2008–09 Phoenix Suns season
The 2008–09 Phoenix Suns season was the 41st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season was to be a promising one, filled with All-Star talent at several positions. It was believed over the offseason, the Suns would be able to better incorporate Shaquille O'Neal, who necessitated changes to both the offense and defense after being obtained in a trade one season ago. It was also the first season head coach Terry Porter had been able to use the summer to implement his defensive approach for a team which had in seasons past scored a large number of their points off fast breaks and early in the shot clock. Sensing a need for change, team management traded for scorer Jason Richardson in December, but this did not appear to immediately reinvigorate an offense that had recently led the league in points per game. However, after Phoenix went 28–23 to start the season, Suns assistant Alvin Gentry was named to replace Porter as head coach. Less than one week after the All-Star Game, Amar'e Stoudemire sustained a season-ending eye injury while the improvement of the team never fully came. The Suns finished 46–36, second in the Pacific division but out the playoffs for the first time since Steve Nash rejoined the Suns in the 2004–05 season.
| 2008–09 Phoenix Suns season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | |
| General manager | Steve Kerr |
| President | Steve Kerr |
| Owner(s) | Robert Sarver |
| Arena | US Airways Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 46–36 (.561) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 9th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Fox Sports Arizona, KUTP |
| Radio | KTAR |
Key dates
- June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City.
- July 1: The free agency period started.
- October 1: Starting power forward Amar'e Stoudemire sustained a partially torn iris.[1]
- October 8: The pre-season started with a game against the Atlanta Hawks.
- October 29: The regular season started with a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
- February 14–15: Phoenix hosted the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend.
- February 16: The Suns fired coach Terry Porter and named Alvin Gentry interim coach.[2]
- February 20: Stoudemire underwent surgery for a detached retina and was out for eight weeks after an injury sustained on February 18.[3]
Offseason
The 2008–09 Suns warming up during a road game against the Golden State Warriors in March 2009.
- June 7: Terry Porter was named as the Suns' new head coach.[4]
- June 20: Alvin Gentry, Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov were named as the Suns' new assistant coaches.[5]
- June 26: Forward Grant Hill has exercised his player option for the 2008–09 season.[6]
- June 26: Suns have acquired the draft rights to the rookie point guard Goran Dragić from San Antonio Spurs.[7]
- July 10: Suns have signed center Robin Lopez, selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.[8]
- July 22: Free agent forward Matt Barnes has signed with the Suns.[9]
- August 14: Free agent forward Louis Amundson has signed with the Suns.[10]
- August 25: Suns have acquired rookie guard Sean Singletary from the Houston Rockets in exchange for guard D.J. Strawberry.[11]
- September 22: Suns have signed Goran Dragić.[12]
- October 23: The Phoenix Suns have exercised the team's option on swingman Alando Tucker for the 2009–10 season.[13]
NBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Robin Lopez | Center |  United States |
Stanford |
| 2 | 48 | Malik Hairston | Guard | United States |
Oregon |
Roster
| 2008–09 Phoenix Suns roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Standings
| Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | — | 36–5 | 29–12 | 14–2 | 82 |
| Phoenix Suns | 46 | 36 | .561 | 19 | 28–13 | 18–23 | 11–5 | 82 |
| Golden State Warriors | 29 | 53 | .354 | 36 | 21–20 | 8–33 | 6–10 | 82 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 46 | 11–30 | 8–33 | 2–14 | 82 |
| Sacramento Kings | 17 | 65 | .207 | 48 | 11–30 | 6–39 | 7–9 | 82 |
| # | Western Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | — |
| 2 | y-Denver Nuggets | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 3 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 5 | x-Houston Rockets | 53 | 29 | .646 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 15 |
| 7 | x-New Orleans Hornets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 8 | x-Utah Jazz | 48 | 34 | .585 | 17 |
| 9 | Phoenix Suns | 46 | 36 | .561 | 19 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 29 | 53 | .354 | 36 |
| 11 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 12 | Memphis Grizzlies | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 13 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 23 | 59 | .280 | 42 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Clippers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 46 |
| 15 | Sacramento Kings | 17 | 65 | .207 | 48 |
Game log
| 2008–09 game log | |
|---|---|
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0)
| |
November: 10–6 (Home: 4–4; Road: 6–2)
| |
December: 7–5 (Home: 5–1; Road: 2–4)
| |
January: 7–8 (Home: 3–4; Road: 4–4)
| |
February: 8–5 (Home: 6–1; Road: 2–4)
| |
March: 7–9 (Home: 6–2; Road: 1–7)
| |
April: 5–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–2)
| |
| 2015–16 season schedule | |
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Amundson | 76 | 0 | 13.7 | .536 | .000 | .442 | 3.6 | 0.4 | .4 | .9 | 4.2 |
| Leandro Barbosa | 70 | 11 | 24.4 | .482 | .375 | .881 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 | .1 | 14.2 |
| Matt Barnes | 77 | 40 | 27.0 | .423 | .343 | .743 | 5.5 | 2.8 | .7 | .3 | 10.2 |
| Raja Bell* | 22 | 22 | 32.4 | .429 | .468^ | .762 | 2.9 | 1.3 | .6 | .1 | 9.6 |
| Dee Brown* | 2 | 0 | 14.0 | .200 | .250 | 1.000# | 0.5 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 2.5 |
| Boris Diaw* | 22 | 0 | 24.5 | .567 | .357 | .692 | 3.8 | 2.1 | .5 | .4 | 8.3 |
| Goran Dragic | 55 | 1 | 13.2 | .393 | .370 | .769 | 1.9 | 2.0 | .5 | .1 | 4.5 |
| Jared Dudley* | 48 | 0 | 15.2 | .481 | .394 | .691 | 3.0 | 0.8 | .8 | .1 | 5.5 |
| Grant Hill | 82 | 68 | 29.8 | .523 | .316 | .808 | 4.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 | .7 | 12.0 |
| Robin Lopez | 60 | 7 | 10.2 | .518 | .000 | .691 | 2.0 | 0.1 | .2 | .7 | 3.2 |
| Steve Nash | 74 | 74 | 33.6+ | .503 | .439^ | .933# | 3.0 | 9.7 | .7 | .1 | 15.7 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 75 | 75 | 30.0 | .609 | .000 | .595 | 8.4 | 1.7 | .7 | 1.4 | 17.8+ |
| Jason Richardson* | 58 | 57 | 33.1 | .488 | .383 | .778 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | .4 | 16.4 |
| Courtney Sims* | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | . | . | . | 0.0 | 0.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Sean Singletary* | 13 | 1 | 9.4 | .324 | .400 | 1.000# | 1.2 | 0.9 | .5 | .0 | 2.6 |
| Amar'e Stoudemire | 53 | 53 | 36.8+ | .539 | .429 | .835 | 8.1 | 2.0 | .9 | 1.1 | 21.4+ |
| Stromile Swift* | 13 | 0 | 9.3 | .366 | 1.000^ | .533 | 2.5 | 0.2 | .3 | .5 | 3.0 |
| Alando Tucker | 30 | 1 | 9.4 | .430 | .348 | .788 | 1.0 | 0.4 | .2 | .0 | 4.6 |
* – Stats with the Suns.
+ – Minimum 70 games played or 2000 minutes, 1400 points.
^ – Minimum 55 three-pointers made.
# – Minimum 125 free throws made.
Awards and records
Awards
- O'Neal was named to the All-NBA Third Team.
Week/Month
- Stoudemire was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for Nov. 3-9.[14]
- Stoudemire has been named the recipient of the NBA Community Assist Award for October.[15]
All-Star
- Stoudemire was voted to his 4th NBA All-Star Game as a starter.[16]
- O'Neal was named to his 15th career NBA All-Star Game in 17 seasons.[17]
- O'Neal was named the 2009 NBA All-Star MVP with former teammate Kobe Bryant.
Transactions
Trades
| June 26, 2008[7] | To Phoenix Suns----Draft rights to Goran Dragić | To San Antonio Spurs----Draft rights to Malik Hairston 2009 second-round pick cash considerations |
| August 25, 2008[11] | To Phoenix Suns----Sean Singletary | To Houston Rockets----D. J. Strawberry |
| December 10, 2008[18] | To Phoenix Suns----Jason Richardson Jared Dudley 2010 second-round pick |
To Charlotte Bobcats----Raja Bell Boris Diaw Sean Singletary |
Free agents
Additions
|
Subtractions
|
See also
References
- Jeramie McPeek, SUNS: Stoudemire Lucky Eye Injury Not Worse, Suns.com, October 3, 2008.
- Stefan Swiat, SUNS: Alvin Gentry Named Interim Head Coach by the Suns, Suns.com, February 16, 2009.
- SUNS: Stoudemire Undergoes Successful Eye Surgery, Suns.com, February 20, 2009.
- Stefan Swiat, SUNS: Suns Name Terry Porter Head Coach, Suns.com, Suns.com, June 7, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Complete Coaching Staff, Suns.com, June 20, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Hill Exercises Player Option For 2008–09, Suns.com, June 26, 2008.
- Brad G. Faye, SUNS: Suns Believe in Dragic, Suns.com, June 26, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Sign Robin Lopez, Suns.com, July 10, 2008.
- Josh Greene, SUNS: Suns Ink Barnes to a One-Year Deal Archived 2008-07-31 at the Wayback Machine, Suns.com, July 22, 2008.
- Stefan Swiat, SUNS: Suns Sign Forward Louis Amundson, Suns.com, August 14, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Acquire Sean Singletary, Suns.com, August 14, 2008.
- Stefan Swiat, SUNS: Suns Sign Goran Dragic, Suns.com, September 22, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Exercise Option on Alando Tucker, Suns.com, October 23, 2008.
- SUNS: Stoudemire Named Western Conference Player of the Week, Suns.com, November 2, 2008.
- SUNS: Stoudemire Receives Community Assist Award for October, Suns.com, November 25, 2008.
- Stefan Swiat, SUNS: Stoudemire Named All-Star Starter for the West, Suns.com, January 22, 2009.
- SUNS: Shaquille O'Neal Named NBA All-Star, Suns.com, January 29, 2008.
- Stefan Swiat, SUNS: Suns Trade for Richardson, Dudley and 2010 Second-Round Pick, Suns.com, December 10, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Add Dee Brown, Suns.com, December 24, 2008.
- CLIPPERS: Clippers Sign Free Agent Brian Skinner, Clippers.com, July 31, 2008.
- Gordan Giricek joins Fenerbahce, Fenerbahnce.org, August 19, 2008.
- HORNETS: Hornets Sign Sean Marks, Hornets.com, August 28, 2008.
- BOBCATS: Bobcats Sign Linton Johnson III Archived 2008-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, Bobcats.com, October 28, 2008.
- SUNS: Suns Release Dee Brown, Suns.com, January 6, 2008.
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