The Sun(s) Rises Again

You are what you are.
For much of the decade, the Phoenix Suns were the most entertaining offensive team in the National Basketball Association.
The Suns ran, shot and raced their way to great success during the regular season, with point guard Steve Nash taking home to NBA Most Valuable Player trophies.
However, the Suns' goal of winning a NBA title always fell short as teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks slowed them down enough in the playoffs.
Enter new General Manager Steve Kerr, who thought he could solve the Suns' postseason problems by transforming them from a free-wheeling high-octane Western Conference offensive team to a slower, plodding, defensive team that is synomynous with the Eastern Conference.
Kerr Suns traded for aging center Shaquille to make sure things really slowed down to a crawl. The end result was complete disaster. The Suns were eliminated from the playoffs in 2008 by the Spurs in the first round and were completely left out of the playoffs in 2009.
O'Neal was then dealt to Cleveland in hopes of chasing another ring with LeBron James.
Meanwhile, the Suns are back to doing what they do best; run and gun. They have surprised many with their 7-1 start, which includes an impressive victory at Boston, which is the league's top offensive team.
With Shaq not around the clog up the works, Nash is back in control of the operation, where he is free to roam the lane, penetrate and find open men at will. The early results have been staggering.
The Suns are averaging 110 points a game with six diiferent players averaging in double figures. As a team, the Suns are shooting 57 percent from the field and a whopping 47 percent from 3-point territory.
At 35, Nash is looking like the MVP player we saw a few years back. He is averaging 18 points and 13 assists a game, including back-to-back 20 assist games last week.
Jason Richardson is averaging a team-high 20 points a game, followed by Amare Stoudamire (19.8), Nash (18.6), Channing Frye (13.6), rejuvinated veteran Grant Hill (13.3)and Leandro Barbosa (12.8).
As I said to open this entry, You are what you are.
Welcome back to relevency, Phoenix Suns.