Open thread: Regular season game 44 vs. Phoenix Suns

So here's the deal, I've only gotten to see the Suns play twice this year.  The first time was a game against the Nuggets that I wasn't able to pay real close attention to because I was working on some stuff while the game was going on, and the other time was last Monday's blowout loss to the Celtics.  Since that kind of disqualifies me from saying much about tonight's opponent, I thought I would turn to two people that know what they're talking about, Phoenix Stan from Bright Side of the Sun and Ben from Ben's Suns Blog.

1. Ever since the Shaq for Marion trade last season, there's been talk about what this team's identity is, whether or not they're still the fast-paced team that fans have come to know and love over the last 5 years or if they've become more of a half-court team.  Which direction do you think this team is headed and which direction do you personally think the team should go?

Phoenix Stan: I think if you can answer that question then you should go Vegas and not worry about the lousy economy. I am not headed to Vegas anytime soon, but here's my best guess:

The Suns are trying to run a hybrid game that has both elements of controlled tempo, pound it inside along with more fast paced when Shaq is resting or like most teams off turn overs and rebounds. The problem is turnovers. The Suns for reasons that totally befuddle me can not stop turning the ball over. When you are slowing the tempo and there by reducing the number of attempts you simply can't expect to give away possessions and still win. This has been the Suns biggest struggle.

As for where they should go, that's even harder. You can't ignore how well Shaq is playing and so you simply must gear your team around him as long as he's here and performing. Trying to force him into some other system was tried and failed.

Ben: Short answer:  Who the hell knows.

2. When I first heard about the Suns-Bobcats deal, I thought that Phoenix was making out like bandits (mainly because I'm predisposed to think that Michael Jordan will come out on the wrong end of any kind of transaction), but after Charlotte's win against the Suns on Friday night I'm starting to reconsider my position.  A month later, how do you feel about the trade?

Phoenix Stan: I think this could turn out to be a rare win-win deal. The Suns had to get rid of Raja Bell. He had given up on the team and was a negative influence. Diaw's salary and talent was being wasted in a back-up role. He's a guy that obviously should be starting and having a big role for a team.

JRich is a big upgrade at the shooting guard and is young enough to be part of the longer term plans and Dudley looks like he can be a solid role player as a back up small forward next year when Barnes is gone.

Ben: I loved it then and I still love it now.  Before our recent skid, we had won 9 of 12 games with J-Rich and things were looking up.  With the acquisition of Jason Richardson, the Suns immediately became younger and more athletic at the 2 guard causing other teams to game plan for that position; whereas they certainly didn't have to with Raja. Boris has been a thorn in the Suns side for quite some time and Suns fans were sick of waiting for him to fulfill his potential. Richardson gives us a Joe Johnson-type player that we haven't had since 2004-2005 who can create his own shot and run the floor.

Phoenix Stan: I struggle with this one too. The team has been inconsistent and have shown extended periods of very uninspired effort. With so many veterans and personalities I don't know how much of that to lay at Porter's feet and how much the players need to own. Clearly, he's not been able to handle the biggest challenge which is Amare. Amare's effort has dropped of dramatically so in that sense Porter can be blamed for the result.

On the other hand, he walked into a very dicey situation and it's hard to point the finger at him. I tend to be patient and think that over time he will do well.

Ben: I've been a Porter advocate for much of this season as well as preaching patience.  However, for the first time, I'm beginning to question him a little bit.  I'm not sure he's utilizing the strengths of our team as much as I'd like. 

Phoenix Stan: Great question! These guys are such good athlete's you can pick a couple. Imagine Shaq as an offensive line man or Matt Barnes at wide receiver or Leandro Barbosa as a corner back. I think though looking at both athletic ability and the Cardinals needs I would go with Amare at tight end. He's got great hands. He's strong as hell and he's fairly tall at 6' 10".

And for the record, I still don't believe in the Cardinals. They've sucked for so long and I've hated the Bidwell's for so long that the thought of them winning a title before the Suns turns my stomache.

Ben: Well, we've all seen the Barnes to Barbosa full-court passes...but we have a pretty good quarterback in Warner.  I think having Shaq on the offensive line to protect Warner would be beneficial, maybe even handing it off to him like Refrigerator Perry on the goal line.  Then again, it'd be fun to see Leandro Barbosa's speed or Louis Amundson's jumping ability when receiving passes from Warner.

Big ups to Phoenix Stan and Ben for their excellent responses.  Ben also had some questions for me which you can read here.

Tonight's tip is at 7.  Officially, it's a home game but this is the Wizards first game back from a four game swing out west and they follow it up with two more road games, so even though they're playing at home it probably feels a lot like a road game for the Wizards tonight.  It'll be interesting to see how they respond tonight.

This is an open thread, so debate whether or not Dan Majerle can move mountains here.

GO WIZARDS!