Grant Hill represents everything the Phoenix Suns stand for. Or at least, what they want to represent on and off the basketball court.

He is classy, team-oriented, and willing to do whatever it takes to improve the team's chances of winning. Somehow, he has transmorgrified himself into a defensive stopper of sorts in the late stages of his career as a way to keep himself relevant despite an inability to consistently make open 3-point jump shots - a staple of the Nash-led Phoenix Suns.

In his postseason "Lunch with Lon" press conference last month, the Suns' head personnel honcho Lon Babby gave a strong indication that Grant Hill will be back with the Suns if he decides he's healthy enough to continue playing.

"I don't want to speak for him, but I can't imagine he'd want to play anywhere else ... I would be extremely disappointed if he played somewhere else."

Coming off two knee surgeries in the last 9 months and carrying the mantle of the second-oldest player in the NBA (40 years old next season), Grant Hill will not be breaking any banks this summer. Truly, he will just have to decide how big a role he wants to play in the NBA next season.

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The Philadelphia 76ers did what they needed to do on Monday night and took a game on the road against the Boston Celtics. It was close, 82-81, but they got it done and now that series will almost certainly go long which helps the younger and more athletic Philly team. The other game on the 2012 NBA Playoff Schedule was far less interesting.

The Oklahoma City Thunder stomped the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1, 119-90. While it's always fun for some of us to see Kobe Bryant and his purple and gold crew get beat, the game itself wasn't all that compelling for NBA fans in general.

Here's the NBA Playoff schedule for Tuesday:

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The PBWA is not the Pro Bowlers of Wyoming Association, as I first thought. PBWA stands for Professional Basketball Writers Association.

And no, I'm clearly not a member.

Nonetheless, Steve Nash won the Magic Johnson award for combining "excellence on the court with cooperation with the media and fans." The award, along with all that we know about Steve as highlighted in Jim C's piece today, accompanies 2007's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for "outstanding service and dedication to the community." Nash also has a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame.

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Here at Bright Side of the Sun we take the words TOTAL COVERAGE pretty dang seriously.

While our beloved Suns are off taking nice vacations, we are still slaving away, attempting to provide you all with first class Suns coverage.

So friends, without further adieu, we present you with the Phoenix Suns Season in Review, 2011-12.

Up for discussion today is Steve Nash.

Defining the grading criteria for a player of Nash's caliber is a difficult task indeed. He is MVSteve. The Nash Rambler. Captain Canada. Nashional Treasure. Two-Time. PG-13. The One-Eyed Stevie Wonder.

He is a skilled soccer player (adept enough that he probably could have played professionally). He has displayed an aptitude for cinematography. In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver he lit the Olympic cauldron. He is a philanthropist and a noble benefactor. He was just named the GM of Team Canada. He is the guy they keep talking about in all those Dos Equis commercials. When Steve Nash finally hangs up the high tops, it will not be the end, but merely the beginning for a person who is not just a hall of fame basketball player, but an exceptional person in many facets.

It would be easy to let all these things obfuscate the judgment of what I intend to be a one year report card; a snapshot in a hall of fame career. I will do my best to grade Nash on the season that just ended and not let his career as a whole interfere with my analysis. If you would like to see how I plan to scrutinize Stephen John Nash, as objectively as possible, take the plunge.

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Thanks to lockout, the 2012 NBA Playoff Schedule is a bit wacky. We've already had two games played in the Eastern Conference Semifinals while in the West, Round 2 doesn't start until Monday and Tuesday. To get the schedules back on tract, we'll also be treated to back-to-back games in the Spurs vs. Clippers and Lakers vs. Thunder series while the Heat vs. Pacers and Celtics vs. 76ers will play a more normal playoff series.

Here's predictions for the four series and the schedules for the next games:

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Both LA teams were taken to the brink, but found a way to win their respective Game 7s and move on to the second round to face much tougher opponents.

On the other side of the coin, overachieving Utah and injury-affected Memphis lost their magic in the end and now the offseason planning starts. Each team must answer some organizational questions, and their moves may impact the Suns and therefore the Suns fans.

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The first game 7 of the NBA Playoffs is upon us as the Denver Nuggets have fought their way back from a 3-1 series deficit to push the Lakers to the brink, with the deciding game in Los Angeles tonight. In the past, the Nuggets have been easy to dislike, but many of their more objectionable characters (Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith) are gone. Since seeing the Lakers lose fills our hearts with joy, I have no problem fully supporting the Nuggets tonight.

In the other remaining Western Conference series, LA's Clippers have also blown a 3-1 series lead after dropping game 6 to the Grizzlies last night, 90-88. Game 7 will be back in Memphis Sunday, and a Grizzlies win would lead to a rematch of last season's first round Grizz upset of the Spurs.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the second round tips off tonight as the eighth seed Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off their surprising series win over the injury-riddled top seeded Bulls, meet the Boston Celtics in a matchup that was once one of the league's premier rivalries. No Larry Bird or Dr. J in this one, but the Celtics Old Three Big Three continues to deliver, and Celtics defense held the Hawks to 82 PPG in their first round series win.

Game times and more after the jump.

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Here at Bright Side of the Sun we take the words TOTAL COVERAGE pretty dang seriously.

While our beloved Suns are off taking nice vacations, we are still slaving away, attempting to provide you all with first class Suns coverage.

So friends, without further adieu, we present you with the Phoenix Suns Season in Review, 2011-12.

Up for discussion today is Shannon Brown.

Last offseason, the Phoenix Suns looked for a shooting guard who would accept a one-year deal to compete for a starting job. The "one-year-deal" part limited the Suns' chances at real star power. The 2011-12 season was a "bridge" year - a year to tide the team and fans over until enough contracts expired to allow the Suns to start over. One-year deals were the only deals being offered.

The Suns set their sights lower, and positioned the opportunity as a perfect one for a player who wanted to step out of someone else's shadow and prove himself worthy of a bigger role in future seasons, and a bigger contract to go with it.

Enter Shannon Brown.

As Brown said to Paul Coro, beat writer for the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com: "I know one of the things about me they were saying this (past) summer, 'Aw, he can't play out of the (Lakers') triangle. The triangle made him. He can't play out of the triangle.'"

Brown wanted to prove he could do more than dunk in transition and carry Kobe Bryant's water bottle. He is young and freakishly athletic, but hadn't proven to the league's evaluators that he could do more than exhibit a little flash and dash for 10 minutes a game when Kobe rested.

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