Daily Links: Phoenix Suns Playoff Edition!

Get it? Daily Links? As if we are actually doing these every day...it's a joke, roll with it.

Before you do anything else, be sure to click and read these next two articles from the studs at SBNation.com. Trust me, I've meet Andrew and Mike in person. They are studs.

SB Nation's 2010 NBA Awards: As Chosen By The Bloggers Who Know Them Best - SB Nation
It's that time of year again... Or, for the first time ever, on SBNation.com. AWARDS SEASON! Thanks to some awesome participation from SB Nation's writers, what follows is a breakdown of the NBA's biggest awards, as voted on by our basketball network.

NBA Power Rankings Awards: Where We Remember The Regular Season With Paper Plates - SB Nation
It's the end of the NBA season, so it's time to hand out some hardware. We're going to be presenting the SB Nation NBA Awards later this week, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, however, let's use this space to hand out the official SB Nation NBA Power Ranking Awards for the 2009/10 season.

Speaking of begging, did you know that for every shirt you buy this site gets ten times more awesomer? True story.

Plus, if I ever see you wearing one of these at a Suns game you will get a cool prize!*

So go get your Bully Ball (or other) Shirt now!

 * Prizes range from hearty handshake to beer

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Blazers Edge. Their team might SUCK (not really), but the blog is pretty cool...

The Portland-Phoenix Matchup Part 1: A Look at the Numbers - Blazersedge
Final Analysis: Let Phoenix have their heads and you're dead. Their defense is no great shakes but it's not as bad as their offense is good. This isn't just a matchup of talent, it's a matchup of will. Phoenix has a natural advantage there, having been deep in the playoffs before. But Portland's had a few surprises up their sleeves lately, largely due to the heady play of the veterans they acquired this season. While both teams have a chance to win at either end of the spectrum, there are enough stylistic differences between these teams that you'll be able to tell who has the upper hand in this series simply by what kind of game is being played.

Poll: Predict The Blazers/Suns Series - Blazersedge
Vote and get on the record in the comments.

Other Links

• SUNS: Postgame Quotes - Suns vs Jazz - April 14, 2010
  (On Portland) "They just grind it out. They are a grind it out team. It’s not so much about keeping the score down, it’s just every possession they try to make it as long as they possibly can. They don’t get out and run. That’s OK though, we can play that way. We won games this year 88-80, so whatever way they want to play, they can play the way they want to play and we’re still going to play the way we want to play. We are still going to try and push the ball and play with a rhythm that we talked about earlier."
• Video: A last-second entry for dunk of the year - Ball Don't Lie - NBA Blog - Yahoo! Sports
  I mean this was a nice dunk and all but pretty ho-hum for Bully Ball fans
• 2010 NBA Playoffs: John Hollinger's predictions - ESPN Insider
  (3) Phoenix vs. (6) Portland Season series: 2-1 Blazers. Odds say: Suns 64.9%; Blazers 35.1% The odds and head-to-head matchups say the Blazers have a chance; common sense says otherwise. Forget the fact that Phoenix is the hottest team in the West at the moment and that the Blazers are ill-suited to take advantage of the Suns' biggest weakness (a lack of quality size), because there's also the little matter of Portland's best player being unable to perform. Suns in 5
• Basketball Prospectus | Articles | Playoff Preview: Phoenix-Portland
  Great all around preview from Pelton (and not just b/c he picks the Suns in 6)
• Trail Blazers set to face the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs | OregonLive.com
• Phoenix Suns considering a D-League team in Prescott Valley
  Love the idea of the Suns having its own D-league team but I don't get Prescott. It is at least a 2 hour drive (much more w/ traffic on the I-17) from Prescott to the airport. Why not Tucson?
• Daily Dime - ESPN
  Now I understand what Steve Nash was talking about that night in November, when he could see surprise on my face as he told me how this Phoenix Suns team was tougher than previous editions. They are tough. And now they have 54 wins and a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs to show for it.