Previous week’s games
2/05/10 SUNS 114, Kings 102
2/10/10 Blazers 108, SUNS 101
Next week’s games
2/16/10 SUNS @ Grizzlies, 6 p.m., My45
2/17/10 SUNS @ Mavericks, 7 p.m., ESPN
The NBA All-Star break is upon us. It’s the unofficial midway point of the season, although less than half the games remain (29 for the Phoenix Suns). As the Suns prepare for a break from NBA action, we here at the Suns Spot decided to take a look at what we expect to see happen over the last few months of the NBA season.
Amar’e Stoudemire won’t be traded as a salary dump.
Will the Suns finally give in and trade STAT? I have no idea, but they definitely won’t trade him just for expiring contracts. In the last day, we’ve heard rumors saying the Suns would more than likely stay pat and rumors saying Pat Riley and the Heat are pushing hard for Stoudemire. So, I have no idea what to make it of it all, but I do know Steve Kerr will at least get something of value. Despite the fact that most Suns fans are now on board with the idea of trading Amar’e, there would definitely be riots in Downtown Phoenix if Amar’e is traded for another team’s garbage. I fully expect that if the Suns do the pull a trigger on an Amar’e trade, they will receive at least one young talent, an expiring contract and a first-round draft pick, and at this point we couldn’t really ask for more.
The Suns will make the playoffs.
Currently, the Suns sit as the number six seed out West in a very tight playoff race. That’s right about where most people thought the Suns would be this year. Things are awfully jumbled, though. Phoenix could easily move up to the number two spot, but just as easily they could slip to number 11. I see this team finishing five or higher. The Suns have really picked up their play as of late, winning five of six before the All-Star break (the one loss coming Wednesday night to Portland). Robin Lopez has been a huge factor in the middle since starting and Channing Frye has finally recovered his touch. Couple that with the ever-growing confidence of Goran Dragic, the scrappy play of Jared Dudley and Lou Amundson and the mind-boggling numbers being put up by veterans Steve Nash and Grant Hill, and I guarantee this team will stay in the middle of the playoff race, even if Stoudemire is traded.
Steve Nash will win the skills challenge.
No way Nash loses this. Participating in the skills challenge in the city whose team owner said Nash was too old to play at a high level (six years ago)? How could Nash possibly lose this? MVSteve is definitely going to stick it to Mark Cuban, no doubt in my mind.
So, there you have it. These are a few of the things I expect to see over the last two-and-a-half months or so of regular season play. Will they all happen for sure? I don’t know, but you can’t prove they won’t happen, unless of course you read this blog in May.
