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The Suns had their worst successive shooting games of the season Thursday and Sunday. They failed to reach 100 points in successive games Sunday and Monday for the first time since January. The Suns' offense, and playoff hopes, are in dire need of a quick fix. Oh, here it comes. Floor general Steve Nash is probable to play Wednesday at New Orleans and floor spacer Channing Frye might soon follow.
Frye is a possibility to return from a dislocated shoulder for Friday's home game against Golden State but Nash's return Wednesday after two losses without him desperately is needed at New Orleans, a team the Suns could catch even with four games and four places separating them because they play them three times.
Nash could go a long way toward solving the ills of a team that has not had one lead in three consecutive losses, the past two of which Nash missed and the first in which he played hurt. Nash has worked out twice daily for three days to combat pubic-symphysis irritation in the joint between the pelvis' pubic bones. The injury has limited Nash's movement, causing pain throughout his last game.
"We've got to do a better job of running plays and executing plays when they're called," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We're not screening. We're not using screens. The cuts we make aren't hard enough. We're down the home stretch so everything we do has to be done better than it's ever been done. We're not the Spurs or the Lakers figuring out if we're going to be the first or second seed. We're trying to play our way into the playoffs and the only way we can do that is to have great execution."
Most of the Suns' scoring came from their bench Monday night. In the past four games, the starters have trailed 8-2, 9-4, 7-2 and 9-2.
"It's too bad we didn't play the first half with a sense of urgency," said guard Vince Carter, who scored 19 of his 21 points in Monday's second half.
The Suns are 0-4 without Nash and 1-3 without Frye, who took his first perimeter shots Monday.
"Hopefully, I'll be right behind him," Frye said of Nash's return. "I have to listen to my body and listen to the trainer. It's not like I can say, 'Let me play through the pain,' because this is my livelihood. The shoulder is pretty serious. I'm trying to avoid getting surgery. I want to continue pushing every day but I can only go as fast as my body tells me."
Frye is a possibility to return from a dislocated shoulder for Friday's home game against Golden State but Nash's return Wednesday after two losses without him desperately is needed at New Orleans, a team the Suns could catch even with four games and four places separating them because they play them three times.
Nash could go a long way toward solving the ills of a team that has not had one lead in three consecutive losses, the past two of which Nash missed and the first in which he played hurt. Nash has worked out twice daily for three days to combat pubic-symphysis irritation in the joint between the pelvis' pubic bones. The injury has limited Nash's movement, causing pain throughout his last game.
"We've got to do a better job of running plays and executing plays when they're called," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We're not screening. We're not using screens. The cuts we make aren't hard enough. We're down the home stretch so everything we do has to be done better than it's ever been done. We're not the Spurs or the Lakers figuring out if we're going to be the first or second seed. We're trying to play our way into the playoffs and the only way we can do that is to have great execution."
Most of the Suns' scoring came from their bench Monday night. In the past four games, the starters have trailed 8-2, 9-4, 7-2 and 9-2.
"It's too bad we didn't play the first half with a sense of urgency," said guard Vince Carter, who scored 19 of his 21 points in Monday's second half.
The Suns are 0-4 without Nash and 1-3 without Frye, who took his first perimeter shots Monday.
"Hopefully, I'll be right behind him," Frye said of Nash's return. "I have to listen to my body and listen to the trainer. It's not like I can say, 'Let me play through the pain,' because this is my livelihood. The shoulder is pretty serious. I'm trying to avoid getting surgery. I want to continue pushing every day but I can only go as fast as my body tells me."
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