The glory days where the Phoenix Suns were one of the powerhouse clubs in the league are now gone and by sending Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland for basically nothing, the Suns are just trying to hang on the tough Western Conference. However, don't think that they are in rebuilding mode right now because the Suns are still trying to accomplish good things, otherwise they wouldn't have re-signed veterans Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

Last season the Suns were supposed to be a better defensive team behind head coach Terry Porter, but apparently bad communication between him and his players prevented that plan from working and Porter ended up being replaced by Alvin Gentry. With Gentry on the mix, the Suns got back to their former run-and-gun system and they scored loads of points once again! On his first three games, the Suns scored at least 140 points in each contest and during his tenure the Suns averaged 117.4 points per game!

For this season, the Suns will count with a healthy Amare Stoudemire, as Amare played only 2 games for Alvin Gentry, as he had another eye surgery that caused him to miss 29 games last season. Playing now once again in an up tempo style, we can expect Amare to have big offensive numbers. The Suns don't have the depth on the front to help Amare and so, they absolutely need him to have a huge season if they want to compete for the playoffs. If he can stay healthy and focused on his team, he is a reliable threat of 25 points per game and 10 boards per contest, while shooting above 50% from the field and hitting 80 % or more from the charity stripe line. These numbers will be absolutely needed for the Suns because Shaq is gone, Marion is gone and even Boris Diaw is gone and Phoenix don't have any other reliable big man on the roster right now.

Even though Amare Stoudemire will be likely the best scorer of the team, this is still Steve Nash's team. Nash will turn 35-years old during the season and unfortunately age is now a factor for him, however the Suns' GM Steve Kerr didn't hesitate in offering two more years to the Canadian player and although Nash is no longer the best PG in the league, he still belongs in the top 10. Last year was rough for him, as he played initially in an offensive scheme that didn't fit him properly, then with Gentry, the Suns started playing in the same way that earned him two MVP trophies and undoubtedly, he will make his team mates looking better than they really are. Despite all of the circumstances last season, he averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 assists, while shooting 50.3% from the field, 43.9% from three and 93.3 % from the charity stripe - granted you won't find many players who are able to bring such percentages to the court in NBA history.

In a similar situation of Steve Nash, we have Grant Hill. It might be weird but at the age of 37-years old, Grant Hill had last season his first season as a pro (14 years of experience) where he played all 82 games of the regular season. After this good sign of longevity, GM Steve Kerr re-signed him for two more years. Last season, Hill averaged 12.0 points per game and 5 boards per game, while shooting above the 50% mark from the field and 80% behind the arc. He also averaged 30 minutes per game and the Suns will need similar numbers from him this season, which may be not reachable due to his age.

Last season the Suns sent Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to the Bobcats and received Jason Richardson. Although J-Rich didn't make a substantial impact in the team, the fact is that when the season ended, he finished it with solid numbers. Shooting almost 49% from the field, 38% behind the arc and 78% from the charity stripe are solid numbers for a Shooting Guard player and those were J-Rich's numbers last season. It seems like he stopped to take bad shots and playing along with Steve Nash is always a big help to find himself wide open. Naturally that his overall defense is poor, but the Suns aren't thinking on defense anyway and Richardson will probably will near the 20-points' per game, when the season is over.

The Suns have in Leandro Barbosa another terrific scorer and a dynamic 6th man coming off the bench. His quickness and explosiveness makes him an almost impossible matchup to guard, when he decides to attack the rim, however he didn't enjoy a good season last year. He played only 24 minutes per game - his worst numbers in the last 4 seasons and the Terry Porter's system didn't benefit him at all! However, he was still able to shoot 48.2% from the field and almost 90% from the charity stripe. Playing now in a faster pace and receiving more minutes, I don't have many doubts that Barbosa will be in the conversation for the best 6th man award at the end of the season.

Now that Shaq is gone, the Suns expect Channing Frye can show his potential after some years in the obscurity, while he will be receiving major minutes at the center position. In the 2005-06 season, Frye showed some potential on his rookie season by playing for the Knicks (he averaged 12.3 points per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 82.5 percent from the line), but since then, he almost disappeared as last season he played only 11 minutes per game for the Blazers. The Suns apparently trust him and has the huge challenge to show his "hidden potential" and become a good player. The Suns have in Robin Lopez his backup and although Lopez can bring hustle and passion to the floor, the fact is that he can't help the team a lot offensively, but he has the time to develop into a better player.

The Phoenix Suns don't look to have a great bench and this can be problematic, when you have veteran players as their key players. Goran Dragic didn't have a good rookie season last year and the Suns desperately need him to improve his game. Jared Dudley can run the court pretty well, but he is inconsistent offensively and Louis Amundson is a Robin Lopez kind of player who can help the team in the glass, while rookie Earl Clark is the only good offensive threat down the post for this team.

This season won't be easy for Phoenix and their expectations are considerable lower when compared to their recent past. Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire are the remaining pieces of the once high octane team and they are the keys for the success of this season. With a short rotation and some aging key players, the Suns desperately need their young players to learn fast and being a factor during the season, otherwise the Suns will have rough times in the heavily loaded Western Conference. However, don't be surprised if they win a lot of ballgames because the combination Nash-Stoudemire is lethal down the stretch.