500 and beyond

The new-look Suns are on a roll a little bit. They have now won 7 out of 10 and are just 2 games behind the 8-Th and final playoff spot in the west. They finally got past 500 and are now 27-26. They can still lose a winnable game anytime - like they did the other day against the Sacramento Kings at home, but they are playing much better overall. The new pieces are finally fitting in well, though the Suns are not getting a whole lot from Vince Carter, the biggest name in that trade. But Marcin Gortat has been great and Mickael Pietrus has fit in seamlessly. Both of these guys have significantly upgraded the shaky Suns defense. Nash is making the best use of Gortat’s size and abilities and Pietrus is never shy to take and often make those open 3’s. It’s a shame Vinsanity is not producing even close to what his talent-level demands, but what’s new? That has been his M.O forever and it seems to have only gotten worse as he has aged and moved through multiple stops.

The Suns have had some impressive wins off-late including 2 games against the Utah Jazz. The brutal schedule that we were talking about at the start of the season has eased a little and the results reflect that. The team’s chemistry and performance have also clearly gone up over the last couple of weeks. As always, Steve Nash has been a big reason for this. Nash is just amazing. He is still pouring in the assists and it has gotten better lately as Gortat and the gang has gotten comfortable around him. His numbers are as impressive as ever and he would be in the running for the MVP if the team was in the top 3 spots in the conference. He is averaging 11.3 assists per game without Amare and is averaging over 12 assists a game since Jan 1-St. He is just a freak and a treat to watch. He can score a lot more if he really wants to. I felt the same way when I watched John Stockton late in his career. Nash could easily average 5 more points per game if he was a little more selfish and took a few more shots. Rando’s assist numbers are falling while Nash’s numbers are increasing. It will be interesting to see where they both end up.

It does look more and more like the Suns are going to end up in the playoffs. They are only 2 games behind Utah and Memphis and just 3.5 games behind the 5-Th seeded Portland. There are a whole bunch of good teams in the mix, but no great team. So Suns should like their chances as much as anybody else in that mix and the Warriors are not too far behind either at 26-29 and playing well. I am not sure what making the playoffs really means if it’s just going to be about finishing 7-Th or 8-Th in the west and getting eliminated in the first round. But it’s still a prestige thing and I will take it and so will most people in the valley of the sun. The long-term plan for this team is still not clear because we need something big in the short-term here. Nash and Hill are two of the best players for the Suns and they are not getting any younger. Vince’s salary comes off the books next year, but I am not sure what’s the plan for that money. Hope it’s not just going straight to Robert Sarver’s bank account so he can buy another foam finger to wave at Suns games. He should never be allowed to wave the number 1 sign ever again because it’s his leadership that has basically taken a number 1 team and made it number 10 in the west (at the time of writing this article). But finishing 7-Th or 8-Th instead of 10-Th is a good first step in this road to redemption.