Phoenix Suns, Amare Stoudemire, Need To Learn Game One Lessons...Fast

Apparently, the Suns thought Portland would just roll over and die without Brandon Roy.

Their mistake.

If Phoenix didn't know before, they know it now. Portland's not going away. Anyone who thought Roy was irreplaceable hasn't been watching Portland over the last three years.

They've stockpiled talent through the draft and trades. Guys who might be starting on other teams (see: Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez) see more bench than playing time on Portland. That's how deep they are.

Phoenix just saw that first-hand.

Now the Suns have to see how deep they are—meaning can they dig deeper for a better effort than they showed in Game One?

The revolutionized Amare Stoudemire never showed. Instead, the quasi-All-Star version returned in his ref-complaining, turnover-committing, and crunchtime-absent glory.

The Suns can only hope it was a one-game hiccup, and not a series-long slump, because without Stoudemrie producing, Phoenix is a die-by-the-three team. It's that simple.

Unlike Bayless or Miller, Nash isn't strong enough to penetrate and force at least a foul on the opposing team. He has to shy away from contact, hoping for an open lane, jumper or teammate. Sure, he excels at those things, but those don't ensure points when you need them, as Game One's last four minutes showed.

Amare and the rest of the Suns showed surprising tenacity on the boards...make that, offensive boards. The defensive rebounding was (somewhat predictably) weak, especially during critical junctures of the game.

TNT's Craig Sager reported the Suns held a no-foul scrimmage practice the day before Game One. You have to wonder if the unaccustomed style of play got the Suns away from the free-flowing fashion that had them streaking into the postseason.

Above anything else, Phoenix needs to have the pride factor. Despite their aforementioned depth, Portland is wounded. Even Blazers' fans would admit they should be an inferior team. The Suns should have come out with much more energy and purpose than they did.

Instead, they let two former Clippers (Miller and Camby) run circles around them.

Now they're down 0-1, and Portland is one of the least appealing places to regain home court advantage. Phoenix can do it. They should do it.

As Game One proved, though, should doesn't mean will .