Well, now there is no bigger must-win than a home game against the worst team in the West coming off a back-to -back. Granted, Grant Hill is out for a few weeks after a minor surgery, Steve Nash said what everyone already knew (that he wanted Phoenix to commit to improving it’s roster in order to stay) and yet everyone still managed to overreact to holy hell, and I made a April Fools Joke about him wanting a buyout (by the way, another one you can make is Marcin Gortat being out due to a nose-reduction surgery). Either way, the Suns are in a lil bit of trouble. Luckily enough, they’re facing a team that’s in full tank mode, so this should be rather easy.

The key here is of course, making shots and not letting the Hornets get inside with the surprisingly imposing front court of  Chris Kaman and Gustavo Ayon. The Suns however have been sound defensively out there, so that shouldn’t be a huge problem for the Suns.

The biggest news for today? Josh Childress is back in the rotation. Happy times are back, people!

The Suns finally looked like the Suns of old, and all they needed was hitting a few easy shots — something I’ve been treating as the biggest issue. Sure, it were the Hornets. The Hornets that had Mek in the middle, though. They just couldn’t deal with the picking and rolling and picking and rolling and… You get the picture, right?
Now, without further ado, the extremely positive grades I’m writing up with a smile on my face.
Steve Nash: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++
I cannot even tell you how good Steve was, you’d have to see for yourself. But I’m gonna give you a quick run down: Passed KJ for assists record, scored 30 points, dished 10 dimes, got a steal and a BLOCK (!!) all while shooting 81% from the field and committing 1 turnover in 29 minutes of play. He’s been heating up to a performance like this one for a while, too. Watch out, Suns fans, Steve’s final run might just turn into something special, even if it will be limited to his individual performances.
Marcin Gortat: A+
Another double double for Gortat, and another stellar performance. 23 points, 11 rips and a .600 mark from the field. Even more impressive? He got to the line 14 times, capitalizing on 11 of those opportunities. Alvin has finally realized how well a Gortat-centered offence works, and it’s really bearing fruit.
Jared Dudley: A
He may have missed two thirds of his shots, but Jared was still a great all-around performer for the Suns. 15 points, 3 rebonds, 3 assists and 3 steals for an… Erm… 4 by 3? 3 by 4? Whatever it was, it was good.
Channing Frye: A
There’s the Channing Frye we know and love! 16 points, 7 rebounds, a steal and two blocks. Some knocks on him defensively, but I’ll give him a pass for his surprisingly good and efficient performance tonight.
Bassy Telfair: B+
What happened? I MEAN WHAT HAPPENED? Bassy Telfair has been pretty good for the Suns off the bench for the past 3 games. 9 points, 3 assists and 2 steals for him last night, and most importantly… He looked good. Just good.
Josh Childress: B+
I love Chilly. He brings a positive energy to the team, hustles and works for every minute. He got a lot of those due to Grant’s injury, too. Not only has he made all  of his shots (missing all 2 of his free throws) but he also made a positive impact defensively, outside the box score. Oh, and he scored on what was Nash’s record breaking assist.
Ronnie Price: B
Ronnie was pretty good, not as good as Bassy though. Still managed to score 9 points on 3-7 shooting and add 2 dimes.
Hakim Warrick: C-
Hak played 10 minutes and took 3 shots, making one. No real impact on the game, but didn’t make any mistakes either.
Shannon Brown: C-
He only took one shot. He may have missed it, but still. That little fact really helped the bench offence.
Robin Lopez, Grant Hill: Incomplete
I hate Fropez as much as the next guy (he sucked on D) but he only played 3 mins. Grant left with a sore knee at half-time after playing 11 minutes. Couldn’t really judge him fairly considering he was playing hurt.