Playing in the  NBA play offs is not going to be an easy thing, if one were to go by the way teams are playing in the current divisional matches. Almost all the teams have improved their games tremendously, and it is difficult to predict who shall qualify or who shall not. One team that is a force to reckon with and which is a favorite contender is the Phoenix Suns. Despite all the rumors that have been rife that the team is trading one of its best players, the team is still determined to make it to the play offs which are kicking off on 18^th of April. The phoenix stars head coach is on record as saying to the NBA TV that they are still in the race, and that they have all it takes to play in the play offs.

To get a clear picture of this team, they had a match on Tuesday 16 February, and they maintained their record of being unbeaten in the last several matches. The phoenix suns had the upper hand when they managed to floor the Grizzles by 109 shots to 95. As usual, they displayed an excellent game characterized by frequent attacks on the Grizzles front. In fact, any one will admit that the suns are superb when they decide to be on the offensive, and that is exactly what they did.

However, the phoenix suns winning streak was broken on Wednesday night when they met a seemingly better-prepared side. They were floored by the Mavericks on a, margin of 107 shots to 97 shots. Perhaps this is the one game that was much anticipated, and one that experts used to gauge the suns preparedness for the play off-season. The suns nevertheless put up a spirited fight, but started the first half without being fully settled, that is why their opponents took advantage of their lack of cohesion as a team. From an analytical point of view, the suns did pretty well in their offensive against the mavericks, but their defense was clumsy and disorganized. The presence of the red-hot Armare Stoudemire helped them pretty much, as he spiced up the game and assisted in several shots. Stoudemire, who recently underwent an eye operation, has been the subject of intense rumors that the suns are trading him, only that the deal has not yet been finalized. He was instrumental in the game, and by half time, the suns were trailing by 56 to 49 shots. However when he was substituted, the game was somewhat affected.

The suns coach Alvin Gentry however an optimistic man is and believes that with the 29 or so games remaining, his team has chances of making it to the play offs in April. According to him, the Phoenix suns are determined to strengthen and solidify their defense, and sharpen their attacks. This comes at a timely moment, seeing that the out of the 22 3-pointers granted to the suns in their recent match, they only managed five.

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