Suns win one

Tonight the Suns beat the Celtics 88-71. Suns don't win many games when they score only 88. Actually the suns don't win many games these days period! So it's a pleasant surprise for suns fans when they beat top-notch teams like the Celtics. Granted, the good old celtics were playing on back-to-back nights on the road, but these are still the eastern conference leading celtics with the big-3 or 4 or 5 or whatever number of great players on that roster you want to recognize. Thus the inconsistent and mediocre suns season continues. They lost by 34 points at Denver and then went on a nice 5 game winning streak against some bad teams (and the knicks). Then they lost 3 in a row to even worse teams. Now, they beat the celtics at home to get to 21-24. They supposedly had a team meeting recently with some front office suits in the room and this game is touted as a strong response coming out of that meeting. Whatever the cause was, this is a sold result, but they are still what their record indicates and it indicates nothing but mediocrity.

I am not sure how the suns owner Robert Sarver can show up in public after taking a team that went to the western conference finals just 8 months back and turning it into a 11-Th placed team with a 21-24 record. Most suns fans were not too disturbed when he let Amare walk. We were all caught up in what Amare can't do - namely defend well or rebound consistently, but what was lost was what he can do and what he did do for the suns. People forgot Amare was Blake Griffin before Blake Girffin and it was not going to be easy to replace his production. Poor guy never got his due in Phoenix and he never lost it and turned on the city like some knucklehead superstars do. Thats just amazing considering how rough a background he comes from. My respect for him constantly keeps going up looking at the way he plays and conducts himself. I am glad the Suns fans gave him a nice ovation when he visited. That was absolutely the appropriate response for Amare.

Without Amare, the season was meandering along when the front office pulled the Vince Carter - Hedo trade. Not a bad trade for the future in terms of cap room, but does nothing for this year. It took a already floundering team and added lack of chemistry to it's list of problems. Now, Steve Nash has to get used to 3 new players and try and incorporate them into his offense. Not the kind of rebuilding project he is looking for at 37. I love Grant Hill, but at 38, if he is Nash's best fast-break option and also the most reliable defender, the team is not being managed well. So what do you do with this team and the veterans, especially Steve Nash? I don't want him to be traded, but why waste his time and talent with this roster? Sarver and others keep talking about still making the playoffs. NBA teams constantly try to make the playoffs as if that means something. The truth is, making the playoffs means nothing except more money for the owners. It saves the coach's job and causes some momentary excitement, but if you are not contending, what's the point in just making the playoffs? It's a meaningful goal only for a young team on the rise. Making it to the playoffs as an eight seed only to lose to the Spurs or the Lakers in 5 games cannot be a goal for this Suns team led by a 37 year old superstar.

Nash is still playing at the high-level, but his assists that used to be slam dunks (and 1) when Amare was around are now a hit or miss layup attempts with Gortat and Lopez. I am amazed Nash is still averaging 11 assists per game. Marcin Gortat actually had a great 19-17 game tonight against the Celtics. May be this is the turning point we have all been waiting for. May be he cements his place at the center position and the Suns find some chemistry with this new group. May be the team meeting sparks a sustained run. The Celtics didn't play well today, but they did play tough and the game had a few tense moments and pushing and shoving followed by a few ejections. May be the team rallies around this and takes off. Remember how the Cleveland game ended up changing Miami's fortunes? I am searching for something here because I don't want to see Nash struggle for a mediocre team. Yes, a playoff berth is the best this team can do and it doesn't mean much. But it's still better than nothing and it will at least give Nash a shot. Plus it will put some money in the owner's pocket and might encourage him to be more aggressive next year. Nash and Hill might still have a year left in their young legs and I don't want that to go to waste.