Amar’e Stoudemire has been a beast for the Phoenix Suns once again this season and has been a very efficient force for them.  Stoudemire has been a great player for the Suns ever since he came into the league in 2002, and he recently reached 10,000 career points.  On the season, Stoudemire has been strong and healthy all year on his way to averages of 20.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 steals.  He is making a red-hot 56% of his shots and has been one of the Suns most consistent players.  The Suns have really been struggling this month though, with a record of 5-7 in January.  In each of their losses this month they have given well over 100 points, so everyone including Amar’e needs to step it up on the defensive end.  His rebounding and blocked shots numbers are a little down, so if he could give the Suns an extra boost on the defensive end it could help them get out of the funk they have been in this month.

The Suns will be without SG/SF Leandro Barbosa for about a month as he will undergo surgery to remove a cyst from his right wrist. He has played in 29 games (5 starts) for the Suns this season and he is averaging 19.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. This will hurt the Suns as Barbosa gives them a shot of instant offense off the bench.

The Suns are starting Robin Lopez at center now and it’s really effecting the play of Channing Frye. Frye is only averaging 18.6 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game this year. Frye’s shot has been way off as he is only hitting 28.1% of his shots from the floor in his last five games. Frye’s overall numbers still look good as he has played in 44 games (41 starts) in which he is averaging 30.1 minutes, 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Frye is also shooting 43.2% from three point range which is unheard of for a NBA center.

Something has gotten into 21-year old center Robin Lopez the last couple of games. He has averaged 27.0 minutes, 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots in his last two games. It’s possible that Lopez will start taking minutes away from Channing Frye especially when the Suns are playing against teams with big front lines. Lopez has now played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Suns this season and he is averaging 11.3 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. It’s nice to see Lopez finally showing signs of life in his play.

Starting shooting guard Jason Richardson is fitting in well in his first full season with the Suns. He has played in 34 games (all starts) for the Suns this season and he is averaging 30.8 minutes, 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Richardson is the kind of athlete that really excels in the Suns’ running system and I look for his numbers to improve in the second half of the year.