The Suns are rocking and rolling since the all-star break. This has been a weird season for the Suns. They started at the top spot and then at one point dropped all the way down to the 9-Th spot. Then they tried to trade Amare for no good reason. Then they did not. Suddenly Amare starts balling like crazy. He seems to be finally back to the monstrous Amare level from his pre-surgery days. I thought those days were gone for good, but he is suddenly back a couple of years after the surgery. His elevation, extension and ferocity are back. I am so glad the Suns didn't trade him. The second half MVP is either Amare or Ginobli and thats the expert opinion across the league. Now the Suns are competing for the 2-Nd spot and are the fashionable pick to make it to the Western conference finals. It's still a long way to go with 3 teams tied for the second spot and 3 more tied for the 6-Th, 7-Th and 8-Th. The West is amazing. Teams can go from the second spot to no home court in the playoffs overnight.
The Suns were 12-2 in March and coach Gentry won the coach of the month award. Some people are also picking him to win the coach of the year award. They have the best record in the league since the all-star break and the Lakers have also been losing lately. And of course the MP3 Steve Nashty is playing like the MP3 as always. Things are looking good. Today, they even beat the Spurs without even getting Nash off the bench in the fourth quarter. Thats amazing to me. These games are usually nail biters with the Spurs taking it at the end. Things have changed. The Suns missed the playoffs last year and were supposedly on the way out. But now it's the Spurs fighting for the 8-Th spot. They seem to have finally gotten old suddenly and ironically, this happens the year they get the younger, more athletic, albeit over-rated Richard Jefferson.
The state of the Spurs reminds me of an article Steve Kerr wrote when he was in the media a couple of years back. He was saying that every championship team had a "big 2" - Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe etc.. People think the Spurs didn't have that, but Kerr's point was that the second wheel on those championship teams was actually Bruce Bowen - Duncan/Bowen. And those 2 anchored and dominated the defense, which was the Spurs calling card anyways. I think Kerr nailed it. The main problem with the Spurs right now is not that they are suddenly old or that Duncan has slowed down or they are always injured. All thats true to some extent, but the primary issue is that they are missing Bruce Bowen and his suffocating defense. I am so glad he is not molesting Nash at half-court every possession.
In any case, I hope the Suns lock up the 2-Nd spot. That way, they don't have to face the fakers until the WC finals. The Lakers are also wobbling a little bit, but I think they will be fine come playoffs time. They are probably just disinterested and slacking off right now. Finishing number 2 in no guarantee to make it to the WC finals in the brutal west, but that obviously gives you a better chance to make it rather than starting at the 7-Th or 6-Th seed. But the playoffs are just going to be unbelievably close in the west. Just 3 games separating spots 2 and 8. With just a week to go, we still have no idea what the match-ups are going to be. Except for Lakers at 1, nothing else is set. We could also see all 8 playoff teams in the west winning at least 50 games. That would be amazing. Speaking of amazing, in the east, Charlotte Bobcats have clinched the playoffs. Thats newsworthy. I am curious to see if Larry Brown can take it even further in the coming years. Don Nelson is now officially the winningest coach in the history if the game. The Warrior fans are now hoping he retires.
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