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Summing up the season in the past tense of a currently popular catchall, it was what it was.

The Suns spent the first half of it in search of their identity, before deciding that whoever they were they weren’t Terry Porter. And while blaming him for the team’s struggles is unfair, the switch to Alvin Gentry clearly lightened the mood enough to let them go back to being who they once were. And it would be surprising if he isn’t retained as head coach.

Along a decidedly bumpy road there were some good times, some bad times, and a few downright ugly times. But with Gentry, the Suns were once again the best offensive team in the league, and that’s certainly something to build on. And it also suggests making wholesale changes in the roster would be inadvisable.

While Gentry stopped considerably short of assuring that this won’t happen, he did identify “consistency” and “accountability” as essential cornerstones for improvement, and stated bluntly, “We HAVE to get better on defense”. Mind you, he didn’t say they had to get good on defense. Just better.

“With the offense we have,” he says, “we don’t have to have a real good defense. But we do have to be able to make a few stops late and keep teams from driving down the lane for wide open lay-ups.”

If this sounds like déjà vu all over again, it’s only because these were exactly the same things the Suns were saying at the end of LAST year, year. And frankly, they came up a few tads short on all three fronts.

Where Coach Alvin stopped short was that, in answering a direct question as to whether or not these goals are achievable with current personnel, or major changes have to be made, he said, “That’s something that will have to be evaluated.”

Amen! And let the evaluating (and the rumors) begin.

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Next year (as in wait ‘til) has come a little early this year for the Suns. Their off-season will officially arrive at the close of business Wednesday evening, and the record will likely show that they posted a 46-36 record, closed out the year with nine straight home wins, and led the NBA in scoring and field goal accuracy.

Not all THAT shabby, in other words.

But these are the kind of honors that ring hollow in view of failed pre-season expectations and wasted late-season opportunities for a reprieve. In fact, they remind me of what the man said as he was being ridden out of town on a rail in the Old West:

“If it wasn’t for the honor,” he blurted, “I’d just as soon walk.”

It’s true that missing the playoffs is as much a matter of geography as bad defense and/or bad karma. Their record would be good for a fourth seed in the East, but all it got them in the West was bupkus. To make matters worse, it was their third bupkus, having “won” the “award” with 48-34 in 70-71 and 49-33 in 71-72.

It’s also true that losing Amare Stoudemire halfway through the season was a much more damaging blow than many, encouraged by the spectacular success the Suns enjoyed the last time Amare went down, didn’t fully appreciate at first.

Still, there’s no getting around the fact the Suns are at a crossroads, with problems lurking down whichever path they decided to take. Do they unload their aging stars and start over, or do they try to build on what they have? And would either direction take them back to where they could at least see the promised land.

Don’t look at me for answers. All I’ve got are questions. But in the interest of full disclosure, I feel less optimistic about this franchise’s future than I have in more than half a decade.

I do know one thing for sure. Trading either Steve Nash or Amar’e Stoudemire makes no basketball sense whatsoever, unless in the highly unlikely event, it would bring approximately equal talent in return. We are talking about one guy who remains one of the best point guards in the league and another whose offensive upside ranks him among the premier talents. The only caveat on Amar’e is health, with his knee and eye problems making him something of a risk (but of course this lowers his trade value).

And the West doesn’t figure to get any easier any time soon. San Antonio may finally have crested, and Dallas has issues. But the Lakers will still be the Lakers, and Portland is on the rise. So, believe it or not, is Oklahoma City. And New Orleans, Denver, and Houston still have some future ahead of them.

The bottom line: I think I’ll just leave it blank for now

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

His brilliance tends to get lost amidst all the fussing and fuming about this decidedly up and down (and nearly out) season, but some nights Steve Nash’s artistry not only reminds us of how much he has meant to this franchise over the years but demonstrates just how much he still does.

This was one of those nights. A night when the artistry that made him a two-time MVP and sure fire Hall of Famer engineered a victory that preserved whatever playoff hopes the Suns still have.

Nash had 25 points, and 17 assists (and only 1 turnover), but as usual when he’s at his brilliant best, those scintillating numbers actually understate his masterful game management and clutch play down the stretch, and once again served as a reminder of what a total disaster the Suns would be without him.

Nash had nine of his points in the last 5 minutes of the fourth period, and he sealed the victory with a three-pointer, a medium jumper and a steal in two-minute span after the Suns had erased a seven-point deficit with a 15-0 run.

During this winter of fan discontent even Nash caught some heat, especially about his defense, although carping about Nash’s defensive limitations has always struck me like grumbling that Heifetz was a lousy piano player.

The other two members of the Suns’ Over The Hill Gang also made major contributions in a win that kept the Suns within mathematical range of the Mavericks (but also rubbed salt in what may turn out to have been a fatal wound incurred against lowly Sacramento). Shaquille O’Neal battled Yao Ming to a virtual draw and Grant Hill hit 10 of 13 shots from the field.

In a sense this game was the proverbial microcosm of the season for the Suns, which is to say that parts of the time they looked like a seed that could take out anybody and in other parts like a lottery lock.

This was their sixth straight home victory, four coming against playoff teams, and they have led the league in scoring and points in the paint by a wide margin since the All-Star break even with two of their most explosive scorers in street clothes. But unless Dallas loses at least four of its last seven games all this gold will not glitter even if the Suns meet Coach Alvin’s stated goal of running the table.

In fact, much of the local buzz has already shifted to who will go and who will stay, and whether the Suns should try to keep their core group together or tear everything down and start over.

The bottom line: One thing to keep in mind is that “disaster” is definitely relative. The Suns will almost surely win 45 or 46 games, which might very well be good for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs in the East. On the other hand, even 47 wins might not be good enough to get into the playoffs in the West. But alas, the Suns have sort of been there done that. The 1970-71 team missed the cut with 48 wins, and the ’71-72 team missed it with 49 wins.

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A lot of heroes in this one, as no fewer than seven Suns made major contributions to the team’s sixth straight victory. But the hero of heroes had to be Grant Hill, and not just because he led all scorers with 26 points.

Hill has been the most consistently effective player on this team all year, as he and Shaquille O’ Neal continue to collaborate on one of the best and most surprising comeback dramas of this or any other season.

I’ve often lamented that Hill is so smooth and does so many things so well he doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves for the team’s resurgence. But just one play in this game probably blew his “cover” — and also demonstrated why his smarts are as big a part of his game as his multiple skills. (more…)

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I don’t know how they feel about it (my guess is they probably don’t care), but if I were the Lakers I’d be doing some serious scoreboard watching the next few weeks and cheering AGAINST whatever team Dallas is playing and FOR whatever team the Suns are playing.

I’m not saying the Lords of the Western Realm should be quaking in their sneakers at the prospect of facing either contender for the eighth seed, but I AM saying that the Mavs would amount to a bye, whereas the Suns… (more…)

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This one really wasn’t much to blog about. I mean, beating up on a badly depleted team that wasn’t all that strong even in its pre-depletion days isn’t exactly the kind of thing that calls for fireworks and dancing in the streets.

But having said that, it was a lot of fun, and there was more than enough joy to go around for all 12 players on the active roster. And more importantly, the victory gave the Suns their first four-game winning streak of the season and moved them to within three-and-a-half lengths of Dallas in the race for the final playoff spot in the West. (Yes, there is TOO a race). (more…)

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This was one for the ages — 37, 36, and 35 to be precise. There was 37-year-old Shaquille O’Neal with 26 points and 11 rebounds. And there was 36-year-old Grant Hill with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  And there was 35-year-old Steve Nash with 24 points and 10 assists.

What’s even more remarkable about how well these old (ancient in basketball age) guys are playing is that it was widely regarded that their future was well behind two of them, and that while the other one still had a few good days in him his best years were also in the rear view mirror.

But here they are powering a late push they hope will carry the Suns into the playoffs. (more…)

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Forget the usual suspects. This wasn’t about not enough defense or not enough rebounding, or not enough smarts in crunch time, or not enough depth, or not enough whatever. This was simply a case of too much LeBron and Mo Williams. Especially LeBron. 

LeBron not only registered his third straight triple-double but also reinforced the notion that he should be required to wear a cape with an “S” on it and register as an alien from another planet. I mean it’s been well established he can leap tall buildings at a single bound and is more powerful than a locomotive, but it turns out he’s also faster than a speeding bullet. (Plus he’s taller than Superman). (more…)

The conventional wisdom was the Suns either had to win this one or go directly to the lottery without passing go and collecting anything. Well, maybe not directly, but certainly.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that afterwards I was tempted to revive and downgrade the prediction I was most notorious for in my heyday (okay, heyhour) to Suns In Sick. (more…)

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

Shaquille O’Neal continues to amaze! In fact, let’s upgrade that to exponentially amaze! It was pretty amazing earlier this year when the 37-year-old center turned the clock back to his glory year in Miami, but now he seems to have turned it all the way back to his glory years in Los Angeles when he and Kobe were winning all those titles.
Sunday he followed up his 45-point assault on the Raptors with a 33-point output against the Lakers to power the Suns to not only their most satisfying victory of the year but perhaps the most significant one. (more…)

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