Leandro Barbosa is an excellent basketball player who would start for many teams in the NBA. He played in 80 games (18 starts) for the Suns last season and he averaged 32.7 minutes, 18.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He also is a great long range shooter as he nailed 43.4% of his shots from three point range last year. Boris Diaw also is a big time player off of the bench for the Suns as he can play any of the five positions on the basketball court. He played in 73 games (59 starts) last season for the Suns and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Brian Skinner was signed as a free agent in the off-season to replace Kurt Thomas as the backup at center and power forward. Skinner played in 67 games (44 starts) last season for the Bucks and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 4.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Marcus Banks will be a backup at point guard for the Suns but he doesn’t seem to fit into the teams’ plans. He played in 45 games (1 start) last season for the Suns and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 4.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. It’s possible that the Suns might let rookies Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberrry get some playing time but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Point guard Steve Nash is the player that makes the offense operate at a very high level. He played in 76 games (75 starts) last season for the Suns and he averaged 35.3 minutes, 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 11.6 assists per game. He also is an outstanding shooter from anywhere on the basketball court. He shot 53.2% from the floor, 45.5% from three point range and 89.9% from the free throw line last season. Shawn Marion is returning at power forward to fill up the stat sheet. He played in 80 games (all starts) last season for the Suns and he averaged 37.6 minutes, 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Marion also is an outstanding shooter as he hit 52.4% of his shots from the floor last night. Amare Stoudemire is back at center and he should be even better this season as he’s stronger. Stoudemire played in 82 games (78 starts) for the Suns last season and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 20.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.3 blocks per game. Raja Bell returns as the shooting guard for the Suns and he can put the ball in the basket. Bell played in 78 games (all starts) last season for the Suns and he averaged 37.4 minutes, 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Bell is an outstanding shooter from long range as he hits 41.3% from three point range. Grant Hill will be the starting small forward and he will be productive if he can stay healthy. Hill played in 65 games (64 starts) last season for the Magic and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.