Minutes sparse for Suns’ bench

Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni stood in front of the grease board in his office and scribbled down the 240 minutes he has to delegate to his players in an NBA game.

Then he started subtracting:

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• He set aside 38 minutes for Shawn Marion – exactly what The Matrix has averaged over his NBA career.

• Raja Bell was at 35 minutes, more than two minutes less than last year.

• Amaré Stoudemire and Steve Nash were each penciled in for 33. That was likely written with crossed fingers, because for Nash, that number always seems to rise.

• Newcomer Grant Hill, healthy and quickly adapting to a new conference and style, is expected to play 30 minutes.

• Then D’Antoni’s sixth and seventh “starters” — super subs Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw — were allotted 28 minutes each.

Add it up, folks. That’s 225 minutes for the top seven players — leaving just, uh-oh, 15 minutes up for grabs for the rest of the bench.

So much for all the talk of a nine- or even 10-player rotation. So much for all the praise heaped upon rookies and reserves who impressed during training camp.

And while he swears it won’t happen, D’Antoni’s math suggests there might be nights when the game is tight and even No. 8 will struggle to reach the scorers table.

So who will wrestle away those remaining minutes? Will it go to the backcourt and either Marcus Banks or D.J. Strawberry? Will it go to reinforcements in the post: Brian Skinner and/or Sean Marks? Barring blowouts, inevitable foul trouble and injuries, that’s just not much left to carve up.

“I can’t do anything about that. My job and the job for all the guys in the same position is to be ready,” said Marks, who has impressed while playing more than three times as many minutes in the last two preseason games (55) than he played all of last season (17).

“You show you can be useful and you hope Mike finds the right situations where you can help.”

Sounds good. What about it, coach?

“I’m not a situational kind of a guy,” D’Antoni said nicely, but matter-of-factly. “Either, you have minutes and you play, or you don’t. I don’t believe in matching up with somebody else.”

So that means either Banks or Strawberry, and either Skinner or Marks, not all four. First-round pick Alando Tucker hasn’t played in the first three quarters of any preseason game so far, but he’s better off than veteran Eric Piatkowski — who hasn’t played at all.

But this group appears to be in better position to help when needed — and things do happen. Hill might not be able to play as much at this pace. Stoudemire is foul prone and coming off another knee surgery. And the Suns now have more options in the backcourt.

When the Suns built a huge 35-point lead against a tired Utah team Monday, the coach pulled Nash and Bell for Marks and Strawberry, the Jazz immediately went on a 14-2 run over the last two minutes of the third quarter.

D’Antoni crossed his arms. He bit his lip. He ran his fingers through his hair. But he stuck with the young backcourt, and the Suns quickly restored order with a 10-0 run of their own.

Will he do the same when the games count? History says no, but there is time for confidence to grow.

BONUS SHOTS: Barbosa’s practice ended early Wednesday when he took an elbow in the mouth and left for the training room. The elbow belonged to Piatkowski, but it was more a matter of Barbosa’s mouth finding the target during a pick-and-roll than vice-versa. Barbosa should be fine for tonight.

Skinner, who has played only four total minutes in the first three preseason games (knee bruise), was able to get through practice Wednesday. D’Antoni said it was a noticeable improvement — and he expects Skinner to play tonight. Instead of having Skinner split time with Marks, D’Antoni might give one and then the other the bulk of the time during the first two games in Los Angeles.

Stoudemire will not play on the road trip, but is still on pace to resume full contact practice on Tuesday. Stoudemire continues to take part in all running and five-on-zero drills and is “going full-blast.”