Getting back in their early season form - and doing it in style - the Phoenix Suns polished their credentials as they polished off the New Orleans Hornets by the score of 109-100 on Monday.

The big win is destined to raise the hopes of Suns fandom everywhere as they show signs of returning to the glory days of October and November when Phoenix won 14 out of their first 17 and made the whole NBA quake in fear.

The Suns scoring - yes they hit 109 despite Jason Richardson having another atrociously bad performance - showed how a combination of inside power from Amar'e Stoudemire and outside shooting by players like Channing Frye and Jared Dudley can make for a powerful score-busting mix.

And - as if to stress the point - Stoudemire blew the doors off poor ol' New Orleans on both ends of the court with a dozen rebounds and a scoring display of 25 points that showed why he is once again an NBA All-Star.

This is just the latest win for a Suns franchise that has spent the season on a roller coaster ride that began with a shockingly good 14 - 3 record only to be followed by a plunging winning percentage that nearly brought the team down to the dreaded .500 mark.

By clipping New Orleans - just a day after beating the Houston Rockets in OT - the Suns are working through the early days of February in impressive style. And Amar'e is doing it all in a fashion that should silence his critics.

C'mon - we can hope - can't we?!?

See ya'

Showing why he is the undisputed scoring leader of the highest scoring team in the NBA - Amar'e Stoudemire burned the Houston Rockets on Sunday with a season-high 36 points as the Phoenix Suns won an impressive 115-111 overtime victory. The hard fought win came after Amar'e added eleven boards to his impressive performance and Steve Nash's brilliance in the passing department stunned Houston with 16 assists.

Grant Hill - the best bargain in the league - also chimed in by knocking down 19 points as he hit 7 of 11 from the floor.

Building on his recently improved performance Jared Dudley was in fine form as he scored 13 points in just 24:41 on the floor. J-Duds also blocked a shot and passed for two assists during key points in the game.

Robin Lopez did his best to shut down critics - yes indeed we mean vocal folks like us - and showed real scoring firepower. Hitting 75% of his shots from the field RoLo nailed 14 points in 27:20 minutes and grabbed six rebounds.  

But the Suns real offensive blizzard came from Amar'e Stoudemire until the tenacious forward/center ended-up fouling out just three minutes before the overtime period ended.

But the damage had already been done - Amar'e had stolen the show.

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With the season rolling toward its mid-February All-Star break, there has been a lot of whining and nashing of teeth amongst the diehards of Suns fandom. 'Just look at how the mighty have fallen' has been a frequent reprise in recent weeks and the chorus has been growing louder as we've moved through the waning days of January.

The less than cheery attitude is to be expected given how the Suns had dropped 18 of their last 30 games before they hit the home court Thursday evening against the Dallas Mavericks. But after their scrappy 112 -106 victory - rubbing elbows with a Suns fan should be a little more pleasant and fewer domestic disputes are to be expected home in Phoenix.

The win will also send a much needed message to the rest of the Western Conference - YES - the Suns can still hit the hardwood with some play-off quality ball. You see, Coach Alvin Gentry really does know that the Suns play-off hopes are on the line and his squad is regaining its focuse on the prize.

Amar'e Stoudemire kept the game close early on - hitting for 22 points despite the trade rumors that are once against swirling around him - and the gap was closed due to the floor leadership of Steve Nash. The darling of the Phoenix hometown crowd, Nash was the king of the turnovers in the first quarter with five but he pulled it together in the third quarter and much of the fourth.

Jason Richardson also sought to redeem himself after a disappointing month with a combination of staunch defense and 17 points in just 28:36 minutes of play. As always the issue with J-Rich is C-O-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-Y.

But Thursday's real story can be found in the second unit. You know - the least expensive back-up band in the NBA.

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It took until we were more than 20 minutes into the game before Amar'e Stoudemire finally hit a bucket from the field and Jason Richardson continued to have trouble in the scoring department during the first half but - despite these drawbacks - the Suns went on to garner a fan pleasing win at home on Saturday night.

Powered by the offensive spark of Steve Nash, Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic and Grant Hill - the 112-103 victory over Golden State was built on the backs of 35 points coming from bench players - another indication of just how far our second string has come along when playing against a lower tier NBA franchise.

Hopefully they will step up enough to spark a revival of the Suns early season prowess going forward. If not - making the play-offs could prove out of reach this year.

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Decades ago - sure we're talking lifetimes - our country was faced with a tough decision. What should we do about the Soviet Union's blockade of those poor folks in West Berlin?? It was a moment that tested a grumpy little President from Missouri but Harry Truman wasn't shaken. Instead the man in the Oval Office came up with an airlift that proved a point.

The Berlin Airlift proved to everyone - friend and foe alike - that America was not to be trifled with. And it inspired a nation to rally together during a challenging time.

Sorry for the history lesson - but it is a lesson - and we think it's time for the Suns to learn from it.

Looking at the latest Suns loss - a reasonably close 125-118 defeat at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday - you could argue that the Suns aren't doing too badly. But this hardfought loss in Memphis is just the cherry on top of a very nasty sundae and we are in danger of getting our just desserts.

Come on - face it - four losses in a row for a team that was challenging the LA Lakers for the best record in the Western Conference earlier this season isn't pretty. And going from Number 2 in the conference to Number 6 - and falling - is a problem. The kind of problem that means it is time for the Suns to airlift our top players out of the danger zone and blow-out the rest of the franchise.

So who do we jettison in the weeks before the mid-February trade deadline and who do we keep?  

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The Bard was right when he penned those immortal words and made Hamlet come face-to-face with the struggles that are part of the human condition. 'To Be Or Not To Be...' What a trip.  

And - at the risk of being waaaaay too philosophical - we going to say that Friday night's heartbreaking last second loss to the Atlanta Hawks has left every member of Suns fandom knowing exactly what ol' Hamlet meant.

The game started sluggishly with both teams looking like they had been put through some aversion therapy that taught them how not to score. It wasn't until 8:18 of the first quarter that Amar'e Stoudemire hit from close to get the Suns second basket of the game but Grant Hill went on top all scorers with 15 points at the half as the Suns pushed ahead to a 55 - 50 lead.

Sure Atlanta is no joke - especially on their home court - and with a little more than 5 minutes gone in the third quarter the Hawks pulled ahead 64 - 63. This is the point in the game when the Suns often pull their patented collapse - you know - the kind of failure to play on both ends of the court that has cost our Suns nearly a half-dozen games so far this season. But that was not to be on Jan. 15th. Instead, Phoenix showed tenacity as they got up - dusted themselves off - and went back to work.

And this second half revival it was led by an Amar'e Stoudemire who spent the first half giving his critics all the ammo they need to rip him for weeks to come.   

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There are plenty of people out there who have heard that "3 is a Charm". That might be why so many inveterate gamblers look to multiples of three as lucky numbers - 3, 6 and the ever popular 9. But as the folks in Phoenix looked forward to Christmas evening - the Big 3 was a number that inspired some dread as fans braced for the remote possibility of third straight home loss.

Worse than the loss of a favorite puppy - going down to the LA Clippers at home would have marked the decimation of all hopes for this season. After all their 12-17 record so far makes clear that - despite being in the same city - the Clippers don't even qualify to be the step children of the LA Lakers.

But - instead of allowing any coal to get dumped in that big Suns Fandom stocking - our guys beat back the Grinch with an impressive show of B-Ball prowess that must have been brought from the North Pole as they racked-up a 124-93 victory.

Amar'e Stoudemire remained a man on a mission as he led team scoring by knocking down 26 points while grabbing 9 boards. That's a drop-off from Stoudemire's season high 35 points and 14 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Suns 117-113 loss on Wednesday but what do ya' expect when life is so easy that STAT played seven fewer minutes as Coach Alvin Gentry let the second string finish off the hometown win.

And the Suns back-up crew generated some impressive numbers as they put the Clippers to sleep.   

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The Oklahoma City Thunder should be an easy bounce-back game for our Phoenix Suns. Just boil it down and you'll see what we mean.

After all - the Suns have lost only one home game for an impressive 10-1 record this season and the - ahem - Thunder have won only 6 of their dozen road games so far. Beyond the home court numbers, the Suns are also perched atop the leader board when it comes to offense averaging 108.28 points per game compared with 97 ppg for the guys from OKC.

But have you seen the first half of their Tuesday night game against the LA Lakers?!?

It's enough to make you grab your bloomers - or Aunt Nellie - because they spent the first 24-court minutes schooling the reigning world champions and closed it out holding a 61-54 lead as Kevin Durant knocked down 17 points.

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Never turn your back until the game is done. Never walk away until it's won.

That sounds a little bit like a line from the Kenny Rogers song that tells us "You've Got To Know When To Hold 'em - Know When To Fold 'em".  And it is a simple lesson to learn - but an essential one nonetheless.

Unfortunately - the Phoenix Suns tore that page out of their collective song book and never remembered the lines during Monday evening's terrible game that saw the Cleveland Cavaliers steal their lunch - and their bus fare too. The 109 - 91 defeat marks the Suns worst home performance of the year - but the score tells only part of the story.

The rest of this tale can be found in the Suns allowing themselves to fall victim to nine steals - including 3 at the hands of Delonte West and another three by Mo Williams. Apparently they both want to put together highlight videos and our Suns just had to oblige.  

Yes - we've been part of the chorus that has paised the Suns for playing like the Kings of the Fast Offense.We have even listened in rapt attention to players like Jason Richardson offering the 'ol alibi that the Suns offense nails buckets so fast that it means "even our opponents get more touches".

Well - what looks fast against stragglers like the LA Clippers - just doesn't rate against the Cavs when they play at Monday's level. And the Suns must learn to ratchet-up their game when facing this kind of team.

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The home game streak remains unblemished as our Suns used Tuesday evening to once again remind all Phoenix fandom that - to borrow an ol' phrase from the New York Mets - You Gotta' Believe. Putting on a display of scoring prowess that made it fun to watch, the Suns only let-up against the San Antonio Spurs for a brief stretch in the third quarter as they went on to win 116-104.

Amar'e Stoudemire topped the Suns scoring roster with 28 points and he stunned all comers with 14 rebounds and 3 steals - talk about your sticky fingers. The numbers don't even come close to stating just how much Amar'e did to energize the Suns on both sides of the floor when it came time for the rubber to meet the road.

Sure San Antonio's Tim Duncan put on an impressive performance of his own as he sought to drag the Spurs across the finish line - and Duncan's 34-point show deserves a highlight reel all its own - but that can't take away from the skill Stoudemire showed on the attack. And Stoudemire's season high 3 steals were critical to clamping down on San Antonio's comeback hopes - those 10 defensive boards didn't hurt either.  

Steve Nash was another brilliant performer for the Suns - and we're talking with a capital B.

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