The Suns held off the Hornets last in night in a very hard fought battle. Marcin Gortat led the way for the Suns with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots on 9 of 10 shooting from the floor in only 24 minutes! Grant Hill (16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Vince Carter (12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists) pitched in for the Suns last night. Channing Frye (11 points), Robin Lopez (10 points) and Steve Nash (10 points) also pitched in for the Suns last night. The Suns are now 22-24 on the year.

26-year old Marcin Gortat should be starting over Robin Lopez at center. In his last five games, Gortat is averaging 26.4 minutes, 12.2 points and 10.6 rebounds while shooting 60% from the floor. Gortat has played in 18 games (1 start) since coming over to the Suns and he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 9.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Gortat is a legit big man and I think he would average a double-double if he started and played 30 minutes per night. The Suns need to make the change.

The Suns are going to be without 24-year old backup point guard Goran Dragic for several games due to the fact that he needed 9 stitches to close a gash on his left foot. He stepped on some glass. Dragic has played in 45 games (2 starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 18.4 minutes, 7.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. This is going to hurt the Suns in more ways than one. Dragic was allowing the Suns to watch 36-year old point guard Steve Nash’s minutes and it has kept him healthy and fresh. Nash will likely be asked to play more minutes until Dragic returns unless 26-year old rookie Zabian Dowdell steps up. Dowdell has played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 6.5 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Nash is having an outstanding year for the Suns as he has played in 43 games (all starts) in which he is averaging 32.9 minutes, 17.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game. The Suns really hope Dowdell is ready for prime time because he’s the only other real point guard on the roster besides Nash & Dragic.

The Suns turned up the D last night as they held the Celtics to 34.2% shooting from the floor and that was the biggest reason for the win. Marcin Gortat was a beast for the Suns last night as he finished up with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 30 minutes on the floor. Vince Carter also had a decent game with 17 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. Steve Nash did a good job of running the offense as he had 13 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists and 2 blocked shots. Robin Lopez and Mickeal Pietrus each pitched in with 11 points apiece. The Suns are now 21-24 on the year.

The Suns didn’t play any D last night as the Bobcats shot 50.6% from the floor and it did them in. Steve Nash led the way for the Suns last night with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 15 assists and 1 steal. Vince Carter (22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) and Marcin Gortat (16 points, 7 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 29 minutes on the floor). Jared Dudley (13 points) and Channing Frye (12 points) also pitched in for the Suns last night. The Suns are now 20-24 on the year.