Suns hit road not worrying about home-court edge

For all the Phoenix fans poring over the Western Conference standings, checking the remaining schedules and tiebreakers to establish scenarios where the Suns can still finish among the top four seeds, your team truly appreciates all the effort and dedication.

But here's the thing. From Steve Nash to Shaquille O'Neal to even coach Mike D'Antoni - who usually worries about everything - the Suns were more upset about kicking away Sunday's game to Dallas than falling to sixth place in the West.

And if that's where they wind up in five games when the marathon regular season finally ends - so be it.

The Suns were assured of a spot in the postseason Sunday night when Seattle beat Denver. And as long as they can't hold the playoffs without them, they seem satisfied.

"I really don't care about home court," said Nash, repeating a mantra he has dutifully held all season. "We're probably not going to get it in the second or third round anyway, and if you can't win in the first round, you're not worth it anyway.

"What's the big deal? We're in, and now we have to work to become the best team we can possibly be and continue to improve. It would be great (if we could move up) but all in all, I don't know if it's going to make that much difference. We have to play well, no matter who or where we play."

Of course, if the Suns improve enough to hit the road and beat Memphis tonight, San Antonio on Wednesday and Houston on Friday, they might be able to improve their seeding at the same time - something they likely won't decline for lack of interest.

With five games left and the entire league taking Monday off to give the NCAA championship game center stage, the Suns sit a game behind Houston and two behind San Antonio and the Lakers in the West - but can win the season series from the Spurs and Rockets this week and draw closer.

After saying he's trying to fight the shrugged-shoulder attitude toward playoff positioning ("We should try to get home-court advantage") D'Antoni said he understands where the players are coming from.

"Wherever we end up, we'll take sixth, seventh, second, wherever, we'll take it. I don't think we're afraid to end up anywhere," he said. "We feel we're good enough to win on any court, any time against anybody.

"As long as we're getting better as a team, we'll play better and we'll win more and the seeding will improve as a result. We aren't panicking."

D'Antoni said the Suns knew they were risking the loss of the division to the Lakers when they made the trade for O'Neal and endured a 3-6 rough patch while regrouping. And for this team, stacked to the teeth with veterans like Nash, O'Neal, Grant Hill and Raja Bell, home court is less crucial.

"The first year we were so young (2004-05), and the year we didn't have Amaré (2005-06), I thought it was really important to have that seventh game at home all the time," he said. "We needed that. Now we have a veteran team. We'd like to have (home court) but if we don't, we'll still show up."

BONUS SHOTS: The Suns recalled rookie Alando Tucker from Albuquerque of the NBADL. With the Thunderbirds, Tucker averaged 28.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 10 games. He shot 57.7 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from 3-point range.

Suns at Grizzlies

When: 5 p.m. today

Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.

TV: KUTP (Ch. 45)

Radio: KTAR (620 AM)

Records: Phoenix 51-26; Memphis 21-56

Series history: The Suns lead the all-time series 37-11 (21-4 in Phoenix) and have won seven straight games including the first two meetings this season. They outscored the Grizzlies 127-113 in Memphis on Feb. 26 and rolled to a 132-111 rout in Phoenix on March 11.

Scouting report: Suns Any glee about backing into a fourth straight playoff berth was wiped out by Sunday's nine-point fourth quarter that turned what was shaping up to be a good effort into a distasteful loss to Dallas. Now, one final road trip begins in Memphis, where the Suns haven't lost since Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson were starters. Leandro Barbosa looks to bounce back from Sunday's disappearing act (two points) and should find easy going against the Griz. Both wins over Memphis have come in the post-Shaq era, with the Suns holding a distinct inside advantage.

Grizzlies Two nights after losing by 31 at home to Golden State, Memphis stepped up and beat Minnesota 113-101 Sunday. Mike Miller had eight 3-pointers and 34 points while Rudy Gay added 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It was only the 21st win of the season for ex-Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni, who is hearing whispers about his job status after just one year. The big reason is the defense, which allows a league-worst 106.6 points per game a number that's not likely to get any better tonight. The offense has also been disappointing, putting up only 100.4 points a game.