Alvin Gentry to Coach Suns – Fantasy Impact
February 16, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under NBA News, NFL Player Analysis
With the Terry Porter already over in Phoenix, the Suns have picked Alvin Gentry to take over for the reins. Gentry, who was on Mike D’Antoni’s staff, will reportedly turn back the clock and let the Suns get out and run more often.
For fantasy basketball owners, this could potentially be big news. If Gentry completely opens the offense and lets the team run D’Antoni type seven seconds or less type basketball, the fantasy value of everyone on the team rise.
The two who would be helped the most are Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Although Nash, due to age, probably won’t be able to reach his former heights, his stats could definitely rise. Stoudemire, who is also having a bit of a down year, could see his shot attempts go up and his production also rise with the implementation of the new offense.
Other players who become more valuable even before we see what Gentry does are Jason Richardson, Grant Hill and Matt Barnes. A faster pace can’t help but let these three players produce more.
The only player this might hurt is Shaquille O’Neal. Under Porter, the Suns made sure to give O’Neal his touches. If the pace is quickened and O’Neal can’t keep up, his stats may revert to the numbers we saw out of him last season.
