Amare Stoudemire could be out the door, while Steve Nash’s game is slowly slipping downhill.

Is the era of Goran Dragic and Robin Lopez, a.k.a. the Dra-pez Era (Lo-gic isn’t  funky enough for an afro-ed, Slovenian duo), on its way? Heck, do they even deserve their own “era”?

Biggest sign they do: their playoff debuts. Normally youngsters make two mistakes for every one thing they do right in the playoffs, the reason calm-headed veterans are so prized when the stakes are high.

Instead, Dragic turned the ball over only once a game while pushing the tempo even more than Nash. What really got observers’ attention was his opportunistic scoring, including his 23-point fourth quarter against San Antonio and his emotional comeback attempt in Game 6 against L.A.

Personal Note: I don’t know why Gentry pulled a torrid Dragic for an ice-cold, notorious-for-horrendous-crunchtime-defense Jason Richardson at the end of Game 6. Dragic was the reason the Suns were within striking distance. Don’t fix an unbroken thing.

Those aren’t your typically green playoff moments, and it makes you wonder what he’s capable of in a bigger role now that his confidence is ready for it.

In general, the Slovenian has as unique a passing game as that of Nash (yes, I said that. Same level yet? No. But same potential). Numerous times after penetrating Dragic would find wide-open teammates in places Nash doesn’t (Nash usually looks down the baseline, while Dragic loves slinging the ball to the top). He also loves getting into the paint and dropping off a dime for an easy deuce, and does so with surprising accuracy and flare.

While Dragic is nowhere close to the shooter Nash is, the youngster’s shot has improved dramatically from Year One to Year Two, setting Phoenix up for a pleasant “what’s next?” scenario. The one offensive area where Dragic is clearly better than Nash is his ability to get to the rim and either a)  score or b) get fouled, whereas Nash has to get an open jumper, nail a pull-up three, or look elsewhere for offense.

In other words, Dragic is every bit the Nash successor Steve Kerr proclaimed him to be when drafting the kid. If you feel stupid for criticizing Kerr for that at the time, join the masses.

Lopez has a chance to be the best Suns’ center in franchise history…which isn’t saying much. But still, Lopez’s energy and tenacity on defense is a douse of fresh water on the parched Phoenix defense. It wakes everyone up, even those you thought were long since asleep to the defensive philosophy (see: Amare Stoudemire).

Like most energy-players, Lopez leaves a lot to be desired in the fundamentals department. What he’s learned thus far on offense is methodical and nearly slow-motion when executed, while defensively his aggressiveness often leads to early, unnecessary fouls.

Still, his instincts for the ball, especially off the glass and blocking shots, shows he’s got the talent to be a legit starting center. If he can continue to develop the offensive flashes he showed towards the end of the season, Steve Kerr will again look very smart for harping about Lopez as the #15 pick two years ago.

Personal Note: Lopez’s back worries me. To me, the two biggest red flags for a basketball player are weight issues and a bad back. Neither one ever really goes away, and both can destroy players oozing with potential. Weight already stole Oliver Miller. Will Lopez’s back do to him what it did to Larry Johnson? I’m afraid of the basketball gods’ answer.

It’s obviously too early to hand the keys over to the Dra-pez Era. There’s still a lot of development needed for them, as well as stability for the team (translation: once the Amare thing is settled, the rest of the Suns will know what’s expected of them).

All in all  though, the years after Nash don’t look nearly as gloomy as they once did.