The most fun team to watch in the NBA is back.
The Shaquille O’Neal experiment did not work last season and the Suns missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004 — the season before they acquired Steve Nash.
With Shaq in Cleveland, the Suns have regained their run-and-gun mentality — averaging a league-best 110 points per game.
Nash is playing like he did during his two MVP seasons — averaging 17.6 points and 11.5 assists per game. Last year was the first time the point guard had less than 10 assists per game in his five seasons in Phoenix.
The Suns have always been able to find players that fit in their system around their pass-first Canadian point guard. Raja Bell, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Quentin Richardson all flourished with the Suns, but failed to play up to expectations after leaving Phoenix.
Their new system guys are Jason Richardson and Channing Frye.
Richardson was acquired last season in a trade that sent Bell and Diaw to Charlotte. The scoring guard adds more outside shooting and athleticism to the perimeter.
Frye signed with the Suns over the summer. The 6-foot-11 center was forced to play under the hoop with his previous two teams — the Knicks and Trailblazers. But in the Suns’ system, Frye has become one of the team’s best perimeter shooters — averaging three 3-pointers a game and shooting 47 percent from behind the arc.
The up-tempo, high-scoring Suns — with an athletic perimeter and versatile front line — are back and have the best record in the NBA. Enjoy this season because who knows how long their 35-year-old spark plug will be able to orchestrate “The Greatest Show on Court.”
