Inconsistency plagues struggling Suns

PHOENIX -- After feeling as frustrated and statistically doomed as a search party on the prowl for Bigfoot, we've finally located some consistency in the Phoenix Suns. We simply were looking in the wrong places until now. For the record, the consistency just referenced has nothing to do with their one-game losing streak. That number was established with Thursday night's 96-89 loss to the Houston Rockets. We also should note the Suns' recent three-game victory streak and four-out-of-five salvo wasn't the evidence of consistency we were looking for, either. OK, so what do the Suns really have down pat? Well, they now are a robust 0-8 against teams currently sitting among the top eight in the Western Conference. They also are 0-6 against Texas, 5-7 against everyone who's visited their home court, and have only three triumphs against teams with winning records. Still crouching near the bottom of the conference leader board, the 11-15 Suns do remain sensationally inconsistent in how they actually lose games. One night it's live turnovers leading to fast-break points. There also have been examples of catastrophically diminished energy or arctic-temperature shooting or tragically unaware defense. Thursday's culprit was crisis-level rebounding that ended with the Rockets owning a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points. "That's just too much of a disparity there," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "We're just turning and observing and not putting bodies on guys. These guys (Rockets) are relentless on the boards, so you've got to be able to put your body on them and you have to be able to pursue the ball and go get it. When you have good defensive possessions time after time and they get the ball back time after time it's a little deflating." Yeah, the Suns have been pretty consistent with their rebounding tribulations over the last couple of seasons. But, harking back to inconsistency, they've now also reached amusement-park status in their bench production. In Tuesday's win at Milwaukee, Gentry said the Phoenix roller-coaster reserves executed the offense well enough, but were unable to convert baskets. Against Houston, this problem suffered brutal magnification. The Rocket bench, which gunned in 66 points during Wednesday's late-night victory at Portland, had 57 vs. the Suns. All five subs who participated scored in double figures, making 25 of 42 shots from the field. Included was an 11-point, 11-assist night from former Suns guard Goran Dragic. "We found a rhythm and shared the ball and everybody is dangerous toward the basket," Dragic said. "I think that speaks the result." By almost-unspeakable contrast, Phoenix received 13 points from its bench, all but two of those provided by Michael Redd. But it's difficult to compete with Rocket productivity when you don't do well enough early to get back on the floor. For example, the shallow first-half performances of baseline back-ups Robin Lopez and rookie Markieff Morris inspired Gentry to keep Channing Frye and Marcin Gortat on the floor the entire second half. For Frye, the accelerated burn also had something to do with the continuation of his recent offensive uprising. The Suns' power forward began the evening shooting a miserable 37 percent from the field (including 30 percent from 3-point range) on the season. But Channing had bagged a more acceptable 23 of 53 shots in Phoenix's recent five-game rally, giving the Suns double-digit scoring in three of those games. "When Channing shoots the ball well, we're pretty good," Gentry said before the game. Well, he scored 21 points -- on 8-of-17 shooting overall and 4 of 9 from 3 -- and collected a game-high 10 rebounds against the Rockets. That's sort of a comfort. It suggests the Suns' ability to prevail may not be as dependent on a big night from Frye as we previously considered. Such a notion would have been a bit frightening. Sure, it certainly helps when his marksmanship is above 37 percent and his rebound contribution is reasonable. But even when Frye and Jared Dudley play well on offense in support of rare, consistent contributors Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat, one collective, awful night in another area is enough to provoke defeat. Nash, by the way, made all seven of his shots, finishing with 14 points and 13 dimes a couple of hours after he was officially certified to be an All-Star reserve. "Yeah, their bench played well," Nash, who will be making his eighth All-Star appearance, said. "You've got to hand it to them, but such a winnable game for us. We didn't convert in so many areas, so it's a really disappointing loss."