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Phoenix Suns interim head coach Lindsey Hunter, right, talks with Goran Dragic (1), of Slovenia, during the first half in an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Former Suns' superstar Steve Nash and head coach Mike D'Antoni will return to Phoenix on Wednesday night when the underachieving Los Angeles Lakers come to the Valley.

This will be Nash's first visit back to Phoenix since he was dealt to LA in a sign-and-trade deal this offseason. The Suns have seen a great deal of turnover since the former face of their franchise departed for a division rival, including the firing of head coach Alvin Gentry.

While the Suns' troubles may not come as a shock, the Lakers' tumultuous season certainly does.

Interim head coach Lindsey Hunter said while he is surprised by how the Lakers have performed this year, he can see how managing supreme egos can be troublesome.

"It's a lot of dominance on the floor so who's going to decide how you play, that's hard and I think right now they are starting to find that happy medium with those guys," Hunter said.

Despite the Lakers' underwhelming 19-25 start, Hunter is not taking this matchup lightly.

"They have potentially three Hall of Famers right now on that team, so I think they'll be good," Hunter stated. "I know the problems they pose to us. So we just got to deal with them the way that we plan to and hopefully that'll give us a chance to kind of compete with them."

Suns' point guard Goran Dragic, who was a student under Nash for two-and-a-half years early in his career, also didn't expect the Lakers to struggle the way they have thus far.

"I am surprised a little bit especially before the season with them bringing in Dwight Howard and [Nash] and all those guys and everybody was talking about them and how powerful they were going to be and I was expecting them to have a better start then they have," Dragic said.

But while the Lakers are trying to find cohesiveness among their stockpile of stars, the Suns are trying to win without one.

"You have to find chemistry. It doesn't matter if you have superstars or not. It's tough but still we have to battle and try to find a solution," Dragic stated.

Hunter knows his players have a tall task ahead but he expects they will come ready to battle.

"Anytime [Bryant]'s on the floor that's a problem, [Howard]'s a problem but hey that's why you play the game. It's fun to get to challenge guys like that. I think our guys will say the same," Hunter said.

Daria Del Colliano, Web Content Editor - ArizonaSports.com

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    SurpriseMe wrote...
    Nash Curse
    lakers are not struggling it is the Nash curse. Every team Nash plays for will play great but not win a title. And now they have D'Antoni they dont stand a chance. I wonder what they were thinking
  • Abuse
    PennyAnd1 wrote...
    Nash Curse? Dumb.lol
    Nash is the reason Lakers are still worth something. Kobe was the curse starting from last year. Now that Kobe's playing team ball you could see they're playing good again. Oh btw, Nash had plenty opportunity to win a title. Unfortunate events just happened, not by Nash. If anything it's the Suns that are the curse.
  • Abuse
    Dave T. wrote...
    Seriously?
    The Suns aren't 'taking the Lakers lightly?' At what level does this make any sense. The Suns are so terrible they can't take anybody lightly.
  • Abuse
    navymike wrote...
    Not taking THEM lightly?
    Is that a joke? Hi, we're the team that is the worst in the entire Western Conference but, watch out, because we're dangerous......LOL
  • Abuse
    MagicMann wrote...
    Translation: trap game
    If the Suns take this game lightly they could end up winning, and that would hurt their chances for the most ping pong balls in the lottery. It is games like this where the Suns can really trip up. They need to keep their "Eye on the Prize."
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