The first half was nothing short of a disaster at times, especially on the glass, Marcus Camby grabbed 18 rebounds in that half alone, while Marcin Gortat and Channing Frye stared aimlessly at each other depending on who was on the wrong end of the outback at that time. And hell, usually, they both were just that. But, as we learned after the devastating loss to Golden State (how much would the Suns give to have that one back? A lot I suppose), if Alvin Gentry starts screaming, the team responds, and respond they did.

Marcin Gortat got the biggest part of the screaming, and so… He did not allow Camby another rebound all game, fighting and scrapping on the board on the road to a 20-15 game of his own. Add to that 19 points from Jared Dudley and 18 points from Steve Nash, and the Suns were rolling. And despite a hitch (involving not one but TWO Luis Scola flops that were called the entirely wrong way altogether) when the Suns allow the Rockets within 2 in the 4th, the Suns still easily handled their business after a dagger three from the afore mentioned JD, and some Steve Nash free throws. And as the Suns joyfully walked off the court, hope flickered.

Let’s be realistic here for a moment, however. To secure a playoff spot, the Suns probably have to win 5 of their last 7 games, the two supposed losses being against San Antonio tonight and Oklahoma City Wednesday. In a stretch were the Suns will be facing 6 playoff teams, and a scrappy Portland team, is it possible? Certainly. But even if they win 5, they still have to count on some losses from the Rockets or Nuggets. While yes, these two teams face each other twice in the upcoming stretch, if they split the stretch, the Suns will probably still be one game behind both of them at the end of the day. You cannot count on other teams to lose, that’s why the Suns have to do everything to win… And I’m not sure that that is all that possible.

The Suns’ fates are in their own hands right now. No, really. And they have to make the most of it.

And it was true. The Suns were getting consistently burned inside, and Marcin Gortat couldn’t help much on D when on the court either, courtesy of Channing Frye’s “Oh, it’s a ball. Let’s just let it fall in without a hitch and whine later.”

The Suns lost by 39 points, Steve Nash was benched halfway to the third to live to fight another day, and there are no words that can describe how terrible this game was as a whole. The whole game was summarized with Bassy Telfair getting ejected for his second technical foul with seven seconds left. The funny thing is that I half expected Bassy to get ejected after he got his first tech.

Perhaps it’s time for Steve to reconsider his loyalty. And this comes from a guy that was understanding of his decision to stay.

I said no grades in the title, and I will keep that. If I did however give out grades, everyone would get an A. An A for “Absolutely No Effort Whatsoever”