ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Steve Nash, Shooting guard Raja Bell, Small forward Matt Barnes, Power forward Amare Stoudemire, Center Shaquille O'Neal. Bench -- Forward Boris Diaw, Forward Grant Hiil Guard Goran Dragic, Guard Leandro Barbosa, Center Robin Lopez. PLAYER NOTES:
--G Goran Dragic made his NBA debut and it was a shaky one. He was scoreless in 14 minutes, missed both of his shots from the field and had more fouls (three) than assists (two). His defense against Tony Parker also left something to be desired, as Parker erased a seven-point Suns lead in the final minutes of the third quarter by picking on the rookie for easy baskets.
--F Amare Stoudemire had a very quiet first half, taking only three shots and looking passive offensively. But Stoudemire took over down the stretch, scoring 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns leaned on the pick-and-roll game of Stoudemire and Steve Nash for three of their final four baskets.
--G Steve Nash had a new defensive assignment against the Spurs. True to his word to play defense "straight-up" in most cases, coach Terry Porter put Steve Nash on Tony Parker -- a matchup that has historically been a poor one for Phoenix. In recent matchups, Nash has guarded Spurs small forward Bruce Bowen, a limited offensive threat, and Bowen has returned the favor and guarded Nash.
"It's fine with me," said before the game. "It might be something we'll do full-time, it might be something we switch-up on, we'll see."
Parker scored 32 points, but had two of his best scoring runs at the end of the first and third quarters at the expense of rookie Goran Dragic.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--G Alando Tucker (hamstring, knee) is out for at least the first three games of the season after being unable to get through practice this week. Tucker has struggled with the injury, which began as a cramp in his calves and has spread to his hamstrings and is now creating soreness in his knee.
