Phoenix Suns weighing starting lineup changes
by Paul Coro - Mar. 26, 2011 07:00 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Suns can't change how this season began with the wrong make-up and it appears too late to change an ending with no playoffs for the second time in three years.
But coach Alvin Gentry is open to changing how the final 11 games start.
After center Marcin Gortat had his broken nose reset Saturday and said he planned to play against Dallas on Sunday, Gentry said, "We'll have to try to look at what we'll do there as far as starting or not starting and then there's a couple of other positions we may have to look at and see."
Mickael Pietrus (quad tendon strain) did not practice Saturday but Vince Carter returned after missing Friday's second half with a stomach virus. But Gentry focused on another wing, Jared Dudley, the team's top 3-pointer shooter at 40.8 percent after a 17-point game Friday.
"Jared Dudley has played real well," Gentry said. "He's done a good job lately so we'll have to look at that situation and see what we want to do there."
Gentry said he planned to decide by Sunday morning about the lineup, which starts Robin Lopez and Carter at those positions now. Lopez played four first-half minutes Friday, getting four fouls and a technical foul. Gentry did not bring him back while Channing Frye played the entire second half. Lopez has started 55 of his 56 appearances this season but averages 16.1 minutes.
Carter's active string of 10 consecutive misses dropped him to 41.7 percent shooting with the Suns. He has started 907 of 915 career games and is expected to be available Sunday but Pietrus is questionable.
"I am contemplating a lineup change," Gentry said. "We just have to try to take a look and see where we're going to go from here.
"As far as the playoffs, we would have to win every game so we're still playing to win every game but I also have to look at combinations of guys I can stick out there, even at the start of the game."
Gortat broke his nose Friday night when he turned to run upcourt in the third quarter and smashed it into the back of Steve Nash's head. He said it bled for 15 minutes in the locker room and he was not cleared to return to the game, which the Suns lost with his absence hurting them.
"I don't see any reason why I shouldn't play," Gortat said. "If I'm going to have a big headache or if I'm going to get dizzy, that's the only case I wouldn't.
"It's better that it's my nose than my knee. In the worst case, I'm going to be out 48 hours, not six months."
He had the nose reset Saturday, opting to have it done without medication.
"It was my fault," he said. "I should take an injection. It was painful. I don't want to use bad words. I had dirty pants almost."
Gortat said he would play with his nose taped because he refuses to wear a mask, knowing another hit could require off-season surgery.
"I was playing with Dwight Howard and I was playing against Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) and a lot of big guys in the league," Gortat said. "None of these guys hurt me that bad. All of a sudden, there's this one guy - 5-5 tall, maybe 5-5 and a half, 170-80 pounds who doesn't eat meat. The guy just broke my nose. It's funny."
Nash said he did not feel the collision. He might still be numb from going 1 for 9 from the field in a game the Suns badly needed to win.
"That put us in a really dark position but it's not over," Nash said. "We had a lot of adversity and I had a horrible game. A lot of things didn't go our way. It's been that type of year. We've just got to keep fighting until somebody says you're out of here.
"Physically, I wasn't horrible. My legs were really tired from the week but I just didn't have a good game. It was one of those nights where I wasn't there. I was fighting and fighting. I just couldn't find it."
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