(Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images)

Two people with significant ties to the Suns, Dennis Johnson and John Kerr, are included among the 16 finalists for induction in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and one, at least this one, can only hope they survive the final cut when the inductees are announced in April at the Final Four in Detroit.

Kerr was the first coach to be hired by the Suns, and the fact he was also the first coach fired by the Suns detracts neither from what he did for the fledgling franchise nor that general manager Jerry Colangelo could hardly have made a better choice. [Read more...]

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

All in all, a pretty good night for Suns present and past. With balanced scoring and a double-double from Shaq, the present Suns took care of business against the offensively challenged Bobcats (they are dead last in the league in scoring).  And past Suns, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, combined for 50 pointswith Boris adding 10 rebounds and 6 assists to go with his 27.

However, in the interest of full disclosure, this was one of those games you put in the win column but not in your highlight film. It was kind of a bumpy affair, what with 36 turnovers (19 by the Suns) and 53 fouls, and the Suns never could quite put the Bobcats away until the last four minutes. [Read more...]

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

The Celtics brought the team from Planet Orange back down to Planet Earth Sunday, and while the re-entry was not entirely unexpected, it was anything but smooth.

The Suns defensively were almost as helpless against the defending World Champions as the lowly Clippers (twice) and the equally lowly Thunder had been against the Suns in the first three games of the Coach Alvin era.

With could-a-been Sun Rajon Rondo leading the way with a career-high 32 points, the Celtics scored literally at will, and pretty much any way they chose. In fact, had they not missed 12 of their 40 free throws they might have had a shot at making the Suns the first team ever to scored 140 in three straight games and give up 140 in the next game. [Read more...]

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

Needless to say, it’s been an up-and-down week on Planet Orange. Beginning with a plethora of questions about the state of a Suns team just over .500 heading into an All-Star Weekend at home (not to mention the somewhat-expected fixation with Thursday’s trading deadline), the second half of the season got off to a fresh coaching start with the promotion of Alvin Gentry and subsequent three-straight wins.

The word “run” has been used many times in the past when associated with this team, but for the first time in a long while, the mention of it in Gentry’s introductory press conference carried an optimistic feel to it – an optimism that’s been validated with back-to-back-to-back 140-point efforts after Friday’s 140-118 win over the visiting Thunder. Jason Richardson scored a season-high 34 points, while Leandro Barbosa tallied a game- and career-high 41 points to go along with seven boards, seven assists and six steals.

[Read more...]

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

This is not a replay! This was another one just like the other one. The other TWO, in fact – a third straight 140-point scoring game that brought back memories of the glory that was Rome (or at least the Italian that used to coach the team). 

Three games into the Coach Alvin era the Suns are AVERAGING better than 140 points a game, and numbers like that would be other worldly even if the Suns weren’t being guarded (which by the way they haven’t been yet in the Coach Alvin era).

Not even the loss of Amar’e Stoudemire for at least eight weeks because of an eye problem was enough to dampen their spirits or cool their jets. And if nothing else, this latest Big Bang should dispel the notion that they are dead in the playoff water without Amar’e. [Read more...]

(Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images)

For those fans (myself included) who wondered whether the Phoenix Suns would be able to keep up their winning ways with their new coach, Wednesday night’s game was a good test.  Phoenix wouldn’t be playing in front of their home crowd, the newness of the coach had worn off a bit and the players were tired from the game the night before.

And for the first three quarters, it looked as if the Clippers might have a chance.  They scored 19 more points than they did the night before.  But they let the Suns score 2 more points than they did in the previous game.  The final score was 142-119, advantage Suns. [Read more...]