The Phoenix Suns split their week's games, winning against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets and losing against the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. However, it wasn't a standout week for any particular player, really. Steve Nash tops the Player Thermometer this week more because fans saw how bad the team would struggle without him, when Nash left the Spurs game after six minutes due to a hip strain. Grant Hill came back from his meniscus surgery, and played like a man back from surgery too soon. The team is still in the playoff race, but it's going to be a tough ride forward.
Anyway, on to the Player Thermometer, ranked from hottest to nottest. Last week's rankings are in parentheses.
1. Steve Nash (1): Of course Nash is atop this list. He did only play six minutes against the Spurs, but he had two double-doubles on the week. (Jess Root)
2. Sebastian Telfair (7): Yes, we're just as surprised to see Telfair this high on the list as you are. He was incredibly productive over Phoenix's road trip: in addition to 13.5 points, he also had 5.0 assists and 3.25 rebounds per game on just 20 minutes per night. Well done, Mr. Telfair. (Nikil Selvam)
3. Markieff Morris (8): Morris started the week off red-hot as he scored 21 points against Minnesota and 17 against Memphis. Morris averaged 13.75 points this week and averaged 6.75 rebounds this week. In his first two games this week, Morris was 16-27 from the field; however, in his final two games, he was a meager 4-14 from the field. (Ryan Bafoloukos)
4. Shannon Brown (3): Outside of the Spurs game, in which everyone played horribly, Mr. Brown continued his late-season productivity. He averaged 15 points a game in the other three games, though he wasn't necessarily efficient, shooting 39% from the field in that stretch. But the Suns will need every last bit of offensive firepower if they're going to make the postseason. (Justin Burning)
5. Marcin Gortat (4): Gortat had two stinkers and two solid games. Against Minnesota and San Antonio, he had a combined 10 points and 14 rebounds. The other two games? He shot 70 percent, averaged just under 20 points and 10 rebounds. Against Houston, he was great -- 20 and 15. (JR)
6. Michael Redd (2): Thirteen was Redd's lucky number this past week, as the veteran scored exactly that many points in three of the Suns' four games. Keep an eye out for his three-point shooting stats over the final two weeks of the season. They could become a very important weapon for Phoenix over the last handful of games. (NS)
7. Jared Dudley (5): Dudley had a quiet week except for against Houston. Dudley had 19 points against the Rockets; he only scored 12 points in the other three games he played in this week. (RB)
8. Robin Lopez (9): RoLo didn't do much of anything spectacular this week, but he did contribute at least a little bit, particularly against the Spurs, where he had eight points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes. But of course that game didn't mean anything. (JB)
9. Channing Frye (6): Yes, he is still on the team. It just didn't seem like it last week. He did not crack double digits in scoring and managed a total of 21 points in four games. He shot ok, but was not shooting much or rebounding. Plus, Morris' play made it easy to keep him on the bench. (JR)
10. Josh Childress (10): Childress was quiet all week and scored over 10 points just once in three games. It looks like he won't see too much playing time the rest of the way. (NS)
11. Hakim Warrick (11): Hakim played 13 total minutes this week and scored 12 total points. Warrick was 4-5 from the field this week; however, he picked up three personal fouls and only grabbed one rebound this week. (RB)
12. Grant Hill (13): Grant came back from injury this week, but he probably shouldn't have. He played an ineffective 25 minutes against the Rockets, and Coach Gentry thankfully limited him to only eight minutes in a blowout loss to the Spurs. He's going to need some time to get his conditioning back. (JB)
13. Ronnie Price (12): Price actually got some minutes. He played five against Minnesota and 20 against the Spurs, where he scored seven points. But he only played because the game was a joke. (JR)