As a guest on Arizona Sports 620's Burns and Gambo show Thursday, Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said Grant Hill could have been used to defend Gay.

"He's our best defensive player, and Rudy is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous offensive player," Gentry said. "The match up would have been better for us. Grant's got more length and has done a good job on Rudy in the past."

The comment comes as Hill is expected to return to action on Friday against the Houston Rockets. But if Hill was able, the Suns would've used him against the Grizzlies.

"We needed to have somebody who could challenge a few shots and get his hand in his face a little better than what we did," Gentry said.

Hill has been out with a torn meniscus in his right knee since March 25. The Suns are 5-4 in his absence, and Shannon Brown is averaging 17 points per game as Hill's replacement in the starting lineup.

But the Suns are ready to get their team captain along with his defensive skills back on the court.

"He looks great, really. You know, really the only thing that's going to be, obviously, is stamina and conditioning—how that works out," Gentry said. "There's no soreness and no swelling or anything. So, I think he's ready to go."