Three years after Mike D’Antoni left Phoenix for New York, his run-and-gun style still influences Phoenix’s style under Alvin Gentry. And with two-time MVP Steve Nash still running the point, it’s easy to think of the Suns as a guard’s playground.

But as the Suns open their preseason tonight against Denver ahead of Monday’s season opener at home against New Orleans, the intrigue around Phoenix centers around its emerging frontcourt depth. Read More »

To the Phoenix Suns fans out there: your playoff chances now rest on the shoulders of Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat. Well, not really. But after starting during Sunday night’s 91-83 loss against Dallas, the two former bench players will now be a part of Phoenix’s opening group for the remainder of the season. Read More »

Eleven days after Vince Carter was traded to the Phoenix Suns, the eight-time NBA All-Star is ready to make his debut for his fourth NBA team.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry said he expects Vince to play tonight against the 76ers, after Vince had been sidelined since the Dec. 18 trade with a sore knee. The Sixers will likely play without Andre Iguodala (Achilles), meaning Carter could have a mismatch or two to exploit when he’s on the court. Read More »

The Phoenix Suns have rolled through three general managers, three coaches and a slew of All-Stars and talented role players since 2005. After the sale of the franchise from long-time sports owner Jerry Colangelo to businessman Robert Sarver, this question looms: How much time does a team under new ownership need to settle down?

Composing winning teams in the NBA means team ownership must pair talented players with adaptable coaches. But championship-caliber teams keep those pieces static. Retaining players and coaches requires that the ownership have patience and trust in everyone in the organization –- no panicking allowed. Read More »

Whether you compete in the pros or just run pickup on the weekends, your age is not the only factor to consider when it comes to sports. While age and genetics do play a role, it doesn’t mean you have to give up the sport you love or stop getting paid to play. The concept of “Going out on top” is overrated if you truly love the game enough to play until the wheels fall off.

Take Chipper Jones. The Atlanta Braves future Hall of Fame third baseman is 38 years old, coming off a major knee surgery, and plans on returning to play Major League Baseball next season. The same can be said for Kevin Garnett, arguably the greatest defensive leader of the post-Bill Russell era, who came back from major knee surgery at the age of 34 just to be able to help lead his team to another championship. Read More »

After cashing in on Orlando’s run to the 2009 NBA Finals with a sizable free-agent deal in Toronto , it didn’t take Hedo Turkoglu very long to earn his second benching in nearly four years.

Having missed a game due to a supposed “stomach virus,” Turkoglu was spotted by T-Dot fans at a downtown nightclub in the Yorkville district of the city. After several fans reported the incident to the Raptors management, Turkoglu was disciplined, and later requested a trade at the end of an overall bad season with his new team. Read More »

After Tuesday’s victory in which Phoenix’s zone defense continued to frustrate the Lakers, Game 5 is tonight in Los Angeles. While the Suns won two games in Phoenix, winning in L.A. is a whole different animal. Here is how the Suns can take a 3-2 lead in the series tonight. Read More »

We gotta admit, even we jumped the gun about a week ago, all but booking the Lakers’ ticket into the 2010 NBA Finals. But with the Suns taking care of business at home in last night’s Game 4, the Western Conference Finals is now tied up, Steve Nash and Co. have all the momentum, Kobe is frustrated, and the guys in purple and gold look like a college team unable to figure out a simple zone defense. Kobe might want to break out his Team USA phone book before Game 5, hit up Jim Boeheim and talk about how to attack the zone … The Suns were up one going into the fourth quarter, before their bench put the game away with an 18-3 run against the L.A. starters. Read More »

No disrespect to Grant Hill, Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson, but we figured Kobe Bryant‘s toughest matchup last night would be against his own pride. Going into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Kobe was facing the team (Phoenix) that represented his last really bad playoff fail (2006, 2007), so there was a real chance of him going out with Lookin At Lucky blinders and trying to overkill eviscerate the Suns instead of playing team basketball. But on his way to 40 points (13-23 FG, 11-12 FT), five rebounds and five assists, Kobe was like an artist in the way he picked his spots to take over in between letting the game come to him. Read More »

Mike D’Antoni had an incredible run in Phoenix, with four straight seasons of at least 54 wins among the highlights of his tenure. However, his inability to get the Suns to play anything resembling defense ultimately led to the decision not to bring him back in 2008. While defense is the main knock on D’Antoni as a coach, it’s actually his failure to develop a bench that people should be worried about. If there’s one thing that Alvin Gentry has done differently than his mentor in leading this Suns team to the Conference Finals, is build and establish trust and confidence for his bench players. Read More »