The Lakers lead the Pacific Division by 13 1/2 games. The Suns sit a game behind Utah for the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. And now this.
The Suns' All-Star forward Amar'e Stoudemire may be out for the season.
Stoudemire had surgery to repair a partially detached retina after scoring 42 points in the Suns' 142-119 win over the Clippers in L.A. He'll probably be out at least two months.
If there was ever a time for Shaq to step up, that time is right now.
Remember after last year's NBA Finals, when Shaq joked that Kobe "couldn't do it" without him? The Lakers are poised to make another serious run at a title. The Suns are on their second coach since Shaq arrived a year ago. They've gone from the best record in the conference to a team that'll be lucky to make the playoffs.
Mike D'Antoni, who had a pretty good team before Shaq arrived, a team that was at least always a contender in the West, has to be laughing. The other teams in the Western Conference have to be licking their chops, looking forward to any remaining games with the Suns this season. Kobe Bryant is probably smiling, too.
Who knows? Maybe this makes the Suns a better team. Hard to imagine that losing Stoudemire's 21.4 ppg and 8.1 rpg could make the Suns any better, but suddenly, the Suns have nothing to lose. They've got a brand new coach who seems to have lit a fire under them. No more distractions from Stoudemire about not being the focal point of the offense. Shaq's free to do his thing, and he's been playing pretty well lately.
But do they have enough to push themselves into the playoff picture? Stoudemire might be the best finisher on the planet. Who steps in to fill the void?
Doesn't look good, to put it mildly.
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