Phoenix Suns: 10 Reasons Steve Nash and Suns Are Most Underrated Team Out West
Six weeks ago the Phoenix Suns (31-27) looked down and out. They were somewhere between 10th and 11th in the Western Conference standings and several games below .500.
Fast-forward to the present, and you will find that the Suns are arguably the hottest team in the league outside of Dallas and San Antonio.
Remember, it was around this same time last season that the Suns made their push for the West's No. 3 seed after flirting with mediocrity prior to the All-Star break.
Not saying history will repeat itself—only that these Suns have quickly become the most underrated team in the Western Conference, like they seem to do every year.
Here are 10 reasons why Phoenix shouldn't be flying under anyone's radar.
Healthy Rotation
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The Suns have dodged the injury bullet for much of the season, knock on wood. Robin Lopez was roughed up early on but has since recovered and has helped the Suns improve their defensive effort in the paint.
Veterans Steve Nash and Grant Hill have surely felt the grind of an 82-game season. However, their play has shown little evidence of fatigue.
Nash is averaging a double-double (points and assists), while Hill is averaging nearly 14 points per game at the age of 38.
The starters' health, as well as that of the bench, has kept the Suns in contention for a playoff spot and will no doubt give them a chance in the postseason.
Parity Out West
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Though San Antonio, Dallas and the L.A. Lakers are the clear favorites out West, after that things get blurry.
The No. 4-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (currently) only lead the No. 10-seeded Utah Jazz by 5.5 games. Seven teams are separated by only five games.
Phoenix's latest hot stretch has brought them in striking range of teams like Memphis, Portland, Denver, New Orleans and even Oklahoma City.
However, only one of the aforementioned teams has a winning road record: Oklahoma City. Phoenix is .500 on the road, whereas Memphis, Portland, Denver and New Orleans are a combined 50-73 on the road this season.
Basically, that means the Suns could go from ninth to fifth with a good week of basketball—or vice versa.
Veteran Leadership
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After taking into account the ages of Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Vince Carter, the rest of the Suns' roster begins to look young.
Nash, 37, Hill, 38, and Carter, 34, combine for over 40 years of NBA experience.
Nash's offensive leadership, as well as Hill's age-defying defensive and rebounding efforts, have provided the spark for Phoenix's success.
As you take a look around the West, you notice a lack of leadership among the playoff hopefuls. Memphis is a fairly young team, Portland's Brandon Roy has battled knee injuries and Denver lost its floor general in Chauncey Billups.
You can write them off statistically, but never doubt the power of experience come spring.
Better Bench
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The Suns' reserves were key in their deep postseason run a year ago and have been superb in Phoenix's most recent run of success.
Jared Dudley continues to bring a defense-first mentality off the bench, while Hakim Warrick and Marcin Gortat provide admirable pick and roll options for Nash late in games.
After last December's trade with Orlando, the Suns improved their bench even more with Mickael Pietrus and Gortat.
Phoenix snagged Aaron Brooks from Houston for Goran Dragic at the trade deadline and now has plenty of firepower on standby.
Marcin Gortat's Double-Doubles
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The 27-year-old Pole has put smiles on the faces of millions of Suns fans with his excellent play as of late. Gortat is Phoenix's leading rebounder for the season with 8.2 per game.
Even more impressive, Gortat already has 11 double-doubles off the bench since being traded from Orlando to Phoenix last December.
The first came against Cleveland on January 19, meaning Gortat has come off the bench to snag a double-double in 11 out of the past 19 games for the Suns.
Gortat averaged 13.3 PPG and 9.3 RPG for the month of February. Amar'e who?
Defense? You Bet
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The Suns—yes, the Suns—have been playing some form of defense lately. Though they are allowing over 105 PPG for the season, their defense dating back to mid-January has been far better.
Since the Suns fell into an abyss at 15-21 back on January 11, they have held their opponents to nearly nine points under their 105.1 season mark.
Phoenix's opponents are averaging just 96.4 PPG against the Suns dating back to early 2011. The improvement has been dramatic, as during that stretch the Suns have been most successful.
The defensive effort can't be credited to one player in particular, but to the entire team for hustling and communicating better on that end of the floor.
Recent Success
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The Suns' most recent stretch of basketball has given them reason to be underrated. No losing team can be underrated simply for the fact that it is a losing team.
However, Phoenix is now a winning team and a fast-improving winning team. Less than two months ago the Suns found themselves six games below .500 but now at the start of March find themselves four games above that mark.
To put the Suns' winning ways into perspective, take a look at their last 22 games.
Phoenix has won 16 out of its past 22, bringing them from 15 wins to 31.
Even more recently, the Suns have won 11 out of their last 14. A team that just one month ago was four games below .500 and desperate for a spark has since found its groove and put itself within 2.5 games of the West's No. 5 seed.
Phoenix is 4-0 since the All-Star break and riding a four game-winning streak.
Same Ole Offense
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The Suns, even without Amar'e Stoudemire and Jason Richardson, have performed superbly on the offensive end in 2010-2011.
Phoenix is averaging 105.2 PPG this season. That's fourth most in the league behind Denver, New York and Houston.
The Suns are averaging over 106 PPG in their last seven games and have scored at least 101 points in every game during that stretch.
Any basketball pundit or expert will tell you that what makes the Suns so dangerous are the matchup problems they present and their ability to score at will for stretches in a game.
Steve Nash's MVP-Like Season
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Steve Nash's numbers would be more than eye-popping had we not become accustomed to seeing it year after year from the 37-year-old Canadian.
Nash is quietly averaging a double-double for the second straight season and six out of seven overall with the Suns.
Nash's assist numbers are his best since 2006-2007, and his rebounding numbers are his best since the Suns' 2005-2006 campaign.
If the Suns' record was swapped with San Antonio, Nash's name would be at the top of the MVP discussion.
Nash is shooting better than 50 percent from the field (50.7 percent), third best among all point guards. Nash trails only Tony Parker and Rajon Rondo (51.8 percent and 50.8 percent respectively).
Not bad given Nash has a combined 21 years on both players.
General Gentry
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Suns head coach Alvin Gentry has been a magician after the All-Star break with Phoenix.
Back in early 2009, when Gentry took over following All-Star Weekend, he led the Suns to a 18-13 finish without Amar'e Stoudemire. The Suns would finish the season 10 games above .500 and two games out of the playoffs.
Last season Gentry led Phoenix to a 23-6 mark after the All-Star break, earning the Suns a No. 3 seed and an eventual Western Conference Finals berth.
This season already Gentry has coached the Suns to a perfect 4-0 record after the break, running his overall post-All-Star break record with Phoenix to 45-19.
If there is anyone that can lead the Suns to the postseason after a slow start, it's Alvin Gentry.
Patrick Clarke is a Featured Columnist for the Phoenix Suns and a student at Towson University.
