Inside the NBA | Light not so bright in the valley of the Suns

    The Phoenix Suns, at 26-20, currently sit in the would-be eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, and they still have Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and a rejuvenated Shaquille O'Neal. So why does it feel like the sky is falling in the desert?
    The Suns are 4-7 in their last 11 games, with three of those wins coming versus the dregs of the league — the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards. A 48-point blowout win over the Kings, the elixir of the NBA, might temporarily ease some of the anxiety out in Phoenix. Still, this is a team that has looked shaky for much of the season under new head coach Terry Porter. Since a heartbreaking Christmas day loss to the rival San Antonio Spurs, the Suns' best wins have come against a Jekyll-and-Hyde Dallas Mavericks team and the injury-riddled Atlanta Hawks, who have fallen back to earth after their scorching start.
    As usual, offense is not the problem for the Suns, who have the fourth-highest scoring average in the NBA. But this statistic can be misleading, as the Suns, a team that had prided itself in playing fast-break basketball, are not playing their seven-seconds-or-less style, ranking 26th in the league in field goals attempted per game. And the defense, still, is failing in Phoenix. Without Mike D'Antoni at the helm, the offense cannot pick up the slack.
    Nash, who flourished under D'Antoni and won back-to-back MVP awards, has seen his numbers drop in his 13th year in the league. The Suns' floor leader is still averaging 13.9 points a game, though this is down three points from last season. He has also seen his assist numbers dip below 10 per game for the first time in five seasons. Playing with a bad back, Nash has become more of a distributor in the last month as Porter has tried to get his point guard more comfortable in the offense. It doesn't help that Nash has openly questioned the confidence of his team and the ability of his teammates to play together.
    Stoudemire, meanwhile, has been the subject of numerous trade rumors lately despite being an All-Star starter. He is averaging over 21 points a game along with eight rebounds, but the power forward is the only real tradable asset on the team and has regressed since coming on strong at the end of last season. It had appeared that playing alongside O'Neal had helped improve Stoudemire's game, but this year it is the Diesel who is making great strides instead of the young gun.
    Even so, the resurgence of O'Neal has not been enough to energize the fans in Phoenix. Shaq, an All-Star reserve, is averaging 17.8 points a game, his highest in three seasons, along with nine rebounds. Stoudemire's statistical decrease has been O'Neal's gain, as he has taken over the majority of touches in the post. But when it comes to getting the big man the ball down low, the Suns have moved away from the fast-paced offense that had been their trademark in recent years. 
    Not even the recent addition of Jason Richardson, acquired in a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats, has been enough to ease the Suns' troubles. Granted, Richardson does nothing to improve a team that needs defensive help, but with his slashing ability and his terrific three-point shooting, he seemed like a natural fit for the Suns run-'n-
gun offense.
    Maybe the fans in Phoenix are giving up on this team too quickly, but the Suns look to be far from a championship-caliber team. As the Boston Celtics proved last season, and the Detroit Pistons and the Spurs have also shown, defense is the peg that championship teams hang their hats on. Despite all of the moves by GM Steve Kerr, the Suns look like they have fallen further from the top in the West.
    Phoenix is just a half a game ahead of the Utah Jazz in the fight for the playoffs. One team is going to be left out of this race, and it could be the Suns. So how can Phoenix get back near the top of the conference? If it involves trading Stoudemire, they will need to make sure they get quality defense
in return.
    Suns fans are trying to talk themselves off the ledge, and the 48-point win over the Kings does give a glimpse of what this team can do when it is clicking. Still, with key cogs O'Neal and Grant Hill aging and the face of the franchise, Nash, slated to be a part of the 2010 free agent class, the window is closing in Phoenix. With this in mind, the Suns urgently need to find new ways to stay on the list of championship contenders as they continue to slip toward the middle of the pack in the league.