The Shaq Era Begins...

7:00pm Mountain Standard Time, on ESPN. Mark it down as the beginning of the Experiment in the Desert, also known as Shaq debuting with the Suns. And make no mistake, it is an experiment.

Despite all the (now) glowing reviews about the Shaq trade by most fans, the majority of local media, and a smattering of national media, this trade is an experiment. And it's either going to be the re-invention of the wheel (a championship) or it's going to send the lab into a big fiery mess (losing in the first round). It's an either-or proposition, with almost no middle ground.

High-risk high-reward to put it another way. Regardless of what anybody thinks, it was a needed experiment. For as much as everyone here in Phoenix loved Shawn Marion (and make no mistake, he was beloved in this town), most people could see and agreed that it was probably time for him to go. He is a fantastic player, and almost tailor-made for this type of run and gun system, but his attitude has never quite been right. He was just a little too me-first, while the rest of the team was win-win-win, with Steve Nash being the loudest voice of unselfishness and team play.

When your team team leader and perhaps best all-around player clash, eventually that will start to blow up. They co-existed peacefully for the first few years because the team was winning and having fun. It was all new to them. This season, with the weight of the last two year's playoff exits and the expectations of winning and championships, cracks started to form in the relationship. They lost their care-free, fun attitude. Their run-and-gun offense has slowed a bit, and been replaced by the crazy guys in Oakland. It was evident in the Golden State-Phoenix game last week; While Phoenix ran and stayed with the Warriors, it was a faster pace than they usually play.

So with cracks showing, and the team appearing to not have much fun playing together anymore, the Suns made their move. Out went Marion (and Banks, by all accounts as close to a clubhouse cancer as the Suns had), and in came The Big Aristotle himself, Shaq. And Shaq comes in preaching team-first, it's not about me, etc. He comes in laughing and cracking jokes. Suddenly Steve Nash is playing around with Craig Sagers handkerchief on national tv at the all-star game, and cracking jokes to the media.

Of course, this has all been off the court. Tonight, we get to see the on-court transformation of the team. We get to see if Shaq, as he says he will do, can really adapt to the Suns style without slowing them down. We get to see if he will help alleviate some of their rebounding woes. And we get to see if he still has anything left in the tank to help lead this team to the promised land.

Tonight we see the first glimpse of the experiment, gathering all the ingredients and starting to mix them together. We won't know for another couple of months whether this experiment will work or not, because it takes time for all the processes to fizzle and fizzure. But it starts tonight. And you know what?

I'm excited...