The New York Knicks host the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night (Jan. 18) in the only game that the two teams will play against each other this season. It’s the one time that the Madison Square Garden fans get to see Suns point guard Steve Nash and hopefully it shows how an opponent can work to shut him down.

The Suns have a 4-9 record this season, placing the team fourth in the Pacific division. Not much has gone right for a team that wasn’t expected to make the postseason anyways, but no franchise wants to see a season wasted like this one. Phoenix is heading straight for a lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t weapons on the roster.

The starting lineup against the Knicks is likely Marcin Gortat at center, Channing Frye at power forward, Grant Hill at small forward, Jared Dudley at shooting guard and Nash at the point. Only three players average in double-figures scoring, led by Gortat at just 14.3 points per game. Nash comes in at 14.2 points with his 10 assists a night and Dudley averages 11.1 points. Those aren’t very impressive statistics, but it could just show how deep the rotation is that the team goes with. 10 players are getting 16 or more minutes per night and it means they can run the floor well.

A potential problem for the Knicks is that the Suns like to shoot a lot of three-pointers. The team averages 19.7 attempts per night and though they only make 33.2 percent of those, this is a team that can hit the wide-open shots. If the Knicks can just make sure to rotate well on defense and rush the three-point line, then this game is going to turn into a very easy win.

Carmelo Anthony is back on the court after missing just one game and actually put in 33 points against the Orlando Magic on Monday (Jan. 16). He brings his 26.1 points per game average into this one and will definitely get called upon to put up big numbers. Amare Stoudemire is the one to watch closely though, as he goes up against his former team and a franchise that didn’t believe he was worth the long-term investment. He might have something to prove and there certainly isn’t anyone on the Suns roster that can stop him.

Even though the Knicks are on a streak of terribly played games, this seems like one that should end up in the win column very easily. As long as everyone is covering their defensive assignments then it could actually turn into a blowout in favor of the home team. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night (Jan. 18).

More From YCN :

Knicks Beat Washington (Barely)

Knicks Lose to Raptors

Knicks Beat Kings Without Stoudemire

Stoudemire Injures Ankle

No_Garnett_Suspension

Sources:

NBA Standings

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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Jason Terry contributed 18 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, to help the Mavs (3-4) string together consecutive wins for the first time this season.

“We said at the beginning, we’re going to be a piece of work and everybody is going to come along and I think this team is more set up to peak down the stretch and not now,” Nowitzki said. “Everybody’s got to work themselves back into shape, get the legs strong and play with each other more and I think we’re going to be a good team down the stretch.”

Lamar Odom added 15 points and five rebounds in his best game since joining the Mavericks in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 11.

But Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Odom can do better in just about every area.

“He had good stats, but there are areas where he needs to improve.” Carlisle said.

Steve Nash had 15 points and 12 assists for the Suns (2-4), while Marcin Gortat had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks lost their first three games while trying to introduce five new faces into the lineup after the departures of five key players from the team that won its first title last season.

Now the Mavericks are playing with more cohesion and energy, winning three of four.

“These are steps in the right direction,” said Mavericks forward Shawn Marion, who had 13 points despite being listed as questionable before the game due to illness. “Things are starting to click on both ends of the floor.”

Nowitzki is the team’s career leader in most categories, including points. He already had the record for games played and was appearing in his 975th game as a starter.

“I’m still working to get back to where I was,” said Nowitzki, MVP of the NBA Finals last season. “It’s definitely good to get to 1,000 games, that’s a lot of games and means I was healthy a lot and I was able to help my team and this franchise a lot. It’s great and now we’re looking for another 1,000, we’ll see how far we can take it.”

The Mavs broke the game open with a 13-4 third-quarter run capped by five straight points from Nowitzki, including a three-point play for a 62-49 lead.

Terry hit a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to make it 77-66.

“It was a 3-point momentum play at the end of the quarter, a huge play,” Carlisle said.

Terry connected on three more from behind the arc early in the fourth, the final one pushing the Mavs’ advantage to 92-71 with 7:46 remaining.

The Suns kept hustling and trimmed the deficit to 96-87 on Nash’s 3-pointer with 2:50 to play, but the Phoenix couldn’t get any closer.

The Mavericks were up at halftime, 49-41 behind Nowitzki’s 13 points.

For the game, the Suns were outrebounded 53-42, 19-11 on the offensive glass.

“I think we gave up tons of offensive rebounds,” Nash said. “We held them to 41 percent shooting which is more than acceptable, but we missed a lot of shots. We’re OK offensively, but you can’t give up so many offensive rebounds like we did tonight.”

Terry and Odom led Dallas to a 51-21 advantage in bench scoring.

“That’s where the separation came, with the second units,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “That’s where the lead came and it was hard for us to overcome.”

NOTES: Nowitzki is the 98th player in NBA history with at least 1,000 games. … The teams met for the first time this season. Dallas swept all four games last season. … Recently-signed Phoenix G Michael Redd has begun working back into basketball shape but Gentry said Redd won’t be ready to be activated for 10-14 days. … Football players from Arkansas and Kansas State were in attendance. The teams meet Friday in the Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium. … Dallas’ Jason Kidd appeared in his 1,274th regular-season game, tying Terry Porter for 16th on the NBA’s career list. Kidd is the league’s active leader in games played.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry shared the thought he and his staff had about Hakim Warrick entering the preseason.

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Profile: Suns forward Hakim Warrick

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“I don’t see how he’s going to play.”

And now?

“I don’t see how he can’t play.”

Warrick went from not playing in the opener to leading the Suns in scoring average as a reserve. Warrick, whose role vacillated last season, is averaging 13.8 points per game by hitting 50 percent from the field and making 13 of 16 free-throw attempts.

In Monday’s 102-91 victory over Golden State, he had lows for minutes (16) and points (eight) but might have solidified his fit in the rotation as a backup small forward. The Suns are stocked in the frontcourt with rookie Markieff Morris’ emergence. Warrick has always been slender for the spot and the Suns experimented with him at a wing spot during training camp, when his midrange shot proved reliable. He gives the Suns a post-up edge at times, although Warrick is frustrated that teams put a power forward on him and a small forward on Morris when they play together.

Gentry started the fourth quarter Monday with a front court of Channing Frye, Warrick and Morris, giving the flexibility of two forwards who can roll to the hoop or pop out for a midrange jump shot after setting screens for ball-handlers.

“I knew coming in it was going to be crowded,” Warrick said. “That’s why I really worked on playing the three more after we drafted Markieff. We had a lot of bigs. I knew for me to be able to get on the floor, I’d have to be more versatile and play more positions.

“Last year, I think I started well. Then when we made adjustments and trades, I didn’t adjust well. My confidence got down and I didn’t play the way I’ve been playing my whole career.”

Warrick’s 8.4 scoring average last season was his lowest since his 2005-06 rookie year, but so was his playing time (17.7 minutes per game). Warrick seems more fully integrated into the team this season, from the training room to the floor.

“He’s dedicated himself,” Gentry said. “But also he spent a year in the system, trying to understand how to play and where to get minutes. He came back in really good shape and shooting the ball better than he has. He’s been really engaged in practices. He’s earned his playing time. It hasn’t been anything we’ve given him. He forced us to play him.”

Redd-letter day

New Suns guard Michael Redd practiced for the first time with his new team Tuesday and joined some half-court, five-on-five work that was the most basketball contact he has taken since he returned in April from January 2010 knee surgery.

Redd joined the team trip to Dallas for Wednesday night’s game but he is expected to be at least several days away from playing a game.

“I felt like I moved great,” Redd said. “I was a little rusty with the game. I’m just trying to figure it out. I haven’t played since April. I’m trying to figure out the plays and schemes. But it was fun. It was good to be part of the team finally on the court.”

Gentry said Redd has “a long way to go” but saw how Redd’s shotmaking and shot-creating ability can help if the twice-repaired left knee holds up.

“I played free with no pain, which is the big thing,” Redd said. “I moved freely without worrying about anything. The medical staff said it is rock solid. I’ve been training the last couple days. The trainers have been really attacking the body and I feel great. They’re pleased.”

Free throws

Amid offensive struggles, the Suns are averaging 12.8 turnovers, third lowest in the NBA.

Center Robin Lopez sat out Tuesday’s practice with a foot bruise but is expected to play Wednesday night.

Gentry on Grant Hill practicing Tuesday: “I’d like to keep Grant out but Grant thinks it’s better for him and he gets more of a rhythm when he’s practicing, which is total bull. That’s what he wants to do and there’s nothing you can do about it. He wants to be out there.”

The Phoenix Suns haven’t had a lot of success in the NBA Draft since they took Amare Stoudemire with the ninth-overall pick in 2002. They haven’t had a lot of lottery picks in that time either with only Luol Deng (draft day trade), Earl Clark (traded) and Robin Lopez being selected in the top half of the draft until 2011.

This summer was the first chance for Lance Blanks and Lon Babby leave their mark on the team via the draft. They picked Markieff Morris from Kansas with the 13th pick, a decision that brought solid “B’s” in the various draft grades.

So far, however, Morris has exceeded all expectations and currently is the third highest-ranked rookie in his class with a PER of 22.24. It’s only five games into his pro career, but Morris is proving to be everything the Suns hoped and more.

Offensively, Morris is already the Suns best big in the post with an outstanding conversion rate of .700 on his 12 post-up possessions as charted by Synergy Sports Tech. But what makes Morris so special offensively is his ability to also stretch the floor. He’s shooting 50 percent on his jump shots and is an impressive 6-12 from three.

The one thing Morris doesn’t bring, or at least hasn’t yet, is the ability to finish on the pick and roll. He’s only been used on two possessions with one resulting in a jump shot. On the other, he slipped the pick, caught the pass from Nash and had the ball striped in the paint.

It will be interesting to see if Morris can develop this part of this game. Playing more minutes with Nash will certainly help, but he’s clearly no Amare Stoudemire. On the flip side, Morris is a far better post player and spot up shooter than Amare was as a young player even though the spectacular dunks aren’t part of the repertoire.

Morris has already proven to be an effective rebounder as well. His rebound rate of 14.4 is second-highest on the team behind only Channing Frye who’s started the season making up for his poor shooting by attacking the glass hard.

Defense is where the rookie is struggling most. He’s prone to commit fouls and has some work to do before he adapts to the NBA game. The effort, smarts and desire are there so there’s no reason to think that Morris won’t improve as he gets more experience. In the mean time, his versatile offense and work on the boards should continue to earn him minutes. His twin brother Marcus, meanwhile, has been sent to the Houston Rockets D-league affiliate to work on his game.

Overall, while it’s still very early, the Morris draft pick looks like a fantastic decision for the Suns.

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Welcome back to Planet Orange. Try not to bump your head on the low ceiling of expectations.

The Phoenix Suns are no longer chasing a championship trophy.

“Our job is to get this thing back on track,” Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. “We have to change the culture a little bit.”

The 2011-12 Suns season begins Monday at US Airways Center, and in the world of sports, changing the culture is a popular euphemism for starting anew. Kirk Gibson said the same thing about his baseball team last spring before guiding the Diamondbacks to the playoffs.

This is a little different.

The Suns have too many weaknesses. The lockout-condensed, 66-game NBA schedule does no favors for a team relying on aging leaders. Center Marcin Gortat has a fractured thumb on his shooting hand. The franchise has missed the playoffs twice in the past three years.

The delusions are gone. So are many of the familiar faces. So is the debate regarding the Suns’ up-tempo style and whether it’s designed for postseason futility.

Now, a diminished franchise is merely hoping to make the playoffs.

“The room for error is real small,” Suns guard Jared Dudley said. “We’ve lost so many pieces over the years. We have to play scrappy, smart basketball, and we didn’t play smart basketball last year. If we don’t do that, and if we don’t become a top-15 defense in the league, it’s going to be hard for us this year.”

In a previous era, this team would be considered a Steve Nash specialty, appealing to his underdog sensibilities. Few players in NBA history have done more with less supporting talent. No one fosters better team chemistry.

But the Suns are lacking a big-time scorer, someone to deliver when the game is on the line. Nash is a former two-time Most Valuable Player, but he’ll turn 38 in February and is unable to carry his team for long periods of time.

Nash is also in the last year of his contract, so at some point he and the team might agree that a trade is the best solution for everyone involved. That speculation will follow in Nash’s wake for most of the season and will surely be a distraction.

“In a perfect world, he’d like to finish up here, get this organization back to respectability,” teammate Grant Hill said. “I just know how proud Phoenicians are of Steve and what he’s been able to accomplish. And I think we all feel like we have something to prove. When I came here, the franchise was trying to compete for a championship. To leave it the way things were last year just doesn’t sit right.”

From 2004 to 2010, the Suns were the little engine that couldn’t, a team that reached and lost the Western Conference finals three times. Their success captivated a region that swears allegiance to the Valley’s oldest major professional franchise. The failures led to deep heartbreak in the community and great angst surrounding the team’s owner, Robert Sarver.

Now, the Suns are at a crossroads. Regrets and miscalculations no longer matter. The future needs our attention, not the past.

The Suns will have plenty of salary-cap space next off-season to recruit free agents. A poor record in the upcoming season could yield a high draft pick, the best way to regenerate a mediocre team. And in the coming months, the Suns need to target their future franchise players, the ones who will restore championship aspirations.

In the meantime, Gentry will attempt to change a culture that never valued the art of defense.

I know. We’ve all heard that one before.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying,” Gentry said. “I’m going to be adamant about it. We can’t have this culture of ‘If you score on me, I’ll score on you.’ In the last five minutes of a game, we have to know that we don’t need to make a ton of baskets to win.”

Former Suns star Charles Barkley thinks it’s about time for a change in mind-set and direction. He says that the run-and-gun philosophy has been exposed as flawed strategy and that peddling Nash is a necessity for this team to turn the page. He thinks Gortat and Robin Lopez can be the “best 1-2 punch at center in the NBA,” helping the franchise move into a new era.

“They are maybe a playoff team,” Barkley said. “But they are no longer a championship contender. And at some point, you have to begin the rebuilding process.”

Alas, that time seems to have arrived, even though few Arizonans want to hear such gloomy forecasts.

Already, it’s been a bleak winter for Valley basketball. Arizona State is in the midst of a horrific season, prompting head coach Herb Sendek to apologize to his fan base. Don’t be alarmed if Gentry must do the same in the coming weeks.

Rebuilding is never fun, and chances are, the upcoming NBA season will not go down easy. That is, unless you enjoy the taste of medicine.

Reach Bickley at dan.bickley @arizonarepublic.com. Follow him at twitter.com/danbickley. Listen to “Bickley and MJ” 2-6 p.m. weekdays on KGME-AM (910).

By Seth Pollack

– Regional Sports Editor

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Dec 23, 2011 – The Phoenix Suns finished their preseason with two disappointing blowout losses to the Denver Nuggets. There was plenty to be concerned about from the Suns as coach Alvin Gentry expressed after Thursday’s loss when he repeated a phrase we hard frequently last season.

“We’ve got to get everyone playing at a real high level,” Gentry said Thursday. “Our margin for error is not great.”

There were also several bright spots from the preseason. In this slim margin for error environment, we’ll have to hang our hats on these positives to avoid spiraling down into a pit of despair or even worse, fall into the apathy trap that comes from extended periods of mediocrity with no hope for improvement. 

In the first preseason game on the road, things fell apart in the first half as the Suns turnovers and poor defensive rebounding led to an insurmountable 63-49 deficit by the intermission.

In the second game, the Nuggets didn’t play three of their key guys (Nene, Ty Lawson and Al Harrington) and were still able to put the Suns away with a 16-3 run to open the fourth quarter.

The preseason really isn’t too much about team play for a veteran group like Phoenix. Player rotations are much different than we’ll see in the regular season and plays aren’t even always called late in games.

What matters more from preseason and the entire training camp is individual evaluations. Here’s ours for the Suns.

Breaking the Bank

These guys stood out in the preseason by playing above expectations or at least proving they could meet them.

Markieff Morris: The Suns 13th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was said to be a well-rounded player who could do a little of everything on the basketball court. He had a reputation for being a tough kid with a great motor to go along with those skills. All of that was on display which is very encouraging.

Morris finished the two preseason games with 11 points, 7.5 rebounds, and two blocks per game. He also fouled out of both contests playing less than 30 minutes.

The rookie showed a bit of everything offensively and certainly wasn’t bashful about getting his shot off. He also made rookie mistakes, especially on defense, and has a lot to learn about the NBA game and officiating. One thing he’s not shown us yet is if he can be an effective finisher working with Steve Nash on the pick and roll. 

Overall, it seems very likely that Morris will be a positive contributor to the team this season perhaps playing about 17 minutes per game and on occasion having big scoring nights. His rebounding and defensive effort should be a constant and he’ll likely show good progress throughout the season.

With Marcin Gortat dealing with a broken thumb, we could see more Morris early in the season than planned. 

Video: Markieff Morris after preseason Game 2

Robin Lopez: Robin came back from the break with a refreshed and healthy body and has returned to his old level of athleticism from before the 2010 back injury. On the very first day of the season, he demonstrated a new positive attitude and he’s been a bright spot all through camp.

While Lopez is probably several seasons away from become a consistent scoring threat and his rebounding numbers will likely still lag behind expectations, his mobility and defensive presence will be important for the Suns. Despite having an off shooting night (1-6 from the field), Lopez finished Thursday’s game with the best plus/minus differential of any Suns player.

Video: Robin Lopez on the first day back from the lockout

Hakim Warrick: Warrick came into the season as the guy most likely to get edged out of the front court rotation. His defense and rebounding last season made it difficult to play him at power forward and he’s struggled in the past defending wing players.

Warrick’s best chance for playing time is to provide a scoring punch off the bench and he did that with 14.5 points in the two preseason games which led the Suns. Hakim was consistently effective from mid-range and showed off his abilities in the post and on the pick and roll. If Warrick continues to play at this level, it will be hard to keep him on the bench despite his defensive challenges.

Jared Dudley: Jared Dudley didn’t do anything in the preseason we hadn’t seen before but it was great to see him back and looking very comfortable in a starting roll. As a starting two guard, Dudley will have a size advantage in the post and has shown he still has the ability to play with his back to the basket (he was a power forward in college). 

Dudley is still one of the smartest players in the league and always seems to be in the right place defensively. He can struggle guarding quicker guys in isolation but makes up for that in other ways.

Video: Jared Dudley after preseason Game 2

Making the Grade

These are the guys who are who we thought they were.

Steve Nash: Nash is still Nash and there’s no reason to think he won’t start the season very strong and finish at or near the top of the assists category in the league. His shot was on in Denver for the first game (5-7) and off on Thursday (2-9). His ability to shoot consistently this season will be huge for the Suns and in the past it’s his outside shot that’s suffered when his body isn’t right.

As you expect with a vet like Nash, the preseason didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.

Video: Nash on the first day back after the lockout

Grant Hill: Hill didn’t play in the first preseason game due to a sore knee and didn’t put up big numbers in 25 minutes of the second game. Gentry has hinted that he will try and keep Grant at about 20 minutes per game but as we know, when the bullets start flying it’s very difficult to keep this guy on the bench. He could start the season slow and there will certainly be nights where the schedule gets to his 39-year-old body, but overall, Grant is still Grant.

Marcin Gortat: Gortat looked good in the first preseason game but missed the second with a broken thumb that’s going to hamper him, especially shooting, for the first month or so of the season. It’s too soon to say how much improvement Gortat will show over last year but even if he’s “only” the same guy, the Suns will need his rebounding and scoring.

Video: Marcin Gortat talking about his thumb injury

Ronnie Price: Price is living up to his reputation as a gritty defensive player who’s athletic but not particularly skilled as a point guard. He seemingly has jumped over Sebastian Telfair as the primary back up to Nash. With Price in the game Thursday, the Suns ran pick and roll with Shannon Brown handling the ball or went into the post. While Price will likely not be the guy running the offensive show, his defense should keep him on the floor. His tough mentality has impressed the coaching staff and will win the hearts of many fans.

Shannon Brown: Shannon Brown is still adjusting to the Suns system. Some guys come to Phoenix and aren’t used to shooting so they are too timid. Other guys come to Phoenix and hear the “green light” and shoot too much. So far, Brown has fallen into that later category. He is skilled and can get his shot off at times, but we’re looking for him to play more in the flow of the offense. There’s no reason to think he won’t do that once the regular season starts.

Falling short

These are the guys who didn’t make the grade.

Josh Childress: Childress is going to be asked to play a bigger role this season backing up Grant Hill. So far in preseason he still doesn’t look like he’s in sync.

Gentry was very candid talking about what Childress needs to do, “He’s got to be a little more active, I think with what his approach is, and I think he’s got to create some situations with offensive rebounds and things like that and then he’s got to get out and run.”

If Childress isn’t getting it done, the Suns could push him back to the bench and play Dudley and Brown together more.

Sebastian Telfair: Bassy was brought in to be more of a pure point playing behind Nash off the bench. His four turnovers in the first preseason game moved him behind Price and he only saw six minutes of garbage time action in the second game. Telfair might need more time to adjust before figuring it out with the Suns, but his preseason campaign has not been encouraging.

Channing Frye: Frye is 1-14 in two preseason games with a total of eight rebounds. That’s not going to get it done and he knows it. But we’re not too worried about Frye. He’s been consistent in his two years with the Suns and proven how important he is to the team. The effort is there and we expect Channing will be fine once things get going, but his preseason left a lot to be desired. Frye said Thursday night he’s been playing with too much emotion and just needs to dial in the right level so he’s not putting so much pressure on himself with each shot.

Other

Garret Siler: Garret Siler really didn’t show anything more than we saw last season. He’s fairly skilled around the rim and a big body but still not all that mobile. He’s a good guy to have on the roster but is not likely to contribute much this season.

Marcus Landry:  Marcus Landry is a solid practice player with upside. Like his brother Carl, he’s very tough and works extremely hard. He’s a more perimeter-oriented version of Gani Lawal and could make the team to provide depth and be a solid guy on the practice floor. 

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With Alvin Gentry entering his third full season as Suns coach, the team will keep pushing a fierce tempo. Scoring points has never been a problem for Phoenix. Stopping the opponent from scoring has.

Gentry has long preached the need for better defense. Now he’s added assistant coach Elston Turner to specifically address that aspect of the game.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever be the Chicago Bulls or the Boston Celtics or the San Antonio Spurs,” Gentry said, “but I don’t think those teams will ever beat us offensively.

“What we have to do is continue what we do offensively but we have to know what we’re going to get night in and night out defensively.”

With a lineup that features the 37-year-old Nash and 39-year-old Grant Hill, the Suns hope to rely on improved depth to cut down the minutes for everyone in a compacted 66-game season.

“The one thing that we’ve done around here is we’ve always tried to play nine or 10 guys,” Gentry said. “I think it’s going to be important this year that you have a deep bench because you have certain situations where you’re playing five games in seven nights or six games in nine nights, where it’s going to be really important to have depth where you’re not burning guys out.”

The Suns signed three free agents — shooting guard Shannon Brown and point guards Sebastian Telfair and Ronnie Price. They also are expecting help from first-round draft pick Markieff Morris, a 6-foot-10 power forward from Kansas. They join a reserve corps that already includes Josh Childress, Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick.

A major area of potential improvement is at center, where Marcin Gortat will have more time to work on what already is an effective pick and roll with Nash, who despite the team’s issues a year ago still led the league in assists at 11.4 per game.

Gortat was the centerpiece for Phoenix in the blockbuster trade with Orlando less than halfway into last season. Escaping from the considerable shadow of Dwight Howard, the 6-foot-11, 240-pound Polish center averaged 13 points and 9.3 rebounds in 55 games with the Suns.

Phoenix also is hoping to benefit from what appears to be a rejuvenated Lopez. The 7-footer is coming off a subpar season that followed a strong showing in the Suns’ surprise run to the Western Conference finals two years ago.

Jared Dudley, for now, is the starting two-guard with the athletic Brown coming off the bench. Channing Frye, Dudley and Nash will provide the outside shooting power, while the ageless Hill, who spurned offers from more obvious contenders to return to Phoenix, again will draw the toughest defensive assignments.

But this, as always, is Nash’s team. He enters his 16th NBA season, the last eight with the Suns. This is the final year of his contract. Suns President Lon Babby said he wants Nash to retire as a Sun, but the team isn’t in position to give him a new contract until after the coming season.

“We’re trying to be disciplined and stick with our overall plan, which is to remain as competitive as we can be and at the same time put ourselves in a position of flexibility beginning next summer,” Babby said. “That doesn’t mean everything is going to get accomplished next summer or the summer after that or that we don’t have high expectations for this year, but I think you have to have an overall plan and an overall strategy, and then the details unfold.”

Babby knows that speculation about Nash being traded is inevitable.

“We want him to stay here as long as he wants to be here,” Babby said, “and we want to have him go into the Hall of Fame as a Phoenix Sun and the (Suns) Ring of Honor as a Phoenix Sun. On some level, I’ve communicated that to him. It’s really going to be his decision, together with us I suppose, but that opportunity is there for him. That’s the right thing for our franchise.”

Babby said he thinks Nash “understands where we are.”

“We’re kind of at the end of one cycle and starting another cycle and we want him to help us return to elite status with the contributions he can make over the next period of time,” Babby said. “What I want to try to avoid, and I think I’ve communicated to him, is to not let it be a distraction.”

Nash said he isn’t looking beyond this season.

“I’m not really thinking about it,” he said. “I just want to try to make this team into a playoff team. At this stage of my career, I’m not thinking about tomorrow. I’m just thinking about today.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PHOENIX (AP)—The Phoenix Suns are giving Steve Nash the ball again,
tweaking their lineup, adding a defensive-minded assistant coach and hoping that
avoiding the turmoil that disrupted last season will get them back in the
playoffs.

“I think we’re going to be better than what people think,” Grant Hill
said. “Obviously the West is extremely difficult, but we almost got in last
year and I think we’ll be better. We have better chemistry and continuity than
we had last year. … Then I think collectively there’s a little bit of a
mindset that we’ve got something to prove, that we’re better than what we
showed.”

With Alvin Gentry entering his third full season as Suns coach, the team
will keep pushing a fierce tempo. Scoring points has never been a problem for
Phoenix. Stopping the opponent from scoring has.

Gentry has long preached the need for better defense. Now he’s added
assistant coach Elston Turner to specifically address that aspect of the game.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever be the Chicago Bulls or the Boston Celtics or
the San Antonio Spurs,” Gentry said, “but I don’t think those teams will ever
beat us offensively.

“What we have to do is continue what we do offensively but we have to know
what we’re going to get night in and night out defensively.”

With a lineup that features the 37-year-old Nash and 39-year-old Grant Hill,
the Suns hope to rely on improved depth to cut down the minutes for everyone in
a compacted 66-game season.

“The one thing that we’ve done around here is we’ve always tried to play
nine or 10 guys,” Gentry said. “I think it’s going to be important this year
that you have a deep bench because you have certain situations where you’re
playing five games in seven nights or six games in nine nights, where it’s going
to be really important to have depth where you’re not burning guys out.”

The Suns signed three free agents—shooting guard Shannon Brown and point
guards Sebastian Telfair and Ronnie Price. They also are expecting help from
first-round draft pick Markieff Morris, a 6-foot-10 power forward from Kansas.
They join a reserve corps that already includes Josh Childress, Robin Lopez and
Hakim Warrick.

A major area of potential improvement is at center, where Marcin Gortat will
have more time to work on what already is an effective pick and roll with Nash,
who despite the team’s issues a year ago still led the league in assists at 11.4
per game.

Gortat was the centerpiece for Phoenix in the blockbuster trade with Orlando
less than halfway into last season. Escaping from the considerable shadow of
Dwight Howard, the 6-foot-11, 240-pound Polish center averaged 13 points and 9.3
rebounds in 55 games with the Suns.

Phoenix also is hoping to benefit from what appears to be a rejuvenated
Lopez. The 7-footer is coming off a subpar season that followed a strong showing
in the Suns’ surprise run to the Western Conference finals two years ago.

Jared Dudley, for now, is the starting two-guard with the athletic Brown
coming off the bench. Channing Frye, Dudley and Nash will provide the outside
shooting power, while the ageless Hill, who spurned offers from more obvious
contenders to return to Phoenix, again will draw the toughest defensive
assignments.

But this, as always, is Nash’s team. He enters his 16th NBA season, the last
eight with the Suns. This is the final year of his contract. Suns President Lon
Babby said he wants Nash to retire as a Sun, but the team isn’t in position to
give him a new contract until after the coming season.

“We’re trying to be disciplined and stick with our overall plan, which is
to remain as competitive as we can be and at the same time put ourselves in a
position of flexibility beginning next summer,” Babby said. “That doesn’t mean
everything is going to get accomplished next summer or the summer after that or
that we don’t have high expectations for this year, but I think you have to have
an overall plan and an overall strategy, and then the details unfold.”

Babby knows that speculation about Nash being traded is inevitable.

“We want him to stay here as long as he wants to be here,” Babby said,
“and we want to have him go into the Hall of Fame as a Phoenix Sun and the
(Suns) Ring of Honor as a Phoenix Sun. On some level, I’ve communicated that to
him. It’s really going to be his decision, together with us I suppose, but that
opportunity is there for him. That’s the right thing for our franchise.”

Babby said he thinks Nash “understands where we are.”

“We’re kind of at the end of one cycle and starting another cycle and we
want him to help us return to elite status with the contributions he can make
over the next period of time,” Babby said. “What I want to try to avoid, and I
think I’ve communicated to him, is to not let it be a distraction.”

Nash said he isn’t looking beyond this season.

“I’m not really thinking about it,” he said. “I just want to try to make
this team into a playoff team. At this stage of my career, I’m not thinking
about tomorrow. I’m just thinking about today.”

DENVER – A Suns starting lineup that was mostly in the air wound up with a familiar look.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry opened the preseason Tuesday night with the same starting lineup that finished last season, except for Grant Hill sitting out with a sore right knee.

Josh Childress started in place of Hill, whose absence was precautionary, alongside Steve Nash, Jared Dudley, Channing Frye and Marcin Gortat.

Gentry said there is no guarantee that will be his opening-night lineup Monday and that he might look at a different combination Thursday.

The most intriguing starting lineup decision was at shooting guard, where Dudley fared well starting at the end of last season. The Suns had brought in free agent Shannon Brown to add athleticism. Dudley’s dedicated off-season regimen had him ready to hold onto the job that he said would take an All-Star to unseat him.

“Jared’s had as good of a training camp as anyone,” Gentry said.

Brown could be the same dynamic, change-of-pace reserve he was for the Lakers but with more opportunities (shots and minutes) in the Suns system.

“However that happens, I’ve got to take advantage of that situation and bring that energy and intensity,” Brown said. “Everything that I bring to this team, I’ve got to let it show. I can’t hold back. I’ve got to go play Suns basketball.”

Brown has played with his team only since Dec. 9 but said he likes the fit with Phoenix.

“I’m not hanging onto everything,” Brown said of his Lakers years. “I definitely appreciate and am thankful for it but it’s a new chapter in my basketball life and my life, period. It’s kind of like starting over. I might look at the rings when I go home to remind me. Just a little bit of motivation on the mantle. Other than that, it’s time to write another chapter.”

The Suns appear far from such elite ground and the predictions will begin to show that. Espn.com’s John Hollinger tabbed the Suns 14th in the West, ahead of only New Orleans.

“That’s just disrespectful,” Brown said. “That should be motivation to everybody. Maybe I can bring some of that intensity and will to win.”

Scouting the world

During the lockout, the one Suns basketball operations area that continued as normal was scouting. The Suns return most of the same scouts: Kornel David (international), Andrew Kennedy (Midwest colleges, some Europe), John Shumate (West colleges) and Lane Odom (Atlantic colleges), who is the son of former Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. Amin Elhassan shifted his in-house duties to cover scouting in the Northeast.

The Suns added an NBA and D-League personnel scout last year to prepare for trades and free agency but that hire, Dan Panaggio, left to coach in China. He was replaced by Bubba Burrage, who worked for Sacramento and will also do some colleges. Overseeing it all, Suns Director of Player Personnel John Treloar will also scout games in the U.S. and abroad.

Read More: Elston Turner (A – HOU), Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets

The Phoenix Suns opened their 2011 NBA preseason campaign with a road loss to the Denver Nuggets by the depressing score of 127-110. We were warned that the new emphasis on defense would take some time to show results as the team adjusts to a whole new scheme installed by “defensive coordinator” Elston Turner.

Offensively, the Suns struggled with turnovers which was one of the things coach Gentry warned about recently, “We’ve got to make sure we’re not turning the ball over. That becomes really important because when we do, obviously it makes the field goal percentage go up dramatically when you’re (giving up) layups.”

That’s exactly what happened in the first half of this game as the Suns turned the ball over 12 times leaded to 11 Denver points. Four of those fumbles were credited to backup point guard Sebastian Telfair in just under six minutes of play in the first quarter.

The Suns finished the game with 16 turnovers but that’s still four fewer than Denver. Neither team shot the ball well from three (6-24 for the Suns, 7-22 for Denver) but the Nuggets shot almost 53 percent for the game which was the difference. 

Denver point guard Ty Lawson led all scorers with 21 points while the Suns got 14 each from Marcin Gortat and Hakim Warrick. Warrick continued his hot shooting that he’s shown all training camp going 7-11. Suns rookie Markieff Morris played 27 minutes with 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.

The Suns will face the same Denver team on Thursday in their second and final preseason game.

For more on the Suns, visit Bright Side of the Sun.

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DENVER – The Suns have a tee time for their season to start Monday night but spent Tuesday night spraying shots on the driving range and putting off the practice green.

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Photos from the game | Box

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Phoenix is allowed a mulligan in the preseason, and needs it for a ghastly start in losing 127-110 to the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center.

“That’s about 27 more than we want to give up,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.

“Not really what we anticipated. Obviously, we’ve got a ton of work to do.”

The Suns defense was greatly compromised by 12 first-half turnovers that led to easy layups and dunks, but the Suns’ work in transition defense and pick-and-roll coverage was not much better. Denver ran out on the Suns’ 3-pointer shooters with Phoenix offering no weak-side help to cover it. In the new pick-and-roll coverage, it appeared that some of the big men did not want to be aggressive at times.

To make matters worse, Suns center Marcin Gortat came away with a hairline fracture in his right thumb. He will be re-examined today. If he misses any time, it is expected to be minimal.

“Hell, no,” Gortat said. “I’ve still got my left (thumb). I’m not going to give up my spot.”

Gortat has been pushed during training camp by Robin Lopez, who had 10 points and five rebounds in 23 reserve minutes Tuesday. Gortat’s 14 points tied for the team scoring lead with Hakim Warrick, who played some small forward with Grant Hill sitting out because of a sore right knee.

Ultimately, the Suns’ success this season will be determined by defense, rebounding and turnovers. Phoenix did rebound better, with help from rookie Markieff Morris, who had a solid 10-point, eight-rebound game before fouling out in 27 minutes.

But the sloppy first half undid the Suns, particularly when Sebastian Telfair was the first point guard off the bench and tallied four turnovers and three fouls in six first-quarter minutes, during which the Suns went from being tied to trailing by six.

Ronnie Price outplayed Telfair, as he has for much of the camp, with nine points and four assists in 15 minutes. Another newcomer, Shannon Brown, had a scoreless first half but finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

The Suns’ problems run deeper than position battles. They gave up 60 points in the paint and 36 fast-break points to Denver, which played starting center Nene eight minutes and held out Arron Afflalo.

“We’ve got to do much better than that,” said Steve Nash, who made 5 of 7 shots. “I felt good about our team early. It just went downhill from there. This hits home on how much work we have to do and what the demands will be for us to be successful. They’re great. We have to play extremely hard, play together and play a lot smarter than we played tonight.”

Denver’s Ty Lawson proved to be a bad matchup for Nash or anyone once again, as he scored 21 points in 25 minutes. The Suns committed 28 fouls and regularly were slow on rotations.

“I just think it was a total false start,” Gortat said. “We’ve just got to learn from it. There were a lot of mistakes. … Defensively, there were a lot of mistakes. We’ve got to learn from it. But I don’t we should panic or there should be a red flag. Stuff like that happens, especially in the first preseason game. It’s nice, but we’ve got to stay focused for the next game.”

Though the Suns scored 110 points, they shot 6 of 24 on 3-pointers with Channing Frye missing all six of his attempts.

By Seth Pollack

– Regional Sports Editor

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Dec 19, 2011 – No coach minds having too many talented players on his roster and Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry is no exception. Gentry talked about his rotations after the Suns wrapped up practice on Monday and before the team boarded the bus to begin their travel to Denver for their first of two preseason games.

“I would love it if everybody played so great that we had a problem figuring out who should be playing night in and night…I think that’s kind of a problem that everyone would like to face,” Gentry said.

The Suns coach said he has a pretty good idea about how his line ups and rotations will work to start the season but will use the two preseason games to take a look a  few different combinations and see how certain players respond to certain situations.

“We’re still going to have to try and find what the best combination of players are and that might go into the regular season. We don’t really have a choice, but we have to get to the point where we feel real comfortable about the rotation and the players that we’re going to be playing night in and night out,” he said.

As Gentry previously mentioned, one possibility remains playing Hakim Warrick at small forward and he could also look at playing both centers, Marcin Gortat and Robin Lopez, together. 

“Robin (Lopez) has played well and you can never have too many big guys. If you want me to throw out another cliche, you can never have too many bigs,” Gentry said before adding for emphasis, “You cannot have too many big guys and the way Robin is playing, he can help our defense and also he’s played well offensively and shot the ball well from the perimeter.”

Preseason game plans

Gentry said he hasn’t finalized his plans for the two preseason games. Some teams are using the games to play their regular rotation guys as almost a dress rehearsal for the fast-approaching season while other teams are wary of putting any additional court time on their veterans.

The Suns could fall in between that with Gentry suggesting he would play his starters and regular rotation players about half the game on Tuesday. Don’t expect Steve Nash to play 30 minutes, though, “There’s no chance of that happening.”

Grant Hill is a bit banged up but did practice with the team today although he sat out of the scrimmage portion. Gentry said that Hill would not play Tuesday in Denver but Grant wasn’t so sure and called himself a “game time” decision. 

In the past, Hill has talked his way into games he had been ruled out of so it remains an open question if he’ll play.

Here’s Steve Nash taking questions after practice on Monday:

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Read More: Robin Lopez (C – PHO), Alvin Gentry (H – PHO), Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets

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Suns coach Alvin Gentry is set on having his two-time Most Valuable Player, face of the franchise and consummate playmaker start at point guard.

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Phoenix Suns media day | Rest of preseason

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Beyond Steve Nash at the close of starting lineup introductions, the rest of the Suns starters have yet to be named with a week remaining until opening night.

Grant Hill would remain the starting small forward but he has missed practice time with a sore right knee and would be replaced by Josh Childress if he is not ready. The off-guard spot is a battle between Jared Dudley and Shannon Brown, although Dudley has been the star of training camp.

The serious quandary is at the frontcourt spots where Marcin Gortat has put in an average camp, Robin Lopez has been much-improved, Channing Frye is trying to find his shooting range amid his new tools and rookie Markieff Morris has been everything the Suns wanted when they drafted him in June.

“It’s been very competitive at all of our positions,” Gentry said. “I would say the Nash kid has a lock. But most of the other positions, there’s a good battle going on.”

Gortat was a consistent force last season but he has to regain that form soon. There is little concern that he will, but the staff is more concerned with what combinations work best and how to fit in Morris, whose rebounding, muscle and midrange shooting have been an ideal fit.

“What I want to do is what is best for the team,” Gentry said. “I know guys like to start and I know that’s important to them. But at the end of the day, we have to look at what’s going to be best for our team from a rotation standpoint.”

Gentry has been chiding Frye about how his shots have been consistently on line but short. It is not something that will change Frye’s court minutes, especially after he went through the same thing last training camp. He also fits with either center, but could play center alongside Morris. This year, Frye does not feel the pressure of a new contract that weighed on him early last season when he was trying to find his shooting groove.

“I know what my role is,” Frye said. “This year, I know how I can help the team and what I need to improve on. I’ve been working on stuff all summer and now it’s knowing when to use it in the system.”

Frye likely just needs to shoot his way into better shape to be the big man who spread defenses so well last season, when he averaged career highs in points (12.7) and rebounds (6.7). He also has tried to incorporate more dribble drives and off-ball cuts with teams trying to chase him off the 3-point line, where he has made 343 shots over the past two seasons.

The proof of his drive to draw more shooting fouls is on his arms, which have scratches that look like werewolves attacked him.

Frye became a better defender and rebounder last season, too, and continues to make that push. He said he does not need to dwell on whether his shot will return to being “juicy,” as he has been prone to call it when he is hot.

“As soon as I get my legs,” Frye said. “It’s always juicy. Trust me. I’m always ready to rain. I am not shy about that. Just as soon as I get my balance right and my timing right, I’ll be good to go. I know what it is. It’s just me correcting it at this point.”