Well, isn’t THIS a kick in the teeth. This blog, that is. The one I didn’t think I’d be writing. But unfortunately, I have to. This was the year I was certain that the Phoenix Suns would rise to the top. Claim the NBA title that has avoided them like the plague for so long. And if not for a few untimely and unfortunate circumstances, we aren’t having this conversation. Even though the Suns have been one of the league’s most successful, and well-run, franchises, the ultimate goal has eluded them. Until this year, I thought. Which is why this one hurts more than ever. I haven’t been as pumped up for a game of any sort as I was for game six Friday night.

Sure, we could play the “what if” game all day long. What if Steve Nash hadn’t butted heads with Tony Parker late in the first game. What if Bruce Bowen had been suspended for his knee to Nash’s groin in game three. Does Robert Horry plant a hard foul on Nash if Bowen’s already out? Probably not. What if the league decides to fine Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw, but not suspend them? Or suspend Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen as well for venturing onto the court during play early in the same game? Or what if Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni had played his bench more during the season so he could rely on them when needed? Therein lies the biggest what if of them all.

 Phoenix, Arizona has three all-sports radio stations. With virtually every sport imaginable existing in this town, (okay, there aren’t a lot of skiing or dogsled races going on), all three have no problem filling their airwaves with pertinent talk by the hosts and callers, year round. But make no mistake, the Suns own this town. Other than the occasional “breakout” season by ASU’s Sun Devil football team, and the Diamondbacks World Series run in 2001, the Suns are the king of the Phoenix sports scene. Especially since Frank Kush was unceremoniously dumped as ASU’s coach in 1979. Granted, Arizona State has a ton of things going for it right now-baseball, softball, women’s basketball, both men’s and women’s golf, (golf? Did someone say ‘golf’? I’m in!) Where was I now? Oh yeah. Back to the Suns.

 The rhetoric over the suspensions following game four has been tossed about to the Nth degree already, so I won’t revisit that again, other than to say that for every “a rule is a rule” statement I heard from the league, I can produce multiple examples where a rule is not a rule. But #### that later. (Speaking of morons, anyone heard from David Stern lately? Okay, that was a cheap shot. At least I didn’t check him into the scorer’s table. Oops, another cheap shot. Horry. Uh, I mean sorry. Uncalled for. Unless you’re Horry, of course. Who said that Nash flopped. Sure he did. Which makes about as much sense as thinking it was smart to “foul” the best free-throw shooter on the court with 18 seconds left.)

 This series slipped away from the Suns late in game four. In the fourth quarter, the Suns trailed the big bad Spurs by 11 points, yet somehow found a way to toughen up on D, hit some big shots, and win in San Antonio’s building. That should have been the turning point of the series. It was not, unfortunately. Instead, what we heard for the next two days was talk of the impending decision from the league. Lost was the fact that the Suns did something no one expected them to do. Think about it. Late in that game, many thought the series was over, with San Antonio about to go up three games to one. But it wasn’t. However, the momentum lost between a great Suns win and the game five tipoff was crucial. Not due to the suspensions, mind you, but due to the simple fact that the Suns played Spurs-type basketball in the Spurs’ building at a crucial time, and it was overlooked. The Suns momentum was lost in the non-stop discussions regarding suspensions. The Suns never recovered.

 Which brings us to game five. A game that the Suns should have won. If there’s one thing that D’Antoni should have learned in his three-plus seasons running the Suns, it’s that depth is a great thing. Two years ago, Joe Johnson broke his face against the Mavericks. Last year, with no Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas, and a hobbling Raja Bell, the Suns lost again in the conference finals. If these events don’t point out the value o####ood bench, nothing will. Yes coach, you had the horses to win it all this year. Everybody knows that. But apparently your preparation is a little faulty. I’ll give you kudos for even getting to the conference finals last year when no one thought you had a snowball’s chance in hell. And how you didn’t see at that point in time the value of a solid bench is beyond me. I’ll take your top eight against anyone else’s top eight any day of the week. Problem is, you’re allowed twelve. And so are they. Marcus Banks, signed to back up Nash? Seven minutes in the playoffs. Jalen Rose? Nine. Jumaine Jones? Zero. I’m sensing a pattern here. Hopefully you are, too. These three were all off-season acquisitions. And you drafted nobody last year, other than Nate Robinson, who was only done so with the purpose of trading him.

 Personally, I think Marcus Banks could’ve slowed down Parker a little bit in certain situations. Rose could’ve provided some experience as game five (and game one, for that matter, with Nash bleeding) wound down. Pat Burke? Now there were some fouls to use on Tim Duncan, who, as we all know, is not a very good free throw shooter. But that would have meant that you would have had to play all of them during the regular season to get something resembling consistency out of them. Something you failed to do, coach.

 To be fair, the last quarter of game four showed me that your team can, in fact, play tough defense when needed. The 20 point rout of the Spurs in game two proved to me that your style can and will succeed in the post-season. Whether it succeeds under you or some subsequent coach remains to be seen. The only knock on you that has not been resolved is your short rotation. If I needed proof when I mentioned it before, I don’t think I do anymore. If you had a bench you could count on, whether it’s the fact that they haven’t played enough or are not capable, either one falls on you. You called the shots. And regardless of which it is, you failed miserably.

 Many names will be bandied about in the off-season scuttlebutt while trades are mentioned, especially since the Suns already have the 24th and 29th picks in the first round, not to mention possibly picking up the Hawks first round pick if it’s not a top three—something that will be decided tomorrow, during the lottery drawing. And while the temptation will no doubt be great to move a vital player or two, I think that would be a mistake. Nash and Stoudemire are what I would consider untouchable, as is Shawn Marion. Marion’s name will be brought up like it has been the last two years, but dealing him just doesn’t work on so many fronts. Add in Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell, and you have a strong core with which to move forward. Barbosa had a poor series against San Antonio, but it would be ludicrous to move him at this point. Like Stoudemire, he is only 24 with a tremendous upside. But the fact of the matter is that, after factoring in even a couple signed draft picks, the Suns will be 10 to 12 million over the salary cap, if no other moves are made. And since the NBA regulations state that for every dollar over the cap, a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax must be paid to the league. (To improve the quality of officiating, I can only speculate. But, hey, a rule's a rule, right?). Suns owner Robert Sarver has stated that he would not be opposed to paying it if the team is title-worthy. Unfortunately, for the third straight year, a case could be made that we still don’t know if they are or not. But the bottom line is that a significant move or two could be made, and such moves should not come as much of a surprise.

 Speaking of Stoudemire, I am aware that he has gotten a lot of flak for leaving the bench area and therefore inviting the decision by the league to suspend him. I understand that. He also played in all 82 games this season after recovering from surgeries on both knees, one a microfracture, and being named All-NBA first team. Like most fans, I don’t know a lot about the microfracture procedure, other than it entails drilling holes in the leg bones near the knee and running ligaments through them, while encouraging them to grow and adhere. At any rate, Stoudemire showed a passion for the game this season. He changed his number from 32 to 1, to remind him of his quest to be the best. He got a new contract shortly before last season, and shortly before it was learned that he would need the major surgery. It’s hard to say that microfracture surgery could ever be a good thing, but he made it as good as can be expected. While he was in the early recovery stages, and not yet able to do a lot of running and conditioning, he worked on his mid-range jumper and his free throws. And it showed. I don’t think anyone could accuse him of playing simply to pick up a paycheck. Yes, he needs to show a little more maturity on the court. But I’ll still take him. He’s what is referred to as a keeper. Thirty-eight points in the game six loss. Tell me his absence didn't make a difference in game five.

 Looking at the contract situation of various Suns, it appears the following will not be back: Sean Marks. Unrestricted free agent. Played in three games. ‘Nuff said. Jumaine Jones. Unrestricted free agent. Played in 18 games. Which matches the number of games he was inactive to close out the season. Probably could have helped more, had he not had an injury in the pre-season and/or been given more of a chance. Jalen Rose. Though many fans wanted to see more of him, (including yours truly), his lack of athleticism and the fact that he is a defensive liability probably sealed his fate.

 On the other hand, it would be easy to say that Kurt Thomas was the Suns’ most consistent player in the Spurs series. Granted, he didn’t exactly shut down Tim Duncan, but he did allow his teammates to play the other Spurs straight up and stay at home. Until they were instructed by D’Antoni to do otherwise, apparently. And seeing Duncan play several games in a row makes one realize just how great he is in the low post, on both ends of the floor. Even through Thomas’ tough defense, Duncan hit on a vast array of shots. (Like I mentioned before kids-using the glass is a wonderful thing). Yet the Suns consistently let the Spurs perimeter shooters beat them.

Rumor has it, Boris Diaw has been given a Bunsen burner by the team as a lovely off-season parting gift, and has been instructed to sit on it. Hopefully it will be enough to light a fire under his ####.

Reportedly, Eric Piatkowski has been told that he will be back next season. Good thing, too. His 2.5 point average in 11 regular season games would be hard to replace. He played a grand total of three minutes in the playoffs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against 37 year old three point shooters having a place on the team, as long as they can forecheck. But I just don’t see Piatkowski filling the bill. Unless the coach decides to let him off the bench once in awhile.

 That would leave three roster spots open, provided the Suns make no other moves, which is certainly not a given. Phoenix already has the 24th and 29th picks in the first round of the draft. Based on how the lottery chips fall, they may also have Atlanta’s first round pick, thanks to the Joe Johnson/Boris Diaw deal. (Dang, should have gotten the Bunsen burner then). Stay tuned tomorrow for the final word on that. (Much more speculation regarding off-season moves to come, but that’s fodder for a later time. In the meantime, can you say “Mike Conley, Jr”?).

 Visiting the “what if” question one final time would bring us to the realization that the Suns very well could have, and perhaps should have, won it all this year. Jerry Colangelo, who put this town on the sports map, saw his tenure with the team come to an end with its loss in game six. The fact that he never realized a championship with the team he helped mold from day one, and later purchased and sold, is a crying shame. And what seemed like such an immediately bright future just a couple seasons ago has now given way to the harsh reality that windows of opportunity seldom stay open very long in this business. Unless you have a Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson on your team. And the Suns have gone from the next big thing to just another also-ran. A season which I thought would mirror the 2006 Indianapolis Colts turned into, once again, more like the Buffalo Bills of the early ‘90s. Except the Bills at least got there. Nash is now 33 years old. Bell is 30. Yes, Stoudemire is still young, as are Barbosa and Diaw. But even Marion just turned 29 a couple weeks ago. Funny how times flies when you’re having fun.

 Sunset? Perhaps. And unlike every other one in Arizona, this one may not be pretty.

Thanks for taking the time to read.