The Phoenix Suns had themselves a very pleasant week, sweeping a back-to-back-to-back and winning another after that, for their first four-game winning streak of the season -- a streak that put them team over .500 finally. In particular, Jared Dudley and Channing Frye had strong performances. As we do each week, we do a sort of power rankings for the players on the Suns roster. They are listed from hottest to nottest. Oh, and their previous ranking is in parentheses.
1. Jared Dudley (3): Remember those days when we all thought of Dudley as an unathletic glue guy? He's been changing that perception lately: JD went for over 20 points in three of this past week's five games. Dudley's delivering the offensive punch that the Suns have so desperately needed all season and it's pushing Phoenix back into the playoff picture. (Nikil Selvam)
2. Steve Nash (2): Nash proved this week why some consider him the best true point guard in the league. Nash only averaged 11.5 points this week; however, he averaged 13.5 assists in four games played. Nash put up two double-doubles this week and continues to lead the Suns on their push for the playoffs. (Ryan Bafaloukos)
3. Channing Frye (5): Channing has found his shooting touch and has managed to do all the other things well. He shot better than 50 percent every game except for against the Pistons, but in that game he pulled down 13 rebounds. He averaged 18 points per game last week and eight rebounds per game. He even blocked shots. He had four blocks against the T-Wolves and averaged over two a game for the week. (Jess Root)
4. Marcin Gortat (1): Marcin finds himself lower in the thermometer than usual this week, mainly because Dudley and Frye's impacts have been obvious, and The Polish Hammer has actually had sort of a down week. Gortat had only one double-double, against the Rockets; otherwise, his rebounding numbers were down, averaging only five rebounds a game in the other four. He also had two single-digit scoring games in the week. (Justin Burning)
5. Grant Hill (4): Hill sat out of Thursday's stunning road win over the Clippers (along with Nash), and he's slipped into a very comfortable role during the team's recent win steak. He scored between 10 and 14 points in addition to five-plus rebounds and a handful of assists per game. Nothing spectacular, but certainly a super-consistent presence that the surging Suns can depend on. (NS)
6. Michael Redd (8): Redd didn't do a whole lot of anything through the week -- until his 25-point redd-hot explosion against the playoff-position-rival Rockets to get the Suns over .500 for the first time this season. For significance alone, Redd gets some recognition; his performance was desperately needed after a back-to-back-to-back sweep that could have made this a trap game. (JB)
7. Robin Lopez (6): Lopez gave the Suns good minutes off the bench all week. Lopez averaged nine points for the Suns, and averaged 18.6 minutes this week. Lopez shot over 50% from the field in four of the five games this season. (RB)
8. Shannon Brown (7): Brown was what you expect -- up and down. He had 21 against the Clippers, including 8/10 free throws, but take that game away and he averaged seven points a game. He shoots a lot and does not hit with great accuracy, but his energy on the court is great for the bench. (JR)
9. Markieff Morris (11): Morris broke out of his shooting slump with a solid performance against the Clippers (10 points, six boards, and three steals in only 17 minutes). He's still not producing at quite the efficiency that he was early in the season, but the rookie is showing some promise again after a series of down weeks. (NS)
10. Ronnie Price (12): Price only saw action in one game this week, but he made the most of it, scoring six points in 14 minutes against the Clippers. Price benefited from the age of Steve Nash, as the only game he played in all week was the game that Nash was rested. (RB)
11. Sebastian Telfair (9): With a strong start to the week, he faded later on. In his one start against the Clippers, though, his defense on Chris Paul down the stretch was crucial. He shot poorly that game (3/11), but had eight assists. (JR)
12. Hakim Warrick (10): Hakim got himself a wee bit of playing time this week, but he wasn't able to do much with it. (JB)
13. Josh Childress (13): Childress played just seven minutes this week (all of them against the Clippers on Thursday), and he only tallied one assist during that entire time span. Suffice it to say that Childress didn't have a huge impact on the team. (NS)