SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 27. Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns Overall Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th) :  18-38 (third place, Southeast Division)	Last Month: 25	This Month: 27
Team Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th) Points Scored: 94.6 (22nd) Points Allowed: 99.9 (22nd) Team FG%: .442 (18th) Opponent’s FG%: .466 (26th) Team FT%: .745 (19th) Team Three Point FG%: .325 (29th) Rebounds per game: 41.6 (18th) Opponents rebounds per game: 43.4 (23rd) Turnovers per game: 14.9 (19th) Opponents turnovers per game: 14.9 (15th)	Individual Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th) Scoring (ppg): Goran Dragic (14.1) Rebounds per game:  Marcin Gortat (8.6) Minutes per game: Goran Dragic (33.0) Assists per game: Goran Dragic (6.9) Field Goal Percentage: Marcin Gortat (.523) Free Throw Percentage: Goran Dragic (.740) Three Point FG Percentage: Jared Dudley (.385) Steals per game: Goran Dragic (1.5) Blocked Shots per game: Marcin Gortat (1.7)
Worst Player of the Month: Marcin Gortat In a matter of a couple of months, Marcin Gortat went from being the future face of the Suns franchise and one of the up and coming big men in the NBA to becoming a almost non factor.  His scoring numbers have dropped significantly from a career 15.5 points per game to a mere 11.1 while his shot attempts have also seen a dip from 11.7 last season to 9.3.  Much of this has to do with the absence of Steve Nash, who regularly targeted Gortat for assists on the break whereas now there is little or no ball movement and greater focus on one on one play.  His diminished role has certainly irked him as Gortat has occasionally voiced his frustrations of his team's inability to get him the ball which has made many question whether he should or should not stay in Phoenix.  The blame does not rest solely on Gortat's back, however as his struggles are a byproduct of the Suns inability to gel as a unit along with poor coaching as well.	First Player of the Month:  Jermaine O' Neal For the third straight month, Jermaine O' Neal has been named as the First Player of the Month for the primary reason being that there is no one else on that roster that is worth mentioning.  Unlike his teammates who have basically thrown in the towel, JO, despite his history of injuries and diminished production, has stepped up his game and continues to consistently contribute off the bench.  January was a rather rough month for O'Neal as he struggled offensively scroring just 3.6 per game while shooting under .300 from the field; however, that all change the following month as he would post his best numbers for the season thus far.  In February, JO simply exploded as he come off the bench scoring 11.4 per game while shooting an astonishing .571 from the field.  With all of Phoenix's troubles, O' Neal 's story has to be the best story for the team thus far as it  is one of redemption and resurrection.
Analysis: With the regular season coming at an end soon, the players, coaching staff, front office and fans of the Phoenix Suns will be glad to finish this sad chapter in the franchise's history. The season started off so bright with plenty of promise as the Suns said goodbye to the old and welcomed new faces that was supposed to usher in a new era in Phoenix basketball.  Unfortunately, this season has been anything but promising as this Suns team, the shining star it was supposed to be, simply collapsed on itself turning into a black hole sucking in everything to it's dark void.  A team that once had the reputation of being of the most exciting and pleasant offenses to watch degenerated into a bunch of blind and clueless athletes searching to find their way.  Like an invalid patient that is on his death bed , the Suns along with their fans simply want this season to be over with so they can all finally rest in peace. The blame can be spread all around for this sham of a season from the poor coaching to the selfishness and serious lack of effort from their players; however, what really doomed the Suns was not so much the coaching and players, but the sad lack of vision and consistency of the message the team wanted to convey both internally and externally.  In the offseason, the Suns made significant moves to their roster by adding two young talented players in Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson who had problems assimilating to the previous teams, but still had the potential to improve given the right circumstance.  They were expected to take major roles in the new order and be key players for the Suns for years to come; however, that unfortunately did not happen.  Upon arrival, both Beasley and Johnson were effectually set up to fail as Beasley was placed out of his natural power forward position while Johnson was simply shelved, not given a single opportunity to play from the start.  Instead of pushing the new youth movement they were promoted, the Suns put themselves in neutral with resulted in plenty of confusion and frustration for both the players and fans. There was literally no sign of any leadership or direction as this Suns team played throughout course of the season deaf, blind and dumb (as in stupid!) and just simply spun out of control headed down a spiral to oblivion.  Players were either unsure or insecure in their roles which led many to hog the ball, force bad shots which led to turnovers, poorly executed plays and with often embarrassing results.  Their clueless futility on the offensive end also seeped into the defensive end as the Suns were routinely schooled and scorched by their opponents.  Head coach Alvin Gentry, who has been highly regarded as one of the NBA's best young coaches, looked like a complete imbecile incapable of managing the talent on his roster which led many to question whether he deserved such high esteem in the first place. Gentry has since resigned and the Suns are now under the watchful eye of Lindsey Hunter, who will probably not remain as head coach once the season comes to a merciful close. 2013 did not start very well for the Suns as the they would start the month of January losing seven of ten and finished the month with a woeful 5-9 record.  The futility continued into February as the Suns  won two of ten games, but managed to finish this dismal period on a lighter note winning their two last games against the Minnesota Timberwolves (2/26/2013) and a shocking upset win over the San Antonio Spurs (2/27/2013)--both in overtime.  Now with just 23 games left in the regular season, all the Suns need to do is just endure the last thirty or so day until they are finally free of this accursed season once and for all.  Shortly they will be able to regroup as they will have the NBA lottery, the following draft and a busy free agent signing period to look forward to as they will have a chance to grab the number one overall pick along with plenty of cap space to entice prospective free agents.  With all that is coming up, it is little or no wonder why both the Suns and their fans would want this debacle of a season to finally end so they can move on to the future. With such an extensive history of being a first class organization, expect this season to be a relatively small bump in the road as this season is nothing more than an anomaly on an otherwise pristine and reputable organization.  Phoenix fans need not worry about having long dragged out rebuilding period as the Suns front office have the reputation of quickly picking the team up immediately after  a sudden fall from grace.  Although this team has never won an NBA championship, the Suns have always maintained the status of being a first class organization committed to winning each and every season continuing to strive to grab the championship trophy that has eluded them for so many years.  They will most certainly be changes, especially in the roster as the team is chalk full of expiring and tradeable contracts, along with the coaching staff as Phoenix does not have the most patient of fan bases.  One thing is for certain--a season like this one will certainly not happen again for the second straight year for the Phoenix Suns as they remain as one of the proudest franchises in NBA History.