The Phoenix Suns won for the eight straight time and clinched a playoff birth, downing Chicago 111-105. Despite the recent success, they have made little headway in the overall Western Conference standings.

Phoenix bested Chicago in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final possessions. Steve Nash was given more room to work when Kirk Hinrich twisted his ankle in the second half. A clutch three by Channing Frye and crucial free throws by Nash down the stretch made the difference, despite good performances by Derrick Rose and Flip Murray. Jason Richardson paced the Suns in scoring with 27 points.

The Suns are 17-4 since the All-Star Break. They’ve won 8 straight games for the first time since 2007. But even with the recent streak, the Suns are still only 4th in the Western Conference. That being said, the are just a game and a half out of 2nd place.

Much of the Suns’ current success can be attributed to the rejuvenated play of Amare Stoudemire. The subject of rampant trade rumors, Stoudemire has stopped pouting and started playing. Averaging nearly 28 points since the All-Star Break, Amare’s showing that he can be a true offensive force if given the right motivation. No doubt he has increased his free agent market value significantly. The Suns will need to think hard about whether they can afford to let him go, or if they decide to finally pay someone.

The New Jersey Nets won their tenth game of the season yesterday, thereby escaping the dreaded title of the NBA’s worst team ever. But don’t cheer too loudly yet.

After winning their tenth game, the Nets avoided the dubious distinction as the NBA’s most inept team. That honor is still squarely on the shoulders of the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers who finished 9-73. In winning 3 of their last 4 games, the Nets need to be careful not to catch the 14-win Minnesota Timberwolves. Losing any ping pong balls in the John Wall (1st)/Evan Turner (2nd) lottery would not be good news for the struggling franchise.

Given the lows of this season, the future is surprisingly bright for the Nets. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is ready to take the NJ Nets to heights they haven’t seen since Kidd was running the point. Prokhorov clearly wants stars. And there is no bigger star on the market than LeBron James, who has an already tight relationship with hip-hop legend and part Nets owner, Jay-Z. And unlike some fledgling franchises, the Nets actually have some good pieces: a franchise center in Brook Lopez, an excellent-when-not-injured point gaurd in Devin Harris, and a crafty 2 gaurd in Courtney Lee. If the ping pong balls take the right bounce in Secaucus, the Nets could be one free agent away from making some big time noise.

Now the Nets just need to do what they do best: keep losing!

Admit it, you never would have guessed that a game played in late March between the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies would have any meaning attached to it, other than somebody has to win the John Wall lottery. But the Bucks & Grizz battled into overtime on Sunday, as the playoff bound Bucks won 108-103 in overtime in Milwaukee.

Yahoo! Sports gave a good summary of how both teams look for the post-season:

While Memphis came into the game just 1 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the overall NBA standings, the teams have dynamically different postseason chances. The Bucks are close to clinching their first playoff berth since 2006, while the Grizzlies’ chances are all but gone to catch Portland or San Antonio in the Western Conference standings.

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The 55-point rookie sensation, Brandon Jennings, struggled with his new found fame once defenses started keying on him. His scoring and shooting percentage sank faster than a cement boat.

But as bad as Jennings was  before the All-Star break, he has embraced his new role as “distributor” and the Bucks are now cranking out victories like a sausage factory in Milwaukee. After the Bucks’ most recent victory against Sacramento, not coincidentally against leading rookie of the year candidate, Tyreke Evans. As reported in Yahoo! Sports:

Jennings who has been annoyed lately concerning his absence from the Rookie of the Year discussion, downplayed the strong game versus Evans, who many see as the front-runner for the rookie honor.

“Right now it’s not about me, it’s about my teammates,” Jennings said. “Johns Salmons played today, Andrew Bogut played good today. Ersan hit some big shots. A win like this is like a playoff game. We just kept fighting.”

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Kevin Garnett hit a big shot at the buzzer to lift the Celtics over the Knicks 107-105 in OT on Sunday. A win is a win but the Celtics should not feel good about this one.

The Boston Celtics may have beaten the New York Knicks on the road on Sunday, but it took overtime and a heroic buzzer beater from Kevin Garnett to do it.

Great shot by KG. Another big time basket for the big fella. But you’ll excuse the Celtics if they are not celebrating the victory over the New York Knicks.

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The Atlanta Hawks beat the Portland Trailblazers on Monday night, halting Portland’s 6-game winning streak and sweeping the season series. With quality wins against Boston & Denver and a 9-2 record, it may be time to take these high-flying Hawks seriously.

The Hawks needed a 35 point effort from Joe Johnson & a 20 point and 16 rebound performance from Josh Smith to overcome the stubborn, division-leading Trailblazers 99-95 in overtime in Atlanta on Monday night. It’s beginning to look like the Hawks have the makings of a true winner for the first time since Dominique challenged Bird in the mid 1980s.

Save a road loss to the Lakers and an embarrassing gaffe against at Charlotte, the Hawks have taken care of business this year. They are undefeated at home (5-0) and managed and impressive road record of 4-2, including a win at Boston. But how are they doing it? Is it smoke and mirrors, lucky breaks, or are they legitimate contenders in the East?

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