With the Free Agency only beginning the Suns still seem to be on a lost path, a path they have been strolling on for years since Robert Sarver has taken over. It’s always been unclear whether the Suns are ready to blow the team up and become a lottery team or whether they still have fuel in the engine to entail just one more journey to the playoffs.

This upcoming season this may not seem likely with the presence of Amar’e Stoudemire missing. Although it is true that Nash has helped Amar’e Stoudemire a lot throughout his career there is no one with his dominance to replace him. No one to exhibit electrifying posterisations, no one to dominate the team in the paint while the rest of the team has his back spread out along the three-point line, and most of all, there is no more Nash and Amar’e pick and roll, one of the most deadly pick in roll duo in all of NBA history.

With the recent signing of Hakim Warrick, some say he will be a decent replacement for Amar’e Stoudemire, but it is clear that Hakim Warrick just does not have the dominance in the paint to replace Amar’e Stoudemire, not even close. Warrick has shown his resemblance to Amar’e through his athleticism, but many question his ability to finish the play. Since Hakim’s sophomore year in Memphis, he has yet to prove to the Grizzlies, Bucks or Bulls that he is a worthy enough of a power forward. Two of those teams failed to make the playoffs, and the other only made it by one win. If anything, Warrick would fit as a suitable back-up power forward playing under someone like David West.

Yet the fate of the Suns season does not only rely in Hakim Warrick but also in the rest of the team, mainly Jason Richardson or whoever coach Gentry decides to assign the No. 1 option title to. The No. 1 option of this team MUST step up their game and remain consistent. If it is Jason Richardson, it will be a tough role for him, considering his tendency to remain inconsistent season after season.

At the end of the day, when you look at the Suns’ off-season it hasn’t been all that bad. They managed to keep Channing Frye, sign Hakim Warrick for a cheap price, signed Scottie Reynolds to the Summer League team, and drafted Gani Lawal. If you ask me, those four additions (possibly three) are a plus for the Suns in spite of the loss of Amar’e. If Reynolds does make the roster, he would serve as a great training body for the Suns in practice, possibly earning a bit of playing time as a combo-guard. Gani Lawal was expected to be a late first-round pick, but like Lance Stephenson, he managed to drop down to the mid-second round for the Suns to snatch him.

This team really does need to put in a lot of effort in practice, but if things are done correctly, I’m sure the Suns will be capable of surprising the fans once again.

The Phoenix Suns franchise has never really been known to be in a rebuilding phrase before but whether we like it or not the time will come. Despite going as far as the Western Conference the Suns will not always be able to continue running especially with Nash nearing retirement.

Quite recently we have been introduced to a special talent who most didn’t believe was possessed but this special has convinced fans and also given hope for the Suns’ future. That one player is the self-proclaimed Dragon also known as Goran Dragic. He may be special but one player isn’t going to turn this team around. Despite his ability to change the tempo and outcome of the game and hype up the crowd, Goran will require a wing-man. Many people can say that Robin Lopez will be his wing man but I do not see Robin Lopez possessing the same talent and potential of his twin brother, Brook Lopez.

But Goran Dragic isn’t the only special talent from Slovenia or even the Dragic family. Goran’s brother, Zoran, who currently plays in a Slovenian league shares the same instincts and talent as his brother. Goran Dragic has even been caught telling reporters that his brother is a better basketball player than he is. In addition, the Suns’ administration must already be aware of Zoran’s talents because the Suns’ General Manager, Steve Kerr, has already talked to Zoran.

Zoran might not be well-known or have a high stock but that is because he decided to play in his home town league rather than overseas or in another European league. The Slovenian league is not even close to being one of the best leagues in Europe but nonetheless I’m sure Zoran will not pass the Suns’ interest.

Dragic (Zoran) is expected to declare for the 2011 draft along big name European players such as Donatas Motiejunas, Jan Vesely, Tim Ohlbrecht and Nikola Mirotic as well as some other young big named European talents.

The Suns have been time and time again slaughtered by their point-guards, Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless. Even in the regular season the Suns had trouble trying to stop them, but only once has the Suns pulled out with a win. Too bad it doesn’t take one or two wins to proceed to the second round. It’ll take four wins for the Suns this time.

There’s not much of an option to be honest. Nash isn’t known for having defense or putting much effort on the defensive end which explains why players like Bayless and Miller are able to score in huge bunches. Then there’s the problem where if we play Goran Dragic, a much more defensive minded player than Nash, then we will most definitely have a gap in our offense and without Nash involved in our offense we get almost no where.

It was evident that we were not grabbing enough rebounds against the Portland big men Marcus Camby, LaMarcus Aldridge and Juwan Howard. Just imagine if Greg Oden was there.

In game one we were obviously not playing to our full potential or at least the potential we had shown in the regular season which may have been considered a threat to many teams in the playoffs. But as of yet the Suns have showed nothing but made a fool of themselves infront of hundreds and hundreds of people who turned Phoenix into a laughing stock.

What the Suns did in the regular season was make shots and go on hot streaks that made the opposing team unable to get back into the ball game. The bench team had a nice hustle to their defense and that earned them easy baskets and prevented the opposition to score easy baskets. Unless the starters can step up the bench team may not get as big of an oppurtunity as they should be getting.

The Suns need to pull their heads together, wake up and playing the fast-tempo basketball that the regular Suns fans are familiarised with.

The Suns have been the best team since the all-star break and Amar’e Stoudemire has ticked on and returned into his old form since the trade deadline passed. He has once again proven why he is the best power forward in the league right now and some even regard him as the Suns’ MVP, although it is clear to some that Steve Nash is.

The bench of the Suns have also played a huge role in their recent regular season run. They have managed to out score opposing bench teams which has helped the Suns win games. I don’t believe they will slow down come playoff time and especially against the Blazers. Jared Dudley and Channing Frye are the two main guys who provide energy off the bench for the Suns by knocking down thress and Jared Dudley with the amazing hustle on the defensive end which results in easy offensive plays for the team. But then there’s also Goran Dragic and Louis Amundson who both are great defensive players who help along side Jared Dudley.

Given that the Suns’ will not have Robin Lopez that will be a major problem but not something that would mean all Suns’ fans lose faith in the Suns for. It’ll be a hassle if Marcus Camby does end up being a offensive threat to us but I’m sure with Louis Amundson on the court then there will be no major problems in containing Marcus Camby.

We’ve seen what Andre Miller can do on the offensive end and what the outcome of the game will be when he scores high numbers and given that Nash will be guarding him is only bad news for the Suns but that does not mean we will lose. Nash will never play defense or at least a substantial amount of it ever in his career so our only option will be to guard the paint carefully in case Andrew Miller drives the lane.

Marcus Camby and Andre Miller may not be the only problems for the Suns in the playoffs. Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless may become problems if theu do go on a shooting streak and make shot and after shot to help get the Blazers back into the game.

Overall if the Suns do play defense and contain them from going on huge runs and shooting streaks then the Suns will be safe and will most likely advance to the second round where Robin Lopez will hopefully join them.

Congrats the Duke Blue Devils!

I know I’m a bit late. It’s about time we were able to win a national championship again. We really deserved it, Coach K really deserved it. Hopefully we can win another next year.

After all the doubt about the Suns appearing in the playoffs before the seasons started the Suns have finally proved that they can be lethal team if faith is given. The Suns had an amazing start to the season but started slow down until after the all-star break and trade deadline which seemed to have waken the team up from their misery and got them back on track. As a matter of fact they are currently 19-4 since the All-Star weekend break and are on a 10 game winning streak.

This is all thanks to Amar’e Stoudemire’s recent MVP-caliber performance. He has been scoring consistently and improved in his rebounding skills, or at least it seemed like it has. But Amar’e isn’t the only player who has stepped up. Jason Richardson has started to follow Stoudemire’s lead and scored consistently as well.

With Barbosa’s return, Lopez was ruled out. This placed an uncertainty for Alvin Gentry as to whether or not Frye should start in place of Lopez but a decision was made to start Collins, who rarely gets any playing time. This has yet seemed to be a bad idea given the fact that since he has received the starting position the Suns haven’t lost a game yet.

Alvin Gentry’s decision making has been great and really has helped the Suns grab wins for their run to grab a higher seed in the Western Conference. Gentry has also won the Coach of the Month award for March. He seems to be not only the players’ favorites but also the fans’ favorite.

After tonights win against the Suns, they have won 50 out of 76 games which is the exact same record as the Dallas Mavericks giving both teams the 2nd seed. Coincidently the Suns and Mavs will face off against each other in the NBA’s third outdoor game later on in the year for a pre-season game. The Suns have been the best team in the last 10 games with a 10-0 record.

The Suns need to keep up their current pace and bring their A game into the playoffs in order for them to advance deep into the playoffs. This could be a year Suns’ fans may never forget.

The Suns have 15 games left, all of which shouldn’t be very hard to win. Here’s a look at their schedule.

March
Tue 16 vs Minnesota
Fri 19 vs Utah
Sun 21 vs Portland
Mon 22 @ Golden State
Fri 26 vs New York
Sun 28 @ Minnesota
Tue 30 @ Chicago
Wed 31 @ New Jersey

April
Fri 02 @ Detroit
Sat 03 @ Milwaukee
Wed 07 vs San Antonio
Fri 09 @ Oklahoma City
Sun 11 vs Houston
Tue 13 vs Denver
Wed 14 @ Utah

The ones in italics are the ones I think we may not win.

I don’t think the Jazz will become a problem if they come to Phoenix but I do think we will have a problem if we play in Utah.

The Blazers are a team any NBA team cannot take easily, they may be injury-riddled but that doesn’t mean they cannot win games. They have caused a few upsets this season and they could even pull one off against us if we don’t come out 100%.

March should definitely be an easy month for us, most of our games will be against below .500 teams and we have probably beaten most, if not all, of those teams once at least this season.

Our last 5 games of the season might be a worry. With an injured Spurs team we could take advantage of that and win that game but then we have the Thunder who may cause an upset and beat us. Then we have Denver, whom we are currently 1-1 against them, and the Jazz on the next day.

Overall I think we can at least win 12 of the remaining 15 games that we have this season.

But that’s not all that’ s happening. So farparticipants have already been released for a number of events such as the dunk contest, three-point shootout and skills challenge.

For years now the NBA Sprite Dunk Contest just hasn’t been the same, with the appearance of Dwight “Superman” Howard, it has become a battle of the props. Judges have seemed to judge a dunk on the creativity of the whole thing and not just on the dunk. That’s not anything worth complaining about but it really is getting ridiculous that us fans are not getting the privledge to see any more dunks like back in the days when dunks were actually exciting.

The three-point challenge participants aren’t so bad, but what is with Anthony Morrow not getting in? He is probably the most deserving player to enter this year’s three point shootout. His not the only one though, J.J Reddick should have gotten a spot as well. Also, Paul Pierce should not have gotten in, he just isn’t a guy fit for this type of competition. But with the exception of Paul Pierce, the rest of the shooters aren’t so bad.I had high expectations for the participants seeing as this is my favourite event of the all-star weekend after the actual all-star game.

Now, the skills challenge event is one exciting event to watch. The battle of the point guards get to showcase their ball-handling, passing and shooting skills in this event. The participants are, reigning champion, Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, Deron Williams and Brandon Jennings. I honestly don’t think a solid winner can be decided from these bunch of guys, all I can say is that this is going to be one interesting event this year.

Let’s hope that this year things start to become better and us fans are not disappointed, let it be one of the better all-star games that we will see.

Maybe his time as a Sun is over. He has only grabbed 23 rebounds over his last couple of games which is apalling for a big man of his size and athleticism. the Suns shouldn’t be too worried, Amar’e might not have signed a contract extension with the Suns anways.

Trade proposals have been all over the internet on ESPN or maybe even on Twitter. But the latest trade proposal is with the Chicago Bulls, a team Amar’e Stoudemire has admitted to having interest in about a year ago.Rumours have spread to say that the Bulls could send Kirk Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas and Brad Miller to Phoenix in exchange for Amar’e Stoudemire.

There is so many reasons that the Bulls would make this trade, firstly, the Bulls already have a growing star in Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah as their starting big men, which means both Thomas and Miller will not be receiving as much minutes as they would have been getting in the past, the Suns lack big men which Miller and Thomas would be perfect for them. Kirk Hinrich is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, I would presume it would be hard to get him invovled in trade talks but when Amar’e is on the block, I don’t see why not Hinirch can’t be involved.

Thomas, replacing Amar’e at the power-forward position, and Nash could really mesh well together, Hinrich could replace Barbosa and start as their shooting-guard and Miller could start as the Suns’ center, sharing time with Robin Lopez and Channing Frye who can occasionally play the power-forward spot. It will be hard for the Suns to figure out their rotations but it will definitely be worthwhile.

This could really be a chance for the Suns to rebuild as Miller would be an expiring contract and the Suns could possibly build around Hinrich and Thomas along with the younger pieces in Dragic, Lopez, Dudley and Clark.

This could be the start of a new dynasty.

The Suns headed into the final quarter with a 8 point deficit but proved to the home crowd that they aren’t a team that relys on one player as many fans did not see Amar’e Stoudemire on the court for most of the final quarter. The Mavs were ice cold in the fourth quarter that it seemed the Suns dismantled them at the end of the third or maybe even the start of the fourth which resulted in the Suns outscoring the Mavericks 28-16 which helped the Suns not only tie the game up but get a decent margin on the scoreboard.

The Suns entered this game with a two game losing streak with a disgraceful loss to the Charlotte Bobcats in Phoenix in one of those games but the Suns came out to play being aware of what is at stake for this game.

Despite Amar’e Stoudemire’s inefficiency to rebound with only one rebound in the 26 minutes he played the Suns were fortunately not out-rebounded and infact out-rebounded the Mavericks by 3 rebounds. Not to mention the Suns’ bench did out-score the Maverick’s bench, 43 to 26.

Going into the final minutes of the final quarter the Suns’ coach, Alvin Gentry, took some initiative and kept Louis Amundson on the floor for quite some time, but Amundson made the minutes he received worthwhile by finishing the play with easy baskets that were dished to him by teammates, Grant Hill and Jared Dudley.

The Phoenix Suns can finally play on TNT once again without realising that they have lost their last 18 games on national television.