Can the Suns pull the upset?

Short answer, absolutely. The way these playoffs have been going, anything is possible (as KG would say). However, for things to break the Phoenix way, a couple things have to happen.

First and foremost, they are going to have to find a way to steal at least one win in LA. Obviously, the Suns have to win at least one game on the road to win the series. Realistically, the Suns are going to need to win two games in Hollywood because the Lakers will inevitably have a tour de force game on the road in Phoenix. The Celtics-Cavs series showed many times over what a great team can do if faced with a must win game. That being said, Phoenix can win this series if they find a way to win on the road.

To have any shot in this series, the Suns are also going to have to run the Lakers off of the court, and then run some more. Luckily, these Suns are built to win exactly this way. The OK City Thunder showed that the Lakers can be beat by a running team. Unfortunately, the Thunder were eliminated because they couldn't sustain their fast break dominance over an entire series. If the Suns can find a way to do what the Thunder couldn't, a shot in the finals will be theirs.

Finally, the Suns need for Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire to have the series's of their lives. Lets deal with Nash first. The only position on the floor where the Suns maintain a clear positional advantage is point guard. Therefore, they need Nash to dominate his matchup with Derek Fisher. There are rumors that the Lakers will attempt to negate this advantage by guarding Nash with Kobe. However, Nash's three-headed skill set of shooting the three, nailing free throws, and threading the needle with his passing should allow him to play at a high level regardless of who is covering him. Plus, if Nash can occupy all of Kobe's energy, one of the Sun's outside shooters (most likely Jason Richardson) should be able to heat up.

More importantly, the Suns NEED Amare to turn in a truly dominating performance. The Lakers greatest strength is their gigantic front court. If Phoenix can get their offense up and running, they may be able to send 7-footer Andrew Bynum to the pine, leaving Stoudemire to match up with 7-footer Pau Gasol. However, if they are forced to play a half-court game, Amare is going to need to hold his own versus both big men. Throw in 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom and it becomes apparent how daunting of a task Amare faces (Note: if Robin Lopez can play, that gives the Suns a 7-footer and true center to help them battle the Lakers' twin towers).

While these points are the most important, the Suns need some other things to break their way as well. Specifically, the Suns could use some top-shelf defense by Grant Hill, a couple hot outside shooters, and at least some minutes from Lopez. Considering all of these factors, I must pick the Lakers despite my desire to see Phoenix win. I think Phoenix will steal one on the road, but ultimately it will be Lakers in 6.