The new guys the Suns got in the Jason Richardson/Hedo Turkoglu deal are playing pretty well so far. 33-year old shooting guard Vince Carter has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 31.1 minutes, 17.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. While those aren’t quite numbers as good as Jason Richardson put up for the Suns earlier this year, they aren’t bad either. 28-year old SG/SF Mickael Pietrus has played in 9 games (3 starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. I’m not so sure where Pietrus will fit in with the Suns in the future because he seems allergic to passing the basketball. 26-year old Marcin Gortat is going to be the key player in this deal for the Suns down the road as he is a legit center. Gortat has played in 9 games (1 start) for the Suns so far and he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. The Suns have to be happy with what they have seen out of this trio so far.

Even at the age of 36, Steve Nash still has plenty left in his gas tank. In his last four games, Nash is averaging 33.0 minutes, 16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Nash has now played in 33 games (all starts) so far this year for the Suns and he is averaging 32.5 minutes, 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. Nash is shooting 52.7% from the floor, 38.2% from three point range and 90.7% from the free throw line so far this year. Hopefully the Suns don’t do anything dumb like trade Steve Nash this season because he’s moving up the all-time assists list in NBA history and it would be nice for Suns’ fans to get to set it. Nash now has 8,750 assists in his NBA career and he’s currently #8 in NBA history. If he stays healthy the rest of the year he will pass both Gary Payton & Isiah Thomas on that list.

The doctors told 38-year old small forward Grant Hill that he should retire four years ago due to his ankle. But he has been great for the Suns since signing with them and he’s still playing great basketball. Hill has played in 29 games (all starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 30.6 minutes, 14.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Hill is also shooting 52.5% from the floor so far this year as he only really takes good shots as he is a team player. I don’t know how much longer Hill can keep playing like he is right now but I’ve seen no signs of him slowing down.

27-year old center Channing Frye has really stepped up for the Suns as of late.  Frye has played in six games in December so far and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  He is shooting 49.2% from the floor, 42.9% from three point range and 80% from the free throw line so far this month.  Frye has now played in 23 games (14 starts) for the Suns this year and he is averaging 31.4 minutes, 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  The Suns need Frye to keep up the good work with Robin Lopez out of action.

The Suns have asked 36-year old point guard Steve Nash to look for his own shot more this year and he is responding well. Nash has played in 15 games (all starts) for the Suns so far this year and he is averaging 34.2 minutes, 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game. He is shooting 49% from the floor so far this year but he’s only shooting 35.6% from three point range so far this year. I look for his 3-point % to come up as he is just too good of a shooter for it not to.