Though the Phoenix Suns lost last night to the Utah Jazz thanks to a fourth quarter collapse that saw a 13-point lead turn into an eight point deficit in mere minutes, the Suns have been rolling since the All-Star break. (By the way, I blame the fact that TNT aired the game for the Suns’ loss.)

The key to the Suns 8-4 record in since mid-February has been the play of their bigs.

As for the past two seasons now, Amare Stoudemire‘s name was all over the trade market as the deadline neared. This time, the possibility of him leaving town was as great as ever as Cleveland seemed to put together an intriguing package before reportedly pulling J.J. Hickson‘s name out of the deal on deadline day.

While some players struggle when their names are being tossed around, with distractions like having to move their families clogging their minds, Stoudemire is exactly the opposite.

Whether he was wanted to go to Cleveland and was trying to make sure they knew he could bring to the table or he was energized by the trade talks, Amare raised his level of play in February.

For the month, Stoudemire averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds a game while shooting 53% from the field. Amare was really clicking on all cylinders. The pick and roll with Steve Nash again looked like the prettiest play in basketball, producing several poster dunks like the one showed in the photo above. While on the subject, I think the way he comes off that pick and finishes as the rim gives him a strong case as the most powerful dunker in the league. LeBron James is plain nasty in transition, but Amare does it whether there is someone in his way or not.

Stoudemire also used the pick and pop more often in that stretch then we had seen in a while, making him a pretty much unstoppable offensive player when he is in motion. His face-up game includes a pretty jumper know that he can hit consistently from 18-22 feet.

Amare has been taking that outside shot more frequently because he is no longer playing the center position.

Channing Frye started out the year as the “center” but was rarely in the post. 55% of Frye’s shot attempts this season have been from beyond the arc, and though he is one of the top three-point shooter (third in the NBA in makes and eighth in percentage), having him start put too much responsibility on Stoudemire’s shoulders. Amare would end up playing in the paint and defending the other team’s center for the majority of the time anyways, which was taking a toll on him.

Thus, head coach Alvin Gentry inserted back-up center Robin Lopez into the starting line-up. The 15th overall pick from the 2008 NBA draft was mostly thought of as a bust before getting some  burn this season, especially when compared to his brother Brook Lopez, who was taken five spots ahead of him by New Jersey and was a candidate for rookie of the year last season thanks to a fantastic offensive skill set. As a rookie, Lopez averaged just 10 minutes a game as well as just three points a game on 52% field goal shooting (not great for a post who doesn’t take jump shots).

Though he is not his brother and he isn’t very polished offensively, Lopez has been very good this season while adjusting to the starting role. While Frye still gets minutes off the bench, adding another shooting threat with the second unit, Lopez has gotten a respectable 25 minutes a game in 23 starts. In those starts, Lopez is also averaging 12 points (seven above his career average), six rebounds, a block and a steal a game, while shooting 61% from the field and 71% from the line. And, if you put any value into Jon Hollinger’s PER stat, Lopez is 60th in the league with a per of 17.64. That number puts him ahead of Rudy Gay, Joakim Noah, Tony Parker, Antawn Jamison and Paul Pierce just to name a few. Very good numbers, in my opinion, for a guy that wasn’t getting minutes early in the year or as a rookie.

Offensively, Robin does not have a go-to move and he doesn’t have plays ran to get him to ball. However, though he is no Amare, Lopez has become pretty effective in the pick and roll with Steve Nash, as he shoots 68% at the rim. He doesn’t force things and knows his offensive opportunities will come if he remains active on the boards and gets putbacks. On the defensive end, while nobody is going to hesitate in taking the ball to the rim with Lopez protecting it, Robin is very active with his hands and uses his big body (7-foot, 255 pounds), to get infront of opponents and block shots.

The Suns now sit at 39-25, good enough for second in their division (behind the Lakers) and fifth in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder are just one game back and the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers are just two games behind Phoenix, but I think they will definitely finish in the top six, if not the top five.

The Suns are still the most high octane offense in the NBA, scoring 111.6 points per 100 possessions, which is a little over two points more than the second most efficient team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Steve Nash is still playing at an extremely high level, distributing the basketball well and getting his rejuvenated post players touches to get them involved (Which, as well all know, usually encourages them to play hard at the other end) and they are at their best when Jason Ricahrdson is heavily involved in the offense.

But there is something different about this team as of late. Since February began, in 15 games, the Suns have outrebounded their opponents by 162 (estimated), winning the rebound margin 11 times, tied twice and lost just twice, and they have held their opponents to just 98.2 points per game, which is eight below their season average of over 106 points per game.

With Stoudemire and Lopez playing at this level, Channing Frye adding a top shooter off the bench and even Louis Amundson playing high energy defense and racking up offensive rebounds as a reserve forward/center, the Suns are poised to make a real playoff push as they are now capable of at least competing with teams like the Lakers and Mavericks, who have a lot of size downlow.