Bordow: Suns fail prime-time litmus test vs. Lakers

Terry Porter never had to wait on late TNT starts when he was the Milwaukee Bucks’ coach.

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The cable network treated the Bucks as if they were lepers. A nationally televised game? Only if the Bucks bribed the executive producer.

“We had the same amount (of TNT games) as a dead man,” Porter said. “Zero.”

Thursday, Porter got his first taste of the big time as an NBA coach. TNT was in town. So was Kobe, Phil and media from all over the country.

There was a big-game feel throughout US Airways Center, including on the grease board in the Suns’ locker room.

“This is a good test for us. They have the best record in the league. Let’s pass the test with flying colors.”

So much for the athlete’s tired cliche that one game is no bigger than the rest. The Suns’ credibility was on trial Thursday. Beat the Lakers, and the rest of the league would view them with newfound respect. Get beat decisively, and it would reinforce the idea that they’re no longer a championship-caliber team.

“It’s a barometer for us as far as playing a team everybody expects to come out of the (Western Conference),” Porter said.

So what can we make of the Suns’ 105-92 loss?

Well, for one thing, they’re not in the Lakers’ league. They’re not even close.

Los Angeles dominated even though Kobe Bryant had an off night shooting — he was 8 of 23 from the field — and scored a benign 24 points.

Also, it’s become obvious that Phoenix will have trouble scoring against good teams. The Suns shot 44.2 percent from the field against Los Angeles — they were hovering at 41 percent until garbage time — and never got into a flow offensively.

Does the Lakers’ defense deserve some credit? Sure. But Phoenix scored 95 points against New Orleans, 82 against Houston and 97 against Utah.

That’s not a trend. It’s an indictment.

As we’ve mentioned before, the Suns have to find a way to get Steve Nash more involved in the offense. Nash didn’t score a single point in the first half — he only took three shots — and he wound up with eight points.

I know Porter wants to get Shaquille O’Neal and Amaré Stoudemire more touches, but it can’t be at the expense of Nash, who’s the team’s best shooter.

Also, the Suns — and how long have we been saying this — need to find a veteran backup point guard. Second-round draft choice Goran Dragic was supposed to fill that role, but his minutes Thursday were taken by rookie Sean Singletary. And when Singletary replaced Nash in the first quarter, the Lakers immediately went on a 14-0 run.

By the way, is anybody else struck by the fact that Dragic and first-round pick Robin Lopez aren’t getting regular playing time? The Suns raved about Lopez on draft day, but he didn’t play against Sacramento, he got just one minute against Utah and he didn’t make an appearance Thursday until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.

Nash, meanwhile, played the entire third quarter and eight minutes into the fourth before Porter mercifully took him out.

So much for the deeper bench Porter was going to employ. Maybe Mike D’Antoni knew something after all.

If there was one guarantee Thursday, it’s that O’Neal would play well. Kobe was in the building and he wasn’t going to let a young pup like Andrew Bynum show him up.

Sure enough, O’Neal dominated inside, collecting 15 points and nine rebounds and forcing Bynum to bench in the third quarter with foul trouble.

“I think Shaq is always giving out lessons to the young guys,” Porter said. “He’ll send signals: 'I’m still here. I’m not gone yet.’ ”

The Suns would like to think the same goes for their entire team. They believe they have one last run in them.

But after Thursday, they’ll have a hard time convincing anyone else of that.