---

After learning that Amare Stoudemire will be out at least four months, the Phoenix Suns are in trouble. They made moves over the offseason that took away their fun and gun three point approach, and made them a bigger, more size oriented team. But with the loss of Amare, the Suns find themselves in a predicament. Do they try to piece together a shooting team like the one last year, or do they try to use the size the acquired in the offseason to win games underneath, even without their monster all-star forward?

What is the best course of action for Phoenix to play without Amare?

The Suns could try to go back to what worked last year. They fired three pointers and racked up points on opponents in a way the league hadn't seen in over a decade. With reigning MVP Steve Nash at the helm, the Suns were able to fast break themselves to 62 wins and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. They did it with basically one lineup the whole year. They used Amare as their only low player, with Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and Quenton Richardson flanking Nash on the perimeter. But going back to that lineup won't happen, as Amare is hurt, and Johnson and Richardson have been traded away.

If the Suns want to make the run and gun work again, they're going to need to rely on some different shooters to make it work. They have Jim Jackson, who was able to help the Suns last year in spurts, but at his advanced age, playing 40 minutes per game just isn't an option.

Then the Suns have question marks. Leo Barbosa, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and James Jones are all shooting guards/small forwards, and they can all shoot the three pointer at a decent clip. But we saw last season that not just any 3-point specialist can play in this offense. The Suns tried, and failed, with Casey Jacobsen, Walter McCarty, Leo Barbosa, and for long spurts, Jim Jackson. It seemed the only very successful lineup for the Suns was that starting five that played most of their minutes last year. So for Phoenix to make the fast paced style work again this year, they'll probably need big play from Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. Since this seems unlikely, the clone of last year's Suns team is probably not the best way to go about mending the issue.

When the Suns got rid of Joe Johnson and Quenton Richardson, they made a commitment to size. For Joe Johnson, they got Boris Diaw, a solid defender, and they freed up money to sign Brian Grant, who was recently waived by the Lakers.

The Richardson trade brought in Kurt Thomas, the Knicks veteran forward/center who can play fairly well in the post. Grant and Thomas were meant to Amare underneath, and also allow conventional small forward Shawn Marion to move back to his comfort zone at the 3. So now the Suns may play Grant and Thomas as the 5 and 4, and keep Marion at the three. Or, they can use James Jones and Jim Jackson at the three, Marion at the four, and Thomas and Grant at the five.

Steve Nash loves to run, and he's most successful when doing so. We'll see if the Suns can continue their running ways, or if they'll be forced to slow things down a bit, play more half-court ball and appear far more mortal in the process.

I love feedback. Email me at gurt14@comcast.net with your questions and comments.

Bookmark www.insidehoops.com and read us daily.