The Phoenix Suns finished the first half of the 2011-12 season with a 14-20 record which has them in 4th place in the Pacific Division, 7.5 games behind the Lakers. The Suns are now #13 in the Western Conference, 4 games behind the Blazers. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts in the first half of the season in my opinion:

Team MVP: Marcin Gortat: 28-year old center Marcin Gortat finally has given the Suns a tough guy under the basket. The Polish Hammer has played in 34 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 33.6 minutes, 15.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.6 blocked shots per game. The Suns hope that Gortat finishes the season strongly as he has been a force for them.

Biggest Surprise: Jared Dudley: 26-year old shooting guard is taking full advantage of his first starting job this year. Dudley has played in 33 games (28 starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

Biggest Disappointment: Shannon Brown: 26-year old SG/SF Shannon Brown hasn’t played too well for the Suns so far this year. Brown has played in 27 games (1 start) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 20.6 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He is only shooting 39% from the floor so far this year, so his P.T. could start to diminish if he doesn’t start shooting better soon.