PHILADELPHIA VS. INDIANA MILWAUKEE VS. ORLANDO MIAMI VS. CHARLOTTE NEW YORK VS. TORONTO SAN ANTONIO VS. MINNESOTA L.A. LAKERS VS. PORTLAND SACRAMENTO VS. PHOENIX UTAH VS. DALLAS

Wednesday, May 30 A strange season in Phoenix could end soon By Scott Howard-Cooper Special to ESPN.com The Suns are a strange mix, and never more than in the first round of the playoffs. Shawn Marion emerged this year, although Phoenix was generally inconsistent. In Game 1, if we can think back that far, though it can be said with certainty that it was sure nice of President Truman to take time from his busy schedule to tape a welcome message, they did not play well and still beat the Kings on the road. In Game 2, Sacramento rolled, and it was tough to tell whether the cowbells, a favorite prop of locals, or the Phoenix shots were making the most clanging noises. In Game 3, back home at America West Arena, they went ahead by 17 points at the end of the first quarter, lost all but two of those by the end of the second, played with their frontcourt in foul trouble, had a chance to win late, and faded in the final minute. A season of great inconsistency makes a playoff appearance. Three games, two teams, one complete game between them -- the Kings while evening the series. That has the Suns facing elimination Wednesday night, but also the big picture even if they win to force a deciding Game 5 back at Arco. a) These aren't your father's Suns. Circa 2001, they're about defense and rebounding, not the 4x100 relay like before. But the shooting woes must be addressed before next season. Only two players who averaged at least 15 minutes a game made at least 47 percent of their tries during the regular season, and one of them, rookie center Jake Tsakalidis at 47.0, was close to a non-factor in the offense. The other was star-in-waiting Shawn Marion, at 48.0. If Phoenix hits anything the first three games, instead of the combined 38.5 percent, it's 2-1 the other way, and the good people of Sacramento have more pressing concerns than e-mailing angry notes over last week's posting to the Benedict Arnold-Cooper in their midst. Hardaway Kidd b) These may be you son's Suns soon. There won't be a dramatic overhaul, because of the presence of Jason Kidd and Marion, but imagine the possibilities for change next season. A healthy Penny Hardaway. (Hey, we said use your imaginations.) A summer of work for the first time with the promising Tsakalidis, who was caught in a contract tug-of-war last year at that time between the Suns and the Greek team that claimed to have his rights, before an arbitrator ruled for Phoenix. Nine months of relative calm off the court, because nothing can be as bad as this again. c) There was rarely any stability during 2000-01, so it would have been unrealistic to expect anything but more of the same come the playoffs. Few teams can get a sudden turnaround just in time for the postseason, unless they have, say, the best center and best shooting guard in the game on the same team. The Suns had an impressive recovery to finish the regular season on an upswing, but that was 19 games that still included losses to the Celtics, Pacers and Clippers. “ Yes, there's disappointment and we're doing what we can to make things right here in this marketplace. We're going over and above to reconnect with the fans. I can tell you that perhaps some of the things that happened to this organization off the court did affect the overall playoff purchase by our season ticket holders. Perhaps that was a statement that was made. ” — Bryan Colangelo, Suns exec d) The fans in Phoenix could either see all this or didn't care enough to look up and find out one way or another: the first home playoff contest, Game 3, would not have been a sellout if several Suns players had not bought blocks of tickets in the final days before and donated them to charity. Even then, there were hundreds of Kings fans, having apparently taken advantage of the Sunday afternoon tipoff, meaning they could make a weekend of it and still catch a flight back home that night and be at work on Monday morning, in America West Arena. And that wasn't even the most troubling part for some players. In four locations last Friday -- the plaza just outside AWA and three area malls -- players were dispatched to ticket outlets in hopes of stirring interest. T-shirts were given to anyone who bought seats for either of the two home games. Some said they didn't mind the appearances, that it was good to connect with fans. But, clearly, this won't be remembered as one of the proudest moments for the organization. "That's the first time that ever happened in my career," guard Mario Elie said. "Our job was as players, last time I remember. They put us in that situation. I don't particularly like that." Said coach Scott Skiles, when asked if this was an unnecessary burden for his team at a critical stage of the season: "It wouldn't be my choice." Get in line. It wasn't management's choice either that three of its marquee players -- Kidd, Hardaway and Clifford Robinson -- would have off-the-court incidences that undoubtedly contributed to a decline in fan interest. The timing couldn't have been worse. The Suns, once the only pro team in town, now have to deal with the sports expansion of recent years to also include the Diamondbacks, Coyotes and Cardinals, while also getting payback from fans. "Yes, there's disappointment and we're doing what we can to make things right here in this marketplace," said Bryan Colangelo, the president and general manager. "We're going over and above to reconnect with the fans. I can tell you that perhaps some of the things that happened to this organization off the court did affect the overall playoff purchase by our season ticket holders. Perhaps that was a statement that was made." The low point on the court came, ironically, against the Kings, in a home game March 7, when a 28-point lead in the first half became an 11-point loss. Two nights after that, still feeling groggy from the Sacramento game, the Suns went to Utah and offered an uninspired effort. The day after that, there was a players-only team meeting, in lieu of practice, or flowers. "We were in a bad place and we just wanted to see where everybody's mind was at," said Elie, one of the veterans who organized the clear-the-air session. "Guys needed to express themselves and what the team needed at the moment. Myself and Cliff, being the elder statesmen of the team, we wanted to get together and see where guy's minds were at. We had the meeting, had the great meeting, pointed out some key points, and it seemed to work." The response was a surge to close 15-6 and reach 51 wins and No. 6 in the West -- only the difference between opening against the untested Kings or either the Spurs or Lakers. Kidd, encouraged by teammates in that same meeting to be more aggressive in looking for his shot, took off on the greatest scoring tear of his career, breaking 30 points in three consecutive games in one stretch after having not even done it twice in a row before. That came as his assists kept up to where he again led the league in that category. That got them as far as the playoffs, at which point what should have been a big edge in rebounding vanished and the defense became inconsistent and the offense stalled in the fast lane. The Kings were at 41.9 percent the first three games, with Chris Webber laboring with 39.1 and Predrag Stojakovic 36.2, but still ahead. Apparently, the Suns were trying to find their footing, again. Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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