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Jeez, what do you make of this off season so far? Do we hand the trophy over to the Heat before the season starts? I just heard Derek Fisher is talking to them now. What evers. Steve Nash doesn’t think its a given, even though it probably is. From azcentral.com

“They have stacked the decks,” said Nash, who is a part-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, who will join MLS next season. “It should be very interesting for the fans to see it unfold.” Nash, however, wasn’t ready to concede next season’s title. “I think it will be more difficult than just, Thank you very much, we got our title in July,’ ” Nash said. “I think there are compelling arguments for both. You’re going to look at them and they are obviously going to be incredibly explosive talent. “At the same time, this sport is won by intelligent teams that play together,” the two-time MVP said. “So they have to build a team. They obviously have the capability to do that, obviously three amazing pieces to start with. They could do it. They could win a title right away. It’s not the easiest thing in the world, so while they are capable they have a lot of work to do.”

There has definitely been a power shift in the NBA. The East may have just surpassed the West in terms of talent. The Suns still look good. Not great but good. Channing Frye is going to be back with the Suns next year and he is going to have even greater responsibility now that Amare is gone. From valleyofthesuns.com

How he needs to change his game with Amare gone “Luckily for me I didn’t do anything that he did kind of except rebound and play defense. For me it’s just picking up the intensity. I think Amare brought the intensity and that passion for the game. So for me just being a little bit more emotional, especially during the regular season and making sure that I stay on the glass.  I think at the end of the year I started rebounding better. And another thing it’s just picking it up on defense, maybe blocking some more shots and being more aggressive.”

Everyone wants to test the market. I suppose as a player its the smart thing to do. What if, after all this hype about 2010 free agency, nobody goes anywhere? Well except for Chris Bosh, we know his ass ain’t stay’n in Canada. As for as “testing the waters” you can add Channing Fryes name to the list. I honestly don’t see how he could expect to get much more than we are offering him. He’s a big man who can shoot threes. That’s not as rare of a skill as you would believe. From azcentral.com:

The Suns promised swift action to retain Channing Frye and have lived up to the pledge with a five-year, $25 million for the deep-shooting big man, according to a source familiar with negotiations. That was an increase from their initial offer but still might not be what Frye and his agent, Rob Pelinka, feel like they can receive on the open market. The offer averages $5 million and is a bump from the original thinking of a first-year salary of $3.5 million. However, the mid-level exception projects to be worth $5.5 million to $5.85 million and his camp might feel like it can get closer to that from a capped-out team after reports that Drew Gooden received a five-year, $32 million deal from Milwaukee and Darko Milicic took a four-year, $20 million one to stay with Minnesota.

As for Amare Stoudemire, it still looks like he is not coming back. Some people claim he and his agent are still in talks with the Suns. Maybe he really is just testing the waters and realizes he has a good thing   in Phoenix. And by “good thing” I mean “Steve Nash”. Stoudemire loves the attention he is getting and is soaking up every minute of it. At the end of the day he might realize his best chance for success might be with the Phoenix Suns after all. Maybe.

Everybody is a little bit sick from that ending. A Totally and completely undeserving win for the Lakers. The Suns had valiantly dug themselves out of a hole only to come up short in the end. From azcentral.com:

For most of the night, the Suns played a brutal game. They survived on guts, gifts and clutch shooting from Steve Nash. They were given a reprieve on a lucky shot from Jason Richardson, a moment so absurd that it drew a smirk from Jack Nicholson. Yet for all the determination that accompanied the late rally and postgame comments, the Suns also are stuck with the knowledge that Game 5 could’ve been theirs had they not lacked the required aggressiveness and effort. Now, they are back on their heels. The Suns missed nine free throws, and a wonderful opportunity. They yielded 19 offensive rebounds, including one they’ll never forget. Robin Lopez was held scoreless, the kind of statistical line the Suns could tolerate when Jarron Collins was the starting center. And in the end, they still hadn’t shown the ability to win in Los Angeles.

Steve Nash played like an MVP should with 29 points and 11 assists. Hell of an effort, he really wanted this one. The Suns got dominated on the offensive boards 19-12, and turned the ball over 15 times and that killed us. It’s amazing we were able to fight our way back into this game. From NBA.com:

Steve Nash, who had 29 points and 11 assists, drilled key basket after key basket and continued to find his teammates. At one point down the stretch, he had nine of the team’s 11 points. “I was just determined to try to win,” said Nash, who helped the Suns rally with a 19-10 run before Artest’s game-winning shot. “It was a crazy game.” But Bryant and Derek Fisher, who had 22 points, answered backed with timely buckets of their own. Whittling away at the Lakers’ 18-point lead, the Suns were down just 101-98 in the final minute. After Pau Gasol’s missed dunk with 20.9 seconds left, Nash brought the ball up and fired a 3-pointer. Long. Richardson took his shot. Long. Then Channing Frye controlled the rebound and gave it right back to Richardson, who banked in a 27-footer to tie the game with 3.5 seconds left. “I knew he was going to make it,” Frye said.

We had the momentum going into that Overtime. Most of the Lakers players and all of the Laker fans were in shock that we had tied it up. But in the end it was a freak play that won it for the Lakers. From valleyofthesuns.com:

And just like that Ron Artest, a player who had not scored on an offensive put back all series and had made just a single shot all night in eight attempts, shockingly became the hero in this 103-101 Game 5 victory that puts the Lakers up 3-2. The tough part for the Suns to swallow is that they forced Kobe into a ridiculously tough shot that not even he had a prayer at knocking down — and then when the ‘D’ forced an air ball it ended up benefiting the Lakers in the end. “He just got through,” Jason Richardson told reporters. “I looked and turned and he was already heading over that way. I thought the ball was going to hit the rim. I didn’t know it was going to come up that short.” Added Jared Dudley, “Ron was in the right place at the right time.”

And that’s whats so heart breaking. We played like crap for most of the night and still had a chance to win a game 5 on the road. If the Lakers are supposed to be that much better than us they should have won by 20. This kind of loss makes you want to drink. And not that, “have a few beers at the end of a tough day” drinking, I’m talking about shit-faced, don’t even know my own name drunk!

The bench, the reserves, our Saviour’s, what ever you want to call them, they came through big time! The Phoenix Suns bench out scored the Lakers bench 54-20. And that was the game. Once again our All Stars were sitting on the bench in crunch time as the Suns reserves put on another great show! From azcentral.com:

“The Suns bench outscored the Lakers reserves by 34 points. “We believe in our bench and although they weren’t scoring (earlier in the series), I thought they played well,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “I thought they were better defensively than they were offensively – and they were great offensively.” Channing Frye snapped his rut of 18 consecutive misses and hit four 3-pointers for a 14-point, six-rebound game. Jared Dudley hit three more 3s and added a 3-point play that burned Bryant in his 11-point, six-rebound game. Goran Dragic (eight points, eight assists) and Leandro Barbosa (14 points in 17 minutes) brought too much speed for the Lakers and Louis Amundson (seven points, seven rebounds) had more energy than the Lakers’ frontline.”

How about Channing Frye. I was so happy to see him hit his first three pointer of the series. The crowd went wild, like it was a game winning three! Our bench is wild! It’s crazy to think the starters didn’t come back into the game until there was like 3 minutes left. In the first minutes of the fourth the Suns Bench went on a 18-3 run! And that was against the Lakers starters for the most part! It has got to be disheartening for Lakers fans to watch our bench win the game for us. It is no secret that is the strength of this team. From ktar.com:

“Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 21 points. Nash, playing with a broken nose, made just 3-of-11 shots but had 15 points and eight assists. But it was the backups who stole the show, making 20-of-32 shots, including 9-of-20 3s. “We believe in those guys and they really believe in themselves,” Gentry said. “I thought they were much better defensively than they were offensively, and they were great offensively.”

Its a series now. We’ll see how far this zone defense takes us. We need to take this confidence back to LA and win another on Thursday! Oh BTW Goran Dragic had the play of the series. DRAGON!!

2010PlayOffs 2ndRound. Holla! That was a great game. The Suns are finding new ways to win. Rebounding. Defense. The incredible bench. These things are so foreign to Suns fans. We shot the ball horribly (42.4%), Steve Nash only had 6 assists. A year ago those two stats would have spelled a loss. The difference this year is the bench. An amazing group of players that add grit and determination to this Suns team. All year we have seen games where a bench player has stepped it up with hustle and perseverance and really changed the outcome of a game. Last night it was Jared Dudley, at one point the Suns were down 30-21 in the first quarter, Dudley stepped it up in a big way and kept the Suns in this crucial game. From azcentral.com:

“But Dudley, in his first playoffs, lassoed the Spurs when they were trying to ride away from Phoenix with a split. He and his fellow reserves slowed San Antonio’s scoring and would not let the Suns go scoreless when they could not shoot straight, with Dudley crashing the offensive boards and finding his way to the basket for scores as he was fouled. “Jared Dudley changed the whole game,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “He came in, and he was a monster. He was committed to the boards, and it was infectious. For that period, they really got after us on the boards, and that changed it for the first half.”

Jared Dudley wasn’t the only bench player to provide a spark. Channing Fyre came out of hiding and hit 5-6 from three point range. Thank God! I have been watching this guy pass up shots all series. I’m glad he is taking them now. And how about Grant Hill guarding Manu Ginobili? Outstanding! From ktar.com:

“Manu Ginobili, guarded mainly by Hill, was 2 of 8 from the field, including just 1 of 2 in the second half, but had 11 assists for San Antonio. Hill also made two big shots down the stretch. “Grant Hill never ceases to amaze me,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. “There’s a 37-year-old – he hates when I say that. Here’s a guy who plays on our team that’s been in the league for a long, long time. He just does a good job. Everything we ask him to do, never complains. He’s always on the best perimeter player. He never complains. He just plays. He’ll forever be my favorite player. He really will.”

It really seems like the teams have switched personalities. The Suns are winning the way the Spurs have won in the past. Rebounding. Defense. Sprinkle in some clutch three pointers and you have got a team that is very difficult to beat.

2010PlayOffs 2ndRound. Still coming down from that high after winning game one. Man I can’t wait for game 2. protect home court right? I hope we can shoot and rebound like we did in game 1. I doubt Steve Nash can put together another 30 point game, he shouldn’t have to. We need to get other players involved in scoring, llliikee Channing Frye. Anyways, the Phoenix Suns are going to bust out the Los Suns jerseys in honor of Cinco De Mayo and in response to the Arizona Immigration Law. From espn.com:

“The Phoenix Suns will wear “Los Suns” on their jerseys Wednesday for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals, owner Robert Sarver said, “to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona and our nation.” In a statement, Sarver said the frustration with the federal government’s failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called “a flawed state law.”

Does Steve Nash have his “papers”? How about Tony Parker? Now if Manu Ginobili gets pulled over and happened to forget his papers in his hotel, then by all means send his ass back across the border. From ygelesias.thinkprogress.org:

“Phoenix’s star, Steve Nash, is of course an immigrant from Canada. On the team they’re playing in the second round Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the second- and third-best players on the team are also immigrants, from Argentina and France. In general, it says good things about the National Basketball Association that foreigners with top-notch basketball skills generally want to come here and play. And the flow of foreign talent to our shores makes the NBA a better product—indeed, an iconic global brand that’s marketed internationally as a U.S. export.”

2010PlayoffsRound1. The pace of the game and rebounding, those two factors really went our way. Our three wins this series have been by at least 19 points. Keep the game wide open and flowing, and we have a great chance at winning. The Phoenix Suns out rebounded Portland 41-29. And none of this half court bullshit. Take quick shots before the defense sets, run the ball up as often as possible. The Suns bench did all that and more. Our reserves simply dominated the game. From azcentral.com:

“First, there was Jared Dudley, who emerged from a series-long slumber to score a career playoff-high 19 points, hitting five of nine 3-pointers. He also played his usual dogged defense and energized the sellout crowd. Then there was Channing Frye, who also racked up a career postseason best with 20 points along with eight rebounds. Frye hit three of five 3-pointers. Backup point guard Goran Dragic came off the bench in the second quarter and began attacking the basket. It got him three consecutive trips to the free-throw line and helped set a tone for the game. In all, the Suns bench outscored Portland’s reserves 55-23.”

Alvin Gentry finished the game with the bench, thats awesome. I think Gentry’s trust in his bench is what is going to make the difference in this playoff run. I can’t remember a Suns team that could bring 5 off the bench then keep and build on leads on a regular basis. Other than the first quarter, the Trail Blazers looked a step slower all game. It looked like the teams switched personalities from the game before. Brandon Roy had no positive effect on this game what so ever. Roy may have hurt his teams chances. From sportsillustrated.cnn.com:

“Roy, who over the weekend came back unexpectedly from surgery to repair his meniscus, was neither effective himself nor helped take pressure off his teammates. Roy, who is clearly not 100 percent healthy, had three fouls in his first six minutes and finished with just five points and four fouls in 19 minutes.”

2010PlayoffsRound1. I guess we could talk about how Brandon Roy’s emotional return was the difference in this game. Not expected to play in this series, Roy entered the game to a roar from the crowd. From valleyofthesuns.com:

“The crowd cheered his every move, exploding when Roy got up to check in midway through the first with Phoenix leading 17-10. Before he could even get into the game the Blazers scored eight unanswered off that emotional high capped by a Nic Batum three for the lead. The Blazers rode the emotional surge delivered by Roy’s return to this victory. Roy, originally ruled out for the series, was a shell of the All-Star who averaged 21.5 ppg, but you can’t quantify what it means for Portland to get its major general back”

Yeah, yeah. Big deal. The numbers tell the real story. We shot 26.1% from three point range, got beat on the boards, 45-39. And Steve Nash had only 8 assists. Look, Portland wanted it more. They played harder. We look a step slower all day, we didn’t have any sense of urgency. From azcentral.com:

“The Suns should be ashamed of themselves. You want particulars? Steve Nash played one of his worst playoff games in memory. Channing Frye never once looked comfortable in Portland, a city where he once toiled. Players took turns standing around the perimeter, as the point guard dribbled and dribbled and dribbled. A flustered coach abandoned his normal rotation. And in the end, Jarron Collins’ point total (4) equaled the team’s fast-break production, a sure sign of disaster. “They wanted it more,” Suns forward Grant Hill said. “That’s just unacceptable on our parts.”

This is where the big boys play. The Suns need to suck it up and finish this series strong. The Suns have had this problem all year. A strong performance and win followed by a lackadaisical , apathetic loss. Its been an endless cycle and it needs to stop or the season will be over real soon.

The 96-91 loss against the Thunder Friday night was tough and made a win against the Rockets all the more critical. The Thunder seemed faster all night and pressured the Suns into 20 turnovers. We didn’t finish the game strong and let one get away. Kevin Durant is really is as good as everyone says he is. Sunday the Rockets came to town and the Suns were treating this game as a must win. It was close, with the Rockets shooting lights out from behind the line. It seemed like Aaron Brooks was couldn’t miss. From azcentral.com;

“Houston had one of its better first quarters of the season and took a 36-33 lead when Aaron Brooks made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points. Trevor Ariza added 11. The reserves helped the Suns get back in front, and they entered halftime with a 62-57 lead in part because of six late-second-quarter points by Louis Amundson.”

That lead grew to 14 points but the Suns couldn’t hold on, and eventually trailed with less than 4 minutes to go. From valleyofthesuns.com;

“With the Suns trailing by two with three minutes left and the squads trading buckets left and right, Phoenix’s Sunday night game against the Houston Rockets seemed destined to go down to the final buzzer. Then Steve Nash nailed a three. And then Channing Frye. And Jason Richardson. And Frye again. Combined with some stops on the other end, the Suns’ four-possession flurry of consecutive treys resulted in a devastating run that turned a barnburner into an easy final ending of an eventual 116-106 victory.”

That was a fun ending, playoff style! Amare Stoudemire had 35 points and 13 rebounds, Steve Nash had 23 points and 11 assists. I guess Nash is getting over a cold and is closer to being %100. Thats great news with the Playoffs only 2 games away. That Steve Nash guy is pretty good. From yglesias.thinkprogress.org;

“But forget about the third-best offense ever. Look at the best offense ever. Then look at the second best. Then look at the fourth best. And look at the fifth best. Now look back at the third best. Then consider that Steve Nash was the starting point guard on all five of these teams! After being seemingly overrated for a while, is it possible that Nash has slipped into underrated status. Floor general for all five of the top-rated offenses of the past 35 years is a pretty gobsmacking achievement.”

Lets get it started already! In the last two games we have seen the Phoenix Suns entire season. First it was the the destruction of the New York Knicks on Friday. It was the Phoenix Suns freight train, scoring 30 points in every quarter, shooting 55% from the field. A 132-96 win at home. From valleyofthesuns.com;

“It was a true team effort with no Sun scoring more than 18 (Amare and LB) while six players went for double figures and 10 scored at least eight points. The bench exploded for 66 points on its own, so it must have surprised Knicks boss Mike D’Antoni that the Suns actually do have a bench these days, a unit that even tossed up another 30-point quarter when the game had long been decided. The Knicks just ran into a buzz saw tonight, as the Suns are rolling on both ends of the floor. Their offense has scored at least 30 points in eight straight quarters for the first time since a 10-quarter streak from March 14-21 of last season. The Suns have reached 120 in four of six games during this winning streak and they have hit 130 in consecutive games for the first time since the games immediately after Gentry took over last All-Star break.”

Sunday was Dr Jekyll to Friday’s Mr Hyde. At one point the Suns had a 25 point lead only to see it disappear. The Suns got away with 111-105 win against the Timberwolves. Blowing leads? I thought we solved that problem. From brightsideofthesun.com;

Alvin Gentry: “It bothered me because we’ve done a good job of starting games, taking care of rebounding and turnovers…I didn’t think we had the energy at the start of the game that we used to have…we had to have Amar’e have another one of his great games to rescue us. We were fortunate to win.”

The scary thing is this is starting to happen when Robin Lopez is sitting out due to back spasms. I know Amare Stoudemire has been playing great but the addition of Lopez to the starting lineup has had a lot to do with that and the teams new found toughness. How is the team going to play without him?

The Suns are playing tougher basketball and it has payed off in the win loss column. One Factor in this new found Badassness is the play of Robin Lopez. Lopez makes a difference in the lane just with his presence. From azcentral.com;

“Defensively, the difference in our team has been unbelievable,” coach Alvin Gentry said. Since being inserted into the starting lineup Jan. 18, the Suns are 16-8, and 14-4 in their past 18 games. Since the All-Star break, the Suns have held five of 12 opponents to fewer than 100 points. During that stretch, Lopez poured in 30 points against the Clippers and promptly messaged his brother, Brook, who plays for the Nets. With Lopez on the bench, the Suns were outrebounded in 25 of their first 41 games. Since the change, they have won or tied the rebounding battle in 19 of 24 games. Now, a soft-serve franchise suddenly is besting its opponents by an average of 4.4 rebounds per game. But this isn’t about numbers. Simply put, Lopez has changed the personality of this basketball team.”

Robin Lopez definitely adds some toughness to this lineup. That toughness comes with consequences, like getting fined and/or suspended. Just ask Channing Frye and Jason Richardson. From brightsideofthesun.com;

It all good. But lets get crazy!! I want to see some armbars, naked chokes, I don’t know anymore cool sounding wrassling moves. All that matters is the Suns are on the right track to make the playoffs.

I think not. But you never know, Stern is a bit of a killjoy, and in my opinion a Suns hater. Sure the Phoenix Suns won 113-105 over the Pacers but what’s going to happen when we get back from this mini Vaca? Channing Frye got into a little scrape during the game. It was between him and Earl Watson, though nothing happened to Watson. Frye lost his composure and it may cost him a game. From brightsideofthesun.com a little blow-by-blow account;

“Watson runs into a Frye pick and slaps Channing’s hands and then shoves him a little in the mid-section and turns to cover Steve, Frye pushes Watson in the back of the head which prompts Granger to come at Channing with two hands to the chest, Channing swings and chaos errupts…not too much chaos but enough for JRich and Roy Hibbert to dance a bit, Jason, Granger and Hibbert get T’d up and Frye gets tossed. I am fairly sure they gave him one T for the shove on Watson and another for the swing at Granger. We’ll see if Frye gets any games for that. He definitely lost his cool with that shove to the back of Watson’s head”

I was surprised by all the ruckus, Channing Frye seems like a pretty level headed guy in most respects. From valleyofthesuns.com;

“No, I wasn’t going to punch him,” Frye said. “It wasn’t about me punching him. It wasn’t the right play, but it was me letting him know that I didn’t think that was acceptable. It’s not the right thing, it’s definitely not a reflection on me. Everybody would tell you I’m one of the easy-going guys. I’ll go down and bang with you, throw elbows, that’s fine, it’s part of the game, but at that point I thought it was a little bit more than that and emotions took over.”

Obviously it was a one time thing. Channing Frye is to cool to let this happen again. I mean this guy is a renaissance man. Just read his review of Chino Bandido;

“Now, I know by this time you’re at the edge of your seat in anticipation for what could possibly get my taste buds doing the chicken noodle soup dance. People, it’s CHINESE AND MEXICAN. Together. BOOM! That just happened. I can not even hope to explain to you how good this food is. I love Mexican food (of course I grew up 1 block from a Filibertos (carne asada w/rice). Man, let me tell you, if you have a chance to go there — look, they let you try out the stuff. I was sold on the black beans and, yes, they are the musical fruit. I’ll say this is more exciting than going to the Grand Canyon and you’ll be full when you leave. So check it out. More reviews to come.”

I love it. I don’t think I’ve ever been this crazy about a former Wildcat. Oh wait yeah I have.

Nice turn around after losing a heart breaker the night before. I am beginning to like these games when our opponent only scores 80 something points. I find I’m not chopping down on my fingernails as much. The Phoenix Suns bench played awesome and really was the decisive factor in the win. They combined for 37 points. From azcentral.com;

“Phoenix has beaten Denver 10 consecutive times at home, all since Steve Nash returned. But Nash’s backup, Goran Dragic, and his benchmates Louis Amundson and Channing Frye had more to do with this one than Nash or his usual co-star Amar’e Stoudemire. Amundson’s boundless energy infused the Suns and the crowd while Dragic got out on breaks for two slams and Frye punched Denver from inside and outside.”

Wow, a big win on a back to back. This is the time of the year when thoughts of sitting poolside and the smell of suntan lotion start creeping in. The “warm” weather and playoffs will be here before you know it.

Let me just say that slam dunk contest was the most boring thing I have ever seen on television. The contest needs to be retired, or completely revised. I don’t know, raise the baskets, add obstacles, like a moving car or choose a fan from the audience that has to defend and gets posterized. It was awesome seeing Steve Nash win his second Skill Challenge. He is 36 and can still get it done. From valleyofthesuns.com;

“Facing a significantly younger field, Suns point guard Steve Nash captured his second skills title in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge as part of All-Star Saturday Night. “The pressure, these young guys, it’s tough, but I got my second wind,” Nash said. “Those guys are great point guards and great athletes.”

Channing Frye didn’t fair so well in the three-point contest, failing to make the second round. The actual All Star game was a lot better than I expected. You know, I can remember the All Star games of the late 80′s and early 90′s. The starting lineups filled with future hall of famers , 50 greatest players. Dude the starters for the East 1989 All Star game were, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Dominique Wilkins, Isiah Thomas and Charles Barkley. Redunk!! This was the first All Star Game In a Long time where I honestly felt like I was seeing some future Hall Of Famers. This year the East looked loaded and I thought they would take it rather easily. However the West came on strong. Which is kinda awesome. The East got the win 141-139 in front of a record breaking crowd of 108,713! From eastvalleytribune.com;

“It was unbelievable for us to be a part of a moment like this. I don’t think we will ever be part of another game or situation like this, for both teams,” (Carmelo) Anthony said. “The lead got out of hand early in the third quarter, but we fought back and got the fans back into the game.”

Alright, lets get back to work and finish this season strong. With or without Amare.

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks at US Airways 112-106. They won this game in the fourth quarter. They buckled down and played defense, something that has been completely absent this month. Clearly our bench is the better defensive team. They have been all season and they came threw again last night. From valleyofthesuns.com; Mavericks guard Jason Kidd said. “They got those guys in the game and got the lead and their starters come back in and go from there. They gave them energy and life.” Kidd wasn’t the only one complimenting the Suns’ bench that contributed 43 points, including 13 from Amundson and 12 from Dragic. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said the Suns’ “bench was the difference.”  The Suns bench has averaged 41.8 points per game since Channing Frye and Jason Richardson were removed from the starting lineup. “I thought it was probably the best total team effort we had all year from the standpoint of guys stepping in the game and doing something positive for us and just playing good, hard basketball,” Gentry said.” It really becomes clear why Amare Stoudemire was on the bench, Lou Amundson is a better defensive player and better rebounder. Sadly I think Amare has become one dimensional.

From brightsideofthesun.com; “It’s all good. I brung out the pom-poms for the fourth quarter. They did a great job out there on the court so I just had to cheer them on…We got the win which is the most important thing so we’ve just got to live with that.” I think this is the beginning of the end for Stoudemire. This game shows that he is expendable. If we can find a twenty ten guy available we should go for it. We can win without Stoudemire’s presence in the lineup. I am a big fan of Amare. He has comeback from a lot of adversity. However with a nod towards the future and getting into the playoffs, it may be time to say good by. The TNT losing streak is over. The Suns beat another top 5 team. Last night proves the playoffs are still with in our reach. Go Suns.