Diaw Suits Suns So Far
By Jerry Brown
East Valley Tribune
Oct. 30, 2005
When you wear a size-16 shoe, sometimes finding the right fit can take time. And after two years with Atlanta, Boris Diaw’s NBA experience was a lot like a bothersome pebble in his hitops: Uncomfortable and unwelcome.
One night, Diaw would play 20 minutes for the Hawks. The next, he’d never move from the bench. So when he was dealt to the Suns over the summer, Diaw was as ready for a change as the Hawks were to move him.
But after just a few weeks in Arizona, the affable Frenchman and the hands-down surprise of Suns training camp has found a perfect fit on a team loaded with interchangeable parts.
At 6-foot-8 and a sturdy 225 pounds, Diaw combines the ball-handling and passing skills of a point guard with the girth to guard many power forwards and even centers. As a result, Diaw logged more than 23 minutes a night in preseason, scoring seven points and adding more than four assists a night while shooting more free throws (27) than another Sun.
"I love the role I have right now, it’s been great here right from the beginning,’’ said Diaw, who warmed up for this season by helping France to its first medal in 50 years (a bronze) at this summer’s European Championships. "I don’t have a preference where I play, and here I think I’ll do a little bit of everything. Handling the ball and finding guys with passes, it’s been great right from the start.’’
Diaw is the only current, tangible return from this summer’s Suns soap opera — the on-again, off-again, on-again saga that ultimately shipped the popular Joe Johnson to Atlanta. No one in the organization will say Diaw is equal value for someone who filled as many roles as Johnson for two years in Phoenix, but there are those who feel their end of the deal will look pretty bright if Diaw’s potential pays off.
Already, Diaw will be off the bench early when Phoenix opens the regular season against the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday at America West Arena. And with Amaré Stoudemire gone with a knee injury and big men Brian Grant and Pat Burke struggling through injuries in training camp, Diaw’s play has earned him the first call to spell inside starters Kurt Thomas and Shawn Marion.
"Boris is a lot better than I thought," said Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni, who originally envisioned Diaw fighting for time as a backup to point guard Steve Nash. "He creates a lot by giving us a playmaker from a different position on the floor.
"I wasn’t thinking he could play the four (power forward) or five (center) at the beginning, but I was hoping he could. He’s proved that he can, and that he can give us another weapon."
During the summer, Stoudemire worked on his ball handling and joked that he could play "point center’’ to take advantage of his improved skills. But Diaw might become a true incarnation of that spot, as the Suns will use Diaw’s skills to funnel the offense through him when Nash is resting.
"It helps Leandro Barbosa and Eddie House to have Boris on the floor as the point forward or center or whatever you want to call it," D’Antoni said. "They can get open and shoot.
"At this level, Boris can be . . . not just a little role player, but a major player."
With Diaw and Nash on the floor, the Suns have two playmaking options. "With Raja (Bell) and James (Jones) and Boris, we have a lot of guys who can move the ball. That allows Steve to just be a basketball player, and he’s a pretty good player," D’Antoni said.
Diaw has weaknesses. A career 20 percent shooter from 3-point range, Diaw made only 1 of 7 attempts in preseason and his 24 turnovers tied Nash for the team high. But from inside the arc, when Diaw wasn’t scoring baskets (16 of 31 attempts) he was drawing fouls and getting to the line.
"Without Amaré, we need people who get to the line,’’ D’Antoni said.
Great news and a bargain at that price.
