Suns stay hot, doubters get fuel

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

So if you read NBA previews, a lot of people picked the Suns to nab the number one seed in the West and picked the Spurs to repeat. A lot of people knocked the Suns for letting Kurt Thomas go and poo-pooed the Grant Hill signing. A lot of people think this team is entertaining but ultimately won't win in the playoffs. So the whole 82 game regular season is waste and no matter what we should bank on watching someone else raise the trophy.

Meanwhile the Suns are hot right now. They took a back to back set from the Kings. In the first game, they built a built a big lead only to let it melt away in the fourth. Amare Stoudemire (26 pts, 13 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl) was killing the Kings and I had a feeling he would make a decisive play. After clanging two crucial free throws, he blocked a jumper at the buzzer to ice the 100-98 win.

The next night was classic Suns basketball. The Suns came out gunning and put up 47 in the first quarter and 80 in the first half. Nash (20 pts) was aggressive with his shot and dished 15 assists in the 127-111 blowout win.

The short-handed LA Clippers rolled into town on Black Friday and Sam Cassell (26 pts, 18 in 1st half) had it going early. The Suns took control in the second half with better defense and better play from the frontline. Shawn Marion (21 pts, 17 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk) dominated the game, Amare (29 pts, 11 reb, 2 stl) had the offensive touch and Grant Hill (19 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) made some nice plays including a big follow dunk. The Clippers couldn't hang and lost 113-94.

Thoughts
As far as injuries and playing time, there were a few minute developments this week. Raja Bell did return to the lineup in the Clippers game and while the shot wasn't there, he did make plays in the fourth to help the Suns pull away. Marcus Banks got some good minutes in the second Kings game and played with a lot of confidence. Nash's minutes are down a bit but Marion and Hill are playing big minutes. Nash has become the league leader in assists with 10+ in seven straight games and 15 in three of the last six.

So the winning streak is at eight. Optimists will say the team has played few games at full strength, they are winning ugly games and Hill and Brian Skinner have been very good additions. The doubters aren't impressed by winning streaks, they'll point out that we've played teams missing players and they'll point to Amare's knee surgeries as evidence he's the second coming of Bill Walton.

The question for me is- are these people really Suns fans? I'm questioning their fanhood. EIther you like the team or you don't. Fans root for the guys on the floor and hope for the best. We don't know what'll happen in the regular season nor the playoffs. Injuries, suspensions and clutch performances are dramatic and heart breaking because they are unexpected. Why focus on that now? Just enjoy the process of getting there. This Suns team has exciting players, interesting personalities, and a legit chance to win every time they play. To me this is something to get behind. I could be wrong, maybe people just chase championship teams or sure things and real fanhood is dead.