PHOENIX -- In an attempt to embrace this version of
the Phoenix Suns, we're co-opting the spirit of an inspirational declaration
once made by a guy who coached football around here.
The Suns are what you were worried they might be. Well, most of the time.
That's how things are perceived when a team is consistently inconsistent.
Anyway, while passing the quarter pole of this season during Tuesday's 99-96
loss to the now-5-13 Toronto Raptors, the Suns offered further evidence to
support what was suggested by recent home losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and
New Jersey Nets. Yeah, despite the lockout and much bellyached-about compressed
schedule, this may seem like a really long season.
Now checking in at 6-11, the Suns are providing what a lot of observers
anticipated from a team that finished 40-42 last season and filled this
season's pre-summer-of-free-agency roster with players who didn't mind signing
one-year contracts.
For gruesome testimony, we give you point guard Steve Nash:
"We just don't have the talent to go out there and win games," he
said, seemingly referring to past Suns editions that simply ran away from the
opposition. "We've got to find a little bit something extra; we've got to
find a little magic in our chemistry and cohesion, and we haven't found it
yet."
They do, however, seem to know the way to the roller-coaster.
One night after making shots at a 37-percent rate in Dallas, the Suns were
sitting at a comfy 50 percent through three quarters Tuesday . . . but still
trailed the Raptors by eight.
"We're just trying to establish consistency," Suns coach Alvin Gentry
said.
A quick Suns review provided by an advance scout working for another NBA team
dovetails nicely with what Gentry proposed.
"Every time I watch 'em," the scout said of the Suns, "it's
something different. I've seen the Suns play great defense one night and look
terrible the next. One night the offense is flowing and looks pretty familiar
to past years, then they can't get anything going the next.
"And this inconsistency can go from quarter to quarter. But it's not like
this is something rare in the NBA. It happens to a lot of teams, especially
this season without much preparation time. But those are teams that usually
don't win very much."
At least Phoenix is threatening consistency in one respect. According to
numbers posted on basketball-reference.com, the Suns were ranked 19th among NBA
teams in offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency before losing to Toronto
for the first time in 15 games.
That means the low-velocity offense we've been witnessing really is worse than
last season and just as bad as it seemed this season.
That also means the defense, while improved since last season, does little more
to inspire fans than remind them just how bad it was for most of 2010-11.
On Monday in Dallas, they scored 27 points in the opening quarter, but only
finished with 87. The Mavericks put up 32 in the first quarter of the same
game, but only managed to shoot 40 percent the entire night . . . and still
beat Phoenix.
Against Toronto, the Suns outshot the visitors 47.6 percent to 41.5, but fell
behind when Andrea Bargnani pumped in 18 of his season-high 36 points in the
third quarter. The 7-foot Raptor, returning after missing a few games with a
calf injury, knocked in four pick-and-pop 3-pointers during that stanza.
"We didn't show hard enough and get out quick enough," Gentry said of
his team's screen-roll defense.
Much of that particular breakdown can be tracked to rookie power forward
Markieff Morris, who grabbed one rebound against Toronto after taking down 11
in Dallas.
Morris, who joined the starting lineup with Ronnie Price after last week's
defensive catastrophe in Chicago, continues to be a work in progress . . . much
like Gentry's quest to find which starter/sub rotations will give the Suns the
best chance to win.
"We're still trying to figure out if that's a good thing or not,"
Gentry said of starting the former Kansas Jayhawk at power forward. "(As a
starter) He's going up against front-line guys now. I'm not sure if that's good
for him."
While attempting to help Morris mature into the player he's demonstrated he can
be, Gentry also has to pick between Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick when
rationing minutes at power forward.
Warrick's defensive challenges had kept him on the bench lately, but the Suns'
struggle to score -- coupled with Toronto's previous trouble in doing the same
-- provoked a 25-minute Tuesday stint that provided Phoenix with 17 points . . .
and one rebound.
Frye continues shooting blanks, making just 1 of 7 from the field.
"I'd rather see him shoot it with confidence and go 0 for 12," Gentry
said, "then have him pass up shots."
Although Nash has been pretty steady in delivering scoring opportunities and
bagging his own shots, he went 2 for 9 in Dallas before hitting 8 of 14 against
Toronto.
"If you're winning, everyone feels good, chemistry is good," Nash
said. "But I also think it's a funky season and you got to just keep your
head down and keep working and keep believing."
With that in mind, let's not forget center Marcin Gortat, whose 21-point,
12-rebound performance was his ninth consecutive double-double.
That's pretty nice consistency.
It just hasn't let the Suns off the hook.
