The Phoenix Suns baffle me. Still. They come out of the All-Star gates and blow away an Atlanta Hawks team that knocked off a very good Bulls squad just last night and then they blow late leads (again) and have to depend on two (two!) Channing Frye miracle shots to win games over the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets.
Does this team have a chance at making the playoffs? Of course they do
(Alex at Bright Side of the Sun has a complete break down of various standings and remaining schedules)
Will this Suns team make the playoffs? I have no idea.
The only thing we can say for sure is that they are showing plenty of fight and finally(!) have found the bench chemistry that provide such a spark to last season's over-achieving team.
The loss last night to the Celtics was a great indication of how this team is coming together. Or is it?
After the Suns starters go down by 29 points to a riled up and fired up Celtic rabble, the bench unit fought their way back into the game. It was a gutsy showing and one that probably wouldn't have happened a few weeks ago.
Aaron Brooks showed flashes of last year's form and the energy and determination from Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat and the ever-present Jared Dudley were all impressive. And yet, we know from watching a lot of NBA that good teams with big leads often let teams back into games.
No, blowing leads is not something that only happens to the Suns.
So what can we take away from the comeback that included Dudley's fifth dunk on the season to go along with Brook's team-high 17 points (6-7 shooting) and even more wow-inspiring seven assists?
Once again, I don't know.
Maybe it was a confidence-building performance that will give the Suns bench a lift as they roll on through the rest of the season and carry the team to the playoffs.
Maybe it was just a case of the Celtics having very little depth themselves right now due to injury which allowed the Suns bench to look better than they are.
It's an important question since it's going to take Brooks playing at high-level to push this team over the top and into the bottom of the playoff seedings. Steve Nash had his worst three-point shooting month of his Suns career in February (14-43, .326) and Grant Hill is only good for one or two 20-plus performances every five games.
Another thing we know for sure? Don't try and punk this Suns team. And if nothing else, they've given us that reason to be proud.
Twitter / @Jared Dudley: RT @kingofbean617:I lost r ...
RT @kingofbean617:I lost respect for you on that last foul on rondo. That wasn't necessary.( it was up 10 with 5 sec u don't shoot the ball)