Sunset!

The Suns finally are done for the season. They are still mathematically alive, but barely. After todays embarrassing loss to the hated Mavs, they are 4 games back with 5 games to go. Even the Mavs can't choke this one away orr can they! As a true fan, I am disappointed and would have loved to see them in the playoffs. Actually I think I am more disappointed just because they lost to the Mavs. I hate that. I want Nash to kick their butt every time. But part of me is happy that they didn't make it to the playoffs. They have no shot against the Fakers, especially without Amare and what's the point getting there and losing to the Fakers? Let the Mavs do the honors instead.

Also, making the playoffs gives the team and the management a false sense of accomplishment and pride (I never understood why) and I don't think Sarver and Kerr deserve it this season. In the NBA, 16 out of the 30 teams make it and it only means you are not in the bottom half. Big deal! If you don't make it to the NBA playoffs, it is an insult, but I don't think making it is any kind of achievement. Plus the NBA playoffs with it's 7 game format is probably the hardest to pull off any kind of upset. It's not a one-and-done deal like the NCAA or even the NFL playoffs and you don't have any specialists like a baseball pitcher who can swing a series one way or the other. I understand the playoffs are a lot of fun for the fans and the players and is more money for the owners, but if you are not a young team and you are not going to get out of the first round, it's no big deal.

But by missing the playoffs completely, Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr have to look in the mirror and come up with a plan. How do you fix this? Where is this thing going and who is going to stay, who's going to go? They can't hide behind the playoffs and they have to come up with some answers for these tough questions. Coach Gentry will be sold as one of the answers and to be fair to him, he is definitely improved the team, but it's going to take more than just him to push this team up the brutal Western playoff hierarchy. Suns may have to take a big step back and reload again. I don't think there is any quick fixes here. Shaq had a decent season thanks to the Suns training staff, but he is not the old Shaq and is grossly over-paid. Can the penny-pinching Robert Sarver deal with that in this economy without the playoff revenue?

Amare and Nash are still good, even great, but they are not the best at their positions anymore. Amare never got there though he looked like he could and Nash has vacated his top spot to Chris Paul. Nash is still awesome like he showed the other day against Houston with a 25-17 game, but he can't defend the young PGs anymore. Not that he was ever too effective stopping them. I think they need to hold on to Nash and try and move the other pieces for younger pieces. Nash is not getting younger and we shouldn't be rebuilding around him, but the dude is still good, he makes everybody around him better, he is fun to watch and good PGs are hard to find. Shaq and Amare can be and should be moved for younger pieces and/or cap space and we will go from there. That would be my recipe, but who knows what Sarver and Kerr will be cooking this summer.

Tomorrow is the NCAA championship game. North Carolina will win easily like it has done all season. I expect a rather lame end to the tournament much like most of the games have been. Too many blowouts all over the place on TV these days including the 2 NBA games today. Somebody from the Spurs stop LeBron James! It's a good time to welcome baseball back again. Philly lost to the Braves 4-1 today though I don't understand why the Giants and the Dodgers were still playing a spring training game today. Weird!