It Sall about trying to figure out of what I should talk about on the first day of my new sports column.....

Lets begin with talking about some of the most surprising teams in the NBA so far this season.

When you read my column try not to let all of these facts "Frye" your brain. Just try and break each point down and Mash I mean Nash them together in your head.








































First of all I want to say hats off to the Phoenix Suns who have begun the season atop of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference standing at 8-1. The Suns really underperformed last season. They posted a 46-36 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 03-04 season. The Phoenix Suns have always been known for there up tempo style of play by getting up and down the court quickly and scoring in bunches at a time in a little amount of time. So what exactly happened to this team last year? They upgraded there defense near the trading deadline by adding the 14 time All star Shaquille-Oneal (Shaq) to the team. It was a reasonable move by the Suns GM because of his defensive presence in the paint. He also had a nice resume to go along with it. He won 3 titles in a row with the Lakers from 2000-2002. He also won a title with Miami in 2006.


































The whole Suns team's style of play seemed to gradually disintegrate with Shaq added in the mix. This team just couldn't seem to get a rhythm going. Or did last year's season for the Suns really crumble when they fired there coach Mike D' Antoni mid way through the 08 season? Fans in Phoenix had a reason to be upset when they fired him. Not only was he a great coach but he also lead the team to four playoff appearances in five years.














Midway through the 08 season in December the Suns also upgraded near the trading deadline by adding shooting guard Jason Richardson to the club. The Suns gave up Raja Bell and Boris Diaw who were apart of the Suns organization for the same period of time that D Antoni was the head coach. Through the years Bell and Diaw were apart of all of those winning seasons with the Suns. Later in the season they replaced D Antoni' with a guy named Terry Porter. Porter didn't stick around for very long. He only coached the Suns for 51 games and led the team to a 28-23 record. After that Porter was replaced by a guy named Alvin Gentry who took over for the Suns as head coach and he remained with them for the remainder the season. Since the Suns finished 46-36 that only gauranteed them 9th place in the Western Conference for playoff seeding. All of you basketball fans knows that a 9th seed doesn't get you into the playoffs. When it was said and done the Shaq deal, the coaching conflict, and the trade for Jason Richardson didn't work out for the Phoenix Suns that season. The whole Phoenix Suns system was totally out of whack. That is why they missed the playoffs for the first time since 03.




















The following summer the Suns had a lot of off season decisions to make. They decided to stick with there new coach Alvin Gentry for the 09-10 season. The Suns also decided to ship Shaq out to Cleveland to join King James and company. The Suns then signed Channing Frye (top of page) that off season who was coming off a down year in "Rip" City in Portland. Frye's best season was with the New York Knicks in 05-06. But since then he wasn't a key contributor to any team really. Frye's role on the Suns this season has been somewhat spectacular. He is one of the reasons why the Suns are off to such a great start to start the 09-10 season. He shoots the three ball well he gets 30+ minutes a game and also contributes in steals and rebounds. Without Shaq the Suns system seems to have gone back to the Old Style of Suns Basketball that every Suns fan knew about. That is the uptempo style of play getting up and down the court quickly. Not only has Frye contributed this season but Steve Nash (above) has made a difference to this team. Right now in 09 Nash has been spectacular. He is off to his best start of a season since 2006 in which he won the MVP award that year. In my opinion Nash is the main reason why the Suns are off to an 8-1 start. He contributes in many different areas, and makes any team better when he is on the court. Despite the Suns hot start only time will tell if they can keep this going. Many teams in the league will often go through periods of dry spells at some point during the year. But so far its looking great for the Phoenix Suns they look like they could be a dangerous contender if they reach the playoffs this season.

The Suns (8-1) take on the Defending World Champion LA Lakers (6-1) tonight on TNT. 10:30 ET.















Right now its better to copy and paste the link and then watch it. I still am trying
to figure out how to post videos on here. So give me some time. Just click the comment at the bottom and you can copy and paste it.