By RANDY HILL
FOXSportsArizona.com
Jan. 15, 2011
Shortly before they were escorted to the airport by a two-game winning streak, the Phoenix Suns seemed to be reading from the same pragmatic page.
"I think the biggest thing is to take one game at a time and go from there," said Vince Carter, the shooting guard now gulping from what he hopes is an Arizona fountain of youth.
Coach Alvin Gentry, whose team had just produced a gutsy victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at US Airways Center, presented an even more realistic posture. Gentry said his team, which had jumped from 11th to 10th in the Western Conference hierarchy, is seeking consistency before even bothering to consider the playoffs.
Yeah, consistency has been elusive. As I suggested last week, consistency can be difficult to achieve on the backs of one reliable source (point guard Steve Nash) and an unbalanced roster crowded with pretty good. In the NBA, pretty good usually isn't good enough.
That's where the Suns hope Carter can make a difference. As the biggest name in last month's colossal, six-player transaction with the Orlando Magic, the former star of the Vinsanity aerial show qualifies as someone with sufficient skill to reduce pressure on Nash during crucial moments of tight games.
Speaking optimistically, his job description would be "closer."
"That's what they brought me here for," Carter said after his 17-point effort against the Blazers. "Just be aggressive."
The specific maneuver that inspired this quote was a slashing, diagonal, fourth-quarter drive that Carter converted into an important basket. Even at 33 years old (he'll be 34 in a couple of weeks), the one-time scoring machine still is capable of creating shots off the bounce. In case you somehow didn't notice, he's more skilled in this area than younger predecessor Jason Richardson, who now works in Orlando. It should be noted that the Magic also had acquired Carter in summer 2009 to create scoring opportunities as co-closer with center Dwight Howard. But that really wasn't working too fabulously, so Carter was sent to Phoenix.
The Suns, who seem to think Carter can replicate Richardson's productivity in a more conventional manner (not all 3-pointers), didn't figure to re-sign Richardson. With Carter holding an $18 million tab that features a $4 million buyout next season, he wasn't much of a risk. Orlando wanted Richardson and fussy frontcourt playmaker Hedo Turkoglu; the Suns needed to dump Turkoglu's contract and acquire big man Marcin Gortat. They were hoping a third target, swingman Mickael Pietrus, could add some defensive grit while making a reasonable amount of perimeter attempts. The strategic "get" in this deal was a potential inside presence from Gortat.
Carter was someone who
