Upon the Phoenix Suns

The NBA this year has been an interesting ride. The team with the most wins in the NBA is the Phoenix Suns. The addition of Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson were supposed to make this team a bit better, and a contender for a 7-8 spot in the West. As it stands now, the Suns are off to the best start since the Bulls of Jordan's heyday. Without a "true center", the Suns are finding a way to beat all comers, and score a ton of points along the way. The impact of Nash has been undeniable. Since coming over from Dallas in the off-season, Steve has transformed this team to a run-and-gun machine clicking on all cylinders. He is dishing out assists at a very high clip, currently leading the NBA at 11.2 a game. He is leading this team from the point, and he certainly has help.

Shawn Marion has returned as a top wingman, averaging 20 points while pulling down an astounding 11.5 rebounds a contest(4th in the NBA!). Combine these gaudy numbers with his steals (1.85 per, 7th in NBA) and blocks (1.96, 10th), and the Matrix is having an outstanding season. Ouentin Richardson and Joe Johnson are both solid contributors, and feast from three off Nash's penetration-and-dish, as Dirk and Finley used to. In fact, Johnson is hitting at nearly 50% from behind the arc. Finally, there is Amare Stoudamire. This third year player continues to emerge as a beast in this league. Drawing comparisons, and favorable ones at that, to an at-his-peak Shawn Kemp, Amare is continuing to develop his game. He is scoring 25 a game, and punishes the rim with athletic and powerful dunks. Whereas Dirk preferred to prosper with the jump-shot, Amare loves to attack the basket and finish strong. He too is benefiting from excellent passing from Nash, the kind he was a bit too raw to fully appreciate when the played with Marbury during his rookie campaign.

Not much can be said about the Suns bench, except that they do little to off-set the tempo that the starters establish. All 5 starters average upwards of 30 mins each game, with Casey Jacobsen, Leandro Barbosa, and Jake Voskuhl being the only players to see any kind of minutes off the bench. Young Japanese guard Yuta Tabuse was recently waived by Phoenix, but was entertaining while he lasted.

It remains to be seen if the Suns can keep this going. An upcoming game with a Spurs team who are coming around will show how far this team has truly come. They have certainly benefited from the new defensive rules, and are fortunate to have their key contributors performing at a high level. Health is a big question mark for this squad, as an injury to any of the starters would be a big blow, Nash and Stoudamire especially. We have seen similar starts early in the season from other surprising squads, who have come up short when the NBA changes into play-off mode. The running, high-scoring style favored by the Suns tends to bog down in the face of walk-the-ball-up, half-court defense they are likely to face. The absence of a true center may expose a weakness, as foul-trouble on Amare while guarding the likes of Duncan, Garnett and Webber will leave the Suns very thin on the front-line.

I am enjoying watching what the Suns are doing, and would love to see it continue. I will look at upcoming games with the Spurs and Wolves as true litmus tests of how long this run can go.