Eclipses

There will be a solar eclipse in Africa this week, and one going on already on the Sun's five-stop tour of the Eastern United States. And Amare Stoudemire, for all his glory, is powerless to stop it.

I fell in love with Amare Stoudemire (quit snickering! You know what I mean...) towards the end of his rookie year. The Suns were in a must-win situation to make the playoffs, and Stoudemire told a reporter:

"We're going to win this game. I don't care if I have to block a hundred shots. We're going to win this game."

Not score a hundred points. Not even grab a hundred rebounds. He said block a hundred shots. He blocked, like, four, and the Suns won (I think on a last-second shot from Marbury, of all things). Anyway, that's when I knew he'd be a star for years to come.

Anytime a player can make up his own nickname, like S.T.A.T. or the Big Aristotle and make it stick, that, my faithful, is star power. Cedric Ceballos (remember him?) tried for years to get people to call him "Ice" to no avail.

STAT's return to the Sun's lineup has received no shortage of coverage, so I will try not to repeat what's been said a thousand times elsewhere. It is optional, from the Sun's point of view, whether he regains his explosiveness this season. What he needs desperately is his wind back. If the Suns are serious about winning a championship, Stoudemire may have to carry through his promise to block a hundred shots.

Throw away the blow out loss to New Jersey. The loss to Milwaukee is more illustrative. The Suns couldn't generate any consistent defense late in the game. No defense = no fast breaks. No fast breaks = half-court offense, which leaves them clearly mortal.

The good news: they'll get better. Their two best interior defenders, Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas (out with a foot injury through at least the end of regular season) will be back by the second round. The bad news: that may not be enough against the Spurs or the Pistons, who have owned the Suns in the paint, with or without the mighty STAT.

This Phoenix Suns team, as many incarnations before them, must still run to win, because their defense will be the weakest of any team left by the Conference Finals.

If you've ever seen a total eclipse, you know in your head that the blockage of sunlight is only temporary, but your gut can't help but wonder if it might be permanent. The Suns end their road trip in Detroit. We will know by then.