The Suns clinched a playoff berth on Tuesday night.

Phoenix has won eight straight games, including a 17-4 mark since the All-Star break.

They outscored the Bulls by nine points in the fourth quarter to come away with a 111-105 win in Chicago.

The Mavericks lead the Suns by just a game for the second seed in the Western Conference.

Suns center Robin Lopez will miss the team's five-game road trip as he deals with a back injury.

Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr says an MRI on Saturday showed a bulging disk. Lopez will meet with a specialist on Monday.

The Suns will begin the trip on Sunday in Minnesota and travel to Chicago, New Jersey, Detroit and Milwaukee before returning home.

Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire isn't a fan of Knicks swingman Tracy McGrady.

"I'm not a big fan of Tracy McGrady -- as a person or as a player," Stoudemire said.

The big man has held a grudge against McGrady for once blowing him off when Stoudemire was in high school.

He added that the grudge wouldn't be a deal-breaker if New York re-signed McGrady and courted Stoudemire this summer.

"I think he's messing with you," McGrady said in response.

When told about McGrady's reply, Stoudemire said: "He didn't remember? I'm not surprised he doesn't remember that."

Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire believes that his price tag is growing as time progresses.

Stoudemire has mentioned that he's leaning towards joining the free agent class of 2010. He has a $17.7 million option in his contract for the 2010-11 season.

"I'm getting more expensive by the game," he said this week.

The forward has reemerged as a top-flight forward since the All-Star break. He's averaging 29.8 points and 9.8 rebounds in March.

"I'm really getting acclimated, I'm really getting comfortable with the system," Stoudemire said. "I've gotten back in top shape. All of that plays a factor. I'm really focused on being a complete player and putting everything into motion that I've been working on.

"It has nothing to do with the trades, trade talk or rumors. Around that time is when I stepped my game up, but it has nothing to do with that at all."

RealGM Note: Stoudemire is currently ranked 21st in season FIC, meaning he 'deserves' to make $15.85M for the 2009-10 season.

Suns general manager Steve Kerr is nearing the end of his contract and there is talk that he'll soon sign a new pact.

"Robert (Sarver) and I have talked about it, and I feel good about the situation," Kerr said. "We're going to figure out everything at the end of the season."

After a rough season in 2008-09, the Suns are surging thanks to moves that Kerr made and, in the case of trading Amare Stoudemire, didn't make as well.

Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire indicated Monday he will opt out of the final season of his contract and become a free agent this summer.

He hasn't made a final decision, but has been playing great lately and finally feels 100% after a serious eye injury suffered last season.

"It's definitely a great time. The timing is perfect as far as being a free agent. But it doesn't determine whether I stay or not," Stoudemire told NBA.com.

"It's a great time to be a free agent."

Stoudemire went into Monday averaging 30.2 points and 10.2 rebounds the previous 10 games.

He would be leaving $17.7 million on the table if he opted out.

Suns general manager Steve Kerr doesn't think stints in the D-League should be referred to as demotions.

"It's stupid," Kerr said. "I don't know why people look at it that way. I'm hopeful that someday, after it's collectively bargained, you'd be able to send a guy down on an injury stint, like Major League Baseball."

Players are limited to three D-League trips per season in their first two years. Phoenix recently sent rookie forward Earl Clark to Iowa for a trio of games.

"I like seeing a guy who knows his limitations, plays within himself and then works in practice to try to get better at his limitations," Kerr said of Clark. "He's got a really nice touch on the ball, but his technique obviously isn't perfect. He shoots it kind of from the side, behind his head a little bit."

One source close to the situation insisted to ESPN this week that Dwyane Wade and Amare Stoudemire are closer than advertised as pals even though they haven't played together on Team USA since 2004.

The source also said that Miami is indeed Stoudemire's first choice in free agency if he finally leaves the Suns this summer.

Suns point guard Steve Nash used the team's break from March 7-11 to get work done on his usually troublesome back.

Nash worked with his personal physiotherapist, Rick Celebrini, to get more movement in two of his vertebrae.

"We're a better team now than we've been at any point this year," said Nash of the Suns, who have 14 games to lock up a postseason berth.

"We've got a very competitive Western Conference but we've got a shot against people."

Amare Stoudemire returned to the court heavier than usual after the down time following his eye surgery.

He has lost about 26 pounds and is down to 242, a more customary weight for him at this point of the season, and his body fat is about 5.5 percent.

"I feel great," Stoudemire said. "Feel quick. Feel fast. Agile. With that being said, my basketball IQ is definitely improving. That's been helping my teammates.

"Just the fact of me now getting in great shape allows me to really feel a lot better and quicker on the basketball court. This is my weight right here. You guys know every second half of the year, I turn it up a notch. Making the playoff push last year, I wasn't able to turn it up. I went out with the eye injury. You guys should be used to it by now."

Stoudemire entered Tuesday night's game averaging 30.7 points and 11 rebounds in his previous seven games.

"Having a sense of urgency, knowing we're going for this playoff push, it's very important for us to all be playing well," Stoudemire said. "That's the reason why I turn it up a notch. It seems to be working out well for us. We're getting wins."