Third game of the preseason and so far the Suns have been woeful. No worries, right?
Well, Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry is certainly not pleased and has vowed to tighten up his rotations and focus on his first priority, getting the key players used to playing together. That will likely mean fewer minutes for Chucky Atkins, Garret Siler, Dwayne Jones, Gani Lawal and Matt Janning.
The Suns will have Channing Frye back in the lineup after he took the first two games off to be with his wife after the birth of their first child early last week. Congrats, Channing. Welcome back.
The Suns will be without Jason Richardson who has limited mobility in his shoulder after bruising it early in the preseason game against the Raptors in Vancouver. I would expect Josh Childress to get the start in his place but Gentry could go with Jared Dudley as well.
The Mavericks will be without their coach, Rich Carlisle, who collapsed during practice yesterday and was taken to the hospital. He returned to work that afternoon and by all accounts is fine although he didn't travel for this game.
Star Dirk Nowitzki will also sit out this game. It seems that he's not fond if the wind.
"Outdoors, you know, I wasn't really great outdoors growing up,'' he said. "If you depend on a jump shot, if it's a windy night, I might as well stay home.''
SB Nation Arizona will be covering this game live from the Indian Wells Tennis Center. You can watch live in your living room on TNT where former Suns GM Steve Kerr will be on the mic.
Game Links
- Suns Face Mavs Under The Moon: Will Phoenix Be Wolf Or Victim? - Bright Side Of The Sun Enjoy the Suns. And enjoy listening to Steve Kerr try to sound objective.
- Mavs Moneyball - For Dallas Mavericks Fans We are now in October, just a couple of weeks away from the start of the regular season, and coach Rick Carlisle is buckling down and experimenting in order to find the best starting five.
- Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle Collapsed During Practice, But Says He's 'Fine' Now - SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, fresh off of an apparent fainting episode, will sit out his team’s exhibition game vs. the Phoenix Suns Saturday night in Palm Springs