Stepping Up: Louis Amundson

Stepping Up is big games from little guys. Big meaning important though the boxscore might not show it. Little meaning lack of household-name-ness. Recognize.

So I wrote that piece last month about how the Suns are the real Redeem Team, with nary a mention of Louis Amundson. I also missed Stromile Stiff, but hey he was nominally a Net at the time. Lot to rave about with the Suns' efforts of late, but nothing so significant as the contributions of Looooooouuuu!!!! I love it when fans cheer these "oo" names, because it sounds like boos are raining down from on high, but actually it's home teams rooting for these specially named players. Okay, okay, but the Suns. You can say Shaq's doing well, Hill's doing great, Nash is passing Mo Cheeks for assist records, even Richardson's playing that heady brand. The Suns are rolling at the right time, and all this without STAT and or much Leandrinho. How are they doing this? All signs point to Amundson.

Who is Louis Amundson? He was undrafted out of UNLV (where he graduated cum laude in Philosophy) and spent some time in the D-League, where he won All-league honors and was the 06-07 rookie of the year. He played a combined 153 minutes of NBA ball before this season, but was signed to two year by Phoenix and stepped right in when Amar'e's retina went all haywire. Arizona Republic's Paul Coro drops this beaut of line about Amundson: "he brings life to a game's flat spots like rain on the desert," and from what I'm seeing, the people in Phoenix are drinking that lucid eye-juice (well, everyone but Amar'e...sorry). More on their lucidity in a bit, but more on Lou now. Not only does he ride a bike to home games, but he also has one of the more natural looks in the whole long NBA hair trend. Jerry Sloan made Amundson cut the locks to sign two ten-day contracts with the Jazz a few years back. Guess Sloan got his back Wednesday night.

Lou is a chill dude, playing guitar and getting his downward-facing dog on in his off time. But he gets his rotweiler on when that tip goes up. His Wikipedia page claims he recorded more than 4 blocks per minute at one point, though I can't find anything to substantiate that. I did see the twelve blocks Phoenix put up Wednesday night, as well as the key rejections Amundson hit the Jazz up for. Looking at him, you'd see more Mike Miller than Deke. Still, he gets under dudes skin. Earlier this season, he irked Zack Randolph so much that Z-bo threw a two-game suspending punch. Then, The Nuggets' Nene also received a two-game suspension for head-butting and elbowing Amundson to the floor this Monday in a Suns win. All I can say is, if Amundson is heading for a career along the lines of Kurt Rambis and Rudy Tomjonovich, then he's not doing half bad. Was that inappropriate? Sorry. Keep up the good work, Lou. Here's lookin at you (kid)!

Now on to that lucid water they're drinking in Phoenix. It's no secret that no matter what kind of tear the Suns go on, their playoff hopes are contigent on the Dallas Mavericks' missing a step or two in the next few weeks. They've got a big showdown this coming Sunday. The Suns already have the league's third easiest remaining schedule, but as of last night they also have this: the launch of the "Mavericks FAIL" Campaign. That's some heady stuff, if you ask me. It's not just a kind of hopeful bashing, but a full on karmic propaganda machine. I've actually been pulling for the Mavs all season long, but how can you not want the Suns in the playoffs? Over at the campaign site, they write about a belief in positivity but a subsequent abandonment in the wake of that positivity's failure this season. Thus, they lay out a complete campaign plan, replete with What the Campaign Promises, How You Can Get Involved, You Might Be a Mavericks Fan If, and a flashy logo. Good stuff. Kudos all around, Phoenix players and fan karma team. Here's to you!

Posted in: Dallas Mavericks,Louis Amundson,Phoenix Suns,Stepping Up