"For the first 11 minutes and 18.5 seconds of Wednesday's fourth quarter, the Suns starters grabbed a bench seat and watched as if they were done for the night for having been routed. Truth was, they just weren't the Suns' best five. Five reserves wiped out a 14-point Memphis lead with a 22-8 run, but the Suns lost in overtime. It was as encouraging as losing can be, though, because the bench showed what coach Alvin Gentry wants from it: defense, effort and chemistry. Memphis missed 12 of its first 16 fourth-quarter shots, getting three blocked and committing two shot-clock violations. "That's what we have to be," Gentry said of trying to recapture last season's defensive bent, despite reliance on a bench that lost Louis Amundson and Leandro Barbosa to other teams and Channing Frye to the starting lineup. Jared Dudley is finding his playmaking knack at both ends again. Josh Childress looks like one of the team's better rebounders, even with only nine good fingers. Hedo Turkoglu was engaged offensively in a 10-point fourth quarter and was strong defensively and on the boards." Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/12/09/20101209phoenix-suns-bench-effort.html
