The Phoenix Suns, roster depleted by their recent blockbuster trade with the Orlando Magic, put together a nice win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last night on the road. Everyone feel warm and cozy? Well, reality is likely to be harsh this evening when the Suns face off against the blazing-hot San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back, and still missing new additions Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus.
So far this season, Phoenix is 2-4 on the second night of a B2B and one could easily imagine they'll be 2-5 after tonight. On the positive side, Grant Hill was the only Sun to play more than 32 minutes against the Thunder. But lacking the firepower of Carter or Pietrus, the team will likely have to lean heavily on Hill again after his 30-point, 11-rebound extravaganza. The Suns also got much-needed contributions from Robin Lopez (19 points on 9-for-10 shooting), Josh Childress (10 points, five rebounds, and three steals), and Goran Dragic (11 points, five assists). To vanquish the Spurs, Phoenix will need a similarly well-rounded roster performance.
San Antonio (23-3) has won eight games in a row (after an earlier 12-game winning streak) and has been pretty much unstoppable so far, dropping teams of all different calibers at home and on the road. Tony Parker has averaged 20.8 points and 7.4 assists during the Spurs' current streak and has historically feasted on Steve Nash's Suns teams. In the last nine regular-season home games against Phoenix, Parker has scored 24.8 points a game.
However, the Suns have won three of their last five visits to the AT&T Center and have gotten spectacular play from Nash (averaging 15.2 and 11 assists).
Spurs guard George Hill is likely to miss tonight's game with a sprained right toe. Phoenix will have everyone healthy outside of their new acquisitions, who remain in Phoenix to take their physicals.
The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. local time (8:30 ET) and will be broadcast in Phoenix on UPN My45 and Sports 620 KTAR radio. Fans can also follow along with other fans live during the game at the Bright Side of the Sun live game thread.