Suns plan to stand pat

Ask fans and analysts what the Suns need and you’ll get a variety of responses. Some scream Phoenix is short a big man to cover Amaré Stoudemire’s defensive deficiencies.

Others want to add another outside shooter (the departed James Jones leads the NBA in 3-point shooting with Portland) or make the annual request for a backup to Steve Nash at the point.

But after spending the past several weeks closely examining their cards and measuring their stacks against the rest of the title contenders — with the luxury tax chip also playing a major role — anyone waiting for that deadline trade or veteran signing to bolster Phoenix’s ranks shouldn’t hold their breath.

A source within the brain trust said the decision has been made: With 23 wins in the first 32 games, the Suns will stand pat and play the hand they’ve been dealt.

That means no rugged vets like P.J. Brown coming in off the couch. No deals for a sharpshooter like Gordan Giricek or Kyle Korver — two players the Suns coveted who were swapped for each other last week.

No understudy to spell Nash.

Would the Suns like to tweak things a bit? Sure. But they don’t have an expiring contract on the bench or an intriguing, reasonably priced player to dangle in a deal. The roster is made up of untouchable core players, untradeable contracts and players at or near minimum salary that don’t help get trades done.

And with any free-agent addition costing twice the going rate thanks to the luxury tax, simply adding payroll is not an option that interests ownership.

So any improvement will have to come from within.

Raja Bell (35 percent from 3-point range) and Leandro Barbosa (36.6 percent) need to regain their outside shooting touch and get closer to their 41 percent career averages. The Suns averaged 9.6 3-pointers per game last season, a number that is down to 8.3 this season.

Stoudemire needs to maintain his current torrid offensive run, which has him averaging 30.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and a boatload of oohs and ahs during this recent four-game winning streak over Western Conference bottom feeders.

Stoudemire’s play has been more about a soft spot in the schedule. His energy and activity on both ends and more dominant moves around the basket have shown the way for the Suns, who are otherwise still not playing with their usual sharpness. As a result, the ball is finding him more and in better position.

Whether it’s going all out in practice, attacking his off-court work with a renewed vigor or backing up his own tough talk with actions, the Suns are riding his back to wins.

“I want to get to my full potential,” Stoudemire said after a 34-point, 11-rebound effort against the Sonics Thursday night. “Due to the injuries and minor setbacks, at the start of the season I started off a little slow. I missed preseason and wasn’t quite as healthy as I wanted to be for the first 15 or 20 games. But now I’m starting to feel better, my legs are back, my conditioning level is where it should be and I should go higher from there.”

The caliber of opposing centers will also spike upward. Tyson Chandler and New Orleans visit tonight, followed by Marcus Camby and Denver on Monday and Jermaine O’Neal of Indiana on Wednesday.

“He’s been unbelievable, and that’s a level that we are accustomed to, so sometimes you aren’t as impressed as you should be,” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni said of Stoudemire. “If he sustains this energy level, he can be a pretty good defender, and if he does that he becomes an MVP-caliber player because he’s one of the best finishers in the game.”

At least the Suns are doing a great job of getting to the free-throw line — they have taken five more than their foes this year, as opposed to 75 less last year — but have already missed 165 free throws (.769) and are under 60 percent in the fourth quarter, a bad playoff omen.

“We just haven’t rounded into shape. I think we’ll iron all that out, I really do,” D’Antoni said.

Throw in the usual bugaboos, defense, rebounding and a penchant for playing to the level of their opponent, and 23-9 fits the Suns just fine heading into a run of opponents that features the Hornets, Denver and Utah before they get another shot at the Lakers in Los Angeles on Jan. 17.

Hornets at Suns

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: US Airways Center

TV: Fox Sports Arizona

Records: Hornets 21-11 (through Thursday); Suns 23-9

Series history: The Suns lead the overall series 28-17 and have won 11 of the last 13 meetings. But the Hornets won the only matchup so far this season, 101-98 in New Orleans on Dec. 15.

Scouting report:

Hornets — New Orleans had won six of seven games overall and was looking for a fifth straight road win Friday in Golden State. Injury-plagued at this point last season, the Hornets were 12-20 in Oklahoma City, but are now in position to give the franchise its first winning season since 2002-03 back in Charlotte. They rank fourth in the league in points allowed at 92.5 a game but will face a tough physical test with the Warriors and Suns on back-to-back nights. The Hornets have cleaned up against losing teams (17-3) but are 4-8 against teams that were .500 or better at the time.

Suns — Phoenix has won four straight but the competition (Clippers twice, Sacramento and Seattle) hasn’t been stiff. Speaking of stiff, Grant Hill sat out practice after landing hard on his tailbone in Thursday’s win over the Sonics, but said he expects to make his 33rd straight start tonight. The Suns outrebounded Seattle — the No.1 rebounding team in the NBA — by a 39-31 margin over the final three quarters Thursday, when they outscored the Sonics 91-63. A win tonight would give the Suns their third five-game winning streak just 33 games into the season.