What do you expect from Stoudemire?
68.6% He struggles, then returns to form
22.5% He's back, good as ever
6.4% He has problems and disrupts the team
2.5% He sits most of the year

• Vote: Suns in 2006-07

Well I would have to compete with "Demon Bird Moth Balls" (Shawn Marion) and "Black Jesus" (Amare Stoudemire) so a Suns tat on my chest would seem pretty insignificant.

But, if the Suns bring the first title to the valley I would embark on a voyage high into the Himalayan mountains of Nepal to get the Suns logo tattooed on my chest by a local sherpa followed by four months meditation on the championship.

Steve Nash has already begun the monk movement by shaving his head, hopefully an enlightened decision, and I would gladly follow him to the promised land.

• Brian Lucas | Rising Suns

MIKE D'ANTONI COACHING FILE

Experience: 4 years Record: 151-124 Playoffs: 19-16 NBA titles: 0 Coach's profile

With the return of Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni will have to work hard to ensure that his stable of scorers can all find enough minutes and shots to remain happy.

He may allow the transition to be controlled by the players themselves, as he has total trust in Steve Nash, or he may dictate a little in the early going.

Either way, expect the Suns to start like the Pistons did last year, which brings another challenge to D'Antoni: how to keep his team playing with an "edge" all season and into the postseason, which the Pistons could not manage.

– David Thorpe, ESPN.com NBA analyst

With those two routinely beating opposing big men up the court, it requires a guard to momentarily drop into the lane and pick one of the two up -- which is how Nash is able to advance the ball to an open 3-point shooter for a quick shot so easily.

Those three are far from the only threats, however. Barbosa is as fast as anyone in the league, streaking up the left sideline for drives and quick shots, while newcomer Banks is another speed demon who will help keep the pedal down when Nash takes his rest.

Diaw also moves well and is a mismatch in transition against opposing big men, while the Suns' secondary offensive players -- Bell and the two Joneses -- get up the floor reasonably well. As a result, the Suns play at a blistering pace; they have led the league in pace factor for two consecutive seasons.

Phoenix's offensive and defensive tendencies exaggerate the impact of the speed. One thing you'll notice in watching a Suns game is that the action almost never stops, and the reason is that Suns games hardly have any fouls.

The Suns had the lowest rate of free-throw attempts in the league, but they also strived to avoid fouling on defense -- despite their lack of interior strength. Phoenix had the second-lowest rate of opponents' free-throw tries in basketball. As a result, the Suns frequently had multiminute stretches without a whistle during which they could run opponents ragged.

• More Hollinger Suns analysis

Barbosa

Sleeper: Leandro Barbosa was outstanding off the bench last season, nearly doubling his scoring average. He will likely be used the same way this season, but be given more opportunities to spell Steve Nash and Raja Bell. Because he doesn't start, it's easy to overlook him. But he could be a nice late-round selection in deeper leagues because of how well he shoots the ball.

Bust: Buyer beware on Amare Stoudemire, who is coming off microfracture surgery. It's a procedure that has proven difficult to return from to previous levels this quickly, so don't expect Stoudemire to be the monster he was in '04-05 -- at least not on a nightly basis. He may have remarkable stretches in which he looks like the old Amare, but it's a marathon, not a sprint. His knees may force him to sit out a game here or there in an effort to remain effective.

– Keith Lipscomb | Fantasy Hoops Index