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Unlike many experts predicted, the Phoenix Suns were able to get off to a great start as they won five out of six so far. Hoping to stay at the top of the Western Conference, Steve Nash and the Suns will make their way to Pennsylvania to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday at midnight GMT.

Albeit the 76ers did not start this year’s NBA campaign as spectacular as the Suns, Philadelphia’s front office is still fairly content with the performance of the team around Andre Iguodala thus far. More specifically, Philly posted a 3-2 record in the first week of play and looked like they are bound for another year in the post-season. In fact, the squad of coach Eddie Jordan only fell to the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, arguably the best teams in the Eastern Conference. One issue for the 76ers has been the integration of Elton Brand who is back in the lineup after missing nearly the entire 2008-09 season. After all, Brand is a low-post player who shines in half-court sets, yet Philadelphia relies on their up-tempo basketball to win games. Therefore, Andre Iguodala and company will have to work on finding a balance between pushing the ball and slowing down their pace in order to fully utilize their talent. Where as it is no shocker that Iguodala leads Philly’s offense, the performance of sophomore Louis Williams has been somewhat surprising as he managed to put up 17.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.

In contrast, the system change that took place in Phoenix over the summer seems to fit coach Alvin Gentry’s squad perfectly. With Shaq being out of the picture, the Suns went back to their up-tempo system featuring shots early in the shot-clock and scoring in transition. That said, Phoenix had no trouble scoring but showed significant shortcomings at the defensive end of the floor. However, so far the Suns’ offensive abilities outweighed their defensive weaknesses as they averaged no less than 111 points per game while allowing 106 an the other end. Likewise, Steve Nash and company have been spectacular from beyond the arc, shooting a whopping 47% from three point range. Although some might have doubted whether Amar’e Stoudemire would fully recover from his injury, he turned out to be just as valuable as before, putting up 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Taking everything into consideration, the Suns appear to have a slight advantage in their encounter with the 76ers but will have to work hard for a win on Tuesday night. However, Philadelphia should be able to stay within striking distance provided they contain the Suns’ offense to some extent and resist the temptation to adjust to Phoenix’ pace. Either way, the audience can expect a close game between two fairly even teams that are dedicated to outscore their opponent.

You can watch all games of the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.