(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

Easy comes hard for these Suns.

Granted, 105-97 doesn’t seem all THAT hard, but after building an 18-point lead largely with reserve power, the Suns found themselves in a 92-92 struggle for survival with 4:50 to play before FINALLY nailing down the victory with an 8-0 run.

Still, as Coach Alvin, speaking for every coach who has ever drawn an X or an O on a blackboard, says, “There is no such thing as a bad win,” and one of the good things about this one is that it drew the Suns into a tie in the loss column with Memphis for the bottom rung in the Western Conference playoff ladder. [Read more...]

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When Coach Alvin praises Grant Hill, he is definitely preaching to this choir. And after last night’s squeaker over the short-handed Jazz he was singing them to the high heaven.

After giving due props to Channing Frye’s career night, Mickael Pietrus’s clutch play at both ends of the court, and another routine 20-14 night by Steve Nash, Gentry got down to the crux of the matter and, not incidentally, the real key to this victory.

Coach started off slowly, saying, “I can’t say enough about Grant Hill”, but then proceeded to give it a very good try.

[Read more...]

(Christian Petersen)

Historically, reaching the .500 plateau has never been cause to break out the bubbly and have street dancing break out in Planet Orange. And indeed, there were no streamers and balloons floating down from the ceiling at US Airways Center when the final horn sounded in the victory over the Warriors that brought the team back to that level for the first time since December 19th.

But put it in proper context (i.e. where the Suns were just a few short weeks ago), there is cause for at least a few attaboys for what symbolically at least signifies a wiping the slate of all the woe and raising the prospects for a bright future. [Read more...]

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

Some nights you get old Vince Carter, some nights you get the Vince Carter of old. And some nights you get both.

This was one of those “both” nights. Carter was his unstoppable old “Vinsanity” self through three periods as he scored 30 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including 5 of 7 threes. But alas, in the fourth quarter Father Time, or maybe the law of averages caught up with him, and he went 1 for seven and missed three threes, and thus a very good chance to beat a very good, albeit very young Oklahoma City team and climb back to .500 for the first time since December 19th slipped away.

Oh well, easy come easy go. Or in basketball-speak, you live by the three you die by the three. [Read more...]

(Christian Petersen)

New Suns Center Marcin Gortat’s nickname, “The Polish Hammer,” is one of the better and more amusing nicknames to come through the NBA in recent years. I suppose, on the surface, there’s not much to laugh about…Gortat does hail from Poland, and “Hammer” is an apt description of his physical game, but there’s something about putting the two words together that brings a smile to my face. I want him to get together with ESPN football analyst and former quarterback Ron Jaworski, who was called “The Polish Rifle” in his playing days, and have a nice chat over some “kotlet schabowy” (that’s breaded pork cutlet, to you and me).

Basketball is a game of great nicknames. Wilt Chamberlain hated being called, “The Stilt,” because he felt it made fun of his height, but he managed to do all right with the ladies anyway. He much preferred to be called, “Dipper,” as in, “The Big.” No comment on how that went over with the fairer sex. [Read more...]

(Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images)

Pretty interesting game between two South of the .500 border teams. But alas, as is the case more often the case in this the winter of Planet Orange’s discontent, the finish was anything but pretty.

Even when they hit 16 threes, their point guard scores 27 points, goes 4-4 on threes, and has 15 assists with only one turnover, their two newbies, Vince Carter and Marcin Gortat, combine for 38 points, and they get more than their share of good bounces, especially off the offensive boards, and commit only 9 turnovers the Suns still can’t win.

The obvious question is why? And the short answer is that these Suns are like an infielder who plays every hop right on a ground ball except the last one.

[Read more...]

By casting their votes, fans can help out the world famous Suns Gorilla in the inaugural “Hall of Game Awards” which will air on Cartoon Network on Friday, February 25 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT). [Read more...]

(Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images)

Grant Hill likely won’t make the NBA Hall of Fame.

He won’t make first-team All-NBA this season. Or second, or third. He won’t make the All-Star team. He won’t make anyone’s All-Defensive team. The numbers aren’t there.

But has anyone been more important to the Suns this season? [Read more...]