R.I.P. SSOL

The Phoenix Suns under Mike D'Antoni saw a golden era in Suns franchise history. From 2004 to the Marion-O'Neal trade with Miami, these Suns lit up scoreboards, won games, and above all entertained. Shooting 3s, running fast breaks constantly, and rarely stopping to play D.

SSOL. Seven Seconds Or Less. Before 7 seconds would tick off the shot clock a shot would go up. Headlined by All Stars Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and Shawn Marion, these run and gun Suns featured such illuminaries such as Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Leandro Barbosa. Defying conventional basketball wisdom, the Suns ran all over their opponents, repeatedly finishing near the bottom of the league in defense. While they never won a title, SSOL led the Suns within striking distance of the Finals several times.

That being said, with the Phoenix Suns looking to deal their best player under 30, Amare Stoudamire, the SSOL era has officially been fully eradicated in the Arizona desert. MVP point guard Steve Nash is well into his 30s, athletic forward Shawn Marion is long gone, and two relics from the early 90s, Shaquille O'Neal and Grant Hill, see major playing time. No more run and gun, with the offense now flowing through Shaq in the post, and an added emphasis on defense. No more fast break 3s, outlet passes for the slam dunk, or high scoring shootouts night in and night out. The Suns have been defined by this frantic pace of play, and when they trade their most talented player away it will mark the end of an era.

It was an era of entertainment and more importantly, wins. They didn't play defense, infuriating fundamentalists, but in spite of very little in the way of rebounding and D they were often amongst the Western Conference elite. But those Suns are but a distant memory, with Steve Nash soon to be the last remnant from the Seven Seconds Or Less era. The 2 time MVP never led Phoenix to a title, but to most fans it never mattered. The Suns ran their way past opponents and into the concious of NBA fans from Portland to New York. Tough defensive teams were made to look slow and foolish against the SSOL mentality, and coaches hated game planning against them. Their was only one way to beat the Suns when they were true. Slow the high octane offense down, because if a team got caught up in a shootout they would surely lose.

So farewell SSOL. You transformed a mediocre team in the desert into a national sensation, and almost beat the conventional wisdom that "defense wins championships". It didn't matter whether you loved the Suns or hated them; you tuned in when they played, no matter who they played against or where they played. It wasn't the fact they dropped triple digits night in and night out, or that they won more often than not. It was the Steve Nash no look pass into a cutting Shawn Marion. It was an alley oop from Barbosa to Stoudamire. A 3 pointer by Diaw from the parking lot on a fast break. A pointless game in January could turn into a heated contest, complete with long 3s, fast breaks, and alley oops. Everyone in the building knew the Suns game plan, yet no one could stop it on most nights, and that was the beauty of the system.

R.I.P. SSOL, you will be missed.



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