PHOENIX -- The locker room strategy board offered at least one crucial pregame recommendation:
"Focus. Can't underestimate anybody in the NBA."
This powerful suggestion was supplied by the coaching staff of the Phoenix Suns, a team that – based on the evidence – never should be overestimated. Yes, unfortunately, expecting a lot from this season's Suns is awfully risky. Even though Saturday night's work shift ended in their ninth victory in 23 games, the Suns' recently questionable focus was required to defeat the league's worst team.
Right, we're referring to the 4-21 Charlotte Bobcats, 95-89 losers to the Suns in a game that included three total points for the visitors over the first 10 minutes of the final quarter. The Bobcats, it should be noted, were even more up against it than usual, competing without the services of their top three scoring (cough) threats.
But the Suns, who rallied after sleepwalking through Friday's loss to the Rockets in Houston, realize this league doesn't hand out style points.
"Good win," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "Haven't had a bad win in 23 years in the NBA."
Speaking of 23, that would be a great number to use when defining the mojo shortage in Phoenix.
Entering this tilt with Charlotte, the Suns checked in at 23rd among NBA teams in points per game, offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency and something called the Simple Rating System. The SRS shuffles a bunch of statistics and spits out the overall strengths of all 30 teams, going from really strong down to pitifully weak. These rankings are established by a website called basketball-reference.com, which also lists the Suns at 23rd in home attendance.
But, witnessed by 14,928 fans, the Suns met their staggering match in the Bobcats, whose boss -- Michael Jordan -- is the ultimate No. 23.
Despite losing 10 in a row by the time they hit town, the shorthanded Bobcats held a 10-point lead in the third quarter. That's when the real fun (for the home team) kicked in.
To help you better understand how peculiar this game turned out, here's a quote from Charlotte coach Paul Silas:
"The major problem was when Lopez came in."
Many cynical Suns fans would expect those words to spring from Gentry's mouth, but backup center Robin Lopez simply dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds (he finished with 13 and 6) to help rescue Phoenix.
"I just try to go out and be aggressive," Lopez said. "Hit the boards and play defense."
It's not easy for Lopez to find sufficient time to do these things when Marcin Gortat (a dozen points and rebounds) continues churning out double-doubles.
"Whatever playing time I get," he said, "I'm just going to try and do as much as I can."
While Lopez escaped the doghouse and roamed free, this event featured some other anomalies. Included were a rampaging transition dunk by 39-year-old Grant Hill and a fierce blocked shot by soon-to-be-38-year-old Steve Nash against hotshot Charlotte rookie Kemba Walker.
When informed he now has collected more blocked shots than teammate Jared Dudley has dunks, Nash went for another spike.
"I didn't know that," Nash deadpanned. "But I'm not surprised."
Dudley didn't play because the thigh-bruise epidemic currently ripping through the Suns' roster has found its way to him.
In his place, Gentry called on Michael Redd, whose Suns-career-best 17 points included 4 of 7 marksmanship from three-point range and some solid demonstrations of how to curl around a down screen.
"This was one of the proudest moments of my career – one of the proudest moments of my career," said Redd, whose star-caliber run as a Milwaukee Buck was cut short by two severe knee injuries in as many years. "And to get the win was obviously the key. But to come back, through the tears, through the hurt, through the hours of rehab, training ... to come back and accomplish this is maybe the proudest moment of my career, actually."
The collective performance may not provoke a similar level of pride, but it could have been worse. Losing to Charlotte would have given the Suns home-court losses to four of the Eastern Conference's bottom six teams. The mighty Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons will be here later in the season.
So, even though knocking off the Bobcats is no excuse to turn cartwheels, the unusual plays and factors involved did not deserve to be wasted.
