There’s all kinds of Amar’e talk circulating around these internets today. The Suns have learned that Stoudemire will miss the playoffs (if the Suns even qualify), after undergoing eye surgery to correct a detached retina he suffered in a win over the Clippers last month.

First, the surgeon who performed the operation, Dr. Pravin Dugel, has restricted Stoudemire to even attending Suns games, citing that he doesn’t want the eye to be in danger of any jarring. This has fueled speculation, or more accurately, panic that Stoudemire’s career is in jeopardy. That’s a story for another day.

Secondly, with the revelation that the Suns will be STAT-less in the playoffs, some have suggested that tanking the rest of the season may be a strategy.

What?

Personally, I don’t think the Suns will make the playoffs, but it’s not like they’re dead and buried. They trail Dallas for the last playoff slot by only 2.5 games with 21 games left. They even play Dallas twice before the end of the season.

And how exactly would the Suns go about “tanking” the season? They already have 34 wins. Even if they went 6-15 the rest of the way, and finished with 40 victories, it’s unlikely their draft position would change that much, meaning they’d still have the same small percentage of ping pong balls in the NBA Draft Lottery.

The Suns will finish with at least 45 wins. Will that be enough to get into the playoffs? Maybe not. But you got give it everything you’ve got.