Phoenix Suns C Tyson Chandler a ‘long shot’ to return vs. OKC

PHOENIX – For starters, let’s clear up something: Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler did not hurt his neck while sleeping.

“I didn’t get beat up in my sleep,” he said Thursday, laughing.

No, but Chandler did get hit in the neck area at some point before the all-star break and then when he went to bed, he said he woke up the next morning hurting.

Chandler has missed five straight games and six of the last seven overall because of his neck.

Heading into Friday’s game with Oklahoma City, Chandler is officially listed questionable — interim head coach Jay Triano called his starting center a gametime decision — though Chandler himself cast doubt on him returning.

“It’s probably a long shot, to be honest,” he said.

Chandler last played Feb. 12 at Golden State, giving the Suns eight points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes. It was in that game that Chandler re-aggravated the injury.

“I wasn’t ready,” he said. “And now it’s like, ‘OK’, got to try to actually wait for it to calm down before I jump back out there.”

Chandler has not practiced, at least with any contact, since the game against the Warriors, which was more than two weeks ago.

After speaking with reporters on Thursday, Chandler was headed back to the practice court for some additional work.

It’s looking more likely that Chandler returns to action during the Suns’ upcoming four-game road trip, which begins Sunday afternoon at Atlanta, than Friday for the second meeting of the season with the Thunder.

“I’m going to try to do some conditioning over these next couple of days before the trip and hopefully I get a practice in and nothing flares up and I can get back out there,” he said.

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— In addition to Chandler, the Suns list forward T.J. Warren questionable for Friday. He sat out the win at Memphis after hurting his tailbone in the game prior, or suffering what the Suns training staff labeled a ischial tuberosity contusion.

Warren went through a light workout on Thursday “and said he’s feeling a lot better so I’m optimistic for tomorrow,” according to Triano.

— Meanwhile, center Alan Williams continues to make progress. He’s five months removed from right knee surgery. The timetable given at the time of the Sept. 25 procedure was six months.

“This week he’ll start to do a little bit of 1-on-1 and build up to 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and hopefully we can get him 5-on-5 maybe midway through the month,” Triano said.

— Among the many highlights in the Suns ending their 10-game losing streak was the play of rookie guard Shaquille Harrison.

After a pair of three-minute stints in the first and third quarters, Harrison played the final 11:43 during which time he scored seven points, including a clutch 3-pointer, grabbed two rebounds and had four steals.

“I don’t know if he changed the game last night, but he secured a game for us with his defensive ability,” Triano said. “When you have a guy that sits on the bench for a long period of time and then still has the ability to come in and impact the game, I think that’s a real positive.”

— The win over the Grizzles not only snapped a season-long skid, but it meant the Suns avoided a winless February. No Suns team has ever gone 0-for a month at any point in the entire 50-year history of the franchise.

“Every day we were fighting something different,” Triano said. “I think we’ve had one bad half since the all-star break, where we kind of hit a reset button and decided we’re going to play this way.

“I like the energy that our guys are playing with at the defensive end. We’re not sitting back anymore, we’re up and we’re aggressive.”

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