The Phoenix Suns have acquired center Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat for power forward Shawn Marion and backup point guard Marcus Banks. The 35-year old O’Neal has had problems staying healthy the last couple of seasons so it will be interesting to see if his body can hold up in the Suns’ playing style. O’Neal played in 32 games (all starts) this season for the Heat and he was averaging 28.5 minutes, 14.2 points, 7,8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. O’Neal still is shooting the ball well from the floor (58.1%) but he has been awful from the free throw line (48.2%) as usual. O’Neal has now played in 1,013 NBA games (1,004 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 36.4 minutes, 25.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game. Shaq has hit 58% of his shots from the floor and 52.4% of his free throws over his career.

The Suns will miss Shawn “The Matrix” Marion who had a outstanding career with the Suns. Marion played in 660 games (647 starts) in his career with the Suns and he averaged 37.8 minutes, 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

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The Suns out ran the Bobcats last night and they shot 51.9% from the floor which are the reasons for the win last night. Leandro Barbosa led the way for the Suns with 30 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in only 26 minutes on the court. Amare Stoudemire was outstanding in the paint as he finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Raja Bell hit 7 of 12 3-point shots last night and he finished with 24 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. The Suns improved to 34-14 on the season.

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The Suns only shot 38% from the floor and they were outscored 29-21 in the 4th quarter and that cost them the game last night. Shawn Marion led the way for the Suns with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Steve Nash only shot 6 of 18 from the floor but he still finished up with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists. Amare Stoudemire pitched in with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. The Suns are now 33-14 on the season.