The Suns conclude their pre-season schedule tonight in Vancouver, Canada vs. the Portland Trailblazers. This is the Suns 2nd match-up vs. Portland this pre-season, with the Suns winning 110-104 in Portland. In the last meeting, the Suns defense actually looked solid and carried them to the victory. However, tonight’s game will likely be played with a little more intensity as it is the final tune-up before the regular season begins. The Suns face the Los Angeles Clippers Wed, Oct. 28 7:30pm TV: My45 HD Radio: KTAR 620 AM in the Staples Center. This will be the 1st regular season appearance of the highly touted #1 draft pick of 2009 Blake Griffin. Griffin has average 15 points and 8.2 rebounds this pre-season while leading the Clippers to a 4-2 record thus far.

The Suns officially trimmed their roster to 13 last night by releasing G Dan Dickau and F Carlos Powell. Steve Nash will play tonight vs. Portlanddespite spraining his ankle early in the second half in Phoenix’s 143-127 win over the Sacramento Kings on 10/20. This game represents a homecoming for Steve Nash who is from Victoria, British Columbia. In addition, some of the proceeds from the game will be going to benefit the Steve Nash Foundation.

The Suns pre-season has largely met the expectations of fans and experts abound with a few exceptions. Channing Frye has shown this pre-season that he is a substantial 3 point threat. Frye has shot 13-26 from downtown this pre-season leading the Suns in 3 pointers made as well as 3 point %. This is particularly interesting because Frye in in first 4 seasons in the NBA is only 20-70 from 3 point land. It is clearly evident that the 6’11″ Frye will be a major asset this season if he can continue to stretch the defense withthis seemingly new found shooting range.  Goran Dragic has also been a relatively decent surprise for the Suns this pre-season. This was most evident when Nash left the Sacramento game with a minor ankle sprain. Dragic came in and performed admirably scoring 21 points combined with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Is it possible, that Dragic can finally fill the role of backup point guard that the Suns have been lacking since Steve Nash’s arrival? This point is more important than ever, especially considering Nash is getting long in the tooth andwill need additional rest to stand the rigours of the 82 game NBA Season.

Jason Richardson will begin to serve his 2 game NBA imposed suspension against the Los Angeles Clippers on 10/28. Look for Alvin Gentry in the final pre-season game tonight to try a wide variety of lineups to overcome his absence. This may include having Goran Dragic and Steve Nash on the court at the same time as well as an increased role for Leandro Barbosa.

Finally, I promised I would give my prediction on where the Suns would finish this regular season. I am picking the Suns to finish 5th in the Western Conference this season. This is in contrast to ESPN’s experts blended rating of 8th for the Suns in the West. The teams I project ahead of the Suns in the regular season are as follows: 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2. San Antonio 3. Denver Nuggets and 4. Portland Trailblazers.

The countdown to Phoenix Suns basketball has officially begun: 6 days 9 hours and 12 minutes!

Go Planet Orange!!!!!