PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are running out of time to rise, but they will have several soul-searching days to think about it.
Entering an eight-day holiday furnished by the NBA's All-Star carnival, the Suns check in at 14-20, which is identical to the results they turned in through 34 games last season. Unfortunately, they only have 32 games left to climb out of the Western Conference's 12th seed and into a playoff berth that management covets rather than a wrecking-ball approach encouraged by helpful league observers.
For the record, the Suns were 33-33 through 66 games last season and finished as the 10th seed. Despite screaming inconsistency in the middle of the conference pack, just breaking even should put Phoenix in the draft lottery for the second year in a row.
"We have to decide what kind of team we want to be," coach Alvin Gentry said in the most agitated tone (by a mile) he's adopted following a loss this season. "Do we want to be a tease where we win a couple of games then decide to not play the first 10 minutes, or are we going to be a team that bears down and tries to grind this thing out so we can get back into the playoff race? We have to decide that."
The first 10 minutes Gentry referred to occurred in Wednesday's pre-All-Star break benediction with the Golden State Warriors, who posted a 106-104 victory at U.S. Airways Center. Gentry's pique was linked to a game-opening coma by his team that encouraged the Warriors to hold a 39-22 lead after the opening quarter.
"I'm disgusted. I'm disgusted with the way we played," Gentry said after the Suns waved bye-bye to an opportunity to ride a three-game winning streak into a few days of R&R. "We got an opportunity to do something good and we come out like that ... it's just ridiculous. It's unfair to the fans in the stands. They way we approached the game sucked.
"We walked through the first 10 minutes of the game and that was the difference in the game."
And the difference between the Suns' talent and that of their peers does not suffer any lack of focus.
Roughly 58 days after the franchise's marketing department escorted the Suns into post-lockout battle with the "Time To Rise" theme, Gentry and point guard Steve Nash have been unable to do much with the ashes of what had been a playoff-caliber roster.
Referring to his current materials, Gentry has mentioned the Suns' diminished margin for error. Nash often reminds reporters that improved cohesion is required to mitigate the team's absence of top-tier talent.
"It's been a difficult season for us," said Nash, now heading for Orlando and his eighth All-Star turn. "We haven't quite turned the corner. We've been close a couple of times to getting back to .500, gone on a couple of losing streaks, but hopefully — if we can continue to play the way we played the last couple of games — we can find our way back in there."
As a form of examining the potential for such a rally, let's review the last couple of months. What have we learned? Which previously established variables remain in place? Does Nash really want to stay here?
* NASH-VILLE
Even though several NBA media experts believe trading the two-time MVP would be best for him and the franchise, Nash and management still think otherwise.
Nash simply is a different cat. His fire to win still burns hot, but the challenge of chasing something with his teammates may be more rewarding than taking a shortcut to reach the goal. That means he's not interested in using any trade-me leverage to hijack a ring with another, more title-ready franchise. Nash continues pledging loyalty to the city, its fans, management, the coaching staff and his teammates.
As long as he enjoys the people joining him in fighting the good fight, Nash will want to stay.
And, as long as he wants to stay, the Suns — who abide by research that opposes the aforementioned wrecking-ball approach to eventual glory — are happy to have him.
If those variables prevail, expect Nash to re-enlist when free agency happens this summer.
With Nash likely running the show for two more years, don't expect Aaron Brooks to be eager to sign a multi-year deal to be a reserve when he returns from China in a few weeks. The Suns didn't seem all that enamored of Brooks at the end of last season, and signing him for more than the rest of this season would cut into the cap flexibility Lon Babby, team vice president of basketball operations, has promoted the last few months.
Gentry, it should be noted, recently has had some nice things to say about the efforts of current back-up point guard Sebastian Telfair.
* TOO GOOD TO BECOME GREAT?
With Nash playing at an All-Star level, the Suns probably won't lose nearly enough of the last 32 games to come within sniffin' distance of a top-five pick in the June draft.
There simply are too many awful teams in the Eastern Conference for Phoenix to have an unusually early selection from what could be a very talented group of prospects.
Although it takes timing (translation: being lucky enough for a potential great player to be on the board) and proper evaluation to score big in the draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder and L.A. Clippers are two recent examples of teams that have followed this path toward contention. The Suns wouldn't mind finding their next franchise player in the draft, of course, but their stated game plan has been to upgrade the talent level in free agency.
If Nash and Grant Hill return, the available loot won't exactly enable the Suns to go wild in the marketplace, but the marketplace is heavy in restricted free agents. Babby has assured us the franchise will not overspend for the sake of spending.
* HOWEVER ...
Even if the Suns are registered late in the lottery for the upcoming draft, success can be had. Evidence of that often is provided by current rookie power forward Markieff Morris, the 13th choice in the 2011 draft.
Morris, who allegedly was the lesser of the Morris twins before the Suns selected him over brother Marcus, earned a spot in this weekend's Rising Stars game in Orlando.
Through 33 games, the former Kansas Jayhawk was giving the Suns eight points and five rebounds per game. He also was making 41 percent of his 3-point attempts, but the coaching staff has been eager for 'Kieff to focus on working in the paint.
* HAMMER'S TIME TO RISE
In his first season as a starter, center Marcin Gortat has provided further proof that Phoenix has a legitimate contributor in the middle.
The Polish Hammer did have a rocky start (partial credit goes to a thumb injury), but rallied enough to at least inspire limited All-Star speculation while playing for a team with a losing record. Through the midway point in the abbreviated schedule, Dwight Howard's former stand-in was averaging 15.7 points (on 56-percent shooting from the field), 10.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Casual observers give the pick-and-roll mastery of Nash most of the credit for Gortat's climb. But the 28-year-old center has improved his one-on-one chops on the low post ... although not as much as he had hoped after spending a few off-season days being tutored by Hakeem Olajuwon.
"I feel like I'm better," Gortat said. "I think of the improvement I've made, playing better with my back to the basket has been the least. I've taken a step forward, but I wanted to take a bigger one."
* SHOT DOWN
The Suns are a playoff-contending team in the making.
We're not saying they'll participate in the postseason; but they might have had a much better chance if a few of their historically accurate shooters had duplicated past shooting performances.
Collectively, the Suns have dipped from seventh (47 percent) in the league for field-goal percentage last season to 14th (44 percent) this season. Their traditionally important 3-point attack has dipped from 37.7 percent (fourth in the NBA) to 34.4 (15th).
While most NBA teams have struggled on offense this season, the Suns' efficiency rank has fallen from 19th to ninth, and their points-per-game (on a pace of two fewer possessions per 48 minutes) average is almost 11 points lighter.
One thing we — and Gentry — learned this season was the continued lack of a cold-blooded offensive threat on the roster seems far worse when the designed snipers are off.
"Don't get me wrong ... I appreciate that we're better defensively," Gentry said. "But I still say the team with the most points at the end of the game wins."
Extended shooting slumps for Channing Frye and Jared Dudley — with 3-point percentages that needed a recent revival to reach the current 34 and 38, respectively — have defined the slide. Even with this improvement, having only 33 games on the comeback trail might require several teams to fall apart for the Suns to take a serious wing at the playoffs.
* DEFENSE
The addition of assistant coach/defensive coordinator Elston Turner appeared to have upgraded the collective focus and individual responsibilities of Suns defenders.
But, after some improved defending early this season, inconsistency has been underscored with some avalanche nights.
When they're dialed in, rotating and helping the helper, the Suns have looked vastly improved. They've held nine opponents under 90 points and three under 80. It should be noted that those numbers would look better if NBA teams had been functioning at pre-lockout levels.
Through 33 games, however, the Suns have climbed only five spots in the league's defensive-efficiency rankings (25th last season to 20th). Since these statistics are relative to everyone else the Suns are playing against, the rankings are more important than the actual numbers.
So the points-per-game upgrade only served for a bump from a woeful 29th to a bad 22nd. The field-goal percentage D is up to 20th from 25th.
Not much has changed in the Suns' defensive-rebounding prowess. With a team-wide epidemic of turning and waltzing toward the rim on a shot attempt — instead of making contact, then going after the ball — Phoenix still sits at 22nd in defensive-rebounding percentage after turning in an awful 28th a year ago.
SUB STANDARD
The Suns' second unit has had moments of competence, but frequently undermine some goods things Nash, Gortat and the other starters have scratched out.
After experimenting with Frye and Dudley coming off the bench to fortify the reserves, Gentry's second team generally consists of Robin Lopez, Morris, Shannon Brown, Telfair and former Milwaukee Bucks all-star Michael Redd.
While each of these players has had some swell performances, not one is bashful about shooting. As a group effort, this often leads to aborted one-on-one maneuvers that end in a poor shot as the shot clock is dying. Redd, who is attempting to regain the go-to form he provided the Bucks before two knee injuries, took a successful spin at facilitating against Golden State and finished with four assists in 16 minutes.
While the current starters are better at moving the ball and making the extra pass, they haven't been immune to extended periods of bad offense, either.
It also should be noted that the three perimeter players on the second unit are working on one-year contracts. As first-year employees in what had been a free-flowing system, they've been eager to embrace this offensive approach and secure their NBA futures. They work hard and seem to be exemplary teammates, but often try to fill the same scoring role at the same time.
If they play with some of the balance demonstrated in helping the Suns get back into Wednesday's game with Golden State, the Suns will be a tougher date in the second half of this season.
LAST CALL
"We dig ourselves a hole, then we have to play so hard to get back ... it has to be a perfect storm."
That was Gentry defining Wednesday's predicament.
But with only 32 games remaining, we could use this statement to explain what the Suns are up against for the rest of the season.
