Are the Texas teams just playing in Phoenix's sandbox?

"Amare Stoudamire can't be a game-changing force until next year."
"Amare Stoundamire will play tentatively."
"Amare Stoudamire will wreck the Suns' rotation chemistry."

If you uttered any of the above statements this season, you've been officially served. Last night, for the first time in almost a year, Stoudamire took the court, and he dominated. In just 19 minutes, he rang up 20 and 9, throwing in 2 blocks for kicks. Does anyone still doubt the Suns are better off with him in the mix?

It would be unwise for D'Anteethi to start ringing up 35-40 minute outings for the human pogo stick, but even if he comes off the bench for 25 minutes a night, he could easily average 15 and 8. Imagine Phoenix trotting out a crunch-time line-up of Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Amare Stoudamire. The only defensive weak link is Nash, and Stoudamire is an ideal help defender. The only offensive weak link is Bell, and that moniker's based more on past reputation than 14+ ppg he's averaging on 45% shooting.

The party line on the Suns' chances for a championship usually involve Dallas and San Antonio "beating each other up" in the second round, implying that either team would beat the Suns if they didn't have to wail on each other first. For the first time in the Nash era, I'm not sure that's true anymore.

If Tim Duncan didn't have plantar fasciitis, I doubt I'd even watch the NBA playoffs; what would be the point of suffering through round after agonizing round of boring Spurs dominance? [Editor's note: Marc is incapable of not watching the NBA playoffs, no matter what it does to his blood pressure.] But his foot is hurting, and it seems to be hindering his ability to dominate. Honestly, he hasn't got a chance in hell of keeping up with Stoudamire on one foot, and with Diaw and Bell all over Parker and Ginobili, we have to admit that the Suns have a real shot to outplay the Spurs in a series. The Mavs recently lost at home to the Suns without Amare, and the Nash/Stoudamire pick and roll was so devastating against Dallas last year, it's tough to imagine the Suns being huge underdogs in that series, either.

For all the talk of Spurs and Mavs this year, for all the overblown hype surrounding Nash and the Phoenix coaching staff, maybe it really is the year of the Sun. What with all this global warming going on, it kinda makes sense, don't it?