Stoudemire collected 20 points in his first game back this season. The Suns beat the Portland Trailblazers rather easily, which might not have been a great way to test Amare’s fitness. However, the playoffs are just around the corner and this is great news for the Suns to have him on the court regardless of the opponent’s record.

While we are talking about the NBA, the other night Sarah and I were watching Denver play San Antonio and I realized how much fun the Western Conference playoffs are going to be. Not to disrespect the East but when you have Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Denver, Sacramento, and LA all looking to make the playoffs how much fun is it to watch the big men on the East play first-to-60-wins baskball? Again not to disrespect but if things go my way, the West will claim this year’s title ;o)

update: it had to happen, the moment I blogged about Amare’s return to the court and the Sun’s march toward the playoff, both take a dive for the worse. Stoudemire’s return has been put on hold for the time being since his knees and fitness were bothering him after that first game. All tests have return positive but it appears he might be out of the playoffs.