I'm very unimpressed with the Suns so far though I've only seen the open scrimmage and the Denver game. I expected to see Hill much more in the thick of the action in the half court but D'Antoni has him pushed way deep in the left corner, forcing Bell out high. I realize that Grant is a smart enough player to figure out how to take advantage of the baseline but D'Antoni doesn't have a clue about that so why in the world would he shuffle him off to a corner? Especially into Raja's corner, where the latter functions great as a spot up shooter?
The only reason I can think of is that Mike is so enamored of making Hill into a three point threat that he's putting him into a position where the three's are easiest and his other options are limited. The worst thing is that D'Antoni is so stubborn, he's likely to persist in this misbegotten alignment the entire season. Sheesh, he's likely to end up patting himself on the back for making Hill into a decent three point threat.
They haven't been using the pick and roll as much as usual but I haven't spotted anything interesting that they're replacing it with. No hint of two man games or pinch post maneuvers even though they have players with talents very well suited to either one or both.
Fewer people cutting than last year, too. One change I did notice was Amare driving to his left but he gets stripped of the ball so easily the opps will still camp on his right hand.
Of course, there is good news - Amare coming back fast from the knee 'scope', Hill looking healthy and mobile, Diaw more active than last year and Shawn playing like Shawn but the offense is structurally putrid. Nash is still going to have to bust his butt every game to make it produce.
In the Denver game, Banks looked only marginally improved from last year and I suspect it won't be long before Strawberry pushes him out of the rotation. DJ is looking more and more like the real deal - you'd never guess he couldn't shoot the ball. Tucker is much more of a gunner but DJ isn't shy and he seems to thrive under pressure. Different guys react differently to getting the 'green light' and it looks like he is one that it has a positive effect on.
One doesn't expect the defense to look good in the pre-season and the Suns haven't exceeded expectations by any means but the rebounding hasn't been as bad as I feared. Marks has helped on that front and presumably Skinner will continue once he gets Marks minutes but Hill and Diaw have been contributing, too.