The Phoenix Suns are reeling at exactly the wrong time (as if there is a good time to be reeling) as they take a three-game losing streak into a five-game tough road trip. The roadie starts on Sunday with old foe, the San Antonio Spurs in a nationally televised game.
It used to be that having the Suns on national TV was a point of pride of fans. Now, there's an element of sadness and embarrassment as NBA fans across the world are reminded of how far the proud Phoenix franchise has fallen since their last grasp at greatness in 2010.
The Spurs lost Manu Ginobili to a broken hand, but haven't missed a beat. They are 8-4 on the season with wins over the Trail Blazers and Rockets in their last two games.
Injury report:
Steve Nash (thigh bruise and back) and Grant Hill (sore knee) were held out of Friday's home game against the New Jersey Nets on the second of a back-to-back. Coach Alvin Gentry explained his decision to hold them out on Friday:
Steve Nash, Grant Hill sit out with injuries vs. Nets
"They're kind of beat up," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "If it was a playoff game, yeah, (they would play). But to risk it, when we're about to go on a trip and play five games, I don't know if it makes sense. I don't know if it's worth doing. They are really hurt. To stick them out there and have something worse happen would be disastrous, I think... I don't see how putting them out there where there 60 percent or 70 percent doesn't make sense to me."
It's assumed that Nash and Hill will play on Sunday but nothing official has been released.
Projected lineups:
- Point guard: Steve Nash -- Tony Parker
- Shooting guard: Jared Dudley -- Kawhi Leonard
- Small forward: Grant Hill -- Richard Jefferson
- Power forward: Channing Frye -- DeJuan Blair
- Center: Marcin Gortat -- Tim Duncan
- Key subs: Suns (Markieff Morris, Shannon Brown, Michael Redd, Ronnie Price,Hakim Warrick, Robin Lopez). Spurs (Danny Green, Gary Neal, Tiago Splitter, James Anderson)
TV Broadcast info:
The game tips at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time on ESPN and Fox Sports Arizona and on the radio at Arizona Sports 620. Live game thread will be available at Bright Side of the Sun.
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