Suns continue to struggle vs. West’s best

The feeling has been there all season, but now the black-and-white numbers are adding fuel to the fire.

Amare a no-show at Suns Sunday practice

Read Jerry Brown's blog, Rim Shots

After Saturday’s 118-113 lost to New Orleans, the Suns dropped to 1-6 against teams that currently hold playoff positions in the Western Conference. And the Suns get another test from that subset tonight when they face Northwest Division-leading Denver at US Airways Center.

“Obviously, we have stuff we need to work on and get better and we’re not there yet,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “For whatever reason, we’re not as good as we were the last couple or three years. We’re kind of wobbly. You don’t want it to be that way, but that’s kind of the way it is right now.

“I can’t tell you we’re going to do this or that yet. We just have to find some answers and do a little bit better.”

D’Antoni made it sound as if all possible changes are on the table.

• Will he shake up his starting lineup? The most likely move would have Leandro Barbosa starting ahead of Raja Bell, who missed but two minutes Saturday with a stomach flu and was still in bed on Sunday. The Suns are 6-0 when Barbosa starts with the other four regulars.

• Will he make a concerted effort to play energetic center Brian Skinner more minutes? Skinner played just seven minutes Saturday, but the Hornets stuck with a smaller lineup because (a) forward David West was out and (b) their four perimeter players had great success against the Suns, combining for 94 points.

• Will Marcus Banks, who hit four of his six shots and scored 11 points in his second straight positive effort, see more time as well? If Bell returns, playing time is scarce on the perimeter, but D’Antoni agreed that Banks brought some good elements.

But the Suns missed a chance to put New Orleans away early, scoring 68 first-half points and taking an 11-point lead into intermission. But the Hornets kept coming, made all the hustle plays despite playing short-handed and on back-to-back nights and hit tough shots down the stretch.

“There were at least 10 shots where you can’t play better defense and they were just that good,” D’Antoni said. “We let them get going because the defense wasn’t good (late in the third quarter), but at the end they just made some big-time baskets.”

The common thread in the six losses to the West elite is offensive rebounds.

The Suns have allowed an average of almost 14 offensive rebounds and at least 11 in each loss, and 15 of the Hornets’ 37 rebounds came on the offensive end Saturday — helping them collect 22 second-chance points and take 18 extra shots to make up for Phoenix advantages in free throws (29-17) and field-goal percentage (53-49).

Nuggets at Suns

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: US Airways Center

Radio: KTAR (620 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Net Arizona

Records: Nuggets 20-12 (through Saturday); Suns 23-10

Series History: The Suns lead the overall series 78-54 and have won nine of the past 11 meetings. In Phoenix, the Suns have dominated, winning 48 of 65 games. The teams haven’t met since last March 30, when Phoenix rallied from an 18-point deficit in the first half with a 17-2 run in the third quarter. Carmelo Anthony (32 points) and Allen Iverson (26) combined for 58 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Suns got 18 points and 11 assists from Steve Nash and 14 third-quarter points from Shawn Marion.

Scouting report: Nuggets — The Suns get another team on a back-to-back, as the Nuggets hosted Philadelphia Sunday night. Denver’s 20-12 start was tied for the season-best in franchise history but the Nuggets needed a 5-1 surge to hold off hard-charging Portland in the Midwest Division. Allen Iverson (26.6 ppg) and Carmelo Anthony (25.4 ppg) ranked third and fourth in the league in scoring, leading a No. 4 offense that scores 106.4 ppg. Center Marcus Camby leads the NBA in blocked shots (3.77 per game), is second in rebounds (14.3) and has the second-most number of assists by a center (3.1). Ex-Sun Steven Hunter is out (knee surgery).

Suns — The Suns are 5-3 at home against the West with losses to the Lakers, Rockets and Hornets and need a quality win. Raja Bell (flu) missed practice but is expected to play. Amaré Stoudemire (missed practice) is not sick or injured and should also play unless disciplinary action is instituted by the team.

Bested by the West

The Suns have the second-best record in the Western Conference at 23-10, but are 1-6 against teams that currently occupy the other seven playoff spots in the West. The only win was at conference leader San Antonio, a game the Spurs played without 2007 NBA Finals MVP Tony Parker. The Suns face No. 4 Denver tonight.

Date Opponent Conference Rank Result

11/2/07 L.A. Lakers 6th L (119-98)

11/26/07 at Golden State 8th L (129-114)

12/15/07 at New Orleans 3rd L (101-98)

12/17/07 at San Antonio 1st W (100-95)

12/19/07 at Dallas 5th L (108-105)

12/25/07 at L.A. Lakers 6th L (122-115)

1/5/08 New Orleans 3rd L (118-113)

1/7/08 Denver 4th ?