After game 1 of the series between the Sun and Trail Blazers, many including myself thought that this was the same old Suns team since Steve Nash arrived. Historically, a dominant team in the more up-tempo regular season, they tend to have problems in the playoffs as the game slows down and defense is the primary focus. Games 2 and 3 however eased concerns as they dominated each game winning by 29 points and 19 points respectively.

However even after the trend of the last two games, the Blazers can even up the series by winning today. The Suns need to come out early and show their killer instinct at take the volatile Rose Garden crowd out of the equation. In game 3, we saw a glimpse of this as the Blazers cut the lead to 11 in the 4th quarter on three consecutive three’s by Rudy Fernandez. It literally felt as if it were a one point game rather than eleven due to the intensity of the crowd. If the Suns jump out to an early lead, it will be difficult for the Blazers and their fans not be demoralized and simply pack it in. After all, the Blazers have every excuse in the world; Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Nicholas Batum and Greg Pryzbilla all out with injuries.

Jason Richardson has been incredible in this series, which has been crucial as Amar’e Stoudemire has been somewhat contained by Marcus Camby. J-Rich dropped 42 points and had 8 rebounds in game 3, expect more of the same in game 4 if the committment remains to contain Amar’e. Grant Hill also deserves all the credit in the world as he has completely shut down Andre Miller. Miller scored 31 points and had 8 assists in the Blazers game 1 win. Hill was subsequently switched on Miller in game 2 resulting in only a 12 point 3 assist performance. If the Suns can win this series in 5 games, they may be able to rest before facing their next opponent. The Mavericks vs. Spurs matchup appears to be headed to a 6 or 7 game series.

On Sunday night, I had the pleasure of sitting in a suite for Game 1 of the Suns vs. Blazers series. This was my first playoff game, so I anticipated a ruckus crowd and a lot of intensity from the Phoenix Suns. However, on the contrary I saw neither of these things in Game 1. There was actual a point in the 4th quarter when the Suns were down 99-92 with 1:45 left in the game and literally thousands of fans began filing out of the arena. I understand it was a late Sunday night game and people had the to work the next day, but we are talking about the playoffs here! In a city that has not seen a title since the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, I would expect far more. The Suns have only made two finals appearances to date: 1976 and 1993. These two were spaced 17 years apart and now 17 years since their last appearance, could this possibly be their year?

Based on Game 1, the Suns are the same old team. They excell in the up and down pace of the regular season and falter in the slower paced NBA Playoffs. I thought perhaps this year may have been different as Alvin Gentry has instilled more of a up-tempe half court offense rather than the Run n’ Gun in the Mike D’Antoni days. To the Blazer’s credit they did a fantastic job defensively. Amar’e Stoudemire faced either Marcus Camby or a double-team every single time he touched the ball. The results of this were obvious; 18 points on 19 shots. In addition, they completely negated the pick and roll; which is the Suns bread and butter play. On defense, the Suns simply could not stop the penetration of Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless. This is where losing Robin Lopez to a back injury hurts the Suns badly. Lopez does an excellent job of contesting shots as well as the fact that Marcus Camby would have to guard him rather than Amar’e Stoudemire.

The good news for Suns fans is despite the fact the Blazers played a near perfect game, the Suns still had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead late in the 4th quarter. In addition, many of the Suns role players are getting their first taste of the playoffs and the nerves were definitely prevalent. I expect to see the normal Jared Dudley, Lou Amundson and Goran Dragic tonight. I can’t imagine that the Suns small forwards will shoot a combined 3-16 (Grant Hill, Jared Dudley). Was game 1 simply the Suns taking the Blazers too lightly without Brandon Roy? We will certainly find out tonight, because if the Suns go down 0-2, this may be a short-series. Some will point out that of the Western Conference playoff contenders the Blazers had the worst home record this season (26-15), however anyone who has seen a Blazers playoff game knows that place will be insanely loud. If the Suns go down 0-2 to a team that is obviously superior defensively they can say “night night” to this year’s playoffs.

The Suns keys to victory tonight are relatively simple. Limit the penetration of Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless and get Amar’e going early and often. The Blazers scored a majority of their points on layups and kick outs to 3-point shooters after the defense had collapsed. This ironically, is exactly what the Suns need to do and Amar’e can be the catalyst. When Amar’e draws the double team kick the ball out and hopefully the Suns 3-point shooters come through.

Sports 620 KTAR’s John Gambadoro is reporting that the Suns are on the verge of signing Dwayne Jones from the NBDL.

So who is Dwayne Jones? Jones played collegiately at St. Josephs. He is a 6′11″ Power Forward/Center that is averaging 17.6 points and 16 rebounds per game for the Austin Toros (Spurs Affiliate). Jones is 26 years old and also averages 1.8 blocks and shoots 60% from the field. He has played in the NBA in a limited capacity for 3 different NBA teams (Boston, Cleveland and Charlotte). The word on Jones is that he is a solid rebounder/defender but is a major liability from the free-throw line. In the NBA, he is a career 49.4% from the charity stripe. However for the Austin Toros this season he is shooting 66.7%. He also is not a great shooter and much of his scoring is from offensive rebounds a la Lou Amundson. In 2004-05 for St. Josephs, Jones was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, and a member of the All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive year. He ranked fifth in rebounds (11.6) and blocks (3.0) in the nation, and led the Atlantic 10 in both categories.

This signing is undoubtedly bad news in regards to Robin Lopez’s health. Jarron Collins is a smart player, but he simply doesn’t have the lateral speed that Lopez does to force opponents to alter shots. Jones likely will fit right in, as he doesn’t demand a lot of touches on the offensive end. Hopefully, Jones can bring some toughness to the Center position even if Lopez is not able to play in the playoffs. It appears that having a defensive Center is incredibly important to Amar’e Stoudemire’s success on both ends of the floor.

With the return of Steve Nash to the Valley of the Sun in 2004, the Phoenix Suns have since reinvigorated the NBA with their fast-paced, high-scoring style of play. With the league struggling for an identity with the absence of polarizing figures such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, one would think the league would embrace this added excitement. However, it has become extremely apparent that the NBA and commissioner David Stern have a vendetta against the Phoenix Suns.

In 1968, David Stern, who at the time was outside legal counsel on the case against Connie Hawkins. Connie Hawkins was implicated in the infamous point shaving scandal while a freshman at Iowa. He was then basically blackballed by the NCAA and NBA because his name was merely mentioned by Jack Molinas, who was later murdered in an apparent mob hit. The laughable thing about this whole situation is that Connie Hawkins was convicted of absolutely nothing and nothing was proven against him. He was basically made out to be a villain because his talent was substantial and the current commissioner, James Walter Kennedy,  thought it would send a strong message to discourage point shaving in the future.

Connie Hawkins finally brought a lawsuit against the NBA in 1969, in which none other than David Stern was the legal counsel for the NBA. Stern and the NBA lost the case and were forced to settle with Hawkins for an undisclosed amount of cash and allow him to be instated into the NBA. His rights were then assigned to the Phoenix Suns.  The main blemish on Stern’s legal career was Connie Hawkins and watching him play for the Phoenix Suns must have garnered much resentment.

This resentment could be clearly seen in the handling of the Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspensions during the 2006-2007 playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns seem destined to win the title, but one forearm by Robert Horry and two steps off the bench by Stoudemire and Diaw was enough for David Stern to levy his vendetta and suspend both players. Don’t get me wrong, the rule is that you can’t leave the bench, however one would think in a game of such heated implications one would give a little lenience. In a series where Steve Nash’s nose was busted open and Bruce Bowen “accidently” kneed Nash in the most private of places, Stern should have been proud of how Diaw and Stoudemire reacted! Even non-Suns fans could see the obvious disparity in the calls! This is obviously a prime example that there is more factoring in on who wins than being the better team…simply embarrassing.

For those of you that had not heard the news in recent days, Robin Lopez is expected to miss at least 2 weeks with a bulging disc in his back. In my all life watching sports, I have not seen a player with this injury return on time as anticipated. The Suns have been playing spectactularball as of late; winning 21 out of the last 26 games. With Lopez in the lineup, the Suns had actually moved up to 13th in the NBA in rebounding differential at +.8 per game. On Sunday, the Suns faced a beleaguered Minnesota Timberwolves team who had lost 15 in a row coming into the game. The Timberwolves rebounding differential is 19th the NBA at -.3. The Suns were able to hand the Timberwolves their 16th straight loss 111-105. However, upon looking at the rebounding statistics the difference is already prevalent; the Suns were out-rebounded 58-41 (-17).

The Suns options are somewhat limited at the position of center. Channing Frye will definitely see an increased role. Frye however does not fill the role of rebounding and defensive toughness that Lopez had previously filled. Frye plays the center position like a small forward, roaming around the 3-point line looking for shooting opportunities. Although he does a great job at spreading a defense, offensive rebounds are tough to come by when a player is standing 25 feet away from the basket. This leaves Stoudemire and Hill in the unenviable position of battling bigger players for rebounds; a battle we have seen them lose already in the past. Jarron Collins can provide a few minutes as well in Lopez’s absence but he needs to stay out of foul trouble to make any positive impact on a game. Steve Kerr’s comments also make this situation even more ominous for Suns fans: “Everybody responds differently to back issues,” (Suns general manager Steve) Kerr said. “On the bright side, the long term is he should be fine and maybe even this year.”  Maybe this year? This sounds as if we should prepare ourselves to be without him.  A tragic loss for a team that could do some serious damage in the playoffs if his is healthy. Who would have thought on a team with Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Jason Richardson and Amare Stoudemire that we would be lamenting the loss of Robin Lopez? Let’s all just hope Lopez has a miraculous recovery before the playoffs, because this team desperately needs him.

With 11 games left in the season, the Phoenix Suns are a mere 1.5 games back of the 2-seed in the most incredibly competitive Western Conference I have seen in my lifetime. Last year, despite going 46-36, the Suns narrowly missed a playoff spot and were left for dead. In the off-season, the confidence of Suns fans was not reinforced as the only free-agent acquisition was Channing Frye and they drafted a work in progress in Earl Clark out of Louisville. To give the Suns upper brass some credit, they were able to sign Nash to long-term deal, re-signed the venerable Grant Hill and finally and most importantly dumped the anchor that was Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The outlook leading into this season was still somewhat bleak. For example, prominent websites such as bleacherreport.com had projected the Suns as the 21st best team in the NBA. Numerous ESPN.com pundits had the Suns 8th in the Western Conference.  Even my prediction was somewhat bearish:

“I am picking the Suns to finish 5th in the Western Conference this season. This is in contrast to ESPN’s experts blended rating of 8th for the Suns in the West. The teams I project ahead of the Suns in the regular season are as follows: 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2. San Antonio 3. Denver Nuggets and 4. Portland Trailblazers.”

I definitely overestimated the impact of Richard Jefferson on the San Antonio Spurs. The injuries to Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla have definitely hurt the Portland Trailblazers. The Suns as of right now, are exactly where I predicted them to be all the way back on October 22nd. However, now I am becoming more bullish and I firmly believe that the Suns will be a top 4 seed in the Western Conference once 82 games are over.

How are the Phoenix Suns exceeding expectations? Its not as if the people that made these predictions have never watched a basketball game before. Rather, these are former players and statistical experts. I think the Suns were written off by many due to the assumed decline in play from aging players in Steve Nash and Grant Hill, the numerous past injuries to Amar’e Stoudemire and the Suns inability to play defense. As we have seen in recent months there has literally been no decline in the play of Steve Nash and Grant Hill this season. Nash has increased his output over last season in points per game (15.7, 2009 vs. 16.7, 2010) and assists per game (9.7, 2009 vs. 11.1, 2010). Hill, despite having a slight decline in points per game (12.0, 2009 vs. 11.6, 2010) is averaging more assists and rebounds per game that any season since 2002. Not bad for the NBA’s elder statesmen starter now that Shaquille O’Neal is on injured reserve.

Amar’e Stoudemire was once again mentioned in numerous trades near the deadline. Stoudemire’s numbers over the first half of the season were solid, however he seemed to lack the lift in his legs he has enjoyed in prior years. Defense was a word of the English language that he did not speak and the Suns were sputtering out of the playoff race. At 18-10, after a 14-3 start the Suns seemed to be the flawed team everyone expected. The league had figured out the Channing Frye can make 3’s and a major weapon was taken away from the Suns. Enter Robin Lopez. Lopez changed the whole dynamic on the team. He added a shot-blocking presence that the Suns have not had in the Steve Nash Era. Amar’e Stoudemire was able to have more freedom to roam inside and he quickly began to explode offensively. His return was punctuated with the dunk over Anthony Tolliver of Golden State the other night see below:

I realize over the course of the last couple seasons, I have been hyper-critical of Amar’e Stoudemire’s inability to play defense and rebound on consistent basis. I always perceived this inconsistency to simply be a product of lack of motivation or desire. However over the course of the last 20 games I am beginning to believe this wasn’t the case at all. Rather this inconsistency was a product of his teammates and the system that he plays in.

In the last 20 games, the Suns have gone 15-5 and are marching towards the playoffs after narrowly missing the playoffs last season. This begs the question, what has changed? Most ardent Suns’ fans already know the answer to this question. The change corresponds directly to the addition to the starting lineup of Robin Lopez. Lopez stands 7 feet tall and has hair reminiscent of the character “Sideshow Bob” from the popular animated series “The Simpsons”. Lopez’s game of late has been no sideshow however. His statistics seem somewhat pedestrian only averaging 8.2 points per game, along wit 4.7 rebounds and one block per game. However, what doesn’t show up in the stats is Lopez’s ability to alter shots and take up space inside. This is truly the first time in Amar’e’s career where the Suns have had a legitimate low-post defender. Some people out there would point to Shaquille O’Neal, however by the time he arrived in the Valley of the Sun he was substantially past his prime.

The statistics for Stoudemire over the last 20 games don’t lie; he is averaging 26.8 points and 9.9 rebounds over this stretch of games. In addition, Stoudemire is playing excellent weak side help defense; blocking numerous shots that he couldn’t have in the past while he was matched up with opposing centers. I was skeptical early this season that Amar’e’s legs would ever return. Although he was a consistent offensive player early in the season, it was evident that the explosiveness was not there as it had been in the past. Amar’e was missing dunks because he was not elevating enough. Now, 67 games into the season the explosiveness has fully returned. Stoudemire has been going to the hole with a purpose and when he misses, his second jump is quicker than anyone else on the court.

I was all for trading Amar’e Stoudemire at the trade deadline as his departure after the season appeared imminent. This still may be the case, however the Amar’e himself has said that he will remain a Sun if they hit his number. I strongly suggest that we do in fact hit that number even it is a maximum contract. Amar’e appears to have his head on straight and he certainly realizes that Steve Nash is pivotal to his status as an elite player in this league. The final determination on Stoudemire we likely occur after management has seen how far the Suns go in this year’s playoffs. If Amar’e continues to play like he has over the last 20 games he can carry this team on his back when the going gets tough in the playoffs. I am thoroughly convinced if someone is able to upset the Lakers, the Suns have a legitimate chance at the NBA finals. Without Stoudemire, we likely wouldn’t be in the playoffs. Hence my recantation to pay Amar’e what he wants.

Leandro Barbosa, the Suns speedy Shooting Guard has been medically cleared and will likely play for the first time in over 6 weeks Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Since losing Barbosa to injury on 1/22/2010 against the Chicago Bulls the Suns have gone 15-5 and moved up 2 spots in the Western Conference playoff race. On the other hand, earlier in the season Barbosa was out for 15 games and they only were able to muster a 6-9 record without him. Over recent weeks, the Suns schedule has been arduous and numerous Suns are battling fatigue and minor nagging injuries. Based on this alone, Barbosa’s re-addition to this team seems to be just in the nick of time. Or is it?

In the most recent stint without Barbosa in the lineup the Suns have consistently moved the ball with precision passing with has allowed for wide open opportunities for players like Jared Dudley and Channing (Paquiao) Frye. Although the “Brazilian Blur” has been blessed with a great deal of offensive skill, passing isn’t exactly in his vocabulary. The other question is where does he fit? The players off the bench dubbed “Planet Purple” thrive off of hustle and lock-down defense. Barbosa certainly is high energy, but his chances of stopping someone from scoring are slim to none. The other issue is whose minutes are going to be reduced as a result of Barbosa’s return? During Barbosa’s absence, Goran Dragic’s minutes were largely unaffected (19.9 minutes per game in February vs. 17.3 and 19.4 in January and December respectively). The answer to this question is that Jason Richardson’s minutes will be reduced from the mid-30’s to the upper 20’s, low 30’s. In my opinion, Jason Richardson is the most versatile scorer on the team. Everybody is aware of the statistic of when Jason Richardson scores more than 20 points, the Suns are 19-3. Having him on the court for even 5 minutes less a game can be detrimental to his scoring rhythym and being a streaky shooter we need Richardson to stay hot. If Barbosa could play point guard, Dragic could be shifted over to the 2 guard. However, Barbosa has consistently proven that he is not a point guard and plays with his head down a majority of the time. Therefore, a lineup consisting of Dragic and Barbosa is undersized on defense and will be prone to giving up easy baskets.

As the Suns head into the stretch run, the health of all of their major cogs is extremely important in obtaining home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, I simply don’t see Barbosa as one of these cogs and I truly hope Barbosa does not hurt the current dynamic that is helping this Suns team win.

Its been awhile since I last posted. Perhaps this was in silent protest to the Suns not trading Amar’e Stoudemire, or the fact that I have a 3 week old Suns fan at home. Either way, let’s have a quick recap of the last 2 weeks of Planet Orange.

• Amar’e Stoudemire remains a Phoenix Sun:Despite the fact that Amar’e will likely opt out of his contract at the end of this season, Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver were unable to find a deal that was even close to market value for Stoudemire. The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to never really be interested in actually obtaining Stoudemire, rather it is my contention that they were using the media hype as leverage to force the Washington Wizard’s hand in trading Antawn Jamison. The question here is was this Steve Kerr’s failure to negotiate or is the market demand for Stoudemire with a history of injuries and bad defense just that low? I would contend that it is a combination of both. Kerr has not been successful in regards to trades during his tenure as the Suns General Manager. Kurt Thomas for a conditional 2nd round pick, Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley? Ok, the last one is likely a wash, but you get the point here. Part of the problem is that the Suns leverage disappeared last year when we wanted to potentially trade Stoudemire the first time. NBA GM’s are no dummies and they realize that the Suns are in a position of weakness with Stoudemire so they subsequently offered extremely little.

• Steve Nash Tired from All-Star and Olympic Schedule: Steve Nash had quite the adventurous All-Star break. Nash first went to his native Vancouver to hold the Olympic torch and participate in the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Nash then went to the All-Star weekend in Dallas where he won the NBA Skills Challenge and then dished out 13 assists during the All-Star game. This torrid schedule however caught up with Steve Nash and his body. Nash is now dealing with lower back pain and an abdominal strain. He did not travel with the team in their epic 104-102 comeback victory of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The rest appeared very well received as Nash last night played against the Philadelphia 76ers and score 20 points and dished out 13 assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter due to their lead.

The Suns are winners of 10 of their last 12 games and have moved into the 5th position in the Western Conference playoff race. The Suns are only 2.5 games out of 2nd and they have ony 10 road games for the rest of the season. Doing some simple math, the Suns are winning 75% of their games at home (21-7) and 50% of their games on the road (15-16). If these percentages hold true the Suns can finish out 15-8 and have 51 wins. The only problem here is that the 4 teams currently ahead of the Suns are all going to win more that 51 (Utah, LA, Denver and Dallas). So that leaves the Suns as a 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs facing either Dallas or Utah in the 1st round without home-court advantage. Utah is nearly unbeatable with home court and Dallas improved drastically at the trade deadline with Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler. Perhaps I am being pessimistic, but despite their great play right now the Suns still will be one and done in the playoffs. Another season will have gone by and no title in the desert. Stoudemire will be gone to a team like New Jersey looking for star power and the Suns will be left looking for answers. This team is incredibly fun to watch on a nightly basis, however the future is looking more bleak by the day.

Tonight’s game against Portland is seemingly just another difficult game in the competitive Western Conference. However for the Phoenix Suns, it means so much more. With this being the final home game before the trade deadline, this could be the last time we see Amare Stoudemire in a Suns home jersey. With a win tonight the Suns could potentially be as high as the 4thseed in the Western Conference going into the All-Star break and with a loss, the Suns could slip to as far as 7th.

This is life in the Western Conference these days. One loss can move a team completely out of playoff contention. This is evidenced by the fact that the current 5-11 seeds in the West are only spaced out by 4 1/2 games. Its not as if playing the Eastern Conference is helping widen the gap, as no current Western Conference team holding one of the top 8 seeds has a losing record against the Eastern Conference.  Thus the impact of tonight’s game is amplified as the Suns do not play again until February 16that Memphis. A loss tonight could be painful to endure over the next week. In addition, if a loss coupled with a trade of Amare Stoudemire occurs, the team could once again plummet into free fall.

The chances of an Amare trade however are becoming slimmer as the days and wins continue to progress. The main concern with potential suitors is the same concern the Suns have. Will Amare Stoudemire re-sign with the team this off-season? The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers have all inquired about Stoudemire, however the only realistic trade lies in Philadelphia. Miami would love to add Amare in tandem with Dwayne Wade and hopefully entice both into signing long-term deals in the off-season. Unfortunately for Pat Riley and the Heat, they simply do not have the pieces the Suns want in return for Stoudemire.

The Suns should be able to beat the Blazers tonight on their home court. Of course, these Suns always seem to falter in games they are supposed to win. With the absence of Brandon Roy, the Blazers offense has really taken a major hit. In their past 2 games against the Lakers and Thunder, they have only been able to muster 82 and 77 points respectively. If the Suns can even come close to their league leading scoring average of 110.1 ppg they should win this game handily.