Little Bits of This and That

I haven't done a news bullet post in a while, and with everything that's happened the past few days, I thought it was time for one.

Lots of activity going on in the Diaries around here:

• Turumbar wants to know where the good pre-game bars are in downtown Phoenix. Living 1000 miles east of there, my knowledge on this subject is limited to Majerle's and (thanks to JSun) Seamus McCaffrey's. Anybody else want to help him out?
  
• In keeping with Sunday's post-New Orleans loss pessimism theme, Aluminum Foyle thinks it's time for a coaching change, while srp (after very in depth analysis) thinks Amare was to blame.
  
• Hawk42 reminds us that, fresh off last night's uplifting win over the Nuggets, this is no time for the Suns to rest on their laurels.
  
• JSun compares Marcus Banks to Raja Bell.
  
• Lastly, emirem is hoping for a Suns-Warriors first round in the playoffs.

In other news:

• Amare Stoudemire's missed practice was due to Amare Jr. running a fever, so says Amare Sr. And you know what? If that's really what it was about, I'm perfectly fine with that. Family has to come first, right? However, as AZ Republic's Paola Boivin writes, next time save us all a lot of speculating and call your coach. (Going 20 and 10 in your next game helps, though).
• Suns.com's Joe Gilmartin writes about how badly the Suns needed last night's pick-me-up win. I found this take particularly interesting given that it comes straight from somebody working for the Suns. Meanwhile, East Valley Tribune's Jerry Brown talks about Steve Kerr's pre-game pep talk.
• Over in the D-League, D.J. Strawberry is picking up where Alando Tucker left off. In five games for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, he's averaged 31 points, gone 43% from three (a point of emphasis for the Suns), two steals, nearly four rebounds, and three assists. He was also named D-League Performer of the week, just like Alando Tucker was last month. One thing he needs to work on looks like is keeping down his turnovers--he is averaging nearly five a game. But other than that, sounds like he's doing well. If D.J. stays in the D-League, it looks like there will be an opportunity to watch him on NBATV next Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. The complete schedule is here (look for the word "Albuquerque").
• Here is a link to a Marcus Banks postgame interview from last night. Meanwhile, despite the awesome performance, Paul Coro isn't "banking" on more playing time for Banks.
• Speaking of interviews, here's a written one from Alando Tucker.
• Here's something fun to try if you get bored waiting for the next game.