Remember Dragic's first year, when he'd stop his progress, turn his back and crouch to protect the dribble when an opposing player got within a couple feet of him? And how his biggest problem was an inability to effectively run an offense?

I do. I remember folks wondering regularly why Kerr spent millions to get this kid from Slovenia.

It was Dragic's second season where he flourished as a change-of-pace backup, when our expectations were no higher than 8 points and 3 assists in 15 minutes against the other team's bench. Those occasional 10+ point games were a revelation. When he started 1 game that second year - a 16 and 10 performance against the rising Thunder - our eyes began to open to the possibilities of his future. Then that 28-point game against San Antonio sealed it. Dragic was a rising star!

Unfortunately, 2010-2011 happened. Dragic regressed. His shot failed him, and his confidence was close behind. The Suns were struggling for a playoff spot and the Suns' second unit was terrible. Horrible. And this was still when Frye and Dudley played in that second unit. So he was sent away for a chance at lightning in a bottle that never came. But don't fool yourself - Dragic played himself into that trade.

Some of us - me included - thought Dragic would never progress into a viable starting PG. His lack of confidence and streaky shot, and his inability to drive to his right, would forever limit him to "good backup" or "okay starter on a bad team".

But then something happened to Dragic. Maybe it was the shock of the trade - like a cutting of the apron strings - that forced Dragic to grow up and become his own man.

Last night, Goran Dragic showed the game that we all hoped he had. All while staying calm and collected. But the best part was that, between plays (and even once during a play), he kept his sense of humor and friendships with Suns players alive.

I counted several great exchanges between Dragic and a Suns player last night, in between him leading the second unit to 57 big points, including 11 of his own points plus 11 assists, 4 rebounds and a couple steals. Each one of those little exchanges with our guys made me smile.

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Here's this week's episode of the Sunscast podcast in which we talk about WINNING. More specifically, we discuss the changes to the rotations and the awesome that is Steve Nash.

Frankly, there's not all that much new for readers of this site as the topics have been well covered but you do get to hear us talk about it again and if you are so inclined, you can plug in your ear buds and let my sultry voice lull you to sleep.

Subscribe on iTunes or stream online after the jump and you can find all the past episodes here.

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Michael Redd is on a roll, and just maybe a Phoenix Suns team with very few reliable scorers has found themselves a reliable scorer. Whoda thunk it would be Michael Redd after all those injuries?

Redd said he knows people in Milwaukee and elsewhere felt his career was over after two surgeries for anterior-cruciate ligament tears in the same knee, per Paul Coro, beat writer for azcentral.com and the Arizona Republic. But he said he never questioned his ability to return, working individually since a brief 10-game return at the end of last season with the Bucks. "Not even in a bad way," Redd said of the doubting fans. "Like, 'He should go ahead and retire. He's had a great career.' I knew I had something left in the tank. A lot, actually. I thought I got robbed of a couple years with the ACL injuries.

"That's been the story of my career, kind of overachieving and climbing over mountains. When people say I couldn't do something, that motivated me to do it."

If he continues on his current pace (averaging 14 points in 21 minutes over last 3 games), or even improves as his rusty game returns to him, the Suns may have had a gift drop right into their laps. A gift that was desperately needed.

For scoring on this team, you can only count on Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat on a night-in night-out basis. Both will get you at least 10 point a night. Occasionally 20. All while producing 10+ a night in their secondary category (rebounds/assists) as well.

Everyone else on the team? Scoring is a total crapshoot.

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There's a lot of ways you can look at numbers and sports. Most of them are bogus and misleading. Why change what works?

Here's some numbers about your Phoenix Suns, their rebounding ups and downs, the wins and losses that happen when the rebounding is better or worse. And to make things even more useless, a look at three bench guys and how they fit into the rebounding picture.

Let's begin with this futile act of senseless analysis.

1. How much does rebounding matter?

The answer is, some. Does it matter more than three-point shooting? Does it matter less than turnovers? Does it matter as much as orange vs. purple unis? Who knows.

But it does seem to matter...some.

Here's what we know. Of the 11 Suns wins, 7 game in games with a positive rebounding differential. 2 more came in games when the Suns were only -2 on the glass (or better). Only one win came in a game where the Suns got crushed on the boards -- the Knicks game where the Suns shot over 54% from three and the Knicks couldn't hit the ocean with the broad side of a barn.

Look, a chart!

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Last night the Suns played a superb half of basketball. It was what we all like to call "Suns Basketball," which is just a different way of saying these guys are playing up to their potential. The;Suns are 5-2 in their last 7 games. Why? We could dig into numbers or come up with some pretty fancy graphs. But we need not; we've been watching the games. It's pretty clear to see why the Suns have found some recent success.

The Suns recent run can be attributed to a combination of things:

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The lovefest will continue because Steve Nash day isn't quite over yet. If you don't like it, then I guess you're just not a good person.

Over the course of this season, we've seen what can be gently described as sub-par, boring basketball from a declining Suns franchise. Our own fans are calling the team "boring to watch".

Boring to watch. Wow. That's the one thing that we've never been before. That's one of the reasons I root for this team through the thick and the thin. The other reason to keep watching? Super Steve. When he handed out his 6,519th assist at the Hornets game on Wednesday, becoming the Suns' all-time assists leader, I was there giving him a standing ovation. The way he plays the game, and the way he views life, is all about the assists, as Wil's article on him earlier today mentions.

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If you thought the Steve Nash lovefest was complete after Seth's story extolling Nash's virtuoso performance so far this season, and Wil's respect for Nash the philanthropist, you were mistaken. Those things are all great, and appropriate as we celebrate the man on his birthday, but let's get down to business here. Steve Nash has had a tremendous playing career in Phoenix, and my position is that he's the franchise's best player ever.

When he returned to Phoenix from Dallas, the Suns were a 29-53 team, with the 21st rated offense in the league. In his first season back, 2004-2005, the Suns won 62 games with the NBA's best offense, making the Western Conference Finals only to lose to the eventual league champion San Antonio Spurs. Another 60-win season, two 50-win seasons and two more conference finals appearances followed as Nash won league MVP twice.

As regular readers here know, I've been following the Suns since I was a child and the team featured Paul Westphal and Walter Davis. No offense intended to those who are only Suns fans due to Nash being on the team, but that is not me. I saw the MacLeod teams, the Cotton teams, the Westphal as coach teams. In short, I'm not throwing this "greatest ever" label around lightly.

Nash has earned it through consistently excellent production, steady and solid leadership, loyalty and international star quality. With all due respect to Kevin Johnson, Charles Barkley, Amare Stoudemire and Walter Davis, Nash is the gold standard among all Suns players, past and present.

Jump it for the details!

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Steve Nash is 38 years old today. He's blessed the Phoenix Suns and their fans on the court with his selflessness, his talent, and his dedication. These attributes of his personality transcend the hardwood as Nash is doing his best to assist the world through his philanthropic efforts.

The Steve Nash Foundation is involved in many different philanthropic endeavors. From stevenash.org:

"Formed as a family foundation in 2004, the Steve Nash Foundation is dedicated to assisting underserved children in their health, personal development, education and enjoyment of life. By increasing access to critical needs health and education resources at home and abroad, the Foundation works to ameliorate conditions for kids, families, and communities."

The foundation provides grants to organizations directed at helping underserved children in the British Columbia area. His C.A.I.V. initiative works with First Star, a Washington D.C. based organization to combat and end child abuse. Back home in Arizona, the Foundation supports Educare, which focuses on preparing young children from low-income families for success in school and life.

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