With 19 games remaining in the regular season the Suns are only 1.5 games back of making the playoffs in the Western Conference. The Suns making the playoffs may seem feasible to the casual observer, however I am here to tell you they will not make the playoffs this season.

Out of the final 19 games, 12 will be played against teams with a .500 or better record. Even worse yet 6 games are against teams with a .600 record or better. After last night’s throttling at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, it has become apparent the Suns simply don’t have another run in them.

Beyond the sheer difficulty of their remaining schedule the Suns are not playing with their normal full arsenal of talent. Steve Nash is still the best passer in the game, however his age is beginning to show in his shooting as the season progresses. Over the last 10 games where the Suns are trying to creep back in playoff contention, Nash has shot a paltry 40.7% from the field and only averaging 12.9 points per game. Nash perennially shoots over 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point land and 90% from the charity stripe. Nash is currently only shooting 38% on 3′s which is -4.9% worse  than his career average. Nash always deals with a degenerative back issue, however an additional  lingering groin injury continues to adversely affect his long-range shooting. The problem is that Nash, 37 doesn’t heal like he used to and that simply does not bode well for the Suns playoff hopes. Then add in the fact that the Suns 2nd best player Channing Frye is out 2-3 weeks with a dislocated shoulder doesn’t help the cause. I also believe that even if he comes back in 3 weeks, his long-range shooting will not be there as that is heavily reliant on a healthly shoulder joint.

The emergence of Marcin Gortat has largely overshadowed Robin Lopez’s inability to do anything productive on the basketball court. Grant Hill is nearing the end of his career despite remaining productive especially on the defensive end. Vince Carter will be bought out of his contract after this season is over. Hakim Warrick has proved to be a decent role-player but by no-means a starter. Jared Dudley is full of heart and is an excellent role-player but also not a starter in this league.  Mickael Pietrus falls into the category of role-player as well and his future is far from certain with the Suns. Gani Lawal and Garrett Silerare no where near being ready to play next season, however they both have enough potential to not be fully written off. Aaron Brooks provides a glimmer of hope at PG for the future beyond Steve Nash.  Lastly, Josh Childress beyond his cool fro is the biggest waste of $34 million in recent memory. All in 2 seasons from now the Suns starting lineup consists of Marcin Gortat, Channing Frye, and Aaron Brooks…not exactly awe inspiring. It is clear the Suns need to re-load in the draft or do the unmentionable: trade Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

After the trade to the Orlando Magic that acquired Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus the Suns are left with one draft pick in the late first round. The 2011 NBA draft is supposed to be one of the weakest drafts in recent memory so it is unlikely the Suns will be able to acquire a future star in this draft. To be honest, even if the draft was loaded with talent, the Suns have proven they are not a good judge of potential talent. Over the past 5 years of 1st round picks, the Suns have only retained Robin Lopez and he is little more than 6 fouls a game at this point. The likes of Alando Tucker who now plays in Russia and Earl Clark now with the Magic turned out to be worthless 1st round picks.

As a Suns fan, I was hoping they had one more run in the tank with Steve Nash at the helm. However, those hopes appear to be fading and the prospects for the future appear to be bleak unless some major changes are made.