Michael Ventre

The Phoenix Suns should feel good about themselves. They brushed away a first-round scare presented by the Los Angeles Lakers, submitting a muscular performance Saturday night at home in a Game 7 and cruising, 121-90, to advance in the NBA playoffs.

Very nice. But the preliminaries are over now. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to take the next step. The exhibition against the developmental league squad is in the books. The sparring session with the tomato can has concluded. A sweat has been worked up. The muscles are loose, the joints are warm, the arms and legs are limber.

It’s time to take on a real basketball team.

It’s time to tangle with the Clippers.

No one in Los Angeles, or in Southern California, or in the state of California, or in the United States of America, or in North America, or in the Western Hemisphere, or on planet Earth ever thought they would hear the Clippers described as the sterner test than the Lakers for a team like the Phoenix Suns.

Welcome to the new world order.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s give a huge shout out to the Suns for the mettle they displayed in coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Lakers. In retrospect, it shouldn’t have been as arduous as it turned out to be, even though the Suns were without starters Amare Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas, and missed Raja Bell for one game because of a suspension. On paper, the Suns should probably have swept this team.

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But sometimes it takes a team a while to find itself. That’s what happened here. The Suns proceeded along in the postseason as if they weren’t sure they had enough to win a series. Not until Game 5, when they faced elimination at home, did they come to the realization that they’re a more experienced, more athletic, more dynamic and more deserving team than the Lakers.

All hail the Suns, a playoff phenomenon in the making.

Naturally, with Phoenix it all starts with Steve Nash. And although he had a moment or two he probably would like to have back — like the Smush Parker steal and the Luke Walton jump ball that led to the Lakers’ Game 4 victory — mostly he played like an MVP. He was almost impossible for the Lakers to deal with.

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He is so quick and determined. From the second he crosses the half-court line, defenses brace for his charge. He handles the ball expertly. He can penetrate for a layup, or he can pull up halfway to pop a medium-range jumper, or he can drain the perimeter shot, or he can throw the pinpoint pass from all of those positions.

And he’s one of the best free-throw shooters in league history. If the man has a flaw, it probably comes in the area of table manners or hair care.

But the Suns also have a splendid supporting cast that came of age in the series against the Lakers. Leandro Barbosa looked terrific when Bell was out, and appeared just as competent Saturday night when Bell returned. Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw are ideal frontcourt soldiers in the Suns’ frenetic assault.

This is good for them. This is like a near-death experience.

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