Jan. 1, 2007 – The dawn of a new year is always a time for great reflection. As another 12 months slowly recede into memory and a dozen more quickly approach, one can’t help but look at things in a (perhaps unnecessarily) profound way. That’s why those “Year in Review” pieces are so popular.

Luckily, I don't have the responsibility of recapping an entire year, only the last 31 days.

December was certainly a busy month around the Association. But one team more so than any other seemed to dominate the headlines and remind me why fans flock to arenas and television sets to watch the greatest athletes in the world do the thing they do best.

The Phoenix Suns, with their spread-it-around style, gaudy 13-2 record in December, including 10 straight wins as part of an overall 15-game run that began in the last weeks of November, represent the best the NBA has to offer, not just in December, but in any month.

Everything the Suns do on the 94 x 50 goes through Steve Nash. It’s been that way for two MVP seasons, and it’s still that way now, evidenced by his 42-point, 13-assist night in a double-OT victory over fellow top point guard Jason Kidd and the Nets on Dec. 7.

Nash is the everyman, the unheralded draftee, the free agent castaway, the undersized gym rat with a motor a Maserati would envy.

Through what appears to be sheer will and determination he has transformed himself into the league’s most statistically unquantifiable force.

Sure, he averaged 21 points and 11.8 assists per game in December, but those numbers don’t begin to explain how good he is, what he means to his team or how, if he keeps it up, Nash could join Russell, Chamberlain and Bird in last name-only territory – part of the prize for being the only players with three straight Maurice Podoloff Trophies.

Then there’s Amaré Stoudemire, now fully recovered from microfracture surgery on his left knee. Those who said he’d slow Phoenix’s attack or take away from Shawn Marion have been proven wrong. Stoudemire has regained the form that made him an All-Star in 2004-05. He averaged 20.5 points and 9.6 rebounds in December and controlled the lane with a breed of athleticism that seems unnatural in a 24-year-old, 6-10 center.

He and Nash are two of five Suns who put down at least 15 points per game (along with Marion, Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell), but no one scores more than the MVP’s 21. That’s the type of fair and balanced treatment to which cable news networks aspire.

It hasn’t been all sunshine in the desert, though. While the Suns have the NBA’s top scoring offense, they give up the fourth most points. They let Washington’s Gilbert Arenas score 54 in the overtime defeat that ended their 15-game winning streak. And they’re winless in five tries against the Western Conference’s elite teams: the Mavs (who topped them by two on Dec. 28), the Spurs and the Jazz.

But, in many ways, this lack of perfection makes the Suns’ better attributes all the more accessible. It allows us to see in them, despite their flaws, a reflection of the good in the Association, the good in sport, and the good we hope will come throughout the new year.

Did the Suns do it for you in December? If not, which team or player reminds you why you love the NBA? Drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Rocky Mountain 'Hi' On Dec. 19, Allen Iverson was traded from Philadelpha -- the city that drafted him and where he played his first 10-plus seasons -- to Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and couple draft picks. Iverson, another diminutive guard who's used Energizer effort to become a surefire Hall of Famer, has brought not just the league's second highest scoring average to the Rockies, but a sorely needed leader as well. In five games with the Nuggets, The Answer has three double-doubles, highlighted by a 44-point, 10-assist outburst in a win over the Sonics.

Agent Zero: Not So Top-Secret Anymore I don't know why, but Gilbert Arenas still surprises me. Maybe I'm just playing into his whole No one respects me mystique, but whatever the case may have been, I'm not ignoring the dude anymore. And neither should the rest of the league. In addition to dropping 34 points per game in December and leading the Wizards to a 12-4 mark and a tie for first in the Southeast Division (when do I officially start worrying about the Heat?), his month included performances of 41, 54 and 60 points. Did I mention his 41-percent shooting from 3-point range? All-Star. Olympian. Whatever title Arenas wants he'll get it from me.

The Ultimate Stat Sheet Stuffer Jason Kidd made some history in December. He recorded the 79th triple-double of his career on Dec. 11 in a 105-92 win over the Grizzlies and moved past Chamberlain for the third most in NBA history. That one came just two games after he got No. 78 in his epic duel with Nash. He added two more in the month to bring his December total to four (all of which were accumulated in an 11-day span), season total to six and career total to 81. Something tells me he won't catch Oscar Robertson or Magic Johnson, though, both of whom sit comfortably ahead of Kidd by more than 50 triple-dips apiece.

A Good Month for the Coaches Jerry Chesnut once wrote, and Elvis Costello once sang, "It's been a good year for the roses." For some reason this came to mind when I was looking back at the month that was. Maybe it's because December was a good month for the coaches. With a victory on Dec. 9, Golden State's Don Nelson joined Lenny Wilkens as the only taskmasters in NBA history with 1,200 wins. Two days later, as Utah blew out Dallas, Jerry Sloan appeared overjoyed after getting career win No. 1,000. Denver's George Karl completed the memorable month for the league's mentors by picking up his 800th 'W' in a victory over Seattle.

Not Even Spielberg Could Have Imagined This Two months into the season and the Toronto Raptors are a first-place team. Yes, they're under .500. Yes, the Atlantic has had a tough go of it so far. But first place is first place, and GM Bryan Colangelo is on his way to executive of the year consideration. He revamped the roster in the offseason, trading Charlie Villanueva off a solid rookie campaign, bringing in T.J. Ford to run the offense and drafting the steadily improving Andrea Bargnani with the top overall pick. I'm not saying the Raptors are going to make the playoffs, but with 13 wins so far, I'm pretty confident they'll improve on last season's 27-55 record.

In other news ... In addition to Arenas' 54-point eruption in Phoenix and 60-point showing in Hollywood, there have been three other 50-point games this month: two by the Lakers' Kobe Bryant (58 in a 133-124 triple-OT loss to the Bobcats on Dec. 29 and 53 in a 112-101 double-OT win over the Rockets on Dec. 15) and another by the Pistons' Richard Hamilton (a career-high 51 in a 151-145 triple-OT loss to the Knicks on Dec. 27). The league's scoreboard operators were pretty busy. The Bulls limped into December with a 5-9 record and looked more like a lottery team than a playoff contender. But things turned around in a hurry thanks to seven wins on an eight-game homestand during the month's first two weeks. Chicago won 14 of its 17 games in December and now stands at 19-12, good enough for a first-place tie with Detroit in the Eastern Conference. Don't look now, but head coach Avery Johnson has the Mavericks running in high gear once again. Dallas, which saw its 12-game winning streak snapped by those streak-busting Wizards on Dec. 4, closed the month by winning 10 in a row, and its 24-7 record is an NBA best. With the Mavs' victory in Denver on New Year's Eve, Johnson improved to 100-31 for his career, surpassing the late Red Auerbach as the fastest coach to 100 wins.

Have your own thoughts on the month that was? Disagree with my December highlights? Send an e-mail and let me know.