Their free throw shooting is an entirely different story.  Did you know the league average from the stripe is 75%?  Well, the Suns are shooting a dismal 71% as a team.  Remove Steve Nash from the equation and they’re sitting at a Shaquille O’Neal-esque 68%.

Puke.

For a team filled with shooters, they sure have a hell of a hard time hitting water falling out of a boat making their free throws.  Perhaps Shaq poisoned the whirlpool (the Suns shot made 78% of their free throws the season before he arrived,) or maybe the team thinks Nash’s incredible performance from the line will magically rub off, but this is an issue that needs to be fixed and pronto.

Second chance points are hard enough to overcome.  Not making the most of free points makes things even more difficult.

all stats from the indispensable basketballreference.com

Steve Fan and I decided to take a gander at the Suns’ remaining schedule for this here month of November and make uneducated guesses as to how they’ll enter December.  Red hot?  Ice cold?  Lukewarm?

Mark McLane:

Note: I wrote this before the Hornets game last night.

My unabashed cynicism was often pointed out during our podcasts last year with Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns.  While I’d like to think it had a lot to do with the ups and downs of the season, I’ve never been nearly as hopeful as our very own Ben York (it’s an impossibility.)  Sure, I pointed out the Suns had a very real chance to make some noise this year and win 50+ games, but my optimism was still very guarded.

The Suns hot start has been incredible and has brought plenty of excitement to the McLane house.  However, I’ve found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop, a four or so game losing streak where our squad looks overmatched and lost.

The shoe isn’t dropping anytime soon.

With another grind it out comeback win over the Rockets on Tuesday night, the Suns have begun to chip away at my resolve to expect the worst.  It’s been said again and again, and it’s worth saying one more time.  From top to bottom, this team plays for each other and they’ve been a joy to watch.

Including tonight’s matchup with the Hornets in New Orleans, the Suns have five games remaining in the month of November.  They return home to face Detroit and Memphis, and head back on the road to Minnesota and Toronto.

• @ New Orleans - W
• Detroit - W
• Memphis - W
• @ Minnesota - W
• @ Toronto - L

That’s right, I’m looking for wins in four of their next five.  The Hornets, Grizzlies, and Wolves are very winnable games, and with none of the five coming back to back, the Suns old bones will get plenty of rest.

Time for a Kool-Aid refill…

Steve Fan:

The Suns surprising start (10-3) despite the unexpected loss to the CP3-less Hornets has been the hot topic around the League, but as the weather gets colder and turkeys are roasted, it’s time for a reality check.  If it’s a dream, like watching classic games on NBA TV, please don’t wake us.  Will it last?

As we’re getting ready for the long Thanksgiving weekend, the Suns will play Detroit, Minnesota, Memphis and Toronto.  A much tougher schedule awaits in the month of December (they play at least 10 potential playoff teams). Toronto will prove to be a difficult matchup but I fully expect the Suns to continue their hot streak and win each and every game to begin next month sitting on top of the Pac5 with a 14-3 record.

Phoenix is shooting very well.  Steve Nash is leading the League in assists, Channing Frye is shooting .440 from 3-point range, Grant Hill keeps getting younger and for the first time in years the bench players are actually contributing to the Suns success.  Additionally, there’s still room for improvement as Amar’e is slowly gets back to 100%.  He could potentially add something special to the Suns down the stretch.

I like what I’m dreaming right now, just please don’t wake me up before December.

Before you decide, consider that just 8 days earlier, the 10-2 team beat the 4-8 team by 20 points. Since then, the 4-8 team’s best player injured his ankle and is out for about a month.

Hornets' rookie Darren Collison had 15 points including a huge 3-pointer in a 110-103 win over the Suns on Thursday. (Photo: Bill Haber/AP)

In the game, the Hornets’ 2nd-best player went 2 for 11 from the field and scored 6 points in the game.

Go ahead, chalk up the win.

Oops.

The Chris Paul-less New Orleans Hornets got 25 points from slumping Peja Stojakovic and 19 each from Devin Brown and Marcus Thornton an they beat the Phoenix Suns 110-103 at the New Orleans Arena.

The Suns came out flat, falling behind 15-2 in the first four minutes of the game, and played from behind until Jason Richardson’s 3-pointer with 4:05 to go in the first half put the Suns ahead 41-39. The game see-sawed back and forth from there.

With the game tied at 96-96, Stojakovic and rookie Darren Collison hit three-pointers :37 apart to put the game out of reach for the Suns.

KEY STATISTIC
The Suns got crushed on the glass 56-38 and allowed 25 offensive rebounds.

KEY STATISTIC 2
Phoenix has now lost their last 16 nationally-televised appearances on TNT. The good news is, the Suns don’t play again on TNT until December 17th, when they visit the Portland TrailBlazers.

Highlights from NBA.com/TNT

The answer? Bad luck, poor play, a curse? Your guess is as good as mine. Since this isn’t your blog though, I’ll give you my off-the-wall reasons.

• TNT really wants Steve Kerr back

Prior to taking the job as Suns’ general manager, Steve Kerr was a successful analyst for TNT’s Thursday night broadcasts. In his first season, 2007-08, Kerr had a 7-2 record, but since then they are the aforementioned 0-15. Maybe the losing streak is designed as a way to hurt Kerr’s status as a GM and bring him back to the booth.

Honestly, if your only other viable option was Reggie Miller, would you be desperate enough to do that?

• Charles Barkley put a hex on them

Chuck hasn’t been a fan of the Suns since they tried to “revolutionize” the game under Mike D’Antoni. Who am I kidding? Barkley hasn’t been the biggest fan of the franchise since they parted ways back in 1996.

• 6:00pm or 8:30pm start times on a Thursday are just too odd

Athletes are creatures of habit. Maybe playing on a Thursday, a night where only two teams play regularly, or at the odd 6:00pm or 8:30pm start times have just thrown the Suns off (not to mention, two of the fifteen they lost were outside).

• Shaquille O’Neal

Blaming Shaq for anything that has gone wrong since February of 2008 seems like the en vogue thing to do. So I blame him for the Suns TNT record, the crash of the economy, the Suns missing the playoffs, the fame of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and the train wreck that is Jay Leno at 10pm. That should cover everything. It’s all Shaq’s fault.

Obviously there is no logical reason for the Suns to be as bad as they have been on TNT in their past fifteen appearances. There’s no common factor other than the network. The roster has changed, the coach has changed (twice), the opponents have been different and games have been both on the road and at home.

I don’t believe in curses. If the Suns lose to the Chris Paul-less Hornets tonight, I may have to become a believer.

The next day, Hornets’ management decided it was time for a change, and they fired head coach Byron Scott, who had a 203-216 record in 6 seasons, and was just two years removed from being the NBA’s Coach of the Year.

There will be more people here tonight.

The Hornets’ record since Bower took over is 1-2, and they come into tonight’s game at a disappointing 4-8. Of course it doesn’t help that All-Star point guard Chris Paul has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, and he could miss up to a month with the injury.

Meanwhile, the Suns are the one of the most surprising teams in the league. Their 10-2 record is the best in the Western Conference, and their only two losses have come on the 2nd night of back-to-back games against the two teams who played in the NBA Finals last season, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Phoenix Suns (10-2)


F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6-10 - Cyp.Creek HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6-8 - Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6-11 - Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6-6 - Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6-3 - Santa Clara

New Orleans Hornets (4-8)


F - 16 Peja Stojakovic - 6-10 - Serbia
F - 30 David West - 6-9 - Xavier
C - 50 Emeka Okafor - 6-10 - Connecticut
G - 23 Devin Brown - 6-5 - Texas-San Antonio
G - 2 Darren Collison - 6-0 - UCLA

By the Numbers

23.8 and 9.2
Hornets’ guard Chris Paul’s season averages in points and assists this season.

11.0 and 5.0
Hornets’ guard Darren Collison’s averages in points and assists in the two games he’s started in place of Chris Paul.

15-15
The Hornets’ record without Paul in the last 5 seasons.

171-139
The Hornets’ record with Paul in the lineup during the last 5 seasons.

5
The number of times the Suns have overcome a double-digit deficit to win this season.

9
This is the 9th road game the Suns are playing this season, the most in the NBA. The Toronto Raptors have played 8.

4
The number of games in which the Hornets will wear these “Mardi Gras” uniforms this season.

A Dozen
The number of times I had to rub my eyes to get the image of the Hornets’ “Mardi Gras” uniforms out of my head.

6
The number of players who have led the Suns in scoring in a single game this season. (Nash, Barbosa, Frye, Stoudemire, Richardson and Dudley).

5.5 and 1.4
The amount New Orleans’ forward David West’s scoring and rebounding averages are down this season.

4
The number of teams Hornets’ forward and former ASU star Ike Diogu has played for in his 5-year career.

0
The number of minutes Diogu has played this season.

Lewis chronicles Battier’s play and exams the “little things” he does to help his team. The “little things” he gives his team, the Houston Rockets, are defense, desire, smarts and an amazing +/- rating. While focusing on the Battier’s +/- rating, Lewis talks about Shane’s career +6.0 rating and how Rocket’s general manager Daryl Morey views a +6.0 player as ” between 41 wins and 60 wins”.

Lewis paints Battier as the key to both the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets success during his stints with each franchise. Well guess what, the Suns have a “no-stats all-star” of their own.

Like the Rockets, the Suns have a former ACC player of the year whose impact is felt throughout the game and not just in the box score. He’s a player that accepts his role and plays with fire.

That player is Jared Dudley.

This season, Dudley has a per game +/- of 6.0, and is averaging higher Player Efficiency Rating (PER), 17.2, than Battier has in his entire career. Along with PER, Dudley has a better True Shooting Percentage, Effeiciency Field Goal percentage and True Rebounding Percentage than Battier ever has for a season. Granted, these numbers are skewed due to the fact that Dudley has only played 12 games out of an 82 game season. When you combine those stats with his defensive abilities and energy, it goes to show just how big of an impact the Suns’ backup small forward has had on the Suns’ fast start.

There’s a reason why the Phoenix Suns’ 10-2 start looks different from the teams that thrived during the Mike D’Antoni era and there’s a reason why no one can put a finger on what that difference is.

It’s because that difference isn’t easily seen. The difference comes from guys like Dudley who populate the Suns bench and do the little things that don’t show in the box score.

Dudley is the Suns’ “no-stat all-star” during their 10-2 start and that should be just fine for a guy who proudly sports the nickname the Junkyard Dog.

The Rockets came out on fire, hitting 5 three-pointers in the game’s first six minutes to build a 34-22 lead over the Suns after the first quarter. And when rookie Chase Budinger drove for an emphatic dunk with 7:09 to go before halftime, the Rockets had a 15-point lead.

Leandro Barbosa is just about to apply the facial to Houston's Chase Budinger during the Suns 111-105 win over the Rockets on Tuesday night. (Photo: Bob Levey/AP)

Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 23 points, while Jason Richardson added 20. Steve Nash had 12 points and 16 assists for Phoenix, who now own the best record in the NBA at 10-2 heading into Thursday night’s game with the New Orleans Hornets.

Houston was led by reserve forward Carl Landry, who had a career-high 27 points.

The Suns were able to win on the road on a night where Steve Nash actually looked human offensively. The point guard, who is playing at an MVP level once again, was just 2 of 10 from the field. His 12 points were his 2nd-lowest game total of the season.

Highlights from NBA.com/KUTP-My45

In other words, the Rockets shouldn’t be winning…should they? Let’s examine this further.

All-Star center Yao Ming has a foot injury and hasn’t played a minute this season–and probably won’t. The once great Tracy McGrady is a shell of his former self –and hasn’t played a minute this season. Their defensive stalwart from a year ago, Ron Artest, bolted to L.A. in free agency. Their own big free agent signing was a role player who averaged 6.9 points per game in his career, their center is 6 foot 6 (maybe) and their point guard is a Chris Rock look-alike.

But somehow, the Houston Rockets are off to a 6-4 start. Is it too early to nominate Rick Adelman as NBA Coach of the Year?

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns come into tonight’s game at 9-2, tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the best record in the NBA.

Should be a good one from the Toyota Center.

Here are tonight’s probable starting lineups…

Phoenix Suns (9-2)


F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6-10 - Cyp.Creek HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6-8 - Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6-11 - Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6-6 - Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6-3 - Santa Clara

Houston Rockets (6-4)


F - 31 Shane Battier - 6-8 - Duke
F - 4 Luis Scola - 6-9 - Argentina
C - 44 Chuck Hayes - 6-6 - Kentucky
G - 1 Trevor Ariza - 6-8 - UCLA
G - 0 Aaron Brooks - 6-0 - Oregon

By the Numbers

9
The number of games in which the Rockets have scored 100 or more points this season.

7
The Rockets’ NBA rank in points scored per game (103.4).

11
The number games in which the Suns have scored 100 or more points this season

2
The Suns’ NBA rank in points scored per game (110.4).

2003-2004
The last season that the Suns didn’t rank in the top three in the NBA in scoring (they ranked 11th at 94.2 points per game).

35-53
The Suns’ all-time record against the Rockets in Houston.

7-3
The Suns record in their last 10 games in Houston.

32
The number of three-pointers made already this season by Suns’ center Channing Frye.

1
The number of NBA players who have made more three-pointers than Frye this season (New York’s Danilo Gallinari has made 34).

9.4
The scoring average of Rockets’ rookie Chase Budinger of the University of Arizona.

7th
Budinger’s rank among NBA rookies in scoring. He’s the highest scoring rookie that was a second round pick.

26.6%
Budinger’s shooting percentage in the last five games of his collegiate career against Arizona State. (Sorry, I just had to put that in there.)

Raja hasn’t been a member of the Suns since the J-Rich trade almost a year ago and there hasn’t been a day since I thought that the Suns could use Bell. I know, his defense may not be what it used to be, he may have lost a step or two but the Suns could still use him. I miss him.

Since probably Raja will not play much with the Warriors anyway (they have a dozen or so guard already on their roster) and he was traded mostly because they had enough with Jackson and has an expiring contract I’m sure a deal could be made to trade Raja back to Phoenix.

I know it probably won’t happen but I think this Suns team could really use him. Think about it. Bell knows the system, the Suns need a shooting guard that can play some defense, provide quality minutes and help them in the Playoffs. Plus, don’t you think it would make Steve Nash very happy ?

I’m about to start a “Bring Raja Home” campaign even if it could mean we’ll have to collect some money to help Mr. Sarver pay the luxury tax.

Yours truly, Steve Fan

Jared Dudley can ball:

Everyone wanted to believe that Jared Dudley would continue to develop this season and play a major role for the Suns. Dudley proved it in week three.

In the four games the Suns played, JD averaged 11.75 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Along with his stats, he was a strong defensive presence on the court in the three wins and, as usual, he brought added hustle and energy to the floor.

Coach Gentry seemed to agree by giving Dudley key minutes down the stretch in Sunday’s one point victory over the Raptors.

The Suns are strong in the fourth quarter:

The Suns may rank in the lower half of the NBA in overall defense again but there has been a change. The Suns are strong defensively in the 4th quarter of games. This past week the Suns held opponents to an average of 41% shooting in the fourth (26-for-63) and in the teams three wins held their opponents to an impressive 36% shooting in the fourth quarter.

Along with their new found late game defensive toughness, the Suns have continued to put pressure on their opponents offensively. The Suns outscored them in the fourth quarter last week 113 to 106, an average of 28.25 to 26.5 points per fourth quarter.

In addition, in the two close games, last Monday versus Philadelphia and Sunday versus Toronto, the Suns outscored both teams by a combine 59 to 50. Both games the Suns trailed entering the fourth quarter.

The Suns can win without scoring fast break points

The Suns scored 20 fewer fastbreak points than their opponents this week and still finished with three wins in four tries. The Suns never scored more than 20 points on the fastbreak all week and only the only team they had more than was Toronto (10 to 4).

Maybe this isn’t the “run and gun” system of the Mike D’Antoni Era.

The Suns give up a lot of points in the paint

This will come as less of a “surprise” and more of a confirmation of what everyone expected from the Suns. The Suns give up a lot of points in the paint. Last week they gave up 214 points in the paint over four games, that’s good for a 53.5 points per game average. The Suns bigs only managed 170 points or 42.5 per game.

The worst performance game against the Lakers. The Suns gave up 78 points in the paint while only scoring 4 of their own.

The second night of a back-to-back against a top caliber opponent isn’t going to end well

Another “non-surprise” here. For the second straight week the Suns were handed a horrible loss on the second night of back-to-back games against a top opponent. Last week the team was embarrassed by the Magic and this week the Lakers handed them a 19 point defeat.

Games like these may be the only time the Suns look old this season.

Photo by AP

It’s a fair question, and one I never thought I’d ask.

However, with the Suns loss in L.A. last night, I began to accept just how important Jason Richardson is to this Phoenix Suns team. Yes, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire are just as valuable, but there is no denying the Suns are a much better team when J-Rich is playing well on both ends of the floor – as evidenced by the Suns losses in Orlando and Los Angeles.

To start, we must forget everything about the Jason Richardson we ‘think’ we know, and go by what he has shown us in the ‘09/10 season.

In the Suns two losses, Richardson scored a combined 5 points. Yes, a combined 5 points…think about that for a moment….In the Suns biggest wins of the year (at Boston, at Miami, at Philly) Richardson averaged 26 points per game, including 34 at Boston and 29 at Philly. In the Suns wins, he’s averaged about 53% shooting from the floor. In their 2 losses, he’s averaged a horrific 11% from the floor.

I’m a huge proponent that correlation does not mean causation, but in this case, the facts are hard to ignore. So…does the Suns success rest on the play of J-Rich? Yes and no.

Clearly, if the Suns are going to be a legitimate contender in the West they are going to need to shoot the ball well beyond the arc. When Richardson is feeling it, he’s as lethal as any player in the game. Watching him score 34 against the Celtics stifling defense was absolutely amazing, especially considering some of the shots he hit against a variety of defenders. He’s a key part of any scoring run the Suns produce and when he’s not hitting, i.e. 2-9, or 0-4, the Suns struggle.

Defensively, he’s much better than he gets credit for. I remember a key possession in the Celtics game where he trailed Ray Allen across the entire baseline against 3 screens and still managed to fight through them to stop Ray from shooting a three-pointer to get the Celtics to within 5. Instead, he stopped Allen’s shot and went down and drilled a three on the other end. It also helps that the Suns, as a team, are playing much better team-defense and helping out on the weak side the best they have in 5 years, but it’s clear that J-Rich works his butt off on both ends of the floor.

Perhaps it’s more of a team or momentum issue with J-Rich; if the Suns are hitting on all cylinders, that usually means J-Rich is as well. Has he carried the Suns to wins? Yes. Has he also contributed to losses? You bet. But the Suns become a much different and increasingly dangerous team when Jason is consistent and energetic.

More surprisingly, Richardson’s success actually doesn’t necessarily depend on Nash. Sure, he’ll get a couple nice dishes from Stevie in the paint each game, but Richardson is almost more deadly when he creates his own shot along the perimeter, whether it be off a screen or one on one. Richardson, more so than any player on the Suns, doesn’t have to rely on Nash to score the ball.

It’s much too early to truly tell, but keep an eye on Richardson’s stats in the coming games. If this starts to become a pattern, the Suns will need a career year from Jason to make some legitimate noise in the West.

Who is that guy sitting next to Lou Adler? (Photo: Reuters)

Here are tonight’s probable starting lineups…

Phoenix Suns (8-1)


F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6-10 - Cyp.Creek HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6-8 - Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6-11 - Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6-6 - Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6-3 - Santa Clara

Los Angeles Lakers (6-1)


F - 7 Lamar Odom - 6-10 - Rhode Island
F - 37 Ron Artest - 6-9 - St. John’s
C - 28 DJ Mbenga - 7-0 - Zaire
G - 24 Kobe Bryant - 6-6 - Lower Merion HS
G - 2 Derek Fisher - 6-1 - Ark-LR

By the Numbers

1980-81
The season the Suns got off to their strongest start ever, an 11-1 mark.

9
The number of times the Suns have scored 100 or more points in a game this season.

2
The number of Suns’ players who played more than 30 minutes in Wednesday night’s blowout win over New Orleans.

25-80
The Suns’ all-time record against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

37
Lakers’ forward Ron Artest’s jersey number. He chose it as a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, whose Thriller album was number one on the charts for, you guessed it, 37 weeks. Why he knew that, I’ll never know.

3
The number of players in NBA history who have worn uniform #37. Artest, Jack Smiley (who wore it for the 1949 Fort Wayne Pistons) and Nick Van Exel (2004 for the Golden State Warriors).

6
The number of four-point plays turned in by Lakers’ greasy-haired bench jockey Sasha Vujacic during his career.

6
At least the number of times I bashed myself in the face when I found out that the same greasy-haired bench jockey is dating tennis goddess Maria Sharapova.

1
The number of NBA coaches who have been fired just one day after his team was humbled by the Suns.

0
The percentage chance that Phil Jackson gets axed even if the Lakers lose tonight’s game by 70 points.

21
The number of games the Lakers will play between now and Christmas Day–when they’re expected to get injured star Pau Gasol back from a hamstring injury.

17.8
Amare Stoudemire’s career scoring average in 20 regular season games against the Lakers. It’s his lowest per game output vs. any NBA team.

25.6
Kobe Bryant’s career scoring average in 45 regular season games against the Suns.

11-1
The Suns’ record in their last 12 games, dating back to last season.

+16
The Suns’ rebounding margin over opponents this season.

-71
The Suns’ rebounding margin in 8 preseason games this year.

HELL YES THEY ARE!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s not that they are 8-1 it’s how they are winning that makes me so happy. All I want is a team that goes out, fights, plays hard, and I firmly believe the rest will work itself out (win or lose).

This brings us to another pivotal game tonight - against the dreaded rival, Los Angels Lakers.

I don’t know about you, but I think the following clip from the movie ‘Dodgeball’ sums up the Lakers perfectly…you’ll know what I mean.

They Lakers are also playing some solid basketball, but they’ve also shown vulnerabilities that I think the Suns can exploit IF they do the following…

1. Rebound

It’s pretty simple, the more rebounds the Suns get the more opportunities they have in transition, the more chances they have to run, the less chances of the Lakers destroying Phoenix on second-chance points, and the more probability the Suns have a chance to win.

Having said that, it’s not going to be easy to do so. The Lakers, like the Suns, are a gang-rebounding team…only they have about 5 legitimate rebounding machines (individually speaking) that get in the right place at the right time.

2. Run

The Lakers are too good a team to try and beat in the half-court. Thus, the Suns are going to need another 30-35 point quarter (or two) to put the Lakers on their heels.

However, part of being able to run is getting defensive stops and rebounding which the Suns have been doing well thus far into the season. If they do those things, they have the ability to

3. Intensity

The Suns have won about 5 of their games just by playing hard, which is absolutely encouraging. Playing hard leads to rebounds, to better defense, and to more opportunities to run. This may sound simple but I can assure you, it is what has killed the Suns in recent years.

With the youth they have, they should be able to put a solid 5 guys on the court at any given time that (if nothing else) will never give up and continually frustrate the Lakers (they are easily annoyed) and swing momentum.

The Lakers are coming off three days rest, so they’ll be ready to play just as hard.

—————

Hey, this is a winnable game especially with the Suns’ collective confidence riding high. If Phoenix doesn’t get intimidated, or decide they WANT to lose (/vomits), they can pull off upset in Los Angeles today.

Still amazed by the Suns 8-1 start Mark and I tried to find out what’s behind the Suns’ recent surge.

The schedule was somewhat friendly the first week but then the Suns just kept winning, and it happened in Boston, in Miami, places where often we lost. We both believe one of the reasons the Suns are winning is the team’s bench.

Steve Fan: As long as I can remember Suns fans have tried to figure out what was wrong with the Suns’ bench.

I actually believe this was one of the reasons why the Suns failed to win an NBA title under Coach D’Antoni. No contributions by the bench, a lot of supposedly talented players sitting on the bench, playing only meaningless minutes and more or less allowing the starters to tire out night after night.

Entering the season we hoped this could be the year the bench players could finally contribute, and indeed they’re doing just that.

Leandrinho is scoring and running happy again, Lou is riding his bike on and off the court, Dudley has been somewhat of a surprise but the player who’s been the biggest revelation so far is Goran Dragic.

For the first time since he came to the NBA I think I really like Goran Dragic.

Goran is a much different (read better) player this year, much better actually and for the first time I think he’s showing his potential: his minutes are up at over 15 per game, he’s shooting .500 from the field (including 52 percent from 3-point range), he’s averaging over 3 assists and 7.4 points per game after last night’s win against New Orleans. His assists to turnover ratio has improved and he’s at + 8 in +/-.

Goran will still create silly turnovers and miss open shots but it’s not just his numbers that are impressive, it’s the way he’s playing the game that’s making him a real NBA prospect. Don’t forget Goran was born in 1986 but his only relevant “league basketball” experience was in Spain’s second division, not exactly the Celtics at the Garden.

Goran is a classic “Yougoslavian” point guard (from the great Slovenian basketball school), has size, understands the game and can play defense. It seems like this year he’s finally comfortable on the court and has the trust of Coach Gentry.

Dragic could finally be the answer that Marcus Banks never was, the long-awaited solution to the back up point guard question.

Mark: Racing out of the gates in full force to the tune of a league-leading 8-1 record has made the Suns the talk of the town, and the talk of the league.  There are a myriad of reasons for their hot start but we’d be remiss not to take a look at the team’s core of reserves as a main catalyst.

LB has been his usual sharp-shooting, speed demon self, Jared Dudley is a revelation, Goran Dragic is starting to make the naysayers rethink things, and Lou Amundson has picked up where he left off last year, bringing defense, rebounding, and most of all hustle.

Amundson came into last season as a bit of a nobody.  Not even the most die hard of Suns fans, this one included, knew much about the former D-League, Jazz and Sixers player.  A bit goofy looking and sporting a ponytail, I had him pegged for Jack Haley duties.

The former UNLV forward has proved me wrong and then some, showing even more effectiveness and improvement this season.

What I’ve noticed with Lou so far this season is that despite being awarded a contract, what made him such an asset last season has not floated away.  He still fights for every ball and never takes a play off, and he’s continued to bring the intensity and then some every night.  Most importantly, he’s worked to improve his value as a vital role player to Alvin Gentry.

The usual issue with players of Amundson’s ilk is staying under control.  While Lou still has a tendency to get a little too into it, he’s certainly made strides when it comes to playing within himself and letting the game come to him (couldn’t think of any other cliches to add.)  Though it’s a small sample size, he’s averaging 4 fouls per 36 minutes as opposed to last season’s ridiculous 5.3.  His free throw shooting hasn’t quite come along the same way, but it’s important to note Amundson worked to improve and continues to do so, and that his rebounding and blocks are up for the year.

Amundson will never be mistaken for a jack of all trades forward with endless potential, but by continuing to improve and embrace his role as a sparkplug off the bench, there’s no limit to how much his hard work and focus will be appreciated by his teammates and Suns fans.

Stats from basketballreference.com

Yours truly, Steve Fan

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns are offering ticket holders yet another convenient and affordable way to visit Planet Orange, with the opening of the Lou Amundson Bike Valet when the Suns host the New Orleans Hornets tonight (Wednesday, November 11) at US Airways Center. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m.

The bike valet is the first of its kind in the NBA and will be available to Suns ticket holders for $1 during all Suns home games this season. The bike valet’s namesake, Suns forward Lou Amundson, is widely known for his tendency to ride his bike to Suns practices.

Located in the parking lot on the southwest corner of 3rd Street and Jefferson, the valet will open two hours prior to tip-off and will operate for one hour following the conclusion of the game. Similar to a typical vehicle valet, valet attendants will park and secure the bicycles until owners return with a valet ticket to claim their bike.

The following is a link to a special feature on Suns forward Lou Amundson riding his bike to a Suns practice last season.

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/amundson_valet_091111.html

(Courtesy of the Phoenix Suns media relations department)

New Orleans point guard Chris Paul ranks 8th in the league in scoring and 3rd in assists.

The 4-1 road trip was a smashing success for the Suns, who come home with an NBA-best 7-1 record. The Suns dealt Miami and Boston their only losses of the season.

New Orleans comes into tonight’s game at 3-5 on the season, after beating the Clippers 112-84 on Monday night. New Orleans made a change to their starting lineup in the game against the Clippers, inserting forward Peja Stojakovic back in the lineup for ineffective third-year man Julian Wright, who is averaging just 4.5 points per game this year. The result was the Hornets’ 2nd-highest scoring output of the season.

Here are tonight’s probable starting lineups…

Phoenix Suns (7-1)


F - 1 Amare Stoudemire - 6-10 - Cyp.Creek HS
F - 33 Grant Hill - 6-8 - Duke
C - 8 Channing Frye - 6-11 - Arizona
G - 23 Jason Richardson - 6-6 - Michigan State
G - 13 Steve Nash - 6-3 - Santa Clara

New Orleans Hornets (3-5)


F - 30 David West - 6-9 - Xavier
F - 16 Peja Stojakovic - 6-10 - Yugoslavia
C - 50 Emeka Okafor - 6-10 - UCONN
G - 23 Devin Brown - 6-5 - Tex-San Antonio
G - 3 Chris Paul - 6-0 - Wake Forest

By the Numbers

2000-2001
The last time the Suns got off to a 7-1 start.

51-31
The Suns’ season record that season. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to Sacramento.

4
The number of point-rebound double-doubles posted this season by Suns forward Grant Hill.

4
The number of point-rebound double-doubles posted all of last season by Hill.

26.3
The 2009-10 scoring average for New Orleans guard Chris Paul.

3
The number of Hornets players averaging double figures this season. (Paul, David West and Emeka Okafor). The Hornets, along with Cleveland, Oklahoma City and Portland are the only NBA teams to have that few players scoring in double figures.

22
The number of three pointers made by Suns’ center Channing Frye in 8 games this season.

20
The number of three pointers made by Frye in his previous 278 NBA games.

1
The number of centers in NBA history that have made 6 or more three pointers in back-to-back games. Frye did it against Golden State (10/30) and Minnesota (11/1) this season.

2
The number of games this season in which Steve Nash has had 20 or more assists.

13
The number of teams in the NBA who aren’t averaging 20 assists per game this year.

28.3
Jason Richardson’s scoring average in his last three games, after going scoreless in 21 minutes against Orlando.

1
The number of four-game winning streaks the Suns had all of last season.

2
The number of four-game winning streaks the Suns will have this season with a win tonight over the Hornets.

The poor performance, and his poor decision making in the offseason, lead some people–I’m looking at you Jerry Brown–to question whether or not Richardson fit in with the Suns.

Apparently J-Rich was listening (probably not but it’s nice to dream that he visits our site). Since his “old fat white guy rec league” performance, he’s scored 85 points in three games (28.3 point average), has shot an impressive 62.5 percent from the field (30-for-48), 73 percent from three point range (16-for-22) and collected 21 rebounds (7 a game).

Three games does not make a season but the energy, effort, determination and rim rocking dunks we’ve seen from Richardson since the Orlando game is promising. I’d imagine this is more what Steve Kerr envisioned from Richardson when he traded for him almost a year ago.

The return to Seven Seconds or Less, or whatever we are calling it now, gives Richardson the perfect platform for his energetic and high flying talent. Think Shawn Marion, with a little less prowess for rebounding and a jump shot that doesn’t make you cringe.

If the Shaq deal is what Steve Kerr will be loathed for, the Richardson/Dudley deal has the potential to be the one that saves him from eternally being lumped the Isaiah Thomas’ of the NBA world (at least in Suns’ fans minds’).

Kerr’s legacy, and to a lesser extent the season, hinge on Richardson. Luckily the Suns style of play mimics that of the 2005-06 Golden State Warriors, Richardson’s most successful season.

Expect the stats of the last three games to be more of the “rule” rather than the “exception” this season. He won’t shoot 60%, but he’ll hit threes, get easy dunks and bring electricity to the Suns fast pace offense. And when someone asks you who benefited the most from Shaq’s departure, at least consider Richardson before going with the easy answer of Steve Nash.

Offense:

When your team scores 119 points and shots 53% from the field there really isn’t much to nitpick about the offense.

Sense the Suns have looked like something from the video game NBA Jam this season, I’ll use a quote from the game to describe Jason Richardson, “He’s heating up”. For the third straight game shot well over 50% from both the field and from beyond the three point line. Over those three games he is averaging a little over 28 points per game. All of this following his scoreless performance against the Magic.

To go along with Richardson’s fantastic performance, Jared Dudley chipped in 18 off the bench and hit big shots down the stretch including four three pointers. Steve Nash was his solid self scoring 21 points.

Grade:

A+

Defense:

The Suns first half defense left something to be desired giving up 66 points to the Sixers (not that 49 second half points is phenomenal, but it’ll do). The Suns did buckle down in the forth quarter, holding the Sixers to under 50% shooting (6-of-14)

Jared Dudley not only was a major contributor on the offensive side of the ball but played a major role defensively off of the bench. He had three steals that helped the Suns come back from a 12 point deficit

Grade:

C-

Rebounding:

Not the Suns best night on the boards as they were out rebounded 39 to 33. The 33 rebounds were the fewest the Suns have grabbed in a game so far this season.

Grant Hill continued his rebounding resurgence with eight. Jason Richardson also had eight boards and Jared Dudley grabbed five of his own.

Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye’s combined 9 rebounds, 3 for Frye and Six for STAT, was a big reason for the season low.

Grade:

C-

Ball handling:

Steve Nash had as many assists, 20, as the entire Sixers team combined. Overall the team had 32 dimes and only 12 turnovers. I’d say that’s a pretty good night.

Grade:

A

Overall Game GPA: 2.93 GPA

The Future Power Rankings rate teams in a number of categories to project their on-court success during the next three seasons. The categories considered are players (current players and their potential for the future), management (stability of front office and coaching staff), money (salary cap situation and willingness to exceed the cap), market (attractiveness to future acquisitions, etc.), and draft (picks and positioning).

Their formula revealed that the top five teams during the three-year period (or at least the teams with the rosiest future in the next 3.5 years) are Portland, Orlando, the Lakers, Oklahoma City and Miami.

So, where do the Suns fall on their list? Try 27th. That’s out of 30. The piece states “the Sarver administration has squandered an opportunity to make the Suns the league’s marquee franchise and instead made them a team trying to avoid a second straight appearance in the lottery.”

Ouch.

Check out the full rankings and the rest of the Suns’ story here. You must be an ESPN Insider to access the story.

Six out of the first eight on the road, including a 5-game eastern road swing through Florida and the northeast, with two sets of back-to-backs thrown in for good measure.

Steve Nash had 20 assists in the Suns' 119-115 win over Philadelphia on Monday. (Photo: Matt Slocum/AP)

The Suns return home with an NBA-best 7-1 record, including a 4-1 mark on the road trip after a come-from-behind 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers last night. Steve Nash had 21 points and his second 20-assist game of the season, while Jason Richardson continued his recent stellar play with 29 points and 8 rebounds.

The best part of last night’s win for Phoenix was simply the effort. A veteran team wrapping up an already successful road trip, on the back end of playing two nights in a row, and trailing by as many as 8 points in the 4th quarter almost always means a notch in the ‘L’ column.

Not this team.

Jared Dudley ignited a brilliant 4th quarter surge with 11 points in the frame, including three 3-pointers and Nash nailed 6 free throws in the final :23 to seal the win.

Now, we’re not planning any parades in downtown Phoenix just yet, but the fast start is extremely promising. Most thought the Suns would struggle out of the gates, based on their early schedule, and the fact that Amare Stoudemire is still playing himself back into shape after major eye surgery.

But an unexpected 7-1 start provides a nice buffer for the inevitable lulls that hit NBA teams during the course of an 82-game schedule.

Highlights from NBA.com