There Is Still Hope In Phoenix

February 18, 2009, 42 points, it was the second night in a row suns scored more than 140 points in a game. Final score 142-119.

I was in the stands during that game and I witnessed a dominating performance and the start of a run to a strong finish in the regular season. Somewhere in the first half, Amar'e went up for a posterizing dunk, and was stopped by a clear foul by Al Thornton which caught him in the eye.  At first it seemed like nothing but later became the downfall of the suns season with his season ending eye-injury.

Suns finish with 46-36 record and miss out in playoffs (2nd best record to miss playoffs) Under new coach Alvin Gentry he managed to instill the "run-n-gun" offense again at the end and finish the 2nd half of the season with a little hope.

Offseason, Shaq traded for cap space, Hill re-signs, Nash looking to re-sign as well (somewhat slight hints from his twitter page) Channing Frye signed. While Steve Kerr has done a terrible job trading away Marion for Shaq, and valuable draft pics, he hasn't blown this team up just yet.  With the exception of barnes not coming back, I don't see what is stopping this team to make a push to the playoffs.

Channing Frye is probally a better fit for the Run-N-Gun style then any center in the league, He has a ok jumpshot that just needs a little work, he can run up and down the court, and can finish at the rim. I say this is a perfect complimentary piece to Amar'e and the suns. This allows Amar'e more touches, more chances to get to the free throw line and put the opposing teams in foul trouble.  If we finished 46-36 without amar'e in most of the 2nd half of the season, which could have changed the season to a predictable 50-32 season if he remained healthy.

Bottom line if Suns stay healthy and keep their style of play, Not saying they will win the championship, but they still are and can be an elite team in the west.