Counting down the contenders, from 16 to 1 By Marc Stein ESPN.com You know the drill by now. The Power Rankings go on hiatus once the playoffs arrive, because the playoffs tend to settle all those debates our beloved Power Rankings generate. Besides … You also had to know that I wasn't about to let the week elapse without trotting out the postseason cousin to the Power Rankings: My countdown of playoff qualifiers from No. 16 to No. 1, in order of each team's title chances now that we know who's playing whom. 4. Phoenix Suns The Suns can't (and realistically don't) see themselves as title contenders without Amare Stoudemire. Then again … Placed on the cushy 2-3-6-7 side of the West's playoff bracket, Phoenix has an inviting path back to the conference finals. The Lakers' real achievement was getting to the playoffs. Either the Clippers or a Denver team that likes to run as much as they do would be a welcome foe at the second hurdle, where the Suns (after losing Joe Johnson) had to subdue Dallas last time. And not much would be expected if they got this far, but there might even be some long-shot hope in the West finals, if you buy the premise that the Spurs and Mavs will drag each other around for seven games. Of course, almost all of the above depends on Steve Nash doing what he did last spring, when the little guy bidding for a second straight MVP trophy gritted through his standard back and hamstring discomfort to play even better than he did in the regular season. If Nash, at 32, stays sturdy enough to keep the Suns running at peak efficiency, there's no reason they won't live up to their seeding. Phoenix will be relying more than ever on the experience of Nash and Shawn Marion, with an inexperienced group around them and the Suns' top post defender, Kurt Thomas, unlikely to return before the conference finals. 資料來源: http://myurl.com.tw/oo9c 這篇主要是在講太陽隊，但是跟nash也有點關係，所以po在這裡，翻譯稍後補上。 --

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