By Randy Hill
FOXSportsArizona.com
The Phoenix Suns failed to gain ground in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery ping-pong battle by knocking off the more-short-handed-than-usual Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night at U.S. Airways Center.
Hold on. Oh, right. This investigation into how the Suns might consider upgrading their roster for the long term is interrupted by a reminder that they're still committed to participating in the 2011 playoffs. Their 108-100 triumph over the Cavaliers - who have the league's second-worst record and were missing four rotation players - left the 2010 Western Conference finalists sitting on the 11th seed in a competition that ends at eight.
Suns coach Alvin Gentry informed us that there are no bad wins in the NBA. True enough. But there are horrendous losses that can nudge a last kernel of hope past a line in the sand representing despair. So, by taking down the Cavaliers, the Suns (15-20) dodged one of those signature calamities and now are limping in the right direction.
"You take away momentum, except for that little streak," said Jared Dudley, who came off the bench to knock in 21 points after Grant Hill left with a knee injury. We suppose that "little streak" he referenced was a three-game skid tucked inside a run of 11 losses in the previous 14 games.
"You take away that, we keep grinding out and believing we can get wins," Dudley added. "And it's a long season ... a lot of peaks and valleys, so hopefully we can keep it going."
Well, if a reported Carmelo Anthony monster trade involving three teams happens quickly, the Suns' next two games (Denver, New Jersey) also will co-star short-handed teams. That might help. And, as usual, Gentry is hoping to create a little on-court chemistry in the cluttered aftermath of another ambush makeover.
Before looking at the Suns moving forward (we use the word with caution), let's check out the competition for that eighth seed.
The Portland Trail Blazers (20-18) currently hold the conference's eighth position and have played reasonably well without Brandon Roy (knee). While nobody seems certain as to what Roy can provide (if anything) the rest of the way, there is a strong belief the Blazers may move veteran point guard Andre Miller and/or center Marcus Camby before the trading deadline.
The Memphis Grizzles are registered as the ninth seed, but assumption-based trade rumors involving O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph won't allow us to know what's in the cards for them. The Grizzlies do have some impressive wins lately and are young enough to get appreciably better.
At No. 10 we find the Houston Rockets (16-21), who could become more formidable by using trade chips such as point guard Aaron Brooks or two guard Courtney Lee to acquire some inside muscle.
Sitting directly behind the Suns are the Golden State Warriors (15-22), who look pretty cozy at the 12th level. But the No. 13 Los Angels Clippers (12-24) have rare momentum behind rookie Blake Griffin, having won 7 of 10. Unless Griffin has some atmospheric re-entry issues during the dunk contest, the Clippers may be heard from.
The Suns appear to be at another seasonal crossroads. After a Tuesday date in Denver, they return home to take on New Jersey the following night and Portland on Friday. A five-game road siege begins Monday, including a rematch with the Knicks in New York preceding four consecutive games against losing teams. The Suns have played all four in Phoenix and are 3-1 vs. these juggernauts.
So how do they come through these eight games in decent, playoff-sniffing shape? Well, the musical-chairs rotational scheme has been shut down for now. Before Sunday's victory, Gentry declared a starting lineup and pledged to stick with it for a while. The furious five is made up of point guard Steve Nash, shooting guard Vince Carter, three man Hill (he'll try to play in Denver), four man Channing Frye and center Robin Lopez.
The same lineup started last Friday's annihilation at the hands of the Knicks but (cough) rallied when the Cavaliers rolled in. By rallied, I mean the Suns had enough size to take advantage of a Cleveland team working without a center. Post guy Anderson Varejao, who began his pro career at power forward, reportedly is lost for the year, leaving four man J.J. Hickson playing the middle. Antawn Jamison is still around at power forward, and both spots were backed up by undrafted rookie Samardo Samuels.
Hickson gathered 17 rebounds but needed 23 field-goal attempts to achieve 23 points.
On the other side, Frye finished with 13 rebounds (he had 11 by halftime) and 16 points. Lopez, receiving more minutes while Marcin Gortat is slogging his way through a layup slump, went for 15 and 6 in almost 29 minutes. The two Phoenix bigs split six blocks.
With Cleveland switching pick-and-roll maneuvers involving Nash, Frye was able to post up against Cavalier point guards and behave much like a normal power forward in a standard mismatch situation. He also didn't have much trouble being sort of physical with the finesse-oriented Jamison. Unless the Suns trade for a power forward, Frye has to generate positive consistency vs. the legitimate power players employed by most teams in the West.
Watching Frye and Lopez offer bonus threats in the paint, the Cavs were obliged to collapse their defense a bit, enabling the Suns to bag some clean looks from three-point range. While committing 20 turnovers against the team that has forced the fewest in the NBA, Gentry's team saved itself by making 13 of 28 from beyond the arc.
Sunday night also featured the return to action of Hakim Warrick, who didn't have much slip-screen success but did make all four of his free throws and contributed six points.
"I went back and looked at all the games where we've been successful and played pretty good and he's had pretty good numbers, so we've got to get him back in the rotation," Gentry said of Warrick.
He's referring to offensive numbers. As a defender, well, he's been sitting for a reason. Two reasons, actually. He also doesn't rebound. In the 9:35 he played in the opening half, the Cavaliers missed 12 shots. Warrick didn't retrieve any of those misses. For his entire night's work, he had one rebound in 13-plus minutes.
But Warrick can dunk the ball on the end of a pick and slip screen, requiring defenders to pinch the middle and provide Nash with an outlet to a wide-open jumper for someone like Dudley. If Gortat, who defends and rebounds with much more commitment than Warrick, would catch and finish in screen-roll, Gentry wouldn't be desperate enough to play Warrick.
In addition to Gortat, the Orlando Three includes Carter, who had 19 points (including a trio of big threes) and seven rebounds against the Cavaliers. Unfortunately, he was no defensive match for undrafted rookie Manny Harris, who followed his career-high, 16-point effort at Golden State with a 27-point eruption in Phoenix. On offense, Carter (as hoped) gives the Suns another player capable of creating off the bounce. On Sunday, he was much better at driving to set up teammates rather than committing to the air without the basket-making hang time of his youth. If he continues as more of a facilitator, the Suns have a chance to improve.
Former Magic swingman Mickael Pietrus is one of the team's most personable players and remained playfully upbeat Sunday despite logging only about 11 minutes. Even with Hill limited to 4:07 after taking a first-quarter spill, Pietrus didn't do enough at either end to generate much playing time. Josh Childress, a winger who started at center against New York, didn't see the floor.
Backup point guard Goran Dragic still looks shaky running the second unit, which now doesn't feature security blanket Frye as a spot-up shooter. Dragic, who recently returned to wearing the Kobe Bryant-model Nikes after a fling with the Nash models (a small bit of superstition), had eight points and no dimes Sunday. Perhaps he'll gain some karma from last week's haircut that suggests the Maximus character from the film "Gladiator."
Anyway, while Gentry attempts to stay faithful to the current rotation, the race for eighth spot will fall into Nash's lap. Still handing out high and medium fives like flyers in a mall parking lot, the future Hall of Famer also is having more edgy displays than normal. Mauling from opposing defenders appears to be going relatively unchecked, and his 3-point percentage is under 40. Off-court issues have been plentiful and - as the losses collect - the trade-rumor machine is close to full throttle.
And now that Gentry has coaxed more defensive stands than we were used to seeing (excluding that Knicks game), the ball and player movement on offense have suffered. For a playoff run, the Suns have to find a little harmony on both ends of the floor. Easier said than done.
"Frustration has been mounting for three months," Nash, who tagged Cleveland for 20 points and 17 assists, said of the the Suns' on-court considerations. "You know, we're struggling. We're not only struggling, we're not playing up to our capabilities. We just have to develop some rhythm and some confidence. And sometimes, you just have to fight through and win these games."
Even if it means canceling that important road trip to Secaucus, N.J.
