PHOENIX — Terry Porter is out as coach of the Suns. And the failed effort to tame the team’s offense went out the door with him.
The Suns fired Porter just four months into his first season as Phoenix coach and replaced him with assistant coach Alvin Gentry. Gentry, a former assistant at the University of Colorado, promptly promised a return to the style so successful under Porter’s predecessor, Mike D’Antoni.
“We are who we are, and I think we have to go back to trying to establish a breakneck pace like we’ve had in the past,” Gentry said Monday.
Phoenix (28-23) lost five of eight going into the all-star break and trails Utah by one game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
“We have enough talent that we should not be on the outside looking in right now,” Gentry said.
Gentry said the team needs to revert to the game that brought out the best in two-time MVP Steve Nash.
“That’s a pretty natural thing for me and for our group, just kind of pick the pace up a little bit and open up avenues for our guys to excel,” Nash said.
There has been widespread speculation all-star starter Amar’e Stoudemire, or Shaquille O’Neal, might be dealt before Thursday’s deadline, but general manager Steve Kerr said: “I’d like to keep what we have and go forward and see what we can do. We’ve got a lot of potential here.”
Gentry, 53, has been a coach in the NBA for 20 years, including interim head-coaching stints with Miami and Detroit. He was coach of the Clippers from 2000-03.
• The Suns suspended guard Jason Richardson for one game — tonight against the Clippers — without pay as the result of his arrest Sunday night on allegations he was driving 55 mph above the limit with his unrestrained 3-year-old son in the car.
All-star TV ratings up
NEW YORK — The All-Star Game in Phoenix on Sunday night drew a preliminary rating on TNT that was up 6 percent from last year. The game produced a 4.1 fast national rating and was watched by about 6.86 million viewers. The AP
