FanHouse SteveNash

LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers held a seven-point lead over the Suns with about nine minutes remaining in their home opener, in a game that was the season opener for Phoenix.

But Steve Nash made sure that his Suns left with the victory, by scoring 15 of his team's 24 fourth quarter points, including the game-winner in a thrilling 109-107 contest at Staples Center.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The 2009-10 Phoenix Suns are caught somewhere between the past and the future. But just because they don't know where they're going, and have one foot stuck in a place where they've already been, doesn't mean that the team can't win this season, while playing an entertaining style of basketball along the way.

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- For the second straight year, the Phoenix Suns hosted an outdoor preseason game at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California. Only this time, the weather cooperated to make it a fantastic event in an atmosphere about as unique as they come by NBA standards.

PHOENIX -- Every team comes to training camp with a renewed sense of optimism. But the Suns might be as happy as any to begin this season with a clean slate.

Phoenix is trying to rebound from a season where it traded two rotation players, fired its head coach at the All-Star break, then had its best player suffer an eye injury shortly thereafter that kept him out for the rest of the season.

All that, and the team missed making the playoffs by only two games. But for the first time in a long time, there are virtually no expectations of success. And for a team that struggled with so many issues last year, they seem more than happy to enter the season pressure-free, while searching for consistency and a renewed sense of identity.

Steve Nash isn't the first person to parody those ShamWow infomercials, and he certainly won't be the last. But in his latest viral spot for Vitamin Water, Nash does a better job than most mocking the (now infamous) Vince Shlomi.

I'm not sure if it's the underlying anger or the slight physical resemblance, but Nash reminds me more of Frank T.J. Mackey in this clip than he does of Mr. Slap Chop. Either way, the video is hilarious, and can be seen after the jump.

The Dallas Morning News did some enterprise reporting, acquiring transcripts from a two-day arbitration hearing between Mark Cuban and Don Nelson last summer. If you'll recall, Cuban withheld a substantial sum of wages owed to his former coach and GM on the basis that Nelson used info about the Mavs garnered during his one-year as an advisor to beat the Mavs in the fateful 2007 playoff series as coach of the Warriors.

Cuban sued Nelson on those grounds two years ago. The pair went to arbitration last year. Nelson won. Cuban still hasn't paid the $6 million, even though the sum amounts to little more than a pimple on Cuban's wealthy butt.

The transcripts, by the way, are as hilarious as you'd guessed ... and surprisingly more heartrending.

Not many free agents in any sport elect to play in New York because of "family reasons.''

According to a source, it looks like Grant Hill will.

Hill, the 36-year-old small forward, is leaning toward accepting an offer from the Knicks instead of the Boston Celtics or Phoenix Suns on Thursday, and a major reason is his wife Tamia, a national recording artist who would benefit greatly from him playing in New York.

Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash presented the 2nd annual "Showdown in Chinatown" charity soccer event on Wednesday in downtown New York City. The game benefited the Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna Foundations, and was an 8-on-8 match filled with NBA and soccer greats. Predictably, NBA stars Chris Bosh and Grant Hill didn't fare as well as the likes of Thierry Henry and Edgar Davids. However, international hoopsters, Nash and Tony Parker, definitely held their own on the pitch. Okay, now I'm just name-dropping. Check out FanHouse's look at what was a fun, if not somewhat awkward, game of soccer. The video is below.

The offseason is likely to be a lot like the regular season was for the Phoenix Suns. As you may recall, rumors involving both Amar'e Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal swirled around the club up until the trade deadline. And even after a coaching change that took place right after the All-Star break, the team was in a constant state of flux that most would admit was at least partially responsible for the club missing the playoffs.

In an attempt to solidify the Suns' immediate future, Steve Kerr made a quick trip to New York to meet with Steve Nash, with hopes of beginning to convince him to sign a contract extension now, instead of waiting until the end of next season, when he would become an unrestricted free agent.

But Nash will certainly want some assurances before doing so, and I believe there's one word he wants to hear from the organization most of all: Consistency.