Suns GM trusting in Diesel power

PHOENIX - The first reporting precincts don't even open for another two weeks. But with the Timberwolves set to play Phoenix tonight for the first time since January, it's not too early to pose the question that Suns General Manager Steve Kerr himself framed when he summoned Shaquille O'Neal to the desert.

Genius or moron?

The Feb. 6 trade that in essence swapped Shawn Marion for the four-time NBA championship center apparently was so bold there's no middle ground for a franchise still seeking to fulfill the promise of two regular seasons of 60-plus victories since 2005.

If the Suns finally experience a spring metamorphosis with the biggest cactus of them all planted in the middle and win an NBA title, consider Kerr inspired. If the playoffs deliver disappointment for a fourth consecutive year, call him idiotic.

The preliminary caucuses suggested the latter, the recent ones hint at the former. The Suns lost six of their first nine games after the trade and have gone 10-3 since then. They have adjusted their breakneck manner of play for a 36-year-old behemoth brought aboard for his rebounding, defense and perhaps even his supersized persona.

Asked after practice Thursday what impact he has made on his new team, O'Neal said, "I know we're a lot looser in the locker room, and I know they have a different style. They're now pretty good at both styles, a style that it takes to win a championship.

"I'm not saying that their style wasn't good enough; they were close. In the last eight years, the team that has been able to out-execute when it comes to execute is the team that has won it. We have the shooter, we have the small forward, we have Amare [power forward Amare Stoudemire]. We have all the pieces to get it done."

Interrupted in mid-thought, he didn't even mention two-time league MVP Steve Nash, the little point guard to whom TNT analyst Charles Barkley referred before the trade when he spoke of the Suns and said, "You know you're in trouble when your toughest player is the kicker."

The Wolves have beaten the Suns two out of three times this season, and remember Minnesota has won only 19 games. In those two victories at Target Center, Wolves young star Al Jefferson exposed the Suns' soft underbelly with a 32-point, 20-rebound game the first time, a 39-point, 15-rebound game the second time.

O'Neal presence has brought what teammate Grant Hill calls good humor, a champion's confidence and "a little bit of a swagger." It also now allows the Suns to play Stoudemire at power forward, where he doesn't get so abused by proficient low-post players and where he can use his muscle to dominate defenders. Their scoring is up, not down, nearly two points a game with O'Neal in the lineup and they've gone from getting outrebounded by nearly six a game to beating their opponents on the backboards by an average of 2.6 a game with him as starting center.

Stoudemire, in turn, has thrived. He is averaging 30.8 points on 62-percent shooting in his past 11 games and has scored 30 or more points in five of his past seven.

"My life always has been pretty easy as far as basketball goes," Stoudemire said when asked how his life has changed since Feb. 6. "The game is kind of easy ... It's a little easier now."

Nash said the Suns' new pace of play with O'Neal on the floor -- he calls it "meditative" compared to one based upon "timing and rhythm" -- has allowed him to preserve his energy and divert it to defense.

"We have two lineups, one with Shaq and a lineup without Shaq," Nash said. "Without Shaq, we're very similar to the old team. With Shaq, we're very different. We've just modified everything to best highlight everyone's ability together. We still have to continue to grow."

By Suns coach Mike D'Antoni's calculations, it still a long shot that Kerr will end up looking brilliant.

"We're going to be good," D'Antoni said when asked if he knew yet how his team's new look will translate to playoff success. "It's tough. There's at least six or seven teams that have a legitimate chance to win a championship. You put the odds out there and it's still 1-in-7, 1-in-6, 1-in-8."