Amare Stoudemire bounced back from his serious knee injury in a big way last season.  He played in all 82 games and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 20.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.  He also shot well as he hit 57.5% of his shots (most of them at close range) from the floor and 78.1% from the free throw line.  Stoudemire had a fantastic season and he should be better next year.

Stoudemire’s career numbers improved almost all the way across the board after the season he had.  In 302 career games, Stoudemire has averaged 33.9 minutes, 19.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.  His shooting numbers improved a little bit too as he now has hit 52.7% of his shots from the floor and 72.7% from the free throw line.  Look for Stoudemire’s numbers to continue to improve.

The Suns fell behind 81-67 after three quarters and that was too much for them to overcome on Friday Night.  Amare Stoudemire had a fantastic game with 38 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.  Steve Nash was busy as usual with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 14 assists.  Raja Bell had a semi-decent game with 13 points and 4 rebounds.  Shawn Marion was very tough near the basket with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.  Leandro Barbosa pitched in with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists off of the bench.  The Suns have been eliminated 4 games to 2 by the Spurs.  I wonder if the Suns would have won this series if Stoudemire and Diaw didn’t get suspended for Game #5 by the NBA?  We will never know.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270518024

Things were looking good heading into the 4th quarter for the Suns as they were leading 62-56, but they the roof caved in as the Spurs outscored the Suns 32-23 in the final quarter to doom the Suns.  Shawn Marion led the way for the Suns with 24 points and 17 rebounds.  Steve Nash picked a bad time to have a bad game with Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspended for the game.  Nash only shot 6 for 19 from the floor and he wound up with 19 points, 2 rebounds and 12 assists.  Kurt Thomas started at center for the Suns and he had a good game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.  Raja Bell (10 points, 4 rebounds) and Leandro Barbosa (8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists) didn’t help much last night.  The Suns are now down 3-2 in this series as it shifts back to San Antonio.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270516021

The Suns took it to the Spurs in the 4th quarter last night as they outscored them 32-18 to win the game in San Antonio.  The Suns also outrebounded the Spurs 42-32 in the game last night and that is remarkable.  Amare Stoudemire led the way for the Suns with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.  Steve Nash was outstanding in running the offense with 24 points, 2 rebounds and 15 assists.  Kurt Thomas had another decent game as he started it and wound up with 14 points and 5 rebounds.  Shawn Marion was also busy with 12 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Raja Bell had a decent game with 12 points and 4 rebounds.  Leandro Barbosa was only 4 for 13 from the floor last night but he still wound up with 10 points and 7 rebounds off of the bench.   The Suns and Spurs are now tied at 2-2 in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270514024

The play got really physical last Saturday and the Suns couldn’t hack it.  Shawn Marion led the way for the Suns with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocked shots.  Amare Stoudemire also was active with 21 points and 5 rebounds.  Steve Nash did a good job of directing the offense with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists.  Raja Bell (12 points, 2 assists) and Boris Diaw (10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists) both pitched in on offense.  Kurt Thomas got another start and he was tough near the basket with 8 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Leandro Barbosa (6 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists) was a little bit off on Saturday.  The Spurs are now up 2-1 in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270512024