Bright Side of the Sun

With the NBA season kicking off today and the Phoenix Suns opening tomorrow against the Dallas Mavericks this is the podcast's last chance to participate in the site's comprehensive season preview coverage.

So, of course, Dave King and I (Jim Coughenour) up the ante by bringing on Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic to go over all the ins and outs of what to expect in the coming days.

I'm not going to go into any more details.

It's the season preview podcast with Paul Coro.

That's all you should need to know to listen.

Enjoy.

Dave King joins me, Jim Coughenour, again this week as we share our thoughts on the Suns first five preseason games.

We go over the players that sparkled and those who fizzled, how the new puzzle pieces fit and what the rotation might look like to start the season.

Did we learn anything about the Suns in the preseason?

We also take a look at what lies ahead in the next few weeks, including the season's tip off, Steve Nash's Ring of Honor induction, the Markieff/Marcus reunion and Bright Side Night.

Enjoy.

Kellan Olson joins me (Jim Coughenour) this time around as we cover all the current Suns news.

The scrimmage at the Madhouse on McDowell stirred up memories for many older fans in attendance. The actual basketball played was fairly vapid, but I managed to keep busy by scrutinizing the mannerisms and wardrobe of Markieff Morris. There was a large contingent of young fans at the game, too, and the Suns players didn't disappoint by staying well after the game to sign autographs. Should this be an annual ritual?

Kellan breaks down the Suns first preseason game against the Kings and how Jon Leuer doesn't appear to be conceding the the backup four minutes to Mirza Teletovic.

Rollin J. Mason's SB Nation Suns Season Preview was such a good read that Kellan and I discussed its finer points. Listen to what we think of the overall roster moves, strengths, weaknesses and team goals.

The topic of the Brandon Knight/Lakers first round pick trade will surely pop up this season, probably more prominently if the Suns struggle and the pick falls into the mid lottery. Have Suns fans already reconciled this situation, or is there still a chance of buyer's remorse settling in?

Finally, the last line I read out of Vegas has the Suns over/under at 36.5 wins. Does that sound high, low, or just about right?

Sean Sullivan jumped on board tonight since Dave was busy emailing me from his iPhone while he was supposed to be watching a baseball game.

This will be a common occurrence throughout the season as Kellan Olson and other staff writers will join the fray. We will have our share of special/celebrity guests, too.

Basically, the only guy your stuck listening to every show is me.

Sorry about that.

We would be negligent in our duties if we didn't kick off the show by touching on the big story that was a non-story, as Markieff showed up and didn't cause any kind of disturbance. Sean and I still see that as a fluid situation that isn't going to end well.

After that we hit all the bases from Media Day.

- Takes from Ryan McDonough and Jeff Hornacek

- The roles of players on the bench and training camp battles

- The Chandler/Len dynamic

- Playoff expectations

Plus more...

This will be the last episode this calendar year with no actual basketball activities to dissect. 

Of course, there is one preseason topic everyone will be keeping an eye on.

What would a fireside chat be without a little discourse on the inimitable Markieff Morris?

How will he act at media day? What should the Suns do with him? Will he do a read for our podcast intro?

After we talk shop with Markieff the Suns will be headed up to Flagstaff for camp before coming back for a free intrasquad scrimmage at the Madhouse on McDowell on Saturday, October 3rd at 6:00 pm.

Dave and I formulate a plan to hunt down the person who made the ill-advised decision to enunciate each letter in the P H X slogan instead of going with the more palatable "We are Phoenix" approach.

We will find you.

NBA 2K16 has released its full set of player rankings. Shockingly, no Suns cracked the top 10 at any position. Dave rips the game, not for it's ranking system... but for its animation... Who knew Dave was a gamer?

ESPN also decided to take a dump on the Suns... squeezing out a big double deuce (#22) future power ranking for the team. It seems just a tad low considering the Suns have been one of the nine worst teams in the league just once in their current five year playoff drought. Just when you think it can't get any worse... here comes the flagship.

Then, in the wake of Anthony Bennett's continuing plummet from grace, Dave and I redraft the top of the truly horrible 2013 class. Would the Suns still draft Alex Len fifth knowing what they know now?

 

Dave King joins Jim Coughenour on the show to do things that only Dave King can do. While he's busy saving the show we discuss...

Recent roster additions - Terrico White, Kyle Casey, Cory Jefferson and Henry Sims - I swear these guys are really basketball players.

The Tyson Chandler impact.

Underwhelming predictions for the Suns from Vegas and ESPN (among others) and if the malcontent Morris may be affecting those predictions.

Steve Nash.

We also discuss Al McCoy, hipchecks, the weather, Donald Trump (that's just Dave), and whether I can convince Dave, despite being a member of the media, to participate in the public shaming of Marcus during his return to the valley as a Piston on November 6th.

The ever magnanimous King of the Bright Side also teases a charitable promotion that our members can get in on (more on that to come).

Dave King and Jim Coughenour discuss Steve Nash's time as a Sun after the announcement he will be inducted in the team's ring of honor, the 2015-16 schedule release, the Morris brothers, season predictions and recent signings.

Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic joins the show to discuss the foolishness surrounding Marcus Morris's twitter bonanza, Summer League and the rest of the team's moves this offseason.

In addition to Coro, Dave King and Jim Coughenour examine the ruckus caused by ex-Sun Marcus Morris and whether it might be cause for concern with his twin brother, and current Sun, Markieff Morris.

Is the Suns organization partly at fault for the scorched earth nature of recent player departures and should the team finish cleaning house? Does a trade of Markieff for less than equal current talent have minatory implications on the team's 2016 playoff hopes?

This episode is all Morrii... because these guys are such a charming pair to fawn over.

We'll try to keep the clowning around to a minimum.

Jim Coughenour hosts Keith Schesseele, who makes his debut on the podcast, to give a final recap of the Summer League action for the Phoenix Suns as the desolate period of basketball wasteland called August rapidly approaches.

At least the bonus of that is overnight lows above 90 degrees here in Phoenix.

The performance and progress of Alex Len, T.J. Warren, Archie Goodwin and Devin Booker are the focus of the Vegas breakdown.

To shake things up we do a rundown of the topics in Keith's latest edition of Solar Flares, a weekly roundup of Phoenix Suns and NBA related topics.

This week's topics include grades on the Suns Summer League and offseason, Becky Hammon, Markieff Morris, Zoran Dragic, a new arena for the Suns, the evil genius of Ryan McDonough and untoward advances from ticket representatives.

Enjoy.

Dave King and Jim Coughenour discuss Phoenix's Summer League performance and where the roster stands. 

Of course we're going to share our thoughts on T.J. Warren, Devin Booker, Alex Len and Archie Goodwin, but in addition to the recap of what went down in Vegas there are a few other Suns related topics abreast. 

Is the lack of communication between Markieff Morris a non-issue or the second July Moratorium for the Suns this offseason? Should this be concerning... considering Keef's track record?

Dave appears to like Mirza Teletovic.

We also discuss potential strengths... quality at the five, a staunch starting lineup and upside on team defense.

And possible weaknesses... three point shooting and the unproven track record of the bench.

Plus, a disagreement on whether rebounding counts as part of offense/defense.

Enjoy.