The Suns are going to have to make some hard decisions this summer. First up is Amare Stoudemire who is going to opt out of his contract thus becoming a unrestricted free agent. I think he’s going to leave as he has turned down offers to extend his contract. Grant Hill is saying that he’s going to exercise his player option for 2010-11 valued at $3.4 million bucks and he’s definitely worth that kind of money. Channing Frye is going to opt out of his player option for 2010-11 and he might get an offer too big for the Suns to match although he hasn’t closed the door on coming back. Louis Amundson is a player the Suns would like to keep but he really improved this year so he might get a decent offer from some team. Jarron Collins will likely be allowed to walk away as I don’t see the Suns making him an offer.

The Suns showed some fight in the 4th quarter Saturday Night but they dug too much of a hole in the first three quarters when they were losing 91-74. The Suns were also outrebounded 41-31 in this game which certainly didn’t help their cause. Amare Stoudemire led the way for the Suns in this game with 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Steve Nash helped the cause offensively with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Jason Richardson pitched in with 13 points in 29 minutes on the floor. Channing Frye (12 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot) and Goran Dragic (12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in only 18 minutes) helped out off the bench for the Suns. The Suns fought hard in this series before falling 4-2 to the Lakers.

The Suns played a hard game last night leaving everything on the floor but they forgot to block out under the basket giving Ron Artest a chance to beat them and he did with a layup. Steve Nash led the way for the Suns in this game with 29 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists. Amare Stoudemire was working hard with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Channing Frye filled up the stat sheet off the bench last night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Jason Richardson had a rough game with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. The Suns are now down 3-2 to the Lakers with Game #6 in Phoenix tomorrow night.

The Suns outrebounded the Lakers 51-36 last night but it was the bench that won the game for them as they outscored the Lakers’ bench 54-20! Amare Stoudemire led the way for the Suns last night with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Steve Nash played with his newly fixed up nose but he only shot 3 of 11 from the floor as he finished up with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists. Channing Frye was a beast off the bench for the Suns in this game with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 35 minutes on the floor. Leandro Barbosa pitched in with 14 points and 2 rebounds in only 17 minutes off the bench. The Suns have evened up this series at 2 games apiece.

The Suns took charge last night as they outran the Lakers getting a very needed win. Amare Stoudemire came alive last night as he led the way for the Suns with 42 points and 11 rebounds. Robin Lopez also had a good offensive game finishing with 20 points and 3 rebounds. Jason Richardson pitched in with 19 points and 3 rebounds in this game. Steve Nash was great in directing the offense with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 15 assists but he broke his nose late in the game last night when Derek Fisher hit him with his coconut. The Suns are down 2-1 in this series but they have life unlike the Magic in the Eastern Conference.

The Suns just didn’t play any D last night as the Lakers shot 57.7% from the floor and it killed them on the scoreboard. Jason Richardson led the way for the Suns in this game with 27 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Grant Hill also was busy with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists last night. Amare Stoudemire finished up with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots in this game. Jared Dudley was outstanding off the bench as he finished up with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 30 minutes. He also was 5 of 5 shooting from three point range last night. Steve Nash pitched in with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 15 assists in this game. The Suns are now down 2-0 as this series shifts back to Arizona.

The Suns didn’t play any D as the Lakers shot 58% from the floor and it doomed them last night. Amare Stoudemire led the way for the Suns in this game with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Jason Richardson helped out offensively last night with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Robin Lopez didn’t look too rusty as he finished up with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Steve Nash (13 points, 4 rebounds and 13 assists), Leandro Barbosa (11 points) and Goran Dragic (13 points) each pitched in offensively for the Suns last night. The Suns are now down 1-0 in this series.

I bet the Suns are glad they held onto Amare Stoudemire as rumors were running rampant at the trade deadline that he could be on the move. The Suns have got excellent play in the post season out of unexpected sources but they are going to have to take their game up another notch to deal with the defending World Champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers look hungry to win another championship so this series should be a great one to watch. Here is a closer look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD: One could argue that Steve Nash is the best point guard on the planet. He keeps his teammates involved in the offense while still getting his own points as he is a outstanding shooter from everywhere on the court. Nash has hit 51.2% from the floor, 46.4% from three point range and 89.1% of his free throws so far during the playoffs. Nash has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Suns in the playoffs and he is averaging 34.0 minutes, 17.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.

Derek Fisher is a point guard in name only as Kobe Bryant is the real director of the offense. Fisher’s game is shooting the ball as he has nailed 42.2% of his three point shots in the playoffs so far. Fisher has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Lakers in the playoffs and he is averaging 34.1 minutes, 10.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

EDGE: SUNS

SHOOTING GUARD: Jason Richardson has been the Suns’ best player this post season as he is taking his game to a different level. He has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Suns in the playoffs and he is averaging 33.0 minutes, 21.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per game. He is shooting well from everywhere on the floor in the playoffs as he is hitting 51% of his shots from the floor, 51.5% from three point range and 77.5% from the free throw line. Richardson will have his hands full defending Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant is probably really the best player in the NBA (sorry LeBron) as he is a closer. He wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line and he produces way more with those shots than probably anyone in the league. Bryant has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Lakers in the post season and he is averaging 38.5 minutes, 26.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. I expect him to at least average those kinds of numbers in this series.

EDGE: LAKERS

CENTER: It’s looking like Robin Lopez is going to be ready to go for this series after sitting out all of the playoffs due to injury. He gives the Suns a legit big man to deal with Andrew Bynum inside. Lopez played in 51 games (31 starts) for the Suns during the regular season in which he averaged 19.3 minutes, 8.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.

Andrew Bynum is a rising force for the Lakers. He gives them muscle, offense and defense from the pivot. Bynum should have a good series against the Suns. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) in the post season and he is averaging 27.8 minutes, 10.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: LAKERS

POWER FORWARD: Amare Stoudemire hasn’t looked like himself in the playoffs so far but I have a feeling that he is going to step up in this series. He is a free agent at the end of the year and this series could make him millions. But the Suns need him to have a big series against Pau Gasol to have any chance of a upset in this series. Stoudemire has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Suns in the playoffs and he is averaging 35.7 minutes, 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. The Suns need him to better those stats in this series.

Pau Gasol is the second best player on the Lakers but it’s close between him and Kobe. He has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Lakers in the playoffs and he is averaging 37.6 minutes, 20.2 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Gasol will need to hit the glass in this series and he will have to keep up with Stoudemire who loves to run and finish in the open floor.

EDGE: EVEN

SMALL FORWARD: Grant Hill is a warrior as doctors told him to quit playing a couple of years ago. But he wanted to win a championship and that’s what motivates him. Hill has played in 10 games (all starts) in the post season and he is averaging 29.6 minutes, 9.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He does the little things it takes for his team to win.

Like Hill, Ron Artest does the dirty work for the Lakers. He plays defense first before even thinking about looking for his own shot. He has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Lakers in the post season and he is averaging 36.0 minutes, 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

EDGE: EVEN

BENCH: Before the year started I would have said that the Lakers had a better bench than the Suns but they don’t right now. The Suns’ bench is a big reason why they are still playing right now as they have 10 players on the roster that have played in every game of the playoffs. F/C Channing Frye could cause some problems for the Lakers if he’s on his game as he is a outstanding long range shooter. Frye has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Suns during the playoffs so far and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. PG Goran Dragic has also been outstanding in the playoffs this year single handedly beating the Spurs in one of the games. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Suns in the post season and he is averaging 14.3 minutes, 7.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Leandro Barbosa brings instant offense of the bench for the Suns. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) in the playoffs and he is averaging 15.8 minutes, 7.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Forward Jared Dudley has been outstanding in the playoffs too playing in 10 games (0 starts) in which he is averaging 23.4 minutes, 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Louis Amundson brings effort, defense and rebounding off the bench. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Suns in the playoffs and he is averaging 12.3 minutes, 2.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Center Jarron Collins might not get on the floor much in this series despite starting all 10 games at center in the playoffs for the Suns. He is averaging 11.4 minutes, 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in the post season.

The Lakers will probably have a tighter bench rotation than the Suns will. It all starts with forward Lamar Odom who has been called out a few times in the playoffs by Phil Jackson. Odom has played in 10 games (0 starts) in the playoffs and he is averaging 26.9 minutes, 8.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Shannon Brown gives Kobe a break once in a while. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Lakers in the playoffs and he is averaging 16.5 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Jordan Farmar will backup Derek Fisher in this series. Farmar has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Lakers in the playoffs and he is averaging 12.5 minutes, 4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Luke Walton and Josh Powell have both played in 9 games off the bench for the Lakers but neither of them have been much of a factor.

EDGE: SUNS

COACHING: Alvin Gentry definitely is a solid coach on the rise. He goes with the flow of the game as he let his backups pretty much win a game in San Antonio. The Suns are 8-2 (80%) under Gentry in his first trip to the post season but now he is matched up against the Zen Master so he will have to coach even better in this series.

Phil Jackson always has his Lakers ready to play. They are now 106-52 (67.1%) with Jackson leading the way for them. He knows how to get the most out of his team all of the time.

EDGE: LAKERS

PREDICTION: I look for this to be a classic series as the Suns are a team on the rise but the Lakers are the King of the Mountain. I like the Lakers to win this series in 7 hard fought basketball games.

The Suns’ offense was just too much for the Spurs to deal with in this series. Amare Stoudemire led the way for the Suns in this game with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Steve Nash ran the offense well as usual as he finished up with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists in this game. Jared Dudley stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in only 31 minutes on the floor. Jason Richardson pitched in with 11 points on only 4 of 11 shooting from the floor. The Suns dismiss the Spurs in a stunning 4 games.

The Suns outscored the Spurs 39-24 in the fourth quarter to pull away from them for a HUGE road win last night. The Suns shot 53.2% from the floor but an even better 57.7% from three point range (15 of 26) which helps explain how they scored 110 points. Goran Dragic willed the Suns to the win last night as he scored a stunning 23 points in the 4th quarter! He led the Suns last night with 26 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in only 17 minutes on the court. He was 10 of 13 shooting from the floor and he hit all 3 of his three point attempts in this game! Jason Richardson had another solid game with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in this game. Grant Hill made some big shots in this game too as he finished up with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Steve Nash (16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists) and Leandro Barbosa (13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 19 minutes) also were big keys to the Suns’ win last night. The Suns are up 3-0 on the Spurs now as they will look to close them out in Game #4.