Suns trying to rebound from disappointing loss

Phoenix - The Phoenix Suns are tied with the second best record in the NBA at 10-3, but they are looking to erase the memories from their last game.

The Suns struggled in losing to the New Orleans Hornets 110-103 in the first game where the team wasn't comfortable with their effort level.

"The way we played, the effort we brought and this is no offense to them, but we would've lost to ASU," said Grant Hill after practice on Saturday.

The Suns will get their chance to get back on track when they take on the injury-ravaged Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

The Suns are trying to transition from a team that was sneaking up on teams to a team that other teams are gunning for.

"Now, teams are hunting for us. Before, people weren't really talking about us," said Hill.

Coach Alvin Gentry has used the last few practices to reiterate the Suns' need to crash the boards and getting off to faster starts.

"We can't keep playing from behind and then think we can make our way back. It's important to get off to a good start, so when we do make a run, it's not to get even, it's to get a lead," said Gentry.

The Pistons are a good team for the Suns to be playing as they are 5-7 and reside in last place in their division. They have had to deal with crippling injuries already this season to go along with implementing a new system and players.

The team is missing key cogs Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Hamilton has been out with a sprained ankle since playing in the first game of the season and Prince has only played in three games with a balky back.

The Pistons have been making drastic changes to their roster the past couple of years.

In the off-season, the team added Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to their line-up.

Gordon is leading the team in scoring averaging 21.1 points per game and Villanueva is chipping in 15.8 points.

"The new guys are fitting in great. Ben Gordon can go get his shot against anybody," said Gentry.

The Pistons have brought back fan favorite Ben Wallace and he leads the team in rebounding bringing down 9.2 boards per game.

The Pistons made probably the biggest change last season when they traded away captain Chauncey Billups and turned the offense over to youngster point guard Rodney Stuckey.

Stuckey has done an admirable job for the Pistons averaging 17.1 points per game, but he is a shoot first point guard that is still learning how to get his teammates involved in the game.

For the Suns, they welcomed back center Robin Lopez to the practice court on Friday for the first time since breaking his left foot in October.

Alvin Gentry isn't sure when Lopez might be able to return to game action as Lopez is still recovering slowly.

"He's got a long way to go before he's in basketball shape. We'll just have to monitor it and see what kind of progress he makes. Obviously, it's going to be baby steps when he first starts out," said Gentry.

Lopez said he projects himself to be back sometime in December and was happy to get back working with his teammates.

"It felt really good to get back out there," said Lopez.

The Suns will be getting the Pistons on the back end of a back-to-back as the Pistons are playing the Utah Jazz Saturday night and are at the end of a four-game west coast road trip.

Phoenix has scored at least one hundred points in all 13 of their games.

The Suns will be playing only their fifth home game of the season and they're one of three teams that don't have a home loss.

The game against the Detroit Pistons is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off on Sunday.

Sports 620 KTAR's Johnny Villarreal and Craig Grialou contributed to this report.