RiDUNKulous!

The All-Star Break is here and the Suns find themselves with the most wins in the West and tied for first. Fredstrom wants to talk about the last 3 Suns games, all short-handed (without Marion). The first game was against New Orleans where the Suns gave up 20 more shots and only lost by 2. Against Golden State the Suns let the Warriors shoot almost 90% in the final five mins. and only lost by 2. The Dallas game... well.. Did you see Amare posterize Dirk? Wow! Great game! The Fredstrom isn't worried, if Shaq can just stand under the basket and grab rebounds we will be just fine.

So Fredstrom's point is this: The Suns have the ability to be the best team, the only way they seem to lose is if they beat themselves. You can't coach talent or motivation, you can't beat a better team in a seven game series...The Fredstrom thinks it's a good thing that the Suns are the better team, but will they play like it? This home stretch will give us that answer.

Planet Orange Now Burns Diesel

Well? The Fredstrom is not quite sure what to say, sure he could talk about the Suns putting on their blinkers, veering right and moving into the slow lane, or how the Diesel has looked great in the garage, but he would rather get the readers involved to hear their thoughts. Thoughts to ponder: Is Shaq a good fit? Could the Suns compete in the West without him? Is this a knee-jerk reaction to the Gasol-Laker deal? Anything else? Give it to the Fredstrom! It's time for the readers to bring it!

Super Funny Superbowl Commercial

Not sure if you saw it or not, but the Tide stain-removing stick commercial with the talking stain? Well, you can go to mytalkingstain.com and import a photo of yourself to be on the stain. For the sound you have two options, you can call the 1-800 number and it will alter your voice, or you can just use the sounds from the commercial- which are hilarious. Click on the blog title or copy this link into your browser http://www.mytalkingstain.com/?mid=25607336 Enjoy!

And the award goes to....

First let The Fredstrom say that the Suns should have won that game last night. But, The Fredstrom couldn't get over how Nerf-like the Spurs are. So he has decided to hand out some awards...

The first award is for the "Softest Player in the NBA": WoManu Ginobili- when looked at the wrong way his extremities turn to wet spaghetti. He makes soccer players look like super heros.

Owwie.. I got hit in the hair! Another career ending injury!
I got an eyelash in my eye..take me to the hospital!

WoManu down! Get the gurney!

Interestingly enough, WoManu has completely recovered from all injuries, it just takes a blown whistle!

The next award is for "Best Impersonation of WoManu Ginobili": Fabio Oberto- another couple years of tutelage under WoManu and he will no longer be the "Best Unsupported Actor."

The tutelage continues..."See Fabio, when someone runs by you, you act like you've been hit by a truck..."
"Perfect!" Manu is so proud! Isn't playing the refs fun?


Next award is for "Worst Reaction to a Call"- Tim Duncan- putting your hands behind your head with your mouth wide open is just silly and that's all the Fredstrom has to say about that!
Really? Really? Who does this?


The final award of the evening, "Oldest person to use a bib, pacifier, sippy cup, and rattle" -Gregg Popovich- what a baby! Why does he whine so much if they get all the calls and win championships every other year? The Fredstrom thinks he knows why WoManu and Fabio flop so much...if they didn't they wouldn't get the call and this would upset the Fourth Reich a.k.a. the Spurs coaching staff. Heil Poppovich!
WHAAAAA!! "Pop, we've changed your dipey before, it will only take a second."
BOOO WHOOO!!! "Pop, we will get you those animal crackers, RELAX!"

Notable mentions... Bruce Bowen- runner up in all four categories listed above, and of course Robert Horry- "the Million Dollar Cheerleader."

The Fredstrom Mentioned They Were Bi-polar Right?

So the Suns got out rebounded 48-26! Minnesota had 22 offensive rebounds alone! That is an extra 22 possessions. Let's say the Suns only gave up 11 offensive rebounds, that's another 11 possessions for them. Say they shoot 40% from the field, that's another 5 field goals equating to 10-12 points maybe? That also means that the T-Wolves would have had 11 less shots, possibly costing them 10-12 points? That's a 20 point swing! GET TOUGH AND BOX OUT!

A Bi-Polar Planet Orange?

Yes that is the Fredstrom's bobblehead!

So half way through the season the Suns find themselves not playing their best and on top of the Western Conference. Boris Diaw is showing some of his 05-06 self, Barbosa is dialing in, and Raja is looking like is old self as well. Shoot.. Nash's jumper is looking better, STAT is a big freak, that baseline Dr. J dunk last night over Williams was the flush of the year. How can the Fredstrom forget Shawn Marjele, ERRR, Marion, not that the Fredstrom wants to encourage that sort of thing, but you can't deny how hot he has been from downtown.

Looking ahead, the month of February will show us who the Suns really are. They play New Orleans twice, Dallas, Boston, Detriot, the Lakers again, and Golden State. Good news is that they should be able to win at least 6 out of the next 7, San Antonio might be the only loss for the Suns in the next seven games. Even though they have the best record in the West, they are 2-5 against the top teams in the West right now.

The West is pretty wide open right now. There are 10 teams within 7.5 games of first. Does Planet Orange burn itself out for home court advantage? They do play well on the road, but the Fredstrom thinks that D'Antoni should keep doing what he has been the last few games, giving Strawberry more time, even when Grant comes back, and limiting Nash's minutes. Not sure how Banks landed back into the doghouse after that Denver game, but Fredstrom hopes he can get some more time in as well. If we have learned anything from the past few playoff runs, the Suns need to conserve some of that solar energy for their playoff push.

Lots to think about, let Planet Fredstrom know what you think!

No "D" in D'Antoni?

Okay Suns fans, there has been a lot of talk about how weak the Suns are and how strong the Lakers are...it's late December, none of that matters.. What matters is DEFENSE! The Suns have the highest scoring offense in the league (yet again) so obviously when they lose it's not an offensive drought, it's a defensive absence. When they rebound, and swarm (like they did last night against the caveman) they will be much more successful.

Looking at the current standings the Suns are one game out in the west. San Antonio has played 5 more home games than Phoenix, the Lakers have played three more at home. The Suns are 12-6 on the road, the Spurs 5-6, and the Lakers 8-6... The Fredstrom has heard how San Antonio is the team to beat, etc. that may still be true but the Suns are playing bad basketball and are still in it. Barbosa hasn't been that great yet, Raja still hasn't found his jumper, Nash hasn't showed much scoring but we know he's capable, Amare shows up every other game, and sometimes only in the fourth quarter, and don't get the Fredstrom started on Diaw...

The Fredstrom isn't panicking. The Laker loss on Christmas might just be what the Suns needed to kick it up a notch. What do you think?