PHOENIX – Now that the lockout has ended, we can finally look forward to the upcoming NBA season.

For the Phoenix Suns, the abbreviated 66-game season will present some tough challenges for a team that relies heavily on older players like Steve Nash and possibly Grant Hill.

“It’s going to be a sprint, all the games count and it’s tough because of the minutes and pace we play with, so we’re going to have to do a good job of monitoring Steve(Nash) and some of the rest of the guys. That’s going to be tricky managing the long stretches of games,” said coach Alvin Gentry on the Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf show Tuesday.

The team will face two occasions where they have to play games on three straight nights.

The Suns coach is planning on using a deeper bench than normal to keep his players from wearing down during the season.

“In a season like this, I’m hopeful we’ll get in a position where we have enough guys contributing where we can play 9, ten players,” said Gentry.

The Suns’ players will get help from the team’s renowned medical team that has helped players like Hill and Nash continue to play at a high level in the latter stages of their careers.

“We have the best trainers and medical staff in the NBA by far. It’s not even close.”

“They’ve got a good feel where our guys are. They’ve usually got a pretty good pulse on the team because they’re always with them,” said Gentry.

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