Spotlight on…Phoenix

The Skinny

It's hard to believe that Phoenix started the season in such an ugly manner, considering it has already clinched its third straight Pacific Division title and is sitting just one win away from matching last season's victory total. But just like rival Dallas (which started 0-4), the Suns used several extended winning streaks to render those first couple of weeks nothing more than a fleeting memory. Runs of 15 and 17 straight wins turned that 1-5 start into a mark of 36-8 by late January. The Suns were 44-14 by the end of February and now, at 53-17, they looked locked into the No. 2 seed in the West, and with a strong finish have a chance to set a new franchise mark in victories. More importantly, however, the team is likely focused on getting on a roll (they're just 3-3 in the past six) and making sure all their key players are healthy before launching into the postseason for a third straight year. Coach D'Antoni has come under fire (especially from Charles Barkley) for his short bench, although in recent weeks, he seems to have made an effort to find a ninth and sometimes even 10th player for the rotation. Of course the true test for D'Antoni will be whether he can guide Phoenix past its nemesis Dallas (who knocked them out in six games in last season's Western Conference Finals). The Suns won a statement game against the Mavs in Dallas two weeks ago and get another crack against them this weekend in Phoenix, so perhaps another win will provide the jolt of momentum Phoenix needs heading into the playoffs as the team seeks its first trip to the finals since 1992-93.

Strengths: Offense, offense and more offense. The Suns lead the league in almost every key offensive category including points per game (110.1), 3-pointers per game (9.6) and assists per game (25.8). But lest you think the Suns are simply all about outgunning opponents by hoisting 100 shots per game (whether they are high percentage shots or not), think again. Phoenix does not lead the NBA in FGA per game, but rather is the most efficient offensive machine in the league, leading the way in both FG percentage (49.4) and 3-point percentage (40). It's such a hard team to play against because you'll make a run and get back in the game and then they will come right back and deflate you with a run of their own.

Weaknesses: Defense, getting to the line, offensive rebounding. At 102.9 PPA per game, no one will accuse the Suns of having a stifling defense, but run and gun is their game and they are actually a much better defensive team than they get credit for. They are dead last in the NBA in FTA per game, but even the Suns' weakness is a strength, as despite the paucity of trips the charity stripe, they know how to sink them, ranking second in FT percentage. One glaring weakness for Phoenix is its work under the offensive glass, as only the Raptors average fewer offensive boards per game (perhaps it's a Bryan Colangelo thing?). Phoenix has done decent work on the defensive window, so overall is a middling rebounding team.

Lineup

PG: Two-time defending MVP Steve Nash is enjoying yet another brilliant season, far and away the league leader in APG with 11.5, which ties a career high. How he continues to get better at the age of 33 is mind boggling, but his 53.3 FG percentage and 18.9 PPG are both career highs. And judging by how the Suns struggled when Nash missed some time before the All-Star break and how they bounced back as soon as he returned, a third straight MVP would certainly be deserved for the greatest Canadian to ever play in the NBA (my apologies to the family of Bill Wennington). All that's missing from his resume is an NBA Championship, a feat that will finally lay to rest the idea that nice guys finish last.

SG: Raja Bell, one of the most underrated players in the game, has been fantasy gold this year because of his phenomenal outside shooting. He's parlayed 174 treys (third most in the NBA) into a career best 14.8 PPG.

SF: Shawn Marion has been a big fantasy flop this year, especially lately when he's struggled both offensively and on the glass (just 11.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in March). But everything is relative, isn't it? For instance, besides the Matrix, just one other player (Josh Smith) is averaging better than 15 PPG while ranking in the top 20 in rebounds, blocks and steals. Marion's numbers may be down significantly this season, but he's still among the league's best across-the-board producers.

PF: Boris Diaw has also been a disappointment after last season's breakout. Recent back woes sidelined him for quite some time and, other than a huge game Thursday, he hasn't really seemed himself. Phoenix needs Diaw to log bigger minutes and to help create offense for the frontcourt if it's going to take the next step in the playoffs this season.

C: Heading into this season, Amare Stoudemire and his return from microfracture surgery was the biggest question the Suns faced, but he's been among the most consistent players on the team. He's no longer a 26 PPG man, but on a team with more weapons now, he doesn't need to be. Besides, he's become a much more efficient scorer, ranking fourth in the NBA in FG percentage and Stat is also a much better rebounder. Looking for steady play? How about 42 double-doubles this year? That's a new career high for Stoudemire, who has really rewarded owners that gambled on him last fall when it appeared he would be severely limited this season.

Bench: Leandro Barbosa is not only the key man on the Suns' bench, he's likely the top reserve in the entire league and should be justly rewarded with the Sixth Man Award this season. The Brazilian Blur has been instant offense off the bench while also pitching in as a starter whenever injuries have necessitated it; James Jones has played much less of a role this year as he's struggled to sink shots, but in the past two months, D'Antoni has really increased his PT; With Stoudemire proving he was healthy, Kurt Thomas hasn't had nearly the value he might have had and he's struggled recently, taking two straight scoreless games earlier this week; While fellow Fab Fivers Chris Webber and Juwan Howard remain key NBA players, Jalen Rose has barely been able to get off the Suns bench. He got a bit of burn last week, but took another DNP on Monday and this is clearly not what he signed on for; Marcus Banks was getting some PT as the team showcased him for a possible deal, but no one bit and he's again fallen out of the rotation; if fan favorite Pat Burke was half as good as the thunderous ovations he receives from the hometown faithful, he'd have some pretty good value; 3-point specialist Eric Piatkowski was getting some PT as D'Antoni searched for someone who can handle rotation minutes, but with four straight DNPs, that experiment appears done; Jumaine Jones could add some toughness to the squad, but with just one appearance since February 20, he has no role; Sean Marks has appeared in just three games, and the last time he felt the love was a five-minute stint on Valentine's Day.

On the Rise

• Jason Hart seems to have taken control of the PG job for the Clippers (in terms of minutes, if not performance). He's averaged 27 MPG over the past five and has gotten over 30 minutes in two of the past three at the expense of Daniel Ewing. Hart's numbers aren't overly inspiring but it looks like he will get plenty of burn down the stretch and I love the steals he's been recording (11 in the past four games). Turnover leagues have to be thrilled with the fact that Hart has done a great job of protecting the pumpkin lately, with no turnovers against nine assists in the last two games. There's one other reason I like Hart as a possible pick up this week: he's got a date against Sacramento on Friday and he clearly has an axe to grind after his less-than-amicable split with the Kings. Former Blue Devil Ewing will continue to log minutes as long as Sam Cassell's body prohibits him from taking the court, and he could be an important player for the Clippers next season with major questions surrounding both Cassell and Shaun Livingston, but for now, Hart is running with the job.



• Peja Stojakovic is almost ready to return to the Hornets as Coach Scott now puts the odds of him playing on Saturday at 50-50. I can't see Peja taking over the starting role immediately, but any minutes he logs are going to come at the expense of Devin Brown and, to an extent, Desmond Mason, so you may want to downgrade both of those players going forward.



• Steven Hunter won't supply any offense for you, but as long as he racks up the minutes (37 on Saturday), he has the potential to pitch in with boards and blocks. In the past two games, he's averaging 9.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 1.5 BPG, and his FT shooting has been much better recently (11-for-13 over the last four games).

Losing Traction

• James Singleton was supposed to get more PT down the stretch and he actually saw some decent minutes off the bench earlier this week when Tim Thomas missed a game because of his elbow injury. But Singleton played just four minutes Saturday, so this plan looks like it was short lived.



• Elton Brand is doing fantastic work on the window lately and remains near the top of the forward list in the NBA, but his minutes and scoring are down slightly in recent games. The problem seems to be Brand's struggles at the charity stripe. He's just 11-for-22 over the past five games after starting the month very well. It's probably nothing more than a bad streak, but it's limiting the offensive numbers Brand's been putting up.



• Samuel Dalembert has been better about avoiding the kind of foul trouble he was experiencing earlier in the season, but Saturday it reared its ugly head again, limiting him to 15 minutes of action. While Dalembert has been fairly steady offensively, what's happened to his rebounding? He's averaging just 6.6 over the past five games. That's opened the door for extra minutes for reserve Joe Smith, who seems reborn lately. In the past three games, he's enjoyed a 17-rebound and a 13-rebound game, while scoring double-digit points in the past two. Smith has also pitched in with four steals over the past three. The impending free agent is definitely making a statement that he's worthy of a new contract.



• Andrei Kirilenko, among the biggest fantasy flops in the NBA this season --especially relative to his draft position -- has been losing minutes to Matt Harpring this week (although Coach Sloan has also experimented with having them on the floor together). AK-47 hasn't played more than 30 minutes in any of his last three (fouling out Monday didn't help, mind you), and while he had been shooting a bit better since his tutorial with Jeff Hornacek last week, he was simply awful on Monday. But forget about the offense. What the heck happened to Kirilenko's rebounding ability? After pulling down 8 RPG last season, he started sluggishly this year with 5.8 per game in November. Unfortunately, it's gone from bad to worse since: 5.2 in December, 4.9 in January, 3.9 in February and 3.7 in March.

Moving into the Starting Five

• Corey Maggette shifted back into the starting lineup Friday after coming off the bench on Wednesday behind Quinton Ross. Maggette exploded for a season-high 29 on Saturday, and given Maggette's 23 PPG and FG percentage of over 61 percent in the last five games, Coach Dunleavy would be crazy to shift this former Duke star back to the bench, regardless of any problems the two were having. Ross has no value whether starting or not, so the fact that he's not getting many minutes over the past couple of games is good news for Maggette owners.



• Andre Iguodala returned to the starting lineup Saturday, but he said his back was still sore after the game and he wasn't able to practice Tuesday, so this could be something worth watching down the stretch. While he had his usual stat-stuffing game, Iggy's shooting woes continued and he's now sunk just 20-of-55 over the past five games. With Iguodala back, Rodney Carney headed back to the bench and barely played, while Kevin Ollie returned to the DNP Zone. Ever since Carney hurt his shoulder and lost his starting job to Willie Green, he hasn't had any value. He's played very sparingly since his return a couple of weeks ago. Ollie has also barely played as he's been passed on the depth chart by Louis Williams, a player the team wants to look at as Andre Miller's backup.

Rookie Watch

Randy Foye has certainly had his opportunities this season, but he hasn't quite been able to wrestle the Minnesota PG job from the disappointing Mike James. Every time it appeared Foye was gaining control, he would stumble and when the team failed to move any of its backcourt players at the deadline, it doomed the point guards to a rotation system, with forgotten man Troy Hudson joining the fray to make it a three-headed beast. Hudson has since fallen out of the picture, but Foye still can't gain traction. Small wonder when you look at how inconsistent the former Villanova star has been lately. His scoring for the last five games: 4, 24, 4, 17, 5. I love Foye long-term, but until he starts to bring it every night, he won't be ready to take the next step and will be a shaky fantasy play. Here's what I had to say about Foye after the draft last summer.

Rob Blackstien runs www.RotoRob.com, a site featuring daily fantasy sports analysis. In addition to his baseball work on the site, he contributes to Rotoworld’s basketball coverage. Rob also writes for CREATiVESPORTS.com, BaseballNotebook.com and has contributed to Rotoman’s Fantasy Baseball Guide and Fantasy Football Guide.

Contact Rob Blackstien