NBA

Getting Shaq hasn't restored Suns' swagger

Center is doing his part, but team has same problems it had with Marion

Paul Connors / AP

Trading for Shaquille O'Neal hasn't made any difference in the Suns' fortunes so far.

OPINION

By Jerry Brown

East Valley Tribune

updated 11:54 a.m. ET March 9, 2008

MESA, Ariz. - The reason the Suns aren't playing very well since Shaquille O'Neal came to town is the same reason they shipped Shawn Marion to Miami and brought in The Diesel to begin with.

All season long — from Day 1 of training camp, when Marion's trade request made more news than the Suns championship aspirations — this Phoenix team hasn't had the same feeling of harmony or swagger or confidence as three predecessors that won the Pacific Division and advanced in the Western Conference playoffs.

Last year, it was "Eyes on the prize." This year, it's been "Look out behind you."

O'Neal is giving just about everything the Suns hoped for in terms of minutes, production and interior presence. But they were also hoping the trade would include a healthy dose of lost mojo.

So far, the post-trade Suns are still searching.

The same problems were here when Marion was around. The offense wasn't as potent, the defense wasn't as good — although the leaking sieve has moved from the post to the perimeter — and the harmony of a team that used to groove to the same beat was never quite in sync.

Saturday's loss to Philadelphia set off alarm bells all over the Valley. Suddenly, the concern of flourishing in the playoffs was replaced by the paralyzing fear of not making them at all. By this time of year, the Suns are usually closing in on 50 wins and sizing up possible first-round foes with positioning in mind.

Not this year.

Not with the Suns giving up 120 points regularly and turning every decent wing player into Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Not with 15 of their final 24 opponents sporting better than .500 records.

"I think it's short-sighted to think (O'Neal) was going to come here and we're just going to take off," said guard Steve Nash, whose personal struggles this month haven't helped in the least. "It was naive to think 'this is going to be fine, and here we go.' "

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But that's what happened in Los Angeles after the Pau Gasol trade. Dallas and Jason Kidd have meshed quickly. Meanwhile, the Suns arrive in Portland with their gears grinding and their teeth gnashing, knowing they don't have forever to find their stride.

"(The other teams) added players who fit their system, we're trying to amalgamate ours," Nash said. "It's nice when Pau Gasol is dropped in your lap and you don't have to give up a Lamar Odom for him. (The Lakers) can sit Pau down and they're the same team they were before (the trade).

"We've changed everything we are doing. It used to be me trying to make plays for everyone. Now it's not the same when we're running pick-and-rolls with Shaq. It will take and I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes until we figure this out but that's my job and it's not an easy one."

But Nash can see the possibilities. The spacing isn't the same, but with Shaq causing a player to stay with him it can be just as open. The 3-point shooters will still get looks, and with Gordan Giricek joining Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa there will be more shooting options.

As for the defense, the Suns remain inclined to point to their own turnovers (18 on Saturday) and the resulting points (25) as reasons why opposing offenses are thriving. So if the Suns regain their swagger in what they do best, it will carry over into what they've never really done that well.

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"We're not a lock-down, grind-it-out team and we never will be," said coach Mike D'Antoni, who said he was wrong for questioning his team's effort against the Sixers. "But individually, we're just not playing and the tension ... every shot we take; I'm holding my breath (saying) 'I hope we make it.'

"We just have to play, and I'm as responsible for being as uptight as the players.

"Sometimes you get a violin and it's really tuned and you keep tightening the strings and the strings bust. We just have to loosen up a little as people and try to win instead of trying not to lose. It's not a hard game, and we're making it a lot harder than it has to be right now."

Even if this grand experiment leads to an even grander implosion, Nash said there should be no looking back.

"You had to take the chance," Nash said. "Even looking at how much we've struggled, it was still a chance you have to take. It wasn't working the other way.

"We've got a great chance to overcome what's been a tough beginning. And once we see a little daylight, a little joy and success at both ends, we'll start to build our confidence and belief."

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