On Monday, it was Phoenix nearly blowing a 24-point lead to the reeling Bucks on the night coach Scott Skiles (irregular heartbeat) went to the hospital and a day after Michael Redd (knee) was lost for the season.
Which came after the Suns wasted a 20-point lead in Sacramento on Jan. 5, but ultimately salvaged the win despite shooting 35.7 percent in the second half and committing 18 turnovers against a bad defense. This, of course, came after Dec. 17 in Portland, where Phoenix blew a 15-point advantage in a loss ... which came after Dec. 12 in Denver and a 17-point cushion that disintegrated in a defeat.
The Suns as serious challengers in the Western Conference; that's what the numbers indicate, with the offense back at Mach I and with Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire likely returning to the All-Star game.
But the instant coach Alvin Gentry is asked if his team has proven it will be a serious threats to see June ...
"No," he said, "I don't think so."
These Suns ... they're quick on the draw with self-analysis too, hesitating about as much as with a shot.
"I don't know if we've done that yet," Gentry said of reaching contender status. "But I think what we've done is that we've proven that on a given night we're a good basketball team and we can play against the elite teams.
"The only way, I think, you can prove that you belong in that bracket is that you've got to beat them consistently. I think what we've done is we've established ourselves as a team that if you come into our arena and if you're not ready to play, then we're capable of winning. On the flip side of that, we've also proven that if we're not ready to play, then we're also capable of losing games at home that we necessarily shouldn't."
There is a lot to be said about a team that has gone from 46 victories to a 24-14 start (that projects to a six-win improvement), from missing the playoffs to a virtual tie for third in the West -- yet one that still isn't complaining about a lack of respect.
Not that the Suns can't make that claim, after the way a lot of people predicted another early vacation. This has been vindication, or at least a foundation for pushing back, for Nash, Stoudemire and general manager Steve Kerr.
No one is offering more of a hard-line perspective on the Suns than the Suns themselves. They haven't earned anything and aren't acting as if they have. The string of blown leads is their reality check, along with being 15th in the league in shooting defense and 29th in rebound percentage. Even the offense -- No. 1 in scoring, No. 1 in shooting, No. 1 in 3-point accuracy -- is fair game.
"We've got to get a lot better," Nash said. "We've got to get our bench playing consistently at a high level. When they do that, we're a different team. We've got to improve our defense, and our offense needs to be more cohesive, too. We go in stretches where we get stagnant and we rely too much on jump shots and don't get enough penetration."
But there is also this: 24-14 has grown despite an early road-heavy schedule with one stretch of 17 of 23 away from US Airways Center. And when the itinerary supposedly switched in their favor with seven of eight at home, it really didn't switch. The visitor's registry listed the Cavaliers, Thunder, Lakers, Celtics and the surging Grizzlies.
The opening half of the season has been a tangible, meaningful sign of what could be for the Suns, even with their problems closing out games and the injuries to Leandro Barbosa and Robin Lopez. The Suns head out for another four-game road swing starting Wednesday at Indiana, accompanied by the comfort that the worst of it should be behind them. The Suns are done with the Cavs, Magic and Celtics, have one meeting left with the Lakers and Hawks, two with the Mavericks and Spurs, and three with the Nuggets.
Still to come for many around the league, including some in Phoenix: considering the Suns true contenders.
"That's one of those things that I could care less about, really," Gentry said. "If we want to be contenders, then we have to be contenders. We don't need for anyone to write about it or talk about it. If you do it, then it's proven."
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