Suns return home after impressive road trip

PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns had plenty of question marks surrounding their team going into the season, but even after a difficult five-game road trip, the team sits atop the Pacific Division with a 7-1 record.

The Suns went 4-1 on the trip with impressive victories over Boston, Miami, Washington and Philadelphia.

"It was a great trip. The guys played well and extremely hard, so we were really satisfied with the trip," said coach Alvin Gentry on the 620 Sportline on Tuesday.

The coaching staff and front office were even more impressed with the Suns victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. The team got down early and was fighting the fatigue of the long road trip. It would have been easy for the team to pack it in, but they fought back in the second half and came away with the win.

"There's a resilience about this team. They just refuse to give up. The guys really wanted to make a special road trip out of it and the only way you could do it was to find a way to gut it up and win," said Gentry.

One of the biggest perceived weaknesses of the Suns heading into the season was that they were an undersized team and might struggle with rebounding. However, the team has more than held its own in that department as the team has adopted a rebounding by committee plan where all the players are helping out and focusing on rebounding.

"We've more than held our own on the boards. As long as we battle on the boards, we've got a shot pretty much every night," said Suns GM Steve Kerr on his weekly visit to the Sports 620 KTAR Doug and Wolf show Wednesday morning.

The other Suns bugaboo, their defense, has plagued the franchise for years. Through the first eight games, the Suns are still giving up alot of points, but they have learned to put the clamps down on defense and get stops in the fourth quarter of games.

During the team's four victories on the road trip, the Suns only allowed 18.2 points in the fourth quarter which is a sign the team is putting more emphasis on defense than in the past.

"We really worked hard defensively in camp," said Kerr who singled out Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley as the most impressive defensive stoppers.

However, the Suns offense is still the key to their success. The Suns have shot an astounding 47 percent from the three-point line so far this season.

Coach Alvin Gentry said that the difference is the Suns are getting balanced scoring from the entire team.

"We've gotten good play every night out of somebody different and they've stepped up and made a few plays here and there that have been the difference in the game," said Gentry.

Still, Steve Nash has been the one leading the charge and has quieted some of his critics with his early play that he isn't over the hill.

"He's playing at an unbelievable level. He's our engine and makes everything work for us," said Kerr.

The team is pleased with their hot start, but isn't getting carried away with their early season success. Coach Gentry said it will take longer to establish the true identity of the Suns team.

"You're going to get the true value of our team about 20 games in. We're happy with the progress we're making."

Steve Kerr joins Sports 620 KTAR's Doug and Wolf show every Wednesday at 8:20 a.m. to give his insights to the team.