Gentry says Suns bench can’t produce, ‘opportunities slip away’

The Phoenix Suns finished playing three games in three
days, and losing all three gave a bleak outlook for the
rest of the season.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry sat out Steve Nash and Grant Hill
against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 14 to allow them to
rest and recuperate, which became the golden opportunity
for the bench players to showcase what they can do.

But, in the 109-92 loss, there were no noticeable
performances.

“Well, I was a little frustrated,” Gentry told Arizona
Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo. “I don’t know if you can
totally judge them on one opportunity, but as a bench
player, that’s what you have to take advantage of.”

The Suns shot only .333 from the field and committed 26
fouls and 21 turnovers, and they did not have the lead for
any point of the game.

Josh Childress, who hasn’t seen a lot of playing time,
scored two points in his 19 minutes of play. Ronnie Price
started the game, but only made 2-11 shots, and Shannon
Brown only scored eight points.

“Obviously you don’t want to use Jeremy Lin as a
comparison, but given that opportunity, you have to step
up your game, and you have to be able to do something that
will take notice with the coaching staff,” Gentry said.

The lack of potential showing on the bench and the three-
game losing streak the Suns are on have caught up to the
morale in the locker room. They’ve been trying to stay
positive because the lockout and injuries have been road
blocks to the season, but the 12-18 record and inability
to play well for the entire game is hitting the players’
nerves.

“We don’t have any quit in us; I mean that’s the one thing
I do know,” Gentry said. “I think ‘disappointing’ is the
word I would use because we just feel like we’ve let so
many opportunities slip away.

“There’s a whole pack of teams that just is stuck in that
four to five game over .500 area, and that’s where we
should be we feel. We know we obviously are not there, and
we’ve got to find a way to close out games and be able to
play for 48 minutes and not the 35 or 38 minutes that
we’re playing.”

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