The Suns came away with their 6th consecutive win - but not without a scare.  Midway through the 3rd quarter Raja Bell lined up another three-pointer (he had hit five prior), unfortunately he came down on the foot of Kevin Durant. Bell hit the floor, clawing at the air - screaming in agony.  There was no solace to be found in Bell’s sixth three-pointer made (thus making him perfect for the night), only terror.  Early reports show it as a medium ankle sprain - nothing serious, however, the Suns have an extremely important road trip coming up.  If Bell is not healthy, the Suns will be without their best perimeter defender as well as the hottest shooter on the team.  This means we won’t be able to spread the floor against disciplined defenders like the Celtics and the Pistons.  We should all cross our fingers and hope for the best.   

As far as the game went the Suns were extremely sloppy.  They threw the ball around without care.  If the concentration and execution was there, we would have won by fifty.  The Suns shout an astounding 15-21 from the three-point line.  Tying a record for three-point shooting percentage with twenty or more shots.  The main thing to remember is this was a back-to-back against a young team that likes to run.  Though the Suns were sloppy, they were also dominant on the offensive end.  

Things to watch in the coming weeks:

Raja Bell’s Ankle.  This could be potentially the injury that throws off our chemistry - yet again.  Hopefully it is only minor and the Suns will continue their recent dominance.

Thursday - March 20th’s Games.    All the teams the Suns want to lose (excluding the Hornets) are playing on the 20th.  The Lakers face-off against a tough nosed Jazz team and the Mavericks collide with the red hot Celtics.  San Antonio seemingly has an easy win agains Chicago, however, with their recent struggles who knows how that one will turn out.

Sam Cassel’s Push for World Dominance.  I’m not sure about everyone else - but those Dumbo-Octopi look scary as hell.  After seeing the end result of Manu Ginobili on TMZ.com I want nothing to do with Sam I Am or his merciless killers once they decide to occupy the Sonoran Desert.  I’ve already begun planning for the inevitable.  If you’re still reading this … when they come … do not hesitate to e-mail me.  I have three years worth of MREs as well a two year supply of purified water.  My brothers and I have begun to build a bunker just west of Camelback Mountain… precautions to defend ourselves are being made. 

Both members of the Spurs and the Celtics look away as Sam Cassel leads a group of Dumbo-Octopi toward the revered Argentinean, Manu Ginobili. The AP reports that moments after this photo was taken, Ginobili flopped to the ground in hopes of saving himself from impending doom. To Ginobili’s dismay, no whistle was blown - and subsequently he was eaten by both Dumbo-Octopi and Sam Cassel. After the game Cassel raved about the performance of his team, “…the team really brought it together; I thought it might be a little to early for the invasion, but I figured our numbers grow daily and with all of the turmoil going on in the world … we could sorta strike in the dark, ya know?”.

Sunssource will keep everyone posted on Cassel and his minions. From the looks of this picture the NBA, as well as the rest of the world, is definately in limbo. Time will only tell how this NBA drama plays out.

The Suns continued their recent dominance with a controlled victory over Portland. Contrasting the Suns of earlier this season, Phoenix capped surges by the Blazers. The operated exceptionally well on the defensive end - perimeter defenders Bell and Hill directed the traffic to the middle where The Big Aristotle shut down all lanes (Roy’s 3 for 14 shooting can attest to this). Yet again Amare got into foul trouble, however, this is not to take away from some of his great one on one defensive skirmishes with Aldridge. STAT has really grown as a defender since the acquisition of O’Neal. Let me explain - STAT is the type of player that will get in his own head about not making “the big play” on the defensive end. Basically, if STAT doesn’t knock the ball fifteen rows into the stands it is seen as a failure in his eyes. By tonight’s performance you can really tell STAT is maturing on the defensive end. His rotations were crisp and his weakside help was on par with other dominant power forwards in the league.

If Shaq’s intensity toward Przybilla, as well as on the offensive end is any indicator of what he can do in the playoffs - then all the naysayers are going to have to renege alot of their earlier bad mouthing of the Suns and the trade. The Diesel looked like the Diesel of old. He got to the low post - calling, shouting for the ball. When he got it, he went up strong, sporting a few baby hooks as well as a thundering dunk. It should also be noted that the Suns three-point shooting is on the upswing. For awhile, both Bell and Barbosa were having trouble hitting their patented corner threes. This is not the case anymore. Though the numbers tonight (10-24) don’t necessarily reflect this, after seeing Barbosa hoist up three pointers at will, with no hesitation, is truly a positive sign. Many have pointed out my lack of commentary on Nash - and that is partly due to his excellence. After watching Nash in the Suns system for so long, I’ve become a bit spoiled. Make no mistake - his three-point / mid-range shooting and his picturesque passing is the heart of the Suns.

Tomorrow will be a great game to gauge the Suns. In past years, we’ve done fairly well on back to backs. However this year is completely different. The Sonics are a young team and if earlier games are any indication of their hungriness, then a break is not to be had tomorrow night.

The Suns head to Boston on the 26th - but the question on everyone’s mind is: will Sam Cassel lead his deep-sea minions out from the depths of the sea to conquer earth?

Last night was convincing win for the surging Suns.  They executed on both ends of the floor and flaunted beautiful ball movement.  They did everything they needed to do against a team of the Kings caliber.  The race in the west has really become interesting - as of this morning, the Hornets were dismantled by the Pistons and the Lakers (how they’re supposed to be this season, without Gasol) are currently being bullied by the Rockets.  So, if the Rockets win, and the Lakers lose - then the Suns will be one game behind the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead.  The Suns have to keep up their defensive prowess and team cohesiveness if they want to survive the up coming East Coast gauntlet.

The key to the trip (and even more so, a key to the season) is how we handle the Pistons.  This team is unforgiving and shows up against any team with a winning record, especially a team from the west.  You may remember last time we were embarrassed by the Pistons, this time should be a different story.  We should be able to accurately gauge our progression with Shaq.  If the Suns can defend Sheed and keep the bench points to a minimum, then I believe the Suns can come away with a win.

 My current prediction for the Suns next ten games is 8-2.  I think that we’re likely to drop one to Boston (they’re hungry for revenge) and the toll of playing Denver back to back might tire out Shaq, thus handing us another loss.

Make no mistake, these next ten games are going to be big for the Suns, perennial teams in the West are going through their own gauntlet, so this is the time to strike. 

Tonight’s game turned from being important to HUGE in terms of position in the western conference.  San Antonio is on a three game slide and that means the Suns can strike tonight if they play their cards right.  In terms of difficulty, the game shouldn’t be too hard.  However, the Suns are infamous for playing down to the level of their opponents.  We’ll see how the Kings defend STAT - maybe Artest?  I don’t think Brad Miller can hang with STAT on the high post - he’s too fast.  The Kings defense better be there tonight.  I’ll blog following the game.

I know this blog is supposed to be all about the Suns, but after recent events in the NBA - namely Bruce Bowen’s suspension, I thought it was necessary to throw together a rant. Bowen is a bitch, plain and simple. He cries, complains, and flops worse than any player in the league (atleast American born player). I for one am happy Bowen caused his own demise in terms of records. It seems as though the NBA turns a blind eye to this stuff, however, there are countless “Bowen Punches / Kicks [insert name]” videos on youtube. The Spurs play a tumultuous type of basketball, undoubtedly they have the most skilled and fundamental power forward of all time in Tim Duncan, but its the system that has won the Spurs four championships. The system, as well as the NBA, reward thugs like Bowen for turning a free flowing, fast paced, skilled game into garbage basketball. The same type of garbage basketball that has turned the NBA into a ratings joke. I’m not going to hide the fact that I’m bitter, or that I think the NBA is inconsistent in the way it calls games from the regular season to the playoffs. There needs to be a change. Bruce Bowen isn’t a superb athlete, everyone in the league under thirty is completely capable of doing what Bowen does - but guranteed, if Al Horford decided tomorrow to dedicate himself to being the most revered, irratible, cheating defender in the league, the NBA wouldn’t have it. They wouldn’t have a rookie hounding MVPs like Steve Nash and Allen Iverson the way Bowen does. Hell, if one of the more athletic teams like Golden State or Denver decided to dispense their energy into defense as opposed to offense, and they did so utilizing a lock down defender like Bowen, the NBA wouldn’t allow it. The referees have a predisposed notion of how the Denver Nuggets are supposed to play - so god forbid they get away with the same things the Spurs do.

Here is a video of Bowen’s most recent temper tantrum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8WXVJQ06Sk&feature=related

Obviously by his reaction he didn’t do anything ….

Last night showed the intensity and grit of a team tired of being pushed around. They’ve read all of the “expert” reports on how they’ve fallen off since the trade with Miami. They’ve read all of the “expert” reports telling them that The Diesel’s tank has run dry. And lastly, they’ve read all the “expert” reports telling them they can’t run anymore.

Someone should ask the “experts” then, how they beat the new run-n-gun team of the NBA?

Given - the Suns started off shaky. Shaq picked up a couple early fouls and Stash uncharacteristically picked up a technical . It seemed as though nothing would go our way - that is until late in the 3rd quarter when the Suns went on a tear. Between Barbosa, Nash, and Bell the Suns were deadly from the three-point line (something that has not been as good since the Shaq acquisition). As much as Golden State tried to shut down STAT (at times triple teaming him), he was too dominative. He really exposed Golden State’s defense.

What does this win mean for us? Little in terms of playoff matchups. I don’t see any team that would lose to Golden State (I guess other than the Mavericks - haha), so I’m not too worried about our end result. What it does mean for us is that we can still run with Shaq. Given he sat for the entire fourth quarters - but he’s not the engine that makes the Suns high-octane offense run, that job is for Nash. Shaq can be used effectively in short spurts. The media writes so one-dimensional in terms of Shaq’s physical ability. He is a professional athlete and a human being. Just beause for years he has been playing slow, low-post, grind it out basketball does not mean he cannot run as efficiently as any other big in the league. I’m not talking about the same type of run-n-gun we had with Marion - I’m saying if the fast break doesn’t develop, The Big Aristotle is fully capable of scoring in the low post and hustling back on defensive every time in three and four minute spurts.  Don’t Pigeonhole Kazaam, he  can make it rain candy.

Somethings to watch out for toward the end of the season in regards to the Suns:

The Hawks draft pick. The Hawks have dropped two as of late and are loosing ground in the East playoff race. Hopefully they’ll drop a few more games and Suns will be sitting pretty.

The return of Andrew Bynum. Let’s face it, the Lakers are a new team since Memphis gave them Gasol. If the Lakers can insert Bynum into their system come playoff time - Stash may be eating his “we’ll whoop them every year in the playoffs” comment.

The urgency of the Suns. If the Suns are still playing with playoff-esque intensity the next time they face a “Memphis” of the league then obviously things still aren’t where they want them to be. Looking at the Suns’ schedule, April 4th - Minnesota at Phoenix. This will be the game to watch. All year the Suns have played uninspired ball against the T-Wolves. This will be a good game to check our level of franticness. If the Suns easily control the game - execute on both ends of the floor, and not run their starters raggid - then I believe we’re ready to go for the playoffs (noted that alot of games take place inbetween now and the April 4th game, however, I have supreme confidence in the Suns ability to string together Wins).

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