When Terry Porter went away, so did the Suns defense. But apparently, the fast-paced offense that made fans all over the nation love the Suns — before GM Steve Kerr imploded the team and Mike D’antoni went to the Knicks — is back. Before Sunday’s contest against the Celtics, the Suns had scored 140+ points in each contest since the All-Star break, going an impressive 3-0 under new coach Alvin Gentry. Of course, that included back-to-back games against the Clippers and then one against the Thunder, and neither of those teams exhibit what would be anyone’s idea of tight D.

Sunday started off on pace for another 140 point performance despite the Suns missing superstar Amare Stoudemire, who is out eight-to-10 weeks after eye surgery, and the Celts missing Kevin Garnett, who is also out at least two weeks, courtesy of a knee injury.

That being said, the lack of defense for the Suns stuck out like a stupid twist in an M. Night Shyamlanan movie. Despite giving up a monster 38 points to the KG-less Celtics in the first quarter, they trailed by only five thanks to another solid early shooting performance by Leandro Barbosa. The second quarter saw the sizzling Suns cool off, which makes it difficult to stay in the game with their lack of defense. The Celtics continued shooting well, outscoring the Suns 30-21 in the quarter, led by Rajon Rondo’s 14 points, to enter halftime with a commanding 68-54 lead, with eyes on a blowout.

The third quarter featured the trading of baskets by the two teams as the Suns could never cut the lead down under 11, and Phoenix entered the fourth quarter trailing by 13, clearly suffering the loss of Stoudemire more than the Celts were missing The Big Ticket.

The game was essentially over as the Atlantic-leading Celts pulled away and cruised to a 128-108 victory behind 89 points from Rondo, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. For the contest, Boston shot a ridiculous 63 per cent from the field. Hey Suns fans, at least you’re back to that D’antoni offense you all missed!

By the way, with both Rondo and Allen going for over 30 points, it marked the first time that both members of the Boston’s starting backcourt scored at least 30 in the same game since January, 1977, when — ghet ready for it — Jo Jo White and Charlie Scott turned the trick. How’s that for some retro Beantown love?

Who to Watch

Rajon Rondo, PG: He’s already obviously a must-start in any fantasy league, but Sunday was just more evidence of how fast-rising this young superstar is. And he did it all on his 23rd birthday, no less. With KG out, he picked up the slack, scoring a career high 32 points while also dishing out 10 assists, giving him his fourth double double of the month (including a triple double). With Garnett expected at least a couple of weeks, Rondo will likely up his scoring greater than his season average of 11 (and, in fact, he’s scored at least 15 points in each of the past three games). He also shot an impressive 13-for-18 from the field on Sunday, although he did, as usual, struggle from the line, going only 5-for-9. Unless you are intentionally trying to throw the league, start Rondo and expect a boost in production. Is it just me, or has Rondo become a serious leader on this team of leaders?

Brian Scalabrine, C: Give the big red head some love! He takes a lot of bashes for being a waste of space, but the he can produce when asked upon. With Garnett out, Scalabrine showed he might be somewhat useful, pouring in 14 points and hitting a pair of treys. However, I’d like to see more than two boards from my big man. If you’re worried about rebound production with KG out, Scalabrine might not be the best option as he’s a bit more of a perimeter player, but if he gets you close to 10 points a game, that might prove useful in a very deep league. He might be a reach, but if he continues to have games like Sunday I’d say he’s worth watching, at the very least.

Leandro Barbosa, SG: The Brazilian Blur is finally an offensive threat again after the wheelchair Porter offense was removed. Of course, the loss of Stoudemire and his shifting into the starting lineup sure helps, too. After scoring a career-high 41 against the Clippers in his last contest, Barbosa had a more modest showing on Sunday going for 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals one three-pointer and even a block, to fill the stat sheet. A rarity on a team that doesn’t play much defense, Barbosa will get you some steals with that crazy speed and he’s shown since the break that he is capable of putting up crazy good numbers in the Gentry era. If you have him and haven’t reinserted him into your lineup get your head out of your you know what and put him back in. And if you’re in a shallow league, check the wire to see if he’s been dropped; it’s possible, considering what a disappointing season it’s been up until now for Barbosa.

Louis Amundson, PF: Amundson figures to get a lot of playing time with Stoudemire out, but he better not piss off any more of the league’s thugs like he did to Zach Randolph of the Clippers or he’ll expect another “POW! right in the kissa.” Amundson didn’t see enough PT to be useful e on Sunday, going 2-for-4 from the field for four points and only one rebound. He’s only averaged 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds this season, but the 26-year-old UNLV product had a nice showing on Tuesday, when he got smacked by Randolph, but still dropped in 13 points with eight boards. Don’t pick him up yet, but monitor the next few games to see how his PT progresses, and if he can average closer to 25 MPG, he might be worth a pick up, especially if you are one of the unfortunate few to have been playing Stoudemire.

Welcome to the first edition of The Hidden Truth, a new NBA fantasy column in which I will be focusing on exposing the stats and players that win fantasy leagues. For instance, everyone knows Allen Iverson can hoop, but what are the consequences of starting him in your fantasy league? Does he shoot a high percentage? For those Roto-lovers out there, all categories are equal. First place in steals is the same as first place in points. So let’s dive in!

The first edition of this column will focus on field goal percentage. It is evident that if you take more shots farther from the rim, your shooting percentage is usually lower, so you have to take these rankings with a grain of salt. Just because Chauncey Billups shoots a low percentage does not make him a worse fantasy player than Ronnie Brewer, who is in the top 10 in FG percentage. To build a championship fantasy hoops squad, you must be balanced, but it does help to have guys with high field goal percentages at all positions.

Today we will look at the guards.

Top 10 High Percentage Finishers

1. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics (50.3%): The Celtic point guard is a solid fantasy player as he puts up decent points, assists, rebounds, and steals, but he shines in the field goal percentage category. This is a product of taking good shots in a good system, but man has he ever come a long way from his rookie season when his shooting was considered a major weakness.

2. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets (49.6%): Mr. Do-it-all also does not miss too often.

3. Ronnie Brewer, Utah Jazz (49.5%): Jerry Sloan likes this slasher because he gets good shots. People may see him as a role player, but he is averaging over 13 PPG this season.

4. Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors (49.4%): Calderon does it a little differently — even though he is more of an outside shooter than Rondo or Tony Parker, he will help you in FG percentage just as much.

5. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs (49.4%): The Frenchman has perfected his 15-to-18 foot jumper from dead-on. This compliments his drives to the basket which create high percentage layups.

6. Ray Allen, Boston Celtics (49.1%): For a guy who chucks up threes at an alarming rate, it is a surprise that Ray-Ray clocks in at sixth on the list. I think people discount all of the layups he gets on baseline drives after doing a pump fake.

7. Andre Miller, Philadelphia 76ers (47.9%): The steady point guard always finds a way to take good shots.

8. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (47.8%): Flash is back and he is doing his thing.

9. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (47.5%): Kobe makes more difficult shots than anyone in the league.

10. Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers (47.4%): Roy has a nice jumper, but he also can finish near the rim, as we saw on his dramatic game-winning bucket against the Knicks recently.

Honourable mention: Derrick Rose (47.3%), Leandro Barbosa (47.2%), Mike Miller (47.2%), Deron Williams (47.2%), Steve Nash (46.8%), Mo Williams (46.8%)

Note: Jameer Nelson was shooting over 50 per cent from the field, but he is now out for the season, so he was not included on this list.

Top 10 Clankers

1. Baron Davis, Los Angeles Clippers (35.2%): Too many bad shots coupled with injury problems has left B-Diddy as a bust this season.

2. Tracy McGrady (38.8%), Houston Rockets: T-Mac loves to shoot and can be very streaky. Now, he’s on the shelf.

3. Raymond Felton, Charlotte Bobcats (39.4%): Will learn to take better shots.

4. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (40.7%): The former UCLA guard will get better with time as he works off Durant.

5. Randy Foye, Minnesota Timberwolves (40.9%): Nobody in American has seen all of the misses. Have the Timberwolves ever played on national TV?

6. Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets (41.6%): Mr. Big Shot is also Mr. Big Miss, but in fairness, he shoots a lot of three balls, and that hurts his percentage.

7. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks (41.6%): His jumper is as ugly as his kid.

8. Jamal Crawford, Golden State Warriors (41.7%): This baller could drop 30 points or shoot under 30 per cent on any given night.

9. Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings (41.9%): He forces it a lot, but then again the Kings do suck, so who else is going to chuck it up?

10. Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons (42.1%): AI has always been a “volume” shooter…everywhere he goes.

Dishonourable mention: Mike Conley (42.4%), Chris Duhon (42.4%), Derek Fisher (42.4%), Mario Chalmers (42.6%), Roger Mason (42.7%), Joe Johnson (43.3%), Nate Robinson (43.8%), Vince Carter (43.9%).

As mentioned before, this list does not determine a player’s overall worth. It is just one factor you should consider when building your fantasy lineup. Also, bear in mind that I tried to focus on fantasy relevant players. I am not going to argue if you say Daniel “Booby” Gibson should be on the list because his percentage is lower than Billups. However, in my mind, anyone named Booby should be a fantasy free agent.

Next: On Wednesday, we’ll take a look at the top-shooting and worst-shooting Forwards.

Were any of you seriously worried about the Boston Celtics when they hit a bit of a rough patch a few weeks ago? Since dropping four straight games earlier this month (and enduring a 2-7 stretch), all the Men in Green have done is rhyme off 10 straight wins, surging back to the top of the Eastern Conference and reclaiming their status as the NBA’s best club with a mind-blowing 39-9 record.

In fact, they’ve not only silenced the naysayers, but the Cs are now on pace to possibly top last season’s record of 66 wins (currently headed for 66.7 victories). While the defense hasn’t been quite as suffocating at 2007-08 (even so, only Cleveland is giving up fewer points), Boston has improved its offense by almost a point per game this season.

Toss in Boston’s 19-game winning streak earlier this season and it already has put together a pair of runs that have lasted at least 10 games. And it’s not even February yet! This is the first time the Celtics have turned in a pair of double-digit win streaks since 1985-86, a season, by the way, which resulting in a title for them. That bodes well for a second straight championship parade this year.

Boston gets an interesting test Sunday afternoon with the Timberwolves visiting Beantown. Minny’s resurgence in recent weeks has been well documented and the Wolves are still playing well, but they head in a bit cold, having dropped two straight games. After that, Boston heads out of the road for a date in Philadelphia against a very hot Sixer squad.

Rajon Rondo hasn’t shot the ball quite as well this month, hence his scoring has dipped, but he continues to mature as a facilitator, upping his assists per game average every month so far. And he ain’t exactly slowing down, dropping 12 dimes in Friday’s win over the Pistons. In the past three games, he’s averaged almost a dozen assists per game, while protecting the pumpkin like it was a Faberge Egg (just five TOs during this stretch). As for Rondo’s weaker shooting, it hardly qualifies as a slump – he’s been quite consistent with his shot this season, and his overall numbers – a career best 51 per cent from the field – have helped make the concerns about his shooting ability back when he was a rookie seem like ancient history. As big as a leap as Rondo made as a soph, he’s almost undergone a similarly sized improvement this season. The only things holding him back from true elite PG status are his lack of an outside game and his weak FT shooting. Even without those components, the kid’s a top 10 point guard and rising.

Of course, ball distribution has been a major strength for the Celtics all season, as the team has averaged 22.6 APG, good for fifth in the association. All they did Friday was pick up 25 assists – on 31 field goals. Talk about sharing the rock. Coach Doc Rivers has his squad firing on all cylinders right now.

The downside to Boston’s recent domination – before Friday, it had won seven straight by at least 10 points and three by at least 20 points – is that, from a fantasy perspective, the Big Three is getting plenty of rest, and that always means lower numbers across the board. Kevin Garnett has continued to score, but his boards are down recently and his blocks have been almost non-existent of late as he’s been playing over a minute less than normal over the past five games. Paul Pierce is seeing over 3 MPG less over the past five, and his scoring is way down as a result. Ray Allen has had a couple of sub par games in a row, but generally speaking, has maintained his seasonal averages of late.

How’s this for freaking mind blowing? Boston struggled through that well-publicized 2-7 skid, but has taken 37 of 39 beyond that. Thirty-seven and two. That’s a .949 winning percentage for those of you scoring at home.

By the way, Boston is now 3-0 against the Pistons, the team it squared off against in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. I simply can’t write the Pistons off completely this season, but man, they are sure making it hard not to with their recent struggles.