With the acquisition of O'Neal, the Suns were both written off and also penciled in as contenders by many.  The Suns have gone 5-6 since trading for Shaq (or trading away Marion as some see it.)  With Shaq in their lineup they are 3-4, not the start they had envisioned or even hoped for that matter.  At this point they are a half game up on the Rockets and hold the 5th spot.  If the playoffs started today, they would take on Utah (1-1 this season with the final meeting between the two on Friday.)  That game could be pivotal in deciding homecourt advantage for the series.  The Suns are a game and a half ahead right now, and a season series tie-breaker could be essential considering Utah is 26-3 at home and only 13-19 on the road.  Of their final 22 games, 12 are against teams currently in playoff position (Philly and New Jersey both count and are back to back at the end of a four game road trip starting with Detroit and Boston.)  They also face Portland twice, Denver three times and Sacremento, all mathematically alive for playoffs although not realisticly (at least in Sacremento's case.) 

   Since the All-Star break, and Shaq's debut, Amare has averaged 28.7, up 5.5 from his 23.2 prior to the arrival.  His rebounds have dropped from 9.3 to 9.0 but Shaq pulls down 10.3 compared to Marion who would haul in 9.9.  Because of the increase, even ever silghtly, Amare does not have to work as hard on the defensive glass and he can work that much harder on the offensive glass since a shooter was lost when Marion left.  His offensive rebounds per game was 2.3 previously, in the 7 games with O'Neal, its at 2.6. 

    If shaq can stay productive for 30 minutes per game (When the Heat won their championship he was on the floor 30 per) then it will put the opposition in foul trouble early.  So far they have attempted 29.4 free throws per game since the move and connected on 76.7%.  Before Diesel arrived, they got to the line on average 22.5 times hitting 79.6%.  Getting the front court players in foul trouble will pay off when they are forced to cautiosly guard Amare with 6 plus minutes to go in the fourth allowing him to dominate tired, slower players who are in foul trouble.   And if a foul is called late in the game on Nash, Bell, or Hill they shoot 89.8% 90.1% and 87.4% respectively.  Stoudemire has shot well from the line this year at 79.8%, and Diaw comes in at 77.6%. 

  So even though the deal didn't quite sit right with many Suns fans, Kerr's thought process looks to be paying off.  The Suns are only 3-4 with him and 5-6 since making the move, but they are beginning to come together and after a few more games should be increasingly more comfortable slowing it down when Shaq is on the court.  Then turning it up the tempo with Barbosa.  The big question is whether they will get quality production out of Diaw.  In the games since O'Neal arrived, he is getting 10.3 points per game and 5.3 rpg compared to pre Shaq numbers of 8.1 and 4.5 while playing just over one minute less per game. 

   The problems they face in the playoffs will be who guards Manu and Tony Parker?  Bell is a great defender (don't tell that to Kobe that guy doesn't need any more motivation) and can slow down one, but not both when they are on the court.  And he can't 48 minutes of chasing these guys around because they need his shot to keep teams from doubling their bigs.  Since getting rid of Marion, Bell has been forced to play an additional 3 minutes per game since he is guarding the star not Marion and his point production has slipped form above 12 per to 8.  Barbosa is quick enough to stay with them, but lacks size on Manu (6'3'' vs. 6'6''.)  And Grant Hill does a good enough job as a defender, but they will need him on offense to be another kick out threat.  So this leaves D.J. Strawberry with big minutes and a big task.  This however, is moot is they do not have an answer for Utah's front court.  Okur and AK47 are capable of knocking down long range shots forcing Amare or Shaq (more likely Amare so Shaq can guard Boozer to protect Amare from foul trouble.)  Amare has been held to 19 points per game vs. Utah but if Nash can keep up his 29 points 11 assists against the Jazz they should be fine. 

  Because the Suns lost the tie breaker against the Lakers and are 2 and 1/2 back, it doesn't look as if they will get that top seed they envisioned.  It will be a difficult task to survive the Western Conference playoffs (or even their first round mathcup, could be Utah, could be New Orleans) but expect the same thrilling series as always.  How great would a game 7 in LA  of Suns v Lakers be?