SDH's 2012/2013 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 15. Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns Overall Win/Loss Record :  33-33 third place Pacific Division	Last Season’s Rank 18	Projected 2012/2013 Finish 15
Last season’s Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 98.4 (8th) Points Allowed: 98.6 (21st) Team FG%: .458 (6th) Opponent’s FG%: .455 (21st) Rebounds per game: 41.7 (19th) Opponents rebounds per game: 43.4 (22nd)	Returning Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring: Marcin Gortat (15.4) Rebounds per game:  Marcin Gortat (10.0) Minutes per game: Marcin Gortat (32.0) Assists per game: Sebastian Telfair (2.3) Steals per game:  Jared Dudley (0.8) Blocked Shots per game:  Marcin Gortat (1.5)
Projected Starters Based on Last Season’s Performance, Veteran Seniority and Projected Impact C: Marcin Gortat PF: Luis Scola SF: Michael Beasley SG: Jared Dudley   PG: Goran Dragic	Key Reserves Based on Last Season’s Performances, Veteran Seniority and Potential Impact. Shannon Brown (G) Channing Frye (F/C) Wesley Johnson (G/F) Markieff Morris (F/C) Sebastian Telfair (PG)
2012/2013 Projection:  46-36, sunny with a chance of clouds but bright and clear way to the playoffs this season. Analysis: Of all the teams that have vastly improved this offseason, one of them who have improved the most has to be the Phoenix Suns.  It looked as if the loss of Steve Nash would have been the final blow to have the Suns setting; however with a few shrewd moves, the Suns find themselves back in the playoff hunt.  They will certainly not surpass the West’s elite, nor will they even challenge the Lakers or the Clippers for the Pacific Division crown.  What the Suns will do, however, is give their doubters and skeptics a run for their money as their front office overhauled the team from perennial loser to one of the most exciting young teams in the league.  And with a roster whose ages that range from 25-33, the Suns have a splendid mix of young talent and veteran savvy that will carry them to the post season this years and for seasons to come. It all starts at the point where the Suns replaced one of the league’s greatest point guards with a future star in the making.  Similar to Steve Nash, Goran Dragic was originally drafted by Phoenix and was subsequently traded to an NBA franchise in Texas where he would blossom into a star in the making.  While with the Houston Rockets last season, Dragic spent the beginning of the season backing up Houston’s starter at the time, Kyle Lowry; however, as time went on, Dragic would soon surpass Lowry and then take over as the primary floor general.  His ascension would start late in the season in March as he replaced the injured Lowry at the starting point guard and that was when he truly began to shine.  Dragic posted All Star like numbers averaging 15.0 points and 7 assists per game in March and continued to improve as the season ended finishing with averages of 18 points and 8 assists. That performance made the Suns management see the error of its ways and they pulled out all the stops to bring Dragic back into the fold by offering him a four year 36$ million deal.  In losing a future Hall of Famer in Steve Nash, the Suns gained a potential All Star who will lead the team to the next generation in Goran Dragic.  Many would scoff at the idea at a player such as Dragic would be able to fill in the immense void that Steve Nash left behind. Most certainly, the same people who currently doubt Dragic probably thought the same way about Nash when Phoenix jettisoned him off to the Dallas Mavericks right after his second year fourteen years ago.  And looked what happened: Nash became a household name as he led the Dallas Mavericks from being a perennial loser to the playoff powerhouse that it has become today.  Now it seems as history shall repeat itself as Dragic returns home to handle the reins and steer this Phoenix franchise to future glory.  And he will have a far better team to facilitate the Suns’ offense than Nash ever had in his last couple of seasons with the Suns starting with anything signing of another young talented player who many have given up on, but will soon turn doubters in believers as well.  Since he was selected with the second pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, Michael Beasley has been unfairly portrayed as a draft day bust due to unlucky breaks and personal missteps in his career.  In Phoenix, he will have the opportunity to shed that label and prove to the world that he is much more than his critics have given him credit for.  Add another high draft pick that has struggled early in his career in Wesley Johnson, Phoenix have two young talents with huge chips on their shoulder looking to take their frustrations out on the league making the Suns an even more dangerous team. Add veteran Luis Scola, one of the best post scorers in the game who Phoenix picked up off waivers, along with the incumbent star Marcin Gortat, Phoenix seems poised to make a run and return to playoff contention by season’s end.  The fusion of youthful energy and veteran knowledge mixed with the returning player will make for a splendid chain reaction as the Suns will look to go supernova on the league.  Many do not give Phoenix much of a chance in the West even go as far by predicting that the Suns will finish at the bottom of the league; however, those naysayers will soon be eating their word as they watch the Suns scorch their opponent.  With all that has been said and with the offseason moves that have been made, the Phoenix Suns should be considered as one of the most anticipated teams to watch this season.  One can hardly wait for October to arrive to see this new Suns team in action whether he is a fan or not.