the Suns to win the title this year. Next year yes. Even though winning it this year, would be nice too. But why not this year? And now, why not next year? Reasons.....

1. Suns Coach Mike DAntoni. Many people like to blame the players for most of the things. But they never realize there is someone behind the players that are drawing up these idiotic plays, and keeping key players on the bench while keeping a cold shooter on the floor. Mike DAntoni doesn't understand Playoff Basketball. He doesn't understand that once the Playoffs roll around, there is no more time to experiment with things, shake up line ups, try things out. It's time to lock it down, and get business done. 3 years ago, the Suns made it to the conference finals. Last year they made it to the semi finals. This year only to the first round. Mike makes stupid decisions, he panics, and in turn causes his players to panic. Last minutes of games, even though Steve Nash is not hitting his shots, but players like Raja Bell are hitting everything. He will still draw up a play for Nash. And Nash will miss. He will draw up some idiotic play, the players will go out there and attempt to execute this play and turn the ball over. He will keep players like Boris Diaw, who in Games 1 and 2 were throwing the ball away, shooting poorly, and playing poorly in the game, while players like Brian Skinner, sit on the bench. Mike DAntoni never plays his deep bench, they sit almost the entire season, so when someone gets injured, the Suns are hurt all around. Like this series with the Spurs. Grant Hill, one of the Suns key players goes down with an injury. And since Mike never played his bench, he puts someone in and they can't perform well because they've been riding the pine for 82 games. And if that is not enough, lets look at what Mike has to work with....

Steve Nash - 2 Time MVP. And will soon be the ONLY MVP to not make it into the NBA Finals.

Amare Stoudemire - 2003 Rookie Of The Year and future MVP.

Raja Bell - 2006-07 All-Defensive First Team

Grant Hill - 1995 Rookie Of The Year. 2005 and 2008 Sportsmanship Award Winner

Boris Diaw - 05-06 Most Improved Player

Shaquille O Neal - MVP, Rookie Of The Year, 3 Time NBA Finals MVP, 4 Time NBA Champion

Leandro Barbosa - Sixth Man Of The Year

And with that line up, with those players all on the same time together. STILL can not reach the NBA Finals? Rumors have gone all over that if the Suns could not get it done, DAntonis future would be in question. And I hope so. Mike and Suns General Manager have argued over many things recently. And Mike DAntoni is rumored to be pissed at the lack of support he is getting from the head office of the Suns. Uh, hey Mike, CAN YA FUCKIN BLAME THEM?! Sorry Mike, but when it comes to whose said I will be on between you and Kerr, I think I am going to side with Steve Kerr. Kerr has 5 NBA Championship Rings on his hand. Mike has ZERO. So when it comes to what it takes to win a Championship, I think Steve Kerr knows what hes talking about.

2. The Conspiracy. Last year, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for 1 game during the NBA Playoffs against the Spurs. For this little incident.



Amare and Boris were suspended for "leaving the bench area during an on court altercation." Even though, earlier in that game, Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen left the bench area during an on court altercation.

And now, this year....



A scuffle. Players on the Celtics team on the floor, leaving the bench. And guess what. NO SUSPENSIONS. And what makes it even better, is that DAVID STERN is in the crowd watching this. Same situation, but for some reason, no one gets suspensions this year. Hmmmmm...........

Hey look at this!



Last night, Mvs vs Hornets, altercation on the court.... Hey look! Players running onto the court! No suspensions. No fines, no nothing. Hmmmmmmmmm.........

Last night, Suns vs Spurs, the calls were pretty fair all game, some were stupid calls, but it was on both ends of the floor. But the strangest thing happened. The Suns were down by just 1 point, with under 2 minutes to go. And all of a sudden, EVERY call is going against the Suns, when some are CLEARLY supposed to go against the Spurs. Tim Duncan has the ball blocked by Shaq, the ball is knocked off of Tim Duncans hip and goes out of bounds. It is called out on Suns. They show the replay on TV, and confirmed, ball clear as day, out on Spurs. Nope, Spurs ball, they get the ball, score, thanks. I think my favorite moment though was when Tim Duncan was dribbling the ball under the hoop, and tripped on his own, leg. Falls to the ground. Foul on Suns. I guess Tim Duncans left leg is a Suns player? Dunno. But when one of the worst officiated games of the playoffs this year just happens to once again, be a Suns game. And once again, all the shitty calls go against the Suns. Just seems kinda fishy to me.

Anyways, all is said and done, another year gone. Was I expecting a championship this year? No. Do I expect one next year? Yes. This season I was saying theres no excuse for the Suns to not win it all, and there kinda wasn't but. Next year, there really is NO excuse. This season the Suns had a HUGE shake up, a major change in their lineup, and only had 20 games to get things together. But now, with having a full off season ahead of them. Plenty of time for everyone to get healthy, to get practiced, to get things locked down. But, with teams like the Hornets becoming what they are, and the Lakers getting their shit together. And the Celtics getting stronger. I feel like the window for the Suns to win a championship, may have closed.

The Phoenix Suns Will Always Choke in the Playoffs and Thats a Fact

The Phoenix Suns Will Always Choke in The Playoffs and Thats a Fact.

The NBA basketball playoffs are starting and that can only mean one thing- The Phoenix Suns will choke. Today they play the boring San Antonio Spurs. Now I like the Suns as much as the next guy ( even though they choke in the playoffs), and hate the Spurs. The Spurs include a dirty cheater who trips guys and jumps on their feet, a Guy nicknamed "Big Fundamental" who can't shoot freethrows, and the wife of some bitch off Desperate housewives. But the Spurs do not choke in the playoffs.

There are a few reasons The Suns will always choke in the playoffs.

1. Steve Nash. There is a reason Mark Cuban did not re-sign Steve Nash. Don't get me wrong. I am a huge Steve Nash fan. I was a fan back in 1996 when he was in college and almost no one thought this white kid from Canada would ever start in the NBA, let alone be a two-time MVP. But, Steve Nash chokes in the playoffs. He has played his entire career on many very good Dallas and Phoenix teams that should have won it all but didn't. When he went to Phoenix, the Suns got a lot better but Dallas didn't get any worse. Steve Nash does not lead teams in the playoffs. Phoenix chokes in the playoffs. So The Suns will always choke in the playoffs.

2. Deputy Shaq the Hack. The Suns got Shaq so Phoenix would not choke in the playoffs. The Matrix was leaving anyway, and they got a Hall of fame player in return. Not bad. But Shaq has never won it all by himself. He has always had Kobe or D Wade. Nash is no Kobe or Dwyane Wade, that's for sure. Neither is Grant Hill. Grant Hill drinks Sprite, like your fat uncle with arthritis. Dwyane Wade drinks Gatorade, like Mike. Shaq was always surrounded with superstars like Rick Fox and Robert Horry. He also had great clutch point guards like Derek Fisher. Steve Nash is no Derek Fisher; he isn't even Jason Williams.

3. Timmy Duncan. Like Shaq, Tim can't shoot free throws. But the greatest Power Forward of all time doesn't need to shoot free throws. Not when he has the all-world supporting cast of Tony Longoria, Chuck Finley, Brenda Barry, and Mano Geblowme. When Shaq gets the ball inside these days, he has trouble dunking over Earl Boykins. Anyone can foul him and watch him shoot free throws like some Third World kid who has never seen a basketball. Timmy Duncan can kick it out to one of his soccer teammates, who will head the ball into the hoop with amazing accuracy.

Tim Duncan is a leader and he elevates his teammates. Like Michael "Chuck" Finley ( I call him "Chuck" because of his amazing shooting ability and seamless replacement of the "Rifleman" Chuck Person, not because his wife beats him up on the way to games). We all know Mark Cuban hates the Suns. How much does he hate Phoenix? He pays Michael Finley $15 million a year to play for ANOTHER team. This way Finley can take out the rival Suns with his devastating 34% jumpshot. When you include the daughter of the Legendary Rick Barry, the amazing Argentine ballhandler, and Eva Longoria's wife- The Spurs have too many weapons to handle.

I hope the underdog Phoenix Suns can over come long odds and make their way through the playoffs. I just don't think they can do it though. Maybe if Steve Kerr suits up himself and gives them a hand.

Just know one thing for sure: The Phoenix Suns will always choke in the playoffs.
And thats a Fact.

Shaq to start for Suns in debut against Lakers

It's been 2 weeks. A very, very long 2 weeks. Some of us Suns fans have rejoiced, at getting our "big man" in the middle that the Suns have needed so so much. Other Suns fans, are idiots and think this is a stupid move. Getting rid of Marion (who won zero championships, complained in the locker room, and held anger towards Steve Nash for being the star of the team) and bringing in Shaq (a proven champion, someone that has been selected for the All Star Team every single year of his career in the NBA, except this year, due to injury.) Every year, the Suns are eliminated from the Playoffs. And every year, Suns fans say the same thing. "We need a big center." Well we got the big center, and people still aren't happy. As for me, I am very pleased with this. I have been wanting Shawn Marion gone for years, he was a huge part of this seasons flaws, which was the Suns chemistry going to shit. I stated about a month ago, and many Suns fans agreed, that if nothing was changed, if nothing was done, this was going to be just another typical year of an elimination from the Playoffs for the Suns. But we got a BIG change, the biggest change we could ever hope for.

When asked about the decision to start Shaq at Center, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said "There's no easing into it, He's just going to dive into the pool."

O'Neal's expectations "Go out and have fun and get used to the guys and just win. I'm not looking to put up historical numbers. Whatever the guys ask, that's what I'm going to do."

All the guessing, all the talking, all the defending of Shaq, will come to a head tomorrow night. Sadly, tickets are a bit pricey for Shaqs big debut, so I will be tuning into HD tomorrow night for the big debut on ESPN at 6:00pm PST instead of being there in person, unless I magically snag a pair of tickets.

Phoenix Suns hit 20 3 pointers in 1 game against Denver

Allen Iverson. Also known as... The Answer. Well from the looks of things, he isn't answering much. Just watch.

Amare Stoudemire named Phoenix Suns Team Captain

The Suns lost more than an All-NBA center as Amare Stoudemire sat out the past two games with a sore right knee. They were without a captain.

Stoudemire will turn 25 on Nov. 16 and has matured to the point where he has joined Steve Nash and Shawn Marion as team captains.

"He's taken ownership of the team and shown the ability to really do what's best for them," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's shown leadership and hard work. It's only right to reward that. He and Shawn and Steve will lead the way for us."

Stoudemire said he thought the honor recognized his hard work over five NBA years.

"It feels great to be a captain but I still have to work on leadership qualities," Stoudemire said. "I've been working hard for five years and I've got the captain title on my belt. It's definitely a responsibility. Your teammates look for you.

"I think it's great that the coaching staff and players look to me as a captain. It's just a matter of getting everybody on the team on one accord and trying to win ballgames. It's about being a great leader and being focused and making sure your teammates are focused."

Phoenix Suns start off slow, but beat the Cleveland Cavaliers

Suns Chairman Jerry Colangelo said he thought it was a typo Friday when he saw the Suns' blowout loss to the Lakers on a television's ticker in Chicago.

But there was the proof in front of him Sunday, when his Ring of Honor ceremony began after a 38-point Suns first half in which Phoenix shot 37 percent.

The solution was another great halftime speech, as the Suns emerged looking more like a winning team, beating Cleveland 103-92, moving to 2-1 and keeping the Cavaliers winless in Phoenix since 1999.

That predates the arrival of LeBron James, who said the halftime ceremony was "definitely tough on us" but should have given more credit to how the Suns played in the second half.

Lacking rhythm, and Amare Stoudemire, out with stiffness in the right knee, the Suns had to turn gritty.

Steve Nash hit 8 of 10 second-half shots in a 30 point, 10 assist night that saw him become more aggressive, a characteristic he usually reserves for April and May.

"If our offense isn't making the defense open up some of those lanes for passes that are normally there, then I'm going to be aggressive and make them stop me and maybe that'll open up some things for my teammates," said Nash, adding that he thought a physical approach would work better than any cerebral cure for the team's first-week energy funk.

"Even with Amare, we've got to be a team that swarms, scraps and hustles and uses our quickness, athleticism and intelligence at the defensive end to make us successful."

As Nash said, 2-1 is not bad for a team that has played four of the 12 quarters well.

"It wasn't real pretty, but effective," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Stoudemire is day to day as the Suns evaluate what Stoudemire is calling "discomfort." They looked like they might remain in a world of hurt without him. The three-point shooting was even worse at 5 for 21. The free-throw shooting remained frigid until the Suns made their final 12.

In the meantime, they survived on defense. Grant Hill was exemplary on LeBron James, who was 11 of 26 from the field and did not go to the free-throw line until there was 1:26 left in the game. Shawn Marion was taking on big-man duty again, handling Drew Gooden mostly but occasionally moving over to 7-foot-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

"I felt like I was a little kid guarding that big dude," said Marion, who is 6-7.

The Suns defense forced 22 turnovers.

"The perception is we don't play defense," Marion said. "I feel we do. It gets overshadowed by our high-powered offense."

Boris Diaw, starting for Stoudemire, had 16 points and eight rebounds.

"The more he plays, the better he is," D'Antoni said. "I'm not going to lose him this year like I did last year and like I did against the Lakers."

Los Angeles Lakers have some real dumb fans....

So tonight was the Phoenix Suns home opener against the Lakers, this is the 2nd game of the season for both teams. And well much like last year, the Suns got beat pretty damned bad by the Lakers. It was a pretty pathetic game, I should know, I was there.

Every year I go to the Suns home opener, and I try to go to as many games during said year as possible, sometimes they lose, sometimes they win, thats how it goes. But holy shit, I was not ready for this.

I will do this blog, by pointing out the many reasons why Laker fans are complete idiots and have no mental power...

First off, tonight after the Suns lost, and the game was over, Laker fans went freakin CRAZY. You would have thought this was Game 2 of the Finals, not Game 2 of the season. I am watching these Laker fans go ballistic, and just thinking to myself, wow, they won the 2nd game of the season, theres 80 more to go. And with the Suns losing, right now uh, the Suns are 1-1, and the Lakers are 1-1, what the hell are we celebrating?

Also, there was a lot of Laker fans around, but I really am not sure why I dare call them Laker fans. Find me a Laker fan that has any other players jersey besides Kobe Bryant and Ill give you a dollar. Every, single, "Laker" fan there, had a Kobe jersey. No Brown jerseys, or Walton, no Odom either. Just BRYANT jerseys. I wonder what the hell the Los Angeles Kobe fans are gonna do when hes traded in the next year?

As I walked out of the arena, an obnoxious Kobe fan approached me, yelling YEAH GO LAKERS FUCK YEAH GO LAKERS WOOOOO!!!! Alright, well I stopped him and said simply, "Hey yeah man go Lakers! They beat the Suns in the 1st game of the season last year too!" And he nodded and grinned like a fool, as I continued... "Hey remember what happened AFTER the season?!" He looked at my confused, as I said, "You know, the Playoffs. Actually, do you remember the last 2 Playoff rounds? What happened to the Los Angeles Kobes then? They, kinda get eliminated, by the Suns? Just a bit? Why dont ya go work on that Kobe novel, come up with some story ideas, a little character development? Hmmm?" He looked sad, and shuffled away, as I laughed at him.

Laker fans, stop disgracing the NBA with your idiotic tendencies. Grow up. The Lakers are now 1-1 WOOO!!! Only 80 more games to go! Boosh!!!

And in closing, this is by far my favorite bit of Laker fans. These videos are all over youtube.com they feature Kobes big huge mega 51 point game agains the Suns. The person that uploaded this video says.....

"Watch Kobe torch the Suns."

Now folks, indeed watch Kobe torch the Suns, but do something that this person failed to do, keep an eye on the scoreboard.....



Sigh.... Here ya go Laker fans, I got another video for ya. Goodnight!

It has begun! NBA PreSeason begins... The Phoenix Suns PreSeason that is!

Now here at DevonLohan I will be doing some NBA news worthy stuff.... well more like Phoenix Suns news worthy stuff since I am a die hard hardcore Suns fan and all other teams can lick my balls. So with that...

The Phoenix Suns Pre Season begins tomorrow here is the line up.
And whats in store this season? Who knows. It was a weird offseason with Shawn Marion demanding to be traded, but not getting his wish, Amare working out all summer only to end up having minor surgery last week. Oh yeah and the addition of one GRANT HILL, who has stated he is in the best shape of his career and feels the healthiest hes been since 1999. More on Amare...

A week after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Amaré Stoudemire was jogging on a weightless treadmill Monday — holding up 50 percent of his body weight — and it appears he won’t be out any longer than the initially projected two- or three-week time span.

With the limited post-surgery swelling now mostly gone, and his range of motion returning, this rate of progress would allow Stoudemire to be back on the floor in two weeks, and he will likely be able to take part in the final week of preseason games.

The Suns finish the preseason with a home game against Denver on Oct. 25 and a meeting with Seattle in Vancouver, British Columbia, the next night. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said Stoudemire could see action in one or both of those games if the current timetable holds up.

“We’re right on track and I’m feeling good,” Stoudemire said. “If we stay on this schedule, I should be back for a couple of preseason games. I need that and I’d like to get a couple games under my belt, but if we have to wait until we’re playing for real we won’t take any chances.”

Stoudemire had a loose piece of cartilage removed from the knee last Tuesday after experiencing pain during precamp workouts.