Phoenix Suns 2010-11 Media Guide - NBA Media Central

Season Review 08-09
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Review08-09
Review08-09
Season
RECORD
The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003 despite
winning 46 games, the second-most victories for a non-playoff team in the 25-year 46-36
history of the NBA’s 16-team playoff format. Phoenix had the league’s 13th-best
record in 2008-09.
An offseason coaching change brought in former Trail Blazers great Terry Porter, but inconsistency
plagued the club’s first half. Despite a Dec. 10 trade that resulted in the acquisition of scorer Jason
Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round draft pick from Charlotte for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw
and Sean Singletary, a Suns team with high expectations limped to the All-Star break losing 10 of 16
games. Porter was dismissed on Feb. 16 after a 28-23 first half and replaced by assistant Alvin Gentry,
a member of the Suns’ coaching staff since 2004.
An energized Suns team exploded out of the gates following the All-Star break, registering a 140-100
win over the L.A. Clippers, the largest margin of victory following a coaching change in NBA history.
The scorching Suns tallied 140 or more points in each of their first three games under Gentry, the first
such scoring streak in team history, and the first time the league had seen such prolific scoring since
1990-91. Just when it seemed like Phoenix was poised for a run through the Western Conference,
leading scorer Amar’e Stoudemire underwent season-ending surgery to repair a detached retina in his
right eye on Feb. 20, an injury that occurred in the team’s second game following the break.
Despite the injury to Stoudemire and games missed by both Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa due
to injury, the Suns went 18-13 during Gentry’s interim tenure. Phoenix won 12 of its final 17 games
under Gentry, a stretch which included both the club’s longest overall win streak (six games) and
longest home win streak (nine games). A great deal of the team’s success and the resulting fan
excitement stemmed from its return to its high-scoring roots, and in 2008-09 Phoenix led the league
in scoring for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Suns removed the interim tag from Gentry’s
title following the season on May 9.
For the third time, the Suns and the city of Phoenix hosted the NBA All-Star Game. The weekend
festivities took over US Airways Center from Feb. 13-15 along with the league’s biggest stage and
brightest stars, including Suns Stoudemire (voted a starter for the first time in his career) and
Shaquille O’Neal, who was named the game’s co-MVP with Kobe Bryant. For the season, Shaq
averaged 17.8 points and led the league in field goal percentage for the NBA-record 10th time and
earned All-NBA Third Team honors. O’Neal was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-player trade
on June 25. Phoenix acquired Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, who each later agreed to buyouts.
FRONT ROW: Athletic Trainer Aaron Nelson, Equipment Manager Jay Gaspar, Assistant Athletic Trainer Mike
Elliot, Strength Coach/Assistant Trainer Erik Phillips, Assistant Video Coordinator Elvis Valcarcel. MIDDLE ROW:
Advance Scout Noel Gillespie, Assistant Coach Dan Majerle, Head Coach Alvin Gentry, Jared Dudley, Goran
Dragic, Steve Nash Leandro Barbosa, Assistant Coach Igor Kokoskov, Video Coordinator Anthony Houston,
Assistant Coach Bill Cartwright. BACK ROW: Jason Richardson, Matt Barnes, Louis Amundson, Amar’e
Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Robin Lopez, Stromile Swift, Grant Hill, Alando Tucker.