Kevin Garnett Does Not Like the Phoenix Suns

As painful as it was to watch our boys go down in a blaze of 17 game winning streak glory, I take solace due to the fact that it took a herculean effort from a former MVP and superstar to defeat the Suns 121-112. I'm not a fan of moral victories but I'll take a Phyrric victory out of this one.

I don't know what it is about Kevin Garnett but every season he makes it a point to get up for one of the Suns games and come out with a win. I told you he had a grudge. Maybe it is the fact that he is playing the reigning MVP and he feels like beating Steve and the top team is a feat, which it is. During the second quarter Wolves assistant GM Fred Hoiberg came on the Suns broadcast for a few minutes and talked ball. He was asked whether KG was on the trading block and he gave the standard 'we're going to build around Garnett' reply.

Thunder Dan thinks Garnett is as good as gone from Minnesota and I concur. I just hope he doesn't get traded to our division or to one of our Texan rivals. The Wolves should be a really good team, they have a load of talent and one of the best players in the lig. If only they could just play nice together, they'd be dangerous.

Garnett was automatic. In the beginning of the game it was looking promising, we did a good job of keeping KG out of the paint and making him shoot jumpers. Marion even got up and snarkily rejected one of KG's shots in the lane. We were in the lead many times but neither team played inspired defense, yet we kept ahead for a good amount of time by trading buckets.

Then came the fourth quarter and a couple of things transpired. First, Kevin went to the low block repeatedly and shot turnaround fadeaways. He was probably like 13 of 13 from this spot. I was pretty frustrated with D'Antoni's failure to put someone else on Garnett because he just kept shooting over Marion. KG is too tall for Marion to be able to contest jumpers like that. The Matrix did a great job early in the game but at that point we needed Amare and his size on Garnett.

I had nightmares of this image ---------------------------------No blood, no foul

Amare had a bad night. He looked lackadaisical and didn't help out all that much. Had Coach Mike went to Amare to defend the Big Ticket in the fourth, maybe it would have lit a fire in his pants to start hustling and maybe KG could have missed a single shot. It couldn't have been any worse than it was.

Honestly, it looked like the Wolves were playing extremely physical and early in the game Amare took it to the rack a bunch of times and got straight raped on his way to limited, meaningless foul calls. I'm sure that took him way out of rhythm.

Steve Nash put up big numbers but he didn't look right to me. Perhaps it was because the team was in the second game of a back to back and everyone was a little tired. Steve looked a bit erratic at times, not his usual calm, confident swag. It was like he was running around with a bunch of nervous energy. He was making plays but it wasn't the same.

I really can't fault the team all that much, they shot 50% from the field, 42% from three, 92% from the line and had six players score in double figures, so I'm just nitpicking. When we play like that we will win 98 of 100 times. Still, it took the Wolves shooting 59% from the field, 42% from three and one hell of a game from Kevin Garnett to snap the Suns' streak.

Now that we got that streaking monkey off our backs maybe the team can shave, regroup and refocus for the impending San Antonio Spurs game that is a must-win. I hope the Suns rest up and get fresh because the more running we do against the Spurs the better. That team is not young and they don't exactly have a lot of options on offense. We should be able to handle the Spurs.

Suns Witness Cleveland; Not Impressed

The Phoenix Suns killed a bit of the Cavaliers' confidence yesterday when they swept the season series with a 115-100 win. The Cavs were baited into playing a game that they never should have agreed to and it was clear early that the Suns should take this game.

The Cavs were playing well early and kept the pace moving along swiftly, likely because they were up and shooting better than the Suns. This style of play clearly favors the Suns. The Suns often allow opposing teams, like the Cavs, to have open jumpers in hopes that they will start taking quick shots and speed the game up.

The Cavs bit and were in for a long night. They hung in there through three quarters before the law of averages caught up with them in a miserable 13 point quarter. The Suns started off the game slow but played well and consistant from that point on to put the game away.

Nashty was on point all night and ended with a sick stat line: 23pts 15asts 0 turnovers. I mean, look at that picture there on the left, look at that length!



The Lebron James show was in full effect all afternoon because Lebron was determined to get buckets at the rim. He had one seriously filthy dunk, after a steal he found himself basically alone on one end of the court and took it to the basket with a full head of steam. Well, Barbosa was the only one who could get there but it proved too late because Lebron jumped like six feet in the air, over Barbosa for the cram.



Yet, the Lebron James show was just an act. Bells and whistles with minimal substance.

The Suns balanced scoring attack proved too much for Coach Mike Brown's great defense. He keeps talking about how defense wins championships but from what I've seen in the team's two games, that defense is not going to win championships. If that is supposed great defense, I guess great offense will trump it every time.



I want to give a shout to Leandro for playing well and for a highlight reel worthy play. Leandro was on the break but the Cavs defenders had got back in time to clog the lane. Leandro was moving quickly along the right baseline toward his bigger defender when he rises up and drops in the sick floater before gyrating his body into the baseline to avoid the charging foul. Very nice play.

This marked the 17th straight win and counting. I wonder how many times that a team set the franchise winning streak record only to turn around and break it again in the same season. We will need to keep it up if we want to put some space between us and the Mavs.

We have a game tonight against the Wolves before the big matchup on Wednesday against the Spurs. We really need to come out with energy tonight against the Wolves because you know Garnett is looking to prove something after missing the last game we played against his team. He holds grudges for no apparent reason you know. Also, his team is playing pretty well and he will want to make a statement with a win over our guys.

About the Milwaukee Bucks game, it was a fun game and all. Good times, close game. You just knew, though, that they were going to pull out a win. I knew it all along. It was close even through the fourth quarter but I knew they were going to play hard and pull it out. I wonder if that's the same attitude the team has?

Dallas Finally Succumbs

The Suns just moved into first place in the league with a Dallas loss to the Chicago Bulls last evening. It's about time someone took initiative. This was the first game, other than Suns games, that I was actually engaged with.

I want to make an apology to Luol Deng who got a mouthful from yours truly for missing a couple easy layups in the fourth quarter. So now that means since we beat the Bulls already, we also indirectly beat the Mavs. Silencing critics one day at a time over here.

Dallas lost by 11 points last night. Earlier in the year they lost by 22 points to the Jazz, 10 points to the Pistons, 18 points to the Clippers and 31 points to the Rockets! The Suns, however, have never lost by a double digit number and have a the best point differential in the league. There is no way that you can say the Mavs are a superior team to the Suns, in fact, the reverse is true. The Mavs are the inferior team, they are playing at their peak level, and losing by double digit numbers.

The Mavericks are not the best team in the league. The Suns potential sees no bounds.

I love it when the ignorant masses shout out such cliche blanket statements dismissing the Suns as, 'the way they play, they will be too tired in the playoffs.' Well, in 04-05, with no bench to speak of we lost a key starter to a broken eye socket that put us away only after taking out the Mavs.

Last season, without Superstar franchise player Amare Stoudemire, and our key post defender Kurt Thomas, the Suns overachieved and beat the Lakers, Clippers and were giving Dallas all they could handle until a freak Raja Bell injury. But I guess when starters get hurt that really means they got too tired. Everybody is tired by the playoffs and the Suns will be the best conditioned bunch out there come June. Health equals title.

'Dallas plays better defense and the Suns have none.' Well I guess Avery Johnson is just that charismatic. Sure he can talk about their D all day and night and convince the ignorant who don't check the numbers but they have the sixth best D in the lig, while the Suns have the eighth. Not a lot of space there, but considering the Suns have the best offense in the lig, and in years, to Dallas' third place standing it basically makes it a wash.

When you think about it, though, it's much easier to become more dominant offensively than defensively. The Suns could score more points easier than the Mavs can get better on defense. Sure, Coach D'Antoni could babble incessantly about their astonishingly great D, but that's just not his style.

With that loss, Dallas comes back down to Earth and the Suns are flying high on a 15 game winning streak that we can use to put a little distance between us and the Mavs. With a game at Milwaukee tonight, a team missing starters Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva and Mo Williams, we should have zero problems taking care of business.

Of course, that's what we thought when we played the Knicks. We need to respect every team and know that there is enough talent on any team to come out, play hard, and steal a win. Nash knows it and won't allow the Suns to have a letdown tonight.

With that said, I think we can easily blow them out of the water.

The Suns Outclass Knickerbockers

The Suns heart the New York Knicks, until they defeat and cripple them. The Suns had a good competitive game on their hands in the first half, Curry was unstoppable and the energy just wasn't there. They were playing uninspired, lethargic ball until a (probable) Nash tirade in the locker room at halftime that gave them the mental cojones to come out and take care of business like an elite team should for the win 112-107. I missed the first half because fo time difficulties but I'd rather not have seen Stay Puft Curry doing his best Shaq impersonation.

Still, Curry's, or "mittens'" as one Knicks fan likes to call him, best impersonation still only grabbed four rebounds in the loss despite his scoring spree. He was later neutralized and then went out with an injury late in the game.

The Suns should be able to shut down a player like this but after such an intense game the previous night, when every Suns player had played their guts out to embarass Arenas, they were mentally fatigued. When a team shoots 60% from the floor for an entire game, they are going to have another game where they don't play so well, which will average things out.

Last night was that game. Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire did what the leaders of any team should do and that is lead the team to victory. Nash facilitated the entire night but in a reversal from the first half, when Amare was in foul trouble, Stat came out of halftime amped and went on a scoring binge that proved too much for the 'Bockers.



It was a great game and a good, gutsy, win for the Suns who could have easily dropped this game. That's the difference between this team and that of last year, we have more options, more firepower, and are a much more formidable force. Last season, we would have lost this game. This season, when the team is drained and the jumpers are lazy and not falling, we have Amare and his killer instinct to dump the ball to. Either he's going to score or he's going to be fouled.



Most of the flaws of last season's team have been repaired by that one man. Rebounding, defense, shot blocking, and a efficient low-post scoring option is all that separated this team from the upper echelon of greatness. That, and we have the most dominant player in the lig.

Common is impressed by Amare's Resurrection*

This makes 15 straight wins, for the second time this season. I just hope they can win one more so that they have the unique distinction of setting the franchise record for longest winning streak and breaking it in the same season. We have some very winable games coming up but the only one I really care about is the San Antonio game.

We need to come out with an intensity that we showed the Wizards for that game.

*One of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever. Holla!

The Suns Give Arenas Payback

The Suns stormed into Washington last night on a mission to redeem themselves after the Wiz snapped their franchise-best 15 game winning streak and shocked everyone in the Verizon Center with a near-flawless display of selfless basketball in route to a 127-105 blowout. Arenas had subpar swag all night and didn't dominate the way we're used to seeing him. The Suns relentless attack in the first quarter put them ahead by 21 points and they just continued that pace for the rest of the game.

The Wizards defense is porous at best and the Suns efficient passing game gave them any shot they needed. Leandro Barbosa had a off shooting night yet still managed to dish out 11 assists and grab six rebounds. Nashty led the Suns movement with 27pts and 14asts. The Suns turned the ball over an inordinate amount of times in the first quarter but those Wiz freebies were rendered ineffective by the Suns smothering defense.

Amare was in foul trouble about the entire game so it was the Matrix, Diaw and James Jones who solidified the middle for the Suns and they did a bang up job. Shawn had a great game picking four steals while Boris was active on the glass and breaking down the defense for easy passes to James Jones who was lighting it up and then playing lockdown D. Junior had a monster block on Caron Butler in the first quarter that really set the tone for much of the first half.

Junior picked up Caron near the elbow, Caron wanted to take him inside. Butler flashed some moves but Jones tracked him tight regardless and when Caron put up the shot Jones swatted that rock in the other direction, which initiated our fast break. If James keeps playing like this he's going to be moving up in the rotation in the future.

Nash just broke down any semblance of Washington's D with ease and actually did an admirable job on Arenas who didn't shoot particularly well. He ended up with 31 points but that is a fairly meaningless 31 as they happened when the game was already effectively away.

I'm continually surprised by Barbosa who had a great game last night even when he wasn't scoring prolifically. He realized he needed to make an impact and did so by distributing the ball very well while Nash was on the bench. It looks like our future point guard needs may be filled through a combination of Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw, who played point-forward last night as well as it can be played.




With Nash on the bench Diaw took over the distributing in the first half. He would get a switch on the pick and roll and start posting up his smaller defender. If they didn't double, he easily gave his man a move and got to the bucket at will for an easy layup or dunk. When they did double him, he threw difficult no-look passes to open shooters who knocked down the open J. He makes it look so easy.



These guys are getting so comfortable in Coach D'Antoni's system, they don't even need to see the guy they're passing to. Diaw knows which spots of the floor will be occupied, he read's the defense and whips the perfect pass right to the wide open man, without even looking.



After last night, we officially own the Eastern Conference. Our next test is to topple those top Western Conference teams that we haven't beat yet: Dallas, San Antonio, Lakers and Jazz. We still aren't gaining an inch of ground on Dallas in the standings and it's looking like we're going to have to beat them ourselves since nobody else can do it.



We have some easy games in the next week, although they are all on the road, before our showdown with San Antonio and could potentially take this 14 game streak into the Spurs game surfing an 18 game streak. We must win that Spurs game so I'm looking for a winning streak in the 20's this time.

Suns @ Wizards Tonight

5:00pm at Wizards TV: NBATVHighDef RTV, My45

The Suns have something for Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards tonight and that somethin' is going to be served cold. Revenge. For the franchise best winning streak they snapped. For taking advantage of a travel weary team trapped behind a blizzard in Denver. For puting out a hit on our team. We have a hit out on the Bullets now.

The Suns will most definitely be up for this game tonight, if not to crush Gilbert Arenas and extend their winning streak to 14 games, then to showcase the immense talent this team has in front of a national audience as this game will be on NBATV, which is available for free nationwide as part of a current promotion.

The Suns have some critics to silence and this game against the Wizards will be the first challenge the Suns have had in a while. Of course the Suns may just crush the Wiz and everyone just realizes at how average a team they are. Second in offensive efficiency, behind The Phoenix Suns, yet only 28th in defense, while the Suns are a solid eighth in the league.

Of course the Wiz can always get those Herculean efforst from Gilbert Arenas. I just think that tonight it might not be enough.

Gilbert is going to really have to have a stern talking to Brenda Haywood in an attempt to make him play like the big seven footer he is. The Wiz will have to cough, get back on defense, cough. They'll have to rebound. They will have to play out of their minds and it still might not be enough.

It is a nationally televised game and you know Amare will be up for this.

Carnival Business

I apologize for the lack of a post after a couple games but hey, it was the weekend and I have been really busy. Matt at Detroit Bad Boys got a new Carnival of the NBA up to tide everyone over.

The games over the weekend were pretty, well, anticlimactic. I mean, the Portland game was pretty close but I just had that feeling the entire time that no matter how well the Blazers played, they were going to lose. And they did. I guess the Suns are now THAT good.

The Timberwolves game was a challenge in "let's see how little time it takes for us to blow a team out." Good lord, the Suns are the balls. I'm laying there on the couch, I get up to get a Guinness for two minutes and come back in the midst of a 32-2 run or something impossible like that. Then the game was over and the scrubs were in before my Guinness was done. That really got out of hand quickly.

Anyways, I am looking forward to some games that should be challenges. The Bullets game tomorrow is HUGE. I can't frickin wait. Soon on the schedule we got the Spurs and Jazz too. I'm starting to get excited again!

Suns Vs. Blazers Tonight

7:00pm vs. Trail Blazers TV: NBALP, FSN AZ

I'm not going to get into this preview at great lengths because we've been here before. Run Run Run to shut Zach Randolph down, box him out and attack the basket.

We need to beware of Portland's very talented, but young bench. If things start to get ugly they're going to clear the bench and let guys like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Sergio Rodriguez have free reign.

When Spanish Chocolate (Sergio) gets let loose, he's very difficult to control. He is a very talented pass-first point guard who can run a pick and roll to perfection and make the most of an open floor. Honestly, I would like to see the Blazers starters get benched just for the entertainment Sergio brings.

He is a high energy player who would thrive on the Suns. Free Sergio! Seriously, the Suns should think about making a trade for him soon before his stock gets out of control. The inept Portland organization won't start Sergio even after he wreaks havoc on any team he plays against. His style, much like the Suns', is in sharp contrast to the Blazers 'franchise' player, Zach Randolph. These two are not compatible and thus far, Zach has the upper hand.

Make a trade, don't be afraid, sign Sergio!



There seems to be a TON of Sergio vids floating around the internet. He's got a following, that's for sure.

Suns Wake Up in Time to Defeat Rockets

The Phoenix Suns were sluggish for much of the first quarter in Houston last night which gave the depleted Rockets team a chance to jump on the streaking Western Conference powerhouse before ultimately falling to the more dominant Suns 100-91. Nothing would fall for the visiting Suns in the early stages of the game, not even point blank Amare Stoudemire layups. The lack of rhythm also fueled a Rockets team to play hard and fast as they built an early, 15 point lead.

The Rockets hard work, however did not pay off as the superior team eventually found a way to win in the fourth behind the heroics of two time MVSteve. The Suns somehow managed to close the gap the Rockets created in the first half and keep it close until the fourth quarter when Steve went on a scoring binge, fueled by big blocks and rebounding by Amare and Shawn, that secured the win.

On a night when the Suns were struggling to make shots, somehow the three pointers were dropping easier than anything else and that is the difference in this game. The Suns shot 50% from three but only 47% from the field against a very good defensive Rockets team.

The Rockets forced 10 steals and 18 turnovers but it wasn't enough without their stars, they couldn't get it done. Everyone on the Suns who tried shot the three ball well. Combine that with timely stops and controlling the paint in the fourth and that's how we pulled out a win.

Big up to Raja and Leandro for knocking down threes like it's their job. Wait, it is their job. Much respect to Amare and Shawn for dominating the paint and winning the rebounding battle for us, it doesn't happen often and I want to savor it.



My favorite moment of the game is when the Rockets were out on a fast break and the Brazilian Blur glided 80 feet across court just to arrive in time for a nasty block at the hoop. Regardless of the really poor play call, a goaltend, this block was highlight reel worthy. It was, without a doubt, a clean block and just an impressive display of athleticism and desire by Leandro. My hat's off to you Leo.

Must I say it again? This is a great team. Winning unlikely games when nothing goes their way. Clutch performances, defensive stops, and desire. The Suns are now 17-0 when holding the opponent to under 100 points. Don't look now but that makes it 11 straight wins and counting with a favorable schedule coming up that could let us push it further and further. We do have a Eastern road trip coming up but they are all winnable games, especially the Washington game, because the Suns have a little something for Gilbert Arenas.

The Suns have been growing out beards during this win streak, even Boris who is having some difficulty. Where were they last win streak when I hadn't shaved for a good three weeks for this very reason?

Suns @ Rockets WMD's

The Phoenix Suns are in Houston today to take on the escalating Rockets sans Yao Ming, who has been out with an injury. Before that there are some things happening with the team that need adressing.

Kurt Thomas is going to be out 4-6 weeks after hyperextending his elbow on Monday. It isn't the worst injury, he most likely will not need surgury but the elbow will be in a stabilization brace for the time being. Lucky for us this is somewhat of a minor injury to his non-shooting 'bow, I believe.

What does that mean for the Suns team who is on a ten game winning streak?

Coach Mike is going to have to tinker a little bit. I think there is no reason why we would need to bring in a player from free agency or via trade, especially when that player wouldn't be conditioned enough, they wouldn't know the system well enough and wouldn't be around long enough to actually learn it and be successful before Kurt is back. We have more than enough talented players riding the bench who can see more minutes.

I think we will see a little bit more small ball. Kurt was only playing 18 minutes per game so that's not a whole lot of floor time to make up. Honestly, half the games he was on the court no longer than 10 minutes. I do think our defense will suffer a little bit but overall I think it will be a seamless transition from what we had been doing. Injuries happen all the time and we are well prepared to adapt, even after losing one of our most solid backups and top defenders.

I think Leandro Barbosa will see more playing time possibly on the floor with Nash more often. Raja will likely slide over to the three spot a little more with the Matrix going down low to the four spot, where he will likely thrive because he won't be camped out on the perimeter jacking up hopeless threes. He will be able to concentrate more on what he does best, defense and rebounding.

This will open things up for another player in the rotation who will probably be Jumaine Jones sliding into that eighth spot where he can play small forward or power forward. He can shoot, defend and rebound and he was looking comfortable when he was in the eighth rotation spot a couple weeks ago. James Jones can also play SF, PF, or even Sg at times. Hell we could go with Jumaine at the four, James at the three, and Shawn Marion at the two. All these guys are very versatile and the extra offense they can bring should make up for the lost defense from Kurt's injury.

Here is a great article on how good of a player Amare has become and how he will likely shoulder a bigger load in Kurt's absense. A nice stat, Amare has nearly as many double double's (21) already than he had his whole 04-05 year (27). Today, he's a more complete player, better shot blocker, better defender, better rebounder, passer, shooter and just much more skilled. Assistant coach Phil Weber on Amare, Shawn and the fast break:

"If you're looking at Shawn (Marion) and Amare running at you on each side and Steve (Nash) with the ball in the middle, that's a defender's nightmare," Weber said. "That's when you want to punt."

Speaking of Shawn Marion, Kelly Dwyer of Sports Illustrated fame has named his all-defensive team so far in the season and it's flat out criminal that Shawn Marion isn't mentioned. Shawn should at least be on the all-defensive first team if not defensive player of the year.

The Matrix routinely defends four positions with great flexibility and is one of the leagues best rebounders. Too many times this year the Suns have faced a hot guard who is knocking down jumpers continuously and Coach Mike goes to Shawn who quickly shuts them down. Sometimes Shawn even starts the game guarding an Allen Iverson or Deron Williams to disrupt the game. He's quick enough to defend the point and he can jump high and fast enough to bang down low against bigs.

The game today against Houston will likely be tough and a transition period for us without Kurt Thomas. I'd like to see Jumaine Jones and Marcus Banks get a shot at some meaningful minutes. I don't think we will have too tough of a time against T-Mac and the Rockettes because we always seem to be able to handle them easily.

Let's win one for Kurt!

UPDATE: The omnipresent Kelly Dwyer responds! Kelly writes:

I felt horrible about leaving Marion off. You have
four forward slots, and even though I'm sticking with
my choices, I'm also thinking while putting it
together that Shawn is better and more versatile
defensively than the whole forward lot save KG. The
Suns are 9th in def. eff. and it's mainly because of
Marion.

Word. Score one for ya boy. I'm looking out for you, Matrix. Maybe next episode Mr. Dwyer will have Marion in his list by the time the awards are handed out. Shawn Marion, the next Defensive Player of the Year! Thank you Mr. Dwyer.

Grizzlies Hibernate in Second Half, Suns Win 10th Straight

The new look Memphis Grizzlies, under the tutelage of new head coach Tony Barone, wanted to run, and the Suns obliged and dominated the second half for a ridiculous 137-122 win. During the first quarter the Grizzlies set the pace of the game and the Suns kept within striking distance despite lights out shooting from the home team. Then, in the second quarter, the Suns put it into sixth gear, one the Grizzlies didn't even know existed, and racked up 44 points to dwarf the Griz's 37, which I'm sure they were pretty happy with.

The Suns went into the half with 76 points, up by four points. The second half was all Suns. You cannot ask the Suns to play their game and beat them at it. They are much better conditioned and much more apt to score tons of points. The Grizzlies are new to this and sure they were hot in the first half but when their scoring finally averages out, they will have a much sharper drop in fg% than the Suns, who are used to puting up as many points as possible.

The Suns just played perfectly. Six players in double figures. Amare goes for 42 and nine rebounds (five offensive). Shawn Marion with a double double of 22pts 13reb 4stl. Steve Nash with a double double of 12pts 15asts 1blk! Boris Diaw with ten assists. Raja Bell 7 of 11 from three and James Jones filling it up off the bench and shooting well. You can't ask for much more.

People may see games like this as validation that the Suns do not play defense but this is their whole plan. They don't play grind-it-out, lock down, man-up defense like some teams of the past. They play intelligent team defense. Sure they might give up a lot of points like they did to the Grizzlies but they are pesky with the D and consistant and they keep the other team off the line. This plays right into the Suns hands.

The Suns can out-score any team in the league and when they make other teams think they can play that way too, eventually the other team cools off and starts feeling the effect of the Suns D. That's when the Suns pull away.

Amare Stoudemire flat out dominated last night. Amare really likes to get up for these nationally televised games. He really made a statement about his progress last night with his best game of the season.

He dunked in about every which way, including over three Grizzlies defenders in the lane. He made so many unlikely and-1's when the Grizzlies were literally bear-hugging him in an effort to slow him down. Unstoppable.



Between Amare and Shawn, much of the second half was a dunk fest. The main enablers being Steve Nash and Boris Diaw, who really brought ball movement to a new level last night.

It looks like Amare is now comfortable occupying the low block, a change from years past, because Boris works best from the elbow. Well this positioning really paid dividends last night because Amare received so many passes down on the low block and stuffed a majority of them over a Griz defender.



The first half bombing by Raja Bell, James Jones, and Nash set the tone for the second half and really opened up the lane. I missed the first quarter because the game started so early but I was listening to it ont he radio and I saw from five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

The Grizzlies wanted to go with a zone defense to slow the Suns down but we have way too many shooters and penetrating passers for the zone to effect us. The result was crazy efficient shooting from downtown which opened up the lane in the second half for Amare to punish them.

What a great game to watch, especially the second half. It was very exciting and highlight reel worthy. The only bad to come from this game was Kurt Thomas hyperextending his elbow in the first quarter. I don't know how bad it is yet, it could be something that he shakes off and plays with tomorrow, or there could be some ligament damage that would keep him out for weeks. Let's hope for the best.

This was our 10th straight win and the second streak this season to get to double digits. Now of only those pesky Mavericks would lose a game or two we can take the best record in the lig. I will now be looking for the score after every Dallas game because this is a must-see race for top record honors and home court advantage in the playoffs.. It's going to be a dogfight between these two teams for the rest of the season.

No More Tricks From The Magic: Suns Sweep Series 107-101

The Phoenix Suns held strong to their lead on Saturday as the Orlando Magic mounted a comeback in the second half but Boris Diaw provided too much for the visitors who dropped the season series with a 107-101 Suns win.

It was another installment of the Battle of the Bigs as Amare went toe to toe with Dwight Howard for the second time this season. The last match was all Amare and Saturday night they continually went at each other.

Each man was trying to establish position in the post on the other but neither wanted to concede. The result, for the most part the two men basically cancelled each other out. Neither had their customary huge nights but the difference was Amare's defense.

Amare held Howard to 10pts and five rebounds on 5-12 shooting and kept him off the charity stripe, where Dwight ended up 0-2. Offensively, Amare was 5-8 shooting and managed to pull a double-double of 12pts 10 rebounds. Amare wins again.

It almost looks as if Dwight is intimidated by Amare's presence.



Shawn Marion took a page from the Gilbert Arenas playbook because his defensive swag was simply phenomenal. Shawn was active all night, guarding numerous different players and snatching five steals. Offensively he was his usual all-star self but the inbounds play with .8 seconds left was pogolicious. Who else but Shawn could jump high enough to corral the lofty inbounds pass and pogo-jump fast enough to get the shot off within .8 seconds to beat the buzzer at the half? Shawn Marion is a special player.

I have to give credit to Jameer Nelson and the Magic for furiously storming back into the game after the Suns just rolled over them most of the night. They never gave up and were within three in the final minutes of the game.

They made some bad plays down the stretch at a point when we weren't able to score either. Still, the better team won behind the confidence to close out games.

The Suns customarily had six players in double figures, led by Steve Nash with 23. But, the player of the night was Boris Diaw who played with a ton of energy and was one rebound short of a triple-double.

19pts 11asts 9reb was the stat line on 9 of 12 shooting from a cache of offensive weapons. Boris has all the tools to be a big time scorer in the league. The prettiest play all night was when Boris took a full head of steam to the left block and in one motion easily shook his defender with a classy fake pass and then dropped in the baby hook.



Boris will be an all star in the coming few years.

He makes the right decision on 9 out of 10 plays. He plays like Jason Kidd but more fluid and more offense. I don't think he has found his stride just yet but he could average a triple double if he wanted to. I think that because the Suns have so much firepower he hasn't had to step up and he's concentrating on ball movement and getting a win. On a night when Amare had his hands full, Boris took over. We're winning (nine straight) and all is well.

The Team is Royalty: Suns Usurp LeBron's Throne

The Cavaliers were simply dismantled last night as the Phoenix Suns rolled on the east's best team for a 109-90 whooping of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Suns played the epitome of team basketball and it was the big three who easily took this game from the Cavs.

Steve Nash is amazing. He is by far the best team player in the league if not for the best player. He only scores four points and leads his team to a blowout, of course he did have 21 freaking assists, one shy of a career high.

Steve made every pass look so easy and his teammates were knocking down their shots in rhythm with great consistency. This is what inspired basketball looks like. Every player on the team knows the system inside and out and are doing exactly what they need to do.

Oh yeah, Steve's horrible defense forced at least two turnovers that I can remember, one being an offensive foul and the other a steal. I guess you can say that he also locked down Eric Snow and Damon Jones, if that's possible.

So much for the Cavs "stellar" defense because it was the Suns frontcourt who showed the boys from back east how we do things out west. I didn't hear the game cast because I was at the game but I'd imagine last night woke a lot of people up who said the Suns don't play defense.

This is the improved defense that we have been watching all year.

Amare Stoudemire is crashing the boards like never before and he is a presence in the paint, patrolling for unlucky passerby's who think they can get a shot off. Take that shit elsewhere is Amare's message while he was blocking five shots, altering countless others and snagging six offensive rebounds.

Thank you Amare for taking off that arm-pantyhose. I really do appreciate it. You da man.

Amare and Shawn really stopped the Cavs from doing anything. Shawn grabbed 11 rebounds, snaked four steals and added a block while having the dubious task of guarding the anointed one, whatever that means.

Lebron played great but the Cavs just have too many weaknesses on the floor whereas the Suns are a threat at every position. Numerous times I saw Zydrunas Ilgauskas get frustrated by Phoenix's double team and throw away a turnover or put up a brick.

Then you have Eric Snow being the only man open and he has to take that shot. That is not what a team wants. Brick brick brick.



We have some firepower on this team.

They say you can never have too many shooters. Well we had Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones and Kurt Thomas, all shooting the ball very well and helping Nashty look too good. Leandro has a cornucopia of confidence right now and he is clearly our backup do-everything guard.

James Jones has emerged from his funk and in true form has upped his value exponentially with great shooting, defense and hustle. He was actually taking guys off the dribble last night and creating his own shot.

I was listening to Ron Wolfley on KTAR this morning and he summed it up nicely:

They lit it up like Oprah's oven.

This team is something else. It is eight men clicking in unison and they have the Phoenix basin (it's not really a valley) excitable. Everyone wants the playoffs to start tomorrow yet we have a long way to go and the Suns potential is somewhere in the stratosphere.

We haven't even had a glimpse of their ceiling.

Suns Vs. Cavaliers Tonight

8:30pm vs. Cavaliers TV: TNT RTVHD

Tonight the Phoenix Suns take on the Lebron James' (and the Cleveland Cavaliers), who hold the glorious distinction of best record in the east. This isn't a huge feat in and of itself because if the Cavs were in the Western Conference they would hold down the fifth seed.

The Cavs are, however, a great defensive team and of course they have King James. I always think of a Cavalier as some sort of land pirate but they will not be doing any sort of looting in Phoenix tonight because I will be in attendance and the Suns are going to take care of business.

It isn't going to be so easy on the Suns. The Cavs always seem to get up and play real hard against the Suns and this will be a nationally televised game on TNT so both teams should come out firing. It's somewhat of a statement game.

The Cavs are hot, they are riding a five game winning streak and they have one of the top defenses in the league. They are good at limiting the opponents fg%, 3-point%, and they are a very good rebounding team.

These are all things that can obviously hurt the Suns game. If we are not getting rebounds tonight it is going to slow the pace down a lot and hamper our chances to win. We need to crash the boards first and then worry about our fast break.

I can see Amare and Kurt Thomas having a big impact tonight. Shawn Marion will have his hands full all night with Lebronze so we will need the other guys to step up and make things happen. Shawn should do a good job against Lebron; his defense is vastly underrated, especially this season because he is playing the best defense of his career.

The rest of the Cavs aren't so worrisome so we should protect the hoop, rebound and focus on Lebron. Larry Hughes can score but he hasn't been very efficient all year long. I think our biggest matchup problem other than Lebron will be Drew Gooden who brings a lot of energy, hustle and he's a strong rebounder whose playing the best he ever has this season.

We need to put bodies on people, box out and crash the boards in order to be successful tonight. The Cavs aren't a very good offensive team other than what Lebron brings so I think our main challenge is rebounding and limiting second chance points. I could see a zone defense working well at times because even Lebron isn't a great shooter. Packing it in the paint could be successful if they get hot for some reason or are getting to the rim at will.

Lets do this, Suns. Let's make it eight in a row and take out the best team in the East to add to our other notches by Detroit and Chicago. Let's do it for the children. What children? Oh I don't know, how about all of them. Yeah that's something special right there. Let's win one for all the children. We haven't been playing exceptionally inspired ball lately and have began games very sloppy. If we can come out tonight and play with a lot of energy and put a bunch of points on the board, we will win.

I will be in the stands making sure that happens.

Suns Turn Up Intensity on Sonics in Third

Like a wild cat on the serengeti the Suns played with their prey during the first half of a basketball game last night before attacking the jugular in the third quarter to put the Sonics down 113-102. The Suns got huge nights from Steve Nash and Shawn Marion, which has been the norm lately, but also saw very good performances from Leandro Barbosa and the bench.

Kurt Thomas was a game changer last night. Until we put Kurt in the Sonics seemed to match everything we did and they were up, by as much as 10, for the most part of the first half. Then the second half came around and the Suns quickly picked up the intensity and went on a run that would give them the lead. Kurt Thomas' defense was a major reason for the Suns third quarter success. They were getting to the rim at will until Kurt came in and put his stamp on the game.

At one point Kurt swatted a shot in the lane that continued to stay in play when Leandro Barbosa quickly pounced on the ball and initiated the fast break. Leandro broke the game open by a succession of fast break points as he would always seem to be on the other end of the court when the ball was inbounded. Steve Nash got a number of easy assists just by chucking the rock clear across the court for a Leandro layup. Leandro is quickly becoming the face of Suns fast break basketball. He seems to be leading the team in fast break points this year in place of Shawn Marion. These guys were made for this system.

Steve continued his MP3 play behind a stellar shooting night that kept us competitive even when the rest of the team was sluggish. He hit every big shot we needed to keep us in the game with mind boggling efficiency. Also in all-star form was Shawn Marion who was extremely active everywhere on the floor. He played a great game on a night when Amare Stoudemire couldn't get it going.

James Jones appears to be back as he continued his hot shooting going 4-5 from the field and 1 of 2 from downtown, including a rare four point play. James can bring a lot to the table when he is shooting well. Last year we saw many times when Junior would shoot the three and extend his leg out to draw contact from the defender and wind up with three free throws or the rare four point play. Thank you Reggie Miller.

This game appeared to be business as usual for the Suns who are taking care of business everywhere they step. I love the continued progress of the team and every player is getting a chance to shine. I don't know why but the Sonics always seem to bring it against the Suns and last night we saw Nick Collison go off. He played heady and took advantageg of all the mismatches that came his way. The Suns defense was just too much for Nick and the Sonics who shot only 44% from the field and 29% from three point land. Give credit to Raja who made Ray Allen force up a lot of tough shots. Allen was just 9 of 23 from the field and 3 of 11 from three.

Mike D'Antoni Interview on ESPN Radio

Colin Cowherd interviewed Coach Mike D'Antoni today on ESPN radio. In this interview Colin and Mike talk about how blatantly good Steve Nash is, what a ridiculous athlete and player Amare Stoudemire is, they talk about D'Antoni living large in Italy and owning a Maserati at 25, cruising at 100mph.

Colin sounds giddy throughout the interview like he is in the presence of greatness. He is genuinely interested, probably because he talks incessantly about football all the time. This is probably a refreshing break from all that foosball with an awesome and down-to-earth coach. Oh and Colin mistakingly comments that the Suns have the best record in the league. He's a professional, people.

It is for ESPN Insider subscribers but I tried to wrap an Odeo player around it for the less fortunate. I'll include the original link too.


powered by ODEO

Mike D'Antoni on ESPN Radio.

Rude Bwoi Raja: A Tribute

Super Suns Face Supersonics

7:00pm vs. Supersonics TV: NBALP, FSN AZ

The Suns are looking for seven straight wins tonight at the US Airways Center when they face the struggling Seattle Supersonics. I wouldn't write this game off just yet, the Supes always seem to play us well. Ray Allen is a beast and clutch as they come but their second best player, Rashard Lewis has been out with an injury. The Supersonics are a horrible road team this season and the Suns have been taking care of business at home. Combine that with the Suns being on a solid home stand and having the day off yesterday, I think the Suns will take this one easily.

The Supersonics generally like to run with us but I highly doubt they can beat us in that kind of game tonight. I could see Amare having a monster night but that depends on the pace. If it is a straight up track meet Coach Mike will probably go with more shooters on the court, especially with Barbosa and James Jones playing so well in the last game. Otherwise Amare should have his way in the paint. Shawn Marion could have a huge game tonight as well and the more I think about it, it's looking like a blowout. They don't have enough firepower to hang with us.

The number one offense and the number eight defense in the league will be ready for the Supersonics as they continue to become a better and more dominant team everyday. We have a long ways to go but we've also come a long way. Let's see if we can continue to develop the bench and get more players contributing in addition to Amare's continued progress to go along with the consistant all star play of Steve Nash and Shawn Marion. Nash has been preparing to win a championship all season and he sees the potential of the team too:

I really think this is the best team I've ever been on.

Suns Run Away From Warriors

The Phoenix Suns outran fellow fast break team, the Golden State Warriors, last night and unmercilessly beat them 128-105. The Warriors wanted a track meet and during the first quarter they were competitive but once Monta Ellis got into foul trouble the Warriors quickly crumbled. In the second quarter the Suns broke away from the Warriors with a combination of hot shooting and solid defense. Yes, defense. The Suns have the eighth best defense in the lig to run aside their league leading offense. Part of the reason for Monta Ellis being sent to the bench is from Suns defenders taking so many offensive fouls.

Shawn Marion's defense lead the way as he had a monster night racking up 24pts 17reb 3ast 3stl 3blk. The rest of the night it was the Suns bench who did most of the damage to the Warriors when they combined for 61 points. The bench was lead by Leandro Barbosa and a breakout game from James Jones, who shed his shooting slump in classy fashion. These two players were killing the Warriors all night. Barbosa continually pushed the tempo and the Warriors coouldn't keep up. Every time they scored Barbosa had an answer. James Jones shot lights out and forced a number of turnovers on the defensive end. These two pulled the legs out from underneath the Warriors. Marcus Banks even came in and contributed in very limited time as he has in the past few games. If he continues to play well he is going to see increased playing time.

This was the third time this year that the Suns handled the Warriors and each time it is getting easier. This is proof that the Suns continue to improve and I still believe they can get a whole lot better. This team seems to not have a ceiling. With the Dallas Mavericks losing to the Lakers last night the Suns can make a push to claim the best record in the league. We have enough firepower to easily contend for these honors which would give us home cour advantage throughout the playoffs. Coach Mike D'Antoni stated that this was the goal in the press conference after the game last night and I was thinking the exact same thing. I feel like the Suns are a better team than the Mavs but it's hard to measure it when we play like complete amateurs against them. I don't know if they get nervous or what but it's embarrasing. They didn't play Suns basketball against the Mavs last time we played them so it's difficult to compare the two teams.

I'm still not digging Amare's arm-pantyhose.

Rising Sun of the Week - (1/8)

Every week I will bring you the Rising Sun of the week. The Phoenix member who played the best basketball of the week for the Suns. I judge on how much he averaged over his normal averages.

For example, Nash averages 11 assists. I would look to see if he averages over that amount of assists.

This weeks winner is none other then Amare Stoudemire.

He helped lead the Suns to a 4-0 week.

He averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. Also hitting 79% of his free-throws.Lets compare those numbers with his averages.....

Season Averages

PPG: 18.0 - +2
RPG: 9 - +3
BPG: 1.5 - +1.8
SPG: 0.8 - + 0.8
Free-Throw Percentage: 76 - +3

That gives him a total of 10.6 improvement in his overall numbers. Congratulations to Amare for being the hottest Sun of the week.

:07 Seconds or Less - The Review

Quickly, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Sean Sharpe (pronounced Sharp) and I'm a long time Suns fans. I will be helping Brian aka Ra with this blog. So, I hope you guys enjoy my articles that I will be doing for the blog. =)


Jack McCallum is a long time basketball journalist for Sports Illustrated. He was granted all-access by D’Antoni and took great advantage of it. He shares all the stories that happened in the locker room, some too profane to repeat. But the most insighting thing, was how some of the star players were portrayed. For example, Amare Stoudemire. The book talks a lot about him missing mandatory workouts and being more of a distraction to the team rather then a good influence. It talks about Marion and his ongoing problem of frustration as I believe he (Shawn) would call it. He seems so determined to let everyone know how good he is. But then when he goes AWOL and Mike gets on him about, he feels there are different standards for him. Which is true, since I feel the same way. It’s very simple, if you want to be reconized as a superstar, you’re not allowed to have any off days. Even though Nash had his share, it wasn’t because he wasn’t trying. It had more to do with the double and triple teams he was receiving from Dallas and the Clippers.

Now about Nash, who seemed to be portrayed as good guy. I don’t believe McCallum intentionally tried to portray any player anyway. Just how he saw it. Steve seemed to be the only leader the team had. Marion would give his advice from time to time, but Nash was the voice that seemed more respected. Even though Nash never took his ref banter to the press, he talks frequently about the Lakers series and how he feels there were some many calls that weren’t going in favor of them.

The book is great. If you’re a Suns fans I highly recommend it. If you like basketball, I think you would also enjoy this book a great deal. I don’t recall ever not being interested from what I was reading in the book.

As a Suns fan - 9/10

As a book overall - 8/10

Suns Convincingly Defeat Heat

As expected the Phoenix Suns beat up on the defending champions, Miami Heat, last night to the tune of a 108-80 baby seal clubbing. I'm not quite sure what that last sentence is getting at but the Suns won handily nonetheless. The Heat really had no chance, Jason Williams was ejected for being a baby and Amare's new fashion accessory irks me profoundly. Why, Amare, WHY?!? I hate these goddamn arm sleeves. They are completely unnecessary, they don't look remotely "cool." Rather, they look like pantyhose on a man's arm. Jah, I hate those things. Next thing you know these dudes will be playing with tampons hanging out of their noses. Lets hope this is a fleeting fad and Steve, Raja and Shawn clown the shit out of Amare until he takes that women's accessory off his arm.

That's pretty much it. It's Saturday, go to the park or something. We got a game against the Warriors Sunday night to prepare for. Let's extend this winning streak, the Mavs are doing that very thing with a huge win against the Spurs last evening.

Chief Riley Sending Smoke Signals

The Phoenix Suns ultimate basketball team is hosting the defending champion Miami Heat tonight at US Airways Center. This will be a nationally televised game on ESPN but I'll bet they wish they could change the regularly scheduled game to one that will be more exciting. Ok so the Heat are like a limp noodle right about now. Shaq is doing his sitting out of 30 or so regular season games but the rest of the Heat have caught Shaq's virus in addition to a mean case of post-championship malaise. Oh they are also really old. Dywane Wade and his crazy runaway-train basketball playing antics have awarded himself a sprained wrist while Pat Riley is just sick of coaching a terrible team and his excuse is for health reasons which didn't seem to bother him when he was doing the old championship dance.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure that Gary Payton died sometime the past month and Alonzo Mourning's ghost is having a real hard time carrying this team. Pat Riley's last move before heading to the beach was to deactivate James Posey and Antoine Walker because they got too fat and were just sucking at the game of basketball. It's a fact that Antoine is his own best defender and his (self imposed) defense was just playing at a much higher level than his offense this season. I'm not sure about Posey because he didn't look Stay Puft like Walker but I'm guessing he needed some time with his new PS3. It's true that Riles is a great motivator, but who's going to motivate Pat? Greg Oden.

With the Big Aristotle by his side and in severe decline of physical ability he must have advised Riley to tank the season, by epic proportions, to get the next great big man. With the Eastern Conference so bad this season, they needed to really work at it. Taking out the best two players (Shaq & Wade) on the team wasn't enough. They had to send Antoine Walker and James Posey to the beach with Riley to suck on fluorescent drinks with little umbrellas in them. Who the hell is left?!? Udonis Haslem, who is a good player but by no means a dominant force. Lets look to the interim head coach of the Heat, Ron Rothstein, and see what he thinks about tonights game,

Looking at that game and looking at the way they're playing and looking at the way we're playing ... wow

Wow indeed. Suns by 21.

UPDATE: Raja Bell suspended for tonights game for attempting to kick Andrea in the nuts.

Suns Declaw Raptors to Win 100-98

The Suns balanced attack proved to be too much for the Toronto Raptors last night as they built an early lead and barely protected it in the fourth quarter, eventually winning 100-98 behind a huge quarter from Steve Nash. Mr Canada, Steve Nash, was loved by Raptor fans almost the entire night until he took over the game in the fourth and scored the Suns final eight points to secure the win. The game was an inverted display of the previous nights Bulls game, this time the Suns built an early lead before coughing it up in the fourth but the Suns were able to hang on for the win.

I missed the first half and didn't see the first few minutes of the third because these games start far too early and five pm is exactly when I begin making the journey through traffic home. Steve Nash wasn't shooting very well until his fourth quarter eruption during which he hit numerous huge shots to keep the lead including an answer three pointer just after the Raptors took the lead. Raptors fans who normally love their fellow statesmen actually booed Nash at one point because he was singlehandedly destroying their chances to win. The Raptors played hard and if not for their inexperience as a team, they could have pulled out a big win.

In the final minute of the game the Raps had a chance to take the last shot but had no timeouts left which impeded their ability to take a game-winning shot. Chris Bosh was a load on the interior all night but Amare did an impressive job prowling the paint and giving the Raptors a difficult time scoring easy baskets. Amare came away with six blocks and three steals on the night. The rest of the Suns did exactly what they had to do. It was a very balanced scoring attack with six players in double figures scoring and all players who entered the game scoring, including James Jones who must have hired a private investigator to find his shot because he made some buckets.



Boris had a great night, scoring 15 points, grabbing six rebounds (four offensive), and dishing out six assists. If Boris continues to play this way it is going to be real hard to beat the Suns. Looking at the balanced scoring of the Suns will tell you how difficult it must be to defend this team. Of the players in double figures here are their point totals: 12, 13, 15, 15, 15, 17, and the other two players pitched in 6 and 7. This makes the defense scramble because every player is just as much of a threat offensively as any other. This is just another great win for us and we continue to grow as a team.

All the close games we have won lately are games we would have dropped last season. This team is much more hardened and can find any number of ways to win. In addition I don't think we are even beginning to see this team's ceiling. They will continue to get better and better and in the Spring they are going to be very very dangerous.

Be sure to check out my recap podcast with Ryan from Hoopsaddict.

Barbosa the Matador Kills Bulls

Leandro Barbosa shook off all the bad energy the Suns were playing with the entire night after Coach Mike called on him for the last shot and nailed a perfect deep three with 1.5 seconds remaining to seal the game 97-96. On the following possession the Bulls had one last shot which was blocked by the Brazilian Blur and Leandro put the game away for the Suns after a night of OLE! defense and tepid shooting. I have no idea how the Suns pulled this win out after missing what seemed to be every single shot. They played little to no defense, they couldn't hit their shots, they got pounded on the boards and still somehow managed to win.

The Suns were outplayed and out hustled all night especially in the first half where they dug a 16 point hole for themselves. Their lackluster play combined with the Bulls effective defense had the Suns disheveled. In the second half much stayed the same but Amare started grabbing a bunch of rebounds and the occasional shot went in. Shawn Marion then grabbed some steals and they started to think that they could get back into the game.

Painfully, they scrapped and scraped their way back to within striking distance and in the final few minutes they did everything they had to do to put themselves in a position to win. Ben Gordan was not having it, and he continued to light it up. Somehow we got to within two with five seconds left and D'Antoni drew up the perfect play, which was then executed to perfection and Barbosa drilled the deep bomb. Game over.

The Suns only shot 41& from the field to Chicago's 48%. The Suns shot 30% from three to the Bulls 33%. We got out-rebounded 49-38. Our only saving grace was the Bulls' 20 turnovers to our 10 and the perfect exectuion in the last minute that gave us the game. It was a Tuesday night but it felt like it was May already. When Barbosa hit that shot my girl and I simultaneously let out a scream and were jumping around the house.

This was a great game and a real character-builder for this Suns team. Good teams win the unlikely ones. The Bulls had this game. Boris Diaw hit a three in the final quarter that he's been trying for what seems like 10 games. Last night, when we desperately needed it the most he sinks it. Steve Nash was held in check most of the night by the length of Chicago's defenders until the fourth when he went and did his thing. Steve will never stop trying to do what he does and it will be difficult for anyone to shut him down for an entire game. I'm not sure if Skiles' head exploded or not but I'll bet practice in Chicago is not going to be fun today.

Leandro Hits the Game Winner

HUGE shot by the Brazilian Blur tonight capping off a tremendous Suns effort in a very difficult basketball game against the Bulls. That last play was simply perfection.

2 Legit 2 Quit

Lucky for all of you, I'm back from vacation and spry as ever. I had a nice time getting sick and finding out my license has been suspended since May. I love the 'oh by the way' letter I got from my insurance company telling me they cancelled my insurance because my license had been suspended. In Arizona, when you get a running-a-red-light ticket (even the camera tickets), evidently you have to pay the ticket AND attend defensive driving class. This was news to me as I was under the impression that you pay the ticket OR take the class. Not so much.

Anyways, last week I was busy doing stuff I normally can't during normal business hours because I'm working. I know you all missed me because you keep coming back. I'm still driving, and I'm still without license. That's just how I roll. The way the Suns rolled over during that Dallas game last week made me uneasy. So uneasy that I came down with a wicked fever for a few days unexpectedly. The Suns didn't even show up yet almost came away with a win. It was pretty disgraceful. Dallas played terribly, they tried to give us the win and we said "hell no."

I realized in my time off that this blog isn't going to write itself. I kept thinking, "damn why doesn't someone update this shit?" Then I was like "oh yeah I'm the author." Shortly after the sharp pain in my head made a move and I attempted to distance myself from the illness by playing video games. It truly works. Hopefully this photo-blocker spray I got works that well. The can guaranteed that it will blind the photo-radar camera from taking a picture of your license plate, so it must work.

The Knicks game was fun and definitely perked my spirits. What a beatdown. I like the Knicks because they are so entertainingly horrible. They're a bad basketball team with lots of talent and a side of unpredictability that's enjoyable to watch because you have no clue what's going to happen next. I would say Isiah has done a great job just so that he remains the coach and we get another year of entertainment. Anyways, we got a Chicago Bulls game about to tip off in a good 40 minutes and I am real excited.

This game will give us a chance to beat another good, contending team. Our win at Detroit was made a bit less exciting due to Chauncey Billups' absense, yet we took care of business after being swept last season. That made me feel good. I guess the only reason it matters to beat top teams is to prove to the media that you're legit. This is truly futile because as the Miami Heat showed everyone last season, you can lose all you want in the regular season and still pull out a championship.

I like this game against Chicago because they are like our other-dimensional rivals. They play similar, yet very different, if that makes any sense. They are the torture to our Kentucky Fried Chickens. Skiles is a control freak, D'Antoni is a layed back dude. Both teams emphasize ball movement. The Bulls focus primarily on defense while the Suns preach offense. We're both good jump shooting teams. I look forward to a good game tonight and hopefully Skiles' head explodes.

Speaking of exploding, I've got a load of work to do and not enough time. I am searching for an author, some authors, magical text, a self-writing pen, or any of the above to join The Rising Suns/Phoenix Suns Rising blog of word magicians. If anyone is interested in helping me maintain a terrific Suns resource let me know. You won't be paid because I'm not paid but you will get tons of respect. By "tons of respect" I mean random people searching Google will find your writing and you can become a self-proclaimed Suns expert. I like funny, witty, clever, dull, imaginative, ignorant people so send me something and I'll think about it. This blog is too much for me to run on my own and you can help. I'm not taking just anyone, though, people. Only the best because I will be the only sucky writer around here.