Immediately following the Shaq-for-Shawn Marion trade, everybody had an opinion on whether or not the Suns would be better with the Diesel in the middle. Including me.

I thought it was a solid move because the Suns badly needed inside help and, hey, what the hell, they needed to take a shot and roll the dice for a chance to beat San Antonio and the other Western powers.

But that was before I actually saw a couple games with Shaq on the court for Phoenix. I saw most of the Boston-Phoenix game and Shaq looked much different than he has in the recent past, he was diving for loose balls and hustling so much that the personal safety of all old people and kids in the first row was directly threatened.

Shaq was hustling like I hadn't seen him do in years and the Suns fans were fired up. It was enough to convince most people watching at least for one night that Phoenix had made the right move and was now a serious favorite for the title.

Not so fast, my friends. The hustle was nice and all, but the reality of the situation is that Shaq doesn't make the Suns better on defense, he makes them worse. Shawn Marion was a rebounding machine and was so active and so good at getting in the passing lanes that he made their fast break go. He was a big part of the identity of the team.

Now with Shaq in the middle, the Suns suddenly look, well, pretty freaking old. Especially on defense. They look a lot like that 2004 Lakers team that played really well until the Finals when they ran out of gas and got abused by a younger, faster Pistons team. I could see a similar scenario playing out this year only a round earlier in the Western Conference Finals to L.A. or San Antonio.

Let's take a look at Phoenix's defense as a whole to get a feel for just how old and slow they are all-around. Steve Nash is a great player overall, but let's be honest, he's a piss-poor defender and the West is stacked with guys like Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, and Baron Davis at point guard.

Then you have Grant Hill who has played well but is not a great defender by any stretch since his many injuries. Boris Diaw and Raja Bell can both play some defense but they aren't good enough to cover up mistakes. Amare Stoudemire could do much better with the big fella alongside him but he's known for being a tad lazy on the defensive end. A lot of their defensive success will be tied to him.

Lastly, there's Shaq himself. The mere fact that people were saying his presence on defense is a huge bonus is trouble in and of itself. The guy doesn't move all that well on defense any more and he certainly doesn't get too far off the ground when he does attempt to jump. It's been known for the last few years that getting Shaq moving side-to-side and running a lot of pick-and-rolls will wear him down in the blink of an eye. Foul trouble is sure to be on the horizon as well because Nash and to a lesser extent Hill will be letting a lot of guys through the lane.

If the Suns play a team like Houston in the first round who doesn't have a lot of athletic young guys who can penetrate, they'll be fine. But a younger, more balanced team just might drop 110 points on these guys every night and we all know defense is what wins in the playoffs.

Phoenix can't be blamed too much for getting rid of Marion because it seemed like he always had one foot out the door and never wanted to be there, but trading for an over-the-hill Shaquille O'Neal just might be the mistake that hurts their chance to win a title both now and in the future.

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