Suns Shake Off Slow Start, Down Washington Arenas's, 102-90

The Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns entered Sunday's contest heading in different directions. The Suns had just come off of a gigantic win versus the Boston Celtics, and the Wizards had just suffered a verbal thrashing from injured Antwan Jamison and the loss of their after game fruit tray; not to mention a nice beating from the Indiana Pacers. The Wizards will have to continue worrying about their chemistry and fruit tray problems as the Suns woke up early enough to defeat the Wiz, 102-90

Four of the Suns starters registered double doubles including Steve Nash(11 pts, 17 assists), Grant Hill, (13 points, 13 rebounds), Amare Stoudemire (17 points, 12 rebounds), and Channing Frye (18 points, 10 rebounds.) The lone starter to not pickup a double double was the lowly Jason Richardson, who led the Suns scoring effort with 22 points. I say lowly in jest obviously, since Richardson was a huge reason why the Suns held off the Wizards in the first half as they struggled to wake up for the early start of this one.

The early start was a concern for the Suns as was a letdown from the huge win in Boston. There was much to be concerned about as the Suns turned in 16 first half turnovers leading to 19 Wizard points. Still, it was virtually a 5 on 1 game with Agent Zero providing the only consistent offensive threat for the Wizards. Without the miscues, this game could have been iced early as the Suns led in virtually every category of the game.

• Jason Richardson again played a strong game, posting up a variety of Wizard defenders which eventually led to the Wiz double teaming him. Richardson had his head up to feed the open man for a basket. It's refreshing to see Richardson play a complete game this season after last year saw him focusing too much on three pointers.
• Goran Dragic again played confident and aggressively. I'm not sure what his vertical is, but along with his freaky wingspan, the kid can get up, often skying above much taller players when battling for offensive rebounds.
• Once again the Suns shot well from the three point line, going 12-27, for (44%)
• What can you say about the Suns defense, holding the Wizards to 39% shooting? Sure the Wizards simply aren't that good, and settled for a lot of outside shots (4-16 from three point range), but the Suns' rotations are better than average, and their tenacity is evident as they contest virtually every shot.
• Leandro Barbosa made a return after missing the past 3 games. in 18 minutes Barbosa shot 4-7 from the field and 1-3 from three point range. It may take him a game or three to get back into the flow of things, but he was quick as usual and finished at the hoop in typical Barbosa fashion.
• Again the Suns found the 15 foot free throw stripe to be an enigma, shooting 6-14 (43%). Although they've been piling up wins despite the poor shooting, they need to get it together as they begin to face tougher Western Conference opponents. Every point matters.

• In the 4th, the Suns went 7 straight possessions without a hoop, letting the Wizards within 6 points. Five straight baskets though, including a Stoudemire dunk increased the Suns lead to 13 points as the Suns went on a 7-0 run.

Next up, 76ers on Monday, 5 P.M. MST