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Paul Coro wrote:* Just sayin', this starting lineup (Nash-Bell-Hill-Stoudemire-O'Neal) is now 4-0 with two of the season's best wins (Detroit and Utah at home). Grant Hill started well with a drive and fastbreak finish that led to a 17-11 lead and Utah time out. And Matt Barnes was just as productive, keying a versatile bench group with 14 points and seven rebounds. He was the Suns' saving grace at the 3-point line, where he was 3 of 6 and the rest of the team went 2 for 15. Barnes is 12 for 23 on 3-pointers in the past four games, continuing to shoot the long ball better than he ever has in his career. He just fits well too with Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa on both sides of the ball.

"We're a very versatile team," said Barnes, who liked how the Suns put smaller players to Mehmet Okur and switched defensively. "If we start utilizing that, we're going to be able to take advantage of mismatches and play smalls on bigs and just create a lot of trouble. The starters set the tone and there was no let-up."

* Fifteen of Stoudemire's 20 rebounds came in the second half after Terry Porter was displeased with some isolated instances of Utah second chances in the first quarter. Stoudemire did not box out Ronnie Brewer on a missed free throw, leading to another miss, which was followed by C.J. Miles beating out Boris Diaw to the board for a follow score. In each case, the Suns had the size and position advantage when the ball went up.

* C.J. Miles has entered the realm of Suns killers, joining an illustrious list of average players who bust out on Phoenix. Miles has posted six 20-point games and two of those have come against the Suns this season, his two highest scoring games of the season.

* Steve Nash said is almost back to full strength after dropping some weight for his flu bout last week. Nash did not shoot well (4 of 14) but he continues to shoot more often, taking 10 or more shots for the fourth consecutive game. Between that and his first three-game run of at least eight assists in each game, the ball is definitely back in his hands more often. "We didn't play great but there was a lot more fire," Nash said. "We had a good balance. Shaquille was effective when he was in there and we were running too."

* Suns coach Terry Porter said, "I'm in a Goran cycle right now," as far as why Dragic has slipped back into the backup point guard role the past two games. But the offense was awful during Dragic's first-half time Saturday, just as it was Thursday to the point that Porter rushed Nash back into the game unplanned at the end of a time out. On Saturday, the Suns went 2 for 8 with four turnovers before scoring on his final two first-half possessions at the point. So maybe Nash got too much credit for a 9-0 run that occurred immediately after he entered, given of a run of seven consecutive possessions with a score started with Dragic. But probably not. During Dragic's second-half appearance, he missed a jumper and had a drive that started with promise but ended with him losing the ball.

* The Suns outrebounded the Jazz, 54-37, for the their best rebounding margin of the season. The Suns got to the line 40 times, tying their second best tally of the year even if Stoudemire (4 of 9) and company were unusually off but for Barbosa (10 of 10). "We gave them a bit of their own treatment, as far as what they did to us up in their place," Porter said of a Nov. 17 loss at Utah.

rsavaj wrote:

Paul Coro wrote:* Suns coach Terry Porter said, "I'm in a Goran cycle right now," as far as why Dragic has slipped back into the backup point guard role the past two games.