I realize over the course of the last couple seasons, I have been hyper-critical of Amar’e Stoudemire’s inability to play defense and rebound on consistent basis. I always perceived this inconsistency to simply be a product of lack of motivation or desire. However over the course of the last 20 games I am beginning to believe this wasn’t the case at all. Rather this inconsistency was a product of his teammates and the system that he plays in.

In the last 20 games, the Suns have gone 15-5 and are marching towards the playoffs after narrowly missing the playoffs last season. This begs the question, what has changed? Most ardent Suns’ fans already know the answer to this question. The change corresponds directly to the addition to the starting lineup of Robin Lopez. Lopez stands 7 feet tall and has hair reminiscent of the character “Sideshow Bob” from the popular animated series “The Simpsons”. Lopez’s game of late has been no sideshow however. His statistics seem somewhat pedestrian only averaging 8.2 points per game, along wit 4.7 rebounds and one block per game. However, what doesn’t show up in the stats is Lopez’s ability to alter shots and take up space inside. This is truly the first time in Amar’e’s career where the Suns have had a legitimate low-post defender. Some people out there would point to Shaquille O’Neal, however by the time he arrived in the Valley of the Sun he was substantially past his prime.

The statistics for Stoudemire over the last 20 games don’t lie; he is averaging 26.8 points and 9.9 rebounds over this stretch of games. In addition, Stoudemire is playing excellent weak side help defense; blocking numerous shots that he couldn’t have in the past while he was matched up with opposing centers. I was skeptical early this season that Amar’e’s legs would ever return. Although he was a consistent offensive player early in the season, it was evident that the explosiveness was not there as it had been in the past. Amar’e was missing dunks because he was not elevating enough. Now, 67 games into the season the explosiveness has fully returned. Stoudemire has been going to the hole with a purpose and when he misses, his second jump is quicker than anyone else on the court.

I was all for trading Amar’e Stoudemire at the trade deadline as his departure after the season appeared imminent. This still may be the case, however the Amar’e himself has said that he will remain a Sun if they hit his number. I strongly suggest that we do in fact hit that number even it is a maximum contract. Amar’e appears to have his head on straight and he certainly realizes that Steve Nash is pivotal to his status as an elite player in this league. The final determination on Stoudemire we likely occur after management has seen how far the Suns go in this year’s playoffs. If Amar’e continues to play like he has over the last 20 games he can carry this team on his back when the going gets tough in the playoffs. I am thoroughly convinced if someone is able to upset the Lakers, the Suns have a legitimate chance at the NBA finals. Without Stoudemire, we likely wouldn’t be in the playoffs. Hence my recantation to pay Amar’e what he wants.

Leandro Barbosa, the Suns speedy Shooting Guard has been medically cleared and will likely play for the first time in over 6 weeks Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Since losing Barbosa to injury on 1/22/2010 against the Chicago Bulls the Suns have gone 15-5 and moved up 2 spots in the Western Conference playoff race. On the other hand, earlier in the season Barbosa was out for 15 games and they only were able to muster a 6-9 record without him. Over recent weeks, the Suns schedule has been arduous and numerous Suns are battling fatigue and minor nagging injuries. Based on this alone, Barbosa’s re-addition to this team seems to be just in the nick of time. Or is it?

In the most recent stint without Barbosa in the lineup the Suns have consistently moved the ball with precision passing with has allowed for wide open opportunities for players like Jared Dudley and Channing (Paquiao) Frye. Although the “Brazilian Blur” has been blessed with a great deal of offensive skill, passing isn’t exactly in his vocabulary. The other question is where does he fit? The players off the bench dubbed “Planet Purple” thrive off of hustle and lock-down defense. Barbosa certainly is high energy, but his chances of stopping someone from scoring are slim to none. The other issue is whose minutes are going to be reduced as a result of Barbosa’s return? During Barbosa’s absence, Goran Dragic’s minutes were largely unaffected (19.9 minutes per game in February vs. 17.3 and 19.4 in January and December respectively). The answer to this question is that Jason Richardson’s minutes will be reduced from the mid-30’s to the upper 20’s, low 30’s. In my opinion, Jason Richardson is the most versatile scorer on the team. Everybody is aware of the statistic of when Jason Richardson scores more than 20 points, the Suns are 19-3. Having him on the court for even 5 minutes less a game can be detrimental to his scoring rhythym and being a streaky shooter we need Richardson to stay hot. If Barbosa could play point guard, Dragic could be shifted over to the 2 guard. However, Barbosa has consistently proven that he is not a point guard and plays with his head down a majority of the time. Therefore, a lineup consisting of Dragic and Barbosa is undersized on defense and will be prone to giving up easy baskets.

As the Suns head into the stretch run, the health of all of their major cogs is extremely important in obtaining home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, I simply don’t see Barbosa as one of these cogs and I truly hope Barbosa does not hurt the current dynamic that is helping this Suns team win.

This loss was painful for the Suns as they could have tied the game on a wide open break away dunk by the 2-time slam dunk champion Jason Richardson. However, Richardson botched the jam and the Spurs were able to escape with the victory. Despite the loss, I truly believe the Suns are a better team the the Spurs. San Antonio had some extremely fortuitous bounces of the rim that allowed for offensive rebounds and on two occasions Manu Ginobili 3-pointers. Let us not forget that the Suns crushed the Spurs at home earlier this season by 12 points.

The Suns play tonight in a tough back to back at home against the Denver Nuggets. Denver is reeling from blowing a sizable lead against the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday. The Suns defeated the Nuggets on February 3rd by a score of 109-97. The Suns were in control virtually the entire game led by Stoudemire’s 20 points and 17 rebounds. Granted this victory was when the Nuggets were without Carmelo Anthony, so expect a tight battle tonight.

Its been awhile since I last posted. Perhaps this was in silent protest to the Suns not trading Amar’e Stoudemire, or the fact that I have a 3 week old Suns fan at home. Either way, let’s have a quick recap of the last 2 weeks of Planet Orange.

• Amar’e Stoudemire remains a Phoenix Sun:Despite the fact that Amar’e will likely opt out of his contract at the end of this season, Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver were unable to find a deal that was even close to market value for Stoudemire. The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to never really be interested in actually obtaining Stoudemire, rather it is my contention that they were using the media hype as leverage to force the Washington Wizard’s hand in trading Antawn Jamison. The question here is was this Steve Kerr’s failure to negotiate or is the market demand for Stoudemire with a history of injuries and bad defense just that low? I would contend that it is a combination of both. Kerr has not been successful in regards to trades during his tenure as the Suns General Manager. Kurt Thomas for a conditional 2nd round pick, Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley? Ok, the last one is likely a wash, but you get the point here. Part of the problem is that the Suns leverage disappeared last year when we wanted to potentially trade Stoudemire the first time. NBA GM’s are no dummies and they realize that the Suns are in a position of weakness with Stoudemire so they subsequently offered extremely little.

• Steve Nash Tired from All-Star and Olympic Schedule: Steve Nash had quite the adventurous All-Star break. Nash first went to his native Vancouver to hold the Olympic torch and participate in the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Nash then went to the All-Star weekend in Dallas where he won the NBA Skills Challenge and then dished out 13 assists during the All-Star game. This torrid schedule however caught up with Steve Nash and his body. Nash is now dealing with lower back pain and an abdominal strain. He did not travel with the team in their epic 104-102 comeback victory of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The rest appeared very well received as Nash last night played against the Philadelphia 76ers and score 20 points and dished out 13 assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter due to their lead.

The Suns are winners of 10 of their last 12 games and have moved into the 5th position in the Western Conference playoff race. The Suns are only 2.5 games out of 2nd and they have ony 10 road games for the rest of the season. Doing some simple math, the Suns are winning 75% of their games at home (21-7) and 50% of their games on the road (15-16). If these percentages hold true the Suns can finish out 15-8 and have 51 wins. The only problem here is that the 4 teams currently ahead of the Suns are all going to win more that 51 (Utah, LA, Denver and Dallas). So that leaves the Suns as a 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs facing either Dallas or Utah in the 1st round without home-court advantage. Utah is nearly unbeatable with home court and Dallas improved drastically at the trade deadline with Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler. Perhaps I am being pessimistic, but despite their great play right now the Suns still will be one and done in the playoffs. Another season will have gone by and no title in the desert. Stoudemire will be gone to a team like New Jersey looking for star power and the Suns will be left looking for answers. This team is incredibly fun to watch on a nightly basis, however the future is looking more bleak by the day.

A little comedy for the All-Star Break!

Tonight’s game against Portland is seemingly just another difficult game in the competitive Western Conference. However for the Phoenix Suns, it means so much more. With this being the final home game before the trade deadline, this could be the last time we see Amare Stoudemire in a Suns home jersey. With a win tonight the Suns could potentially be as high as the 4thseed in the Western Conference going into the All-Star break and with a loss, the Suns could slip to as far as 7th.

This is life in the Western Conference these days. One loss can move a team completely out of playoff contention. This is evidenced by the fact that the current 5-11 seeds in the West are only spaced out by 4 1/2 games. Its not as if playing the Eastern Conference is helping widen the gap, as no current Western Conference team holding one of the top 8 seeds has a losing record against the Eastern Conference.  Thus the impact of tonight’s game is amplified as the Suns do not play again until February 16that Memphis. A loss tonight could be painful to endure over the next week. In addition, if a loss coupled with a trade of Amare Stoudemire occurs, the team could once again plummet into free fall.

The chances of an Amare trade however are becoming slimmer as the days and wins continue to progress. The main concern with potential suitors is the same concern the Suns have. Will Amare Stoudemire re-sign with the team this off-season? The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers have all inquired about Stoudemire, however the only realistic trade lies in Philadelphia. Miami would love to add Amare in tandem with Dwayne Wade and hopefully entice both into signing long-term deals in the off-season. Unfortunately for Pat Riley and the Heat, they simply do not have the pieces the Suns want in return for Stoudemire.

The Suns should be able to beat the Blazers tonight on their home court. Of course, these Suns always seem to falter in games they are supposed to win. With the absence of Brandon Roy, the Blazers offense has really taken a major hit. In their past 2 games against the Lakers and Thunder, they have only been able to muster 82 and 77 points respectively. If the Suns can even come close to their league leading scoring average of 110.1 ppg they should win this game handily.

The Phoenix Suns are back to their winning ways however, the trade rumors for Amare Stoudemire continue to fly around the Internet. However it seems that some legitimate rumors appear to be coming from Philadelphia. The 76ers who are substantially underachieving this season, are actively pursuing both Amare Stoudemire and Tracy McGrady.

The Suns appear to be willing to pull the trigger on the trade for Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert in exchange for Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson. The main sticking point appears to be the 76ers would prefer to take Leandro Barbosa rather than Jason Richardson.  This deal would really not be the salary relief that the Phoenix Suns desire. However, pairing up Andre Iguodala with Steve Nash could rejuvenate the potential of the athletic  Andre Iguodala. In addition, getting any return for Amare Stoudemire at this point is extremely important to the near future of the Suns.

Iguoddala is in the 2nd year of a 6-year $80 million contract and just turned 26 at the end of January. Dalembert, 28 is signed through 2011, and is slated to make $12.2 million next year. Andre Iguodala is an athletic 6′6″ swingman originally from the University of Arizona. Samuel Dalembert was born in the earthquake ravaged Port Au Prince, Haiti and played collegiately at Seton Hall.  Dalembert is not much of an offensively prescence but brings 9.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game to the table. Iguodala is a multi-talented player that is still developing a consistent NBA jumper. This season through 50 games, Iguodala is averaging 17.2 points, 7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Although this deal is not quite an equal return from a talent standpoint, this is the best the Suns can likely do with Amare’s current contract structure. The Suns reportedly will make a contract offer to Amare, however it will not be for the league maximum so expect him to decline. At that point, the Suns hand will be forced. Expect this deal to occur after the NBA All-Star game as Amare will represent the the Phoenix Suns along side Steve Nash in the Western Conference starting lineup.

The way the Suns have been playing of late, most fans will not be behind this deal. However unless the Suns feel they can win a NBA title with this current roster, this is the right move to make.

The Phoenix Suns free-fall continued last night in Salt Lake City. The Suns battled back from an early 17-4 deficit to take a 17 point lead late in the 3rd quarter against the Utah Jazz. This was primarily led by the unlikely heroics of the young Slovenian guard Goran Dragic. Dragic poured in 32 points (24 in the first half alone) on only 13 shots. Despite this break out performance from Dragic, the Suns porous defense reared its ugly head once again and the Suns succumbed without much of a fight in the 4th losing 124-115. In a losing effort, Steve Nash had 15 assists and crossed the 8,000 assist threshold for his career. Nash is now eighth all-time and his next target in 7th place is Gary Payton with 8,966.

The Suns are now at a crossroads at 26-20 and 7th in the Western Conference. The Amare Stoudemire trade rumors are running rampant and as Chad Ford from ESPN.com has indicated Amare is detrimental to the Suns chemistry at this point. Stoudemire will be the Western Conference’s starting Center in the All-Star game despite the fact he really plays Power Forward with a Small Forward mentality. It truly dawned upon me that being an All-Star does not mean that a player helps his team to victory. In fact, I would contend Amare has caused more Suns losses this season then games he has won. This was never more evident than last night as Carlos Boozer simply dominated Amare Stoudemire. Boozer is clearly not as athletically gifted as Amare Stoudemire, but he managed to grab 20 rebounds compared to Amare’s meager 5 rebound night. Boozer also scored more points that the complacent Stoudemire 21-16.  It simply boils down to heart and desire and Amare simply does not have those intangibles. Any team that believes Amare is a max player at this point is out of their mind. I am convinced that fan voting for the all-star game is based solely on Sportscenter’s top 10 plays. It is in fact true, that Amare can produce some electrifying dunks during the course of a game, but his lack of interest on defense allows teams to come back from insurmountable leads. The Suns should listen to trade offers that are out there (Nets, Heat, Bulls and Cavaliers have all shown interest).

Stoudemire is not the only All-Star that is hurting the Suns right now. Everyone that is familiar with my blog knows that I love Steve Nash. He is a great spokesperson for the NBA and possibly the best shooter and passer this generation has seen. However, Nash like Stoudemire plays matador type defense on a consistent basis. In the past, we could put up with this because he dominated the offense. The alarming part of Steve Nash’s game this season is the sheer volume of turnovers. Nash is averaging 4.04 turnovers per game. Specifically in January, Nash is averaging nearly 5 turnovers per game (4.9) versus the 3.8 in November; way back when they were 14-3. Nash’s assist to turnover ratio is only 2.72, good for 15th in league, even behind shoot first guard like Baron Davis. This is the lowest it has been since he was originally drafted as a Sun.  Understandably, Nash isn’t solely responsible as players are not in position or simply fumble perfect passes. However, the alarming trend of late is Nash’s propensity to leave his feet and throw the ball away typically, leading to fast breaks for the opponents.

Point blank, if Nash can not get his turnovers below 4.0 and Amare Stoudemire is not traded, the Suns will be watching the playoffs at home. I hope both happen and sooner than later.

What has happened to the Suns? In this 6-8 stretch since I spoke about trading Amare Stoudemire, the wheels truly have come off. The once confident Channing Frye has withered away. I can’t say this is Channing Frye’s fault in a conventional way. The word is out around the NBA that Frye is a one-trick pony and if you run him off the 3-point line on offense and post him up on the defensive end, he is rendered virtually useless. This is evidenced over his performance in the last 5 games, only shooting 21% from the field. Its the same old story with the Suns unfortunately; teams simply pound them on the offensive glass and can come back from virtually any lead the Suns can muster. Alvin Gentry has been tinkering with lineup changes including Robin Lopez and Leandro Barbosa and having Frye and Jason Richardson come off the bench. In my opinion, Lopez in the starting lineup is a good move defensively, however Barbosa is a step-down from Richardson on defense and has done nothing this season to warrant starting.

Amare Stoudemire continues to be consistent, consistently not a max contract player. Amare is having a decent year especially considering the fact he is coming off major eye surgery last season. However for someone who considers himself a super-star, his numbers are simply not there. Amare is currently paid $16,378,325, that means he is making more this season than Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Kevin Durant etc…. My point being here is that he is over-paid and does not match the production of any of the aforementioned players. Amare Stoudemire, never has improved his defense as evidenced by not even trying to stop O.J. Mayo against Memphis the other night on a break-away dunk that ultimately swung the momentum in the Grizzlies favor. Amare is 30th in the league in player efficiency rating (PER) behind the likes of Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez, Antawn Jamison, Mareese Speights, Carl Landry, and Nazr Mohamed. Granted these are all solid players, but most certainly not super-stars.

The Suns need to capitalize on any lingering perception around the league that Amare Stoudemire is still an elite player in the NBA. At this point, a solid interior defender that can hit a 15-17 jumper with a draft pick would be a great return for Amare. Would a team like the Miami Heat who already have 2-first round picks in the 2010 Draft be willing to part with Udonis Haslem and a first rounder to bring Amare into the fold? This would help both teams right now as the Heat could have a solid tandem in Dwayne Wade and Amare Stoudemire, while the Suns could improve their defense and start looking to the future?

Here are the various rumors I have found this week in regards to Suns trades in general:

Amare Stoudemire to the Chicago Bulls for Brad Miller and Tyrus Thomas

Amare Stoudemire to the Detroit Pistons for Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton