Are Changes Coming in Phoenix?

After last night's beat down at the hands of the recently surging Mavericks, the Suns have lost four straight -- something they haven't done since November of 2006. The locker room mood has been less than positive, and while head coach Terry Porter has asserted himself recently, the team came out with a lack of fire that was apparent to everyone, including the team's general manager, Steve Kerr.

Kerr was in attendance for last night's blood bath, and this post-game comment he gave to the East Valley Tribune might be a clue that this (lack of) aggression will not stand, man:

"What's most disappointing is the lack of passion, commitment and energy. That's what I'm looking for," Kerr said. "I want to see five guys who want to play, want to compete. For whatever reason, we've lost that in the last few games ... and the first half in this game was the worst it has been. We weren't competing."

That sounds to me like some changes might be on the way. Jerry Brown of the Tribune suggests they might come in the starting lineup or on the roster, but Kerr has tinkered with the roster enough (see:Shaq). Might he be so bold as to make a change at the coaching level, just 20 games into the season?

I would in no way be a proponent of such a move, but it's something worth discussing. The Raptors recently fired Sam Mitchell after his team didn't compete during a 30-something-point-loss to the Nuggets. Granted, there were style issues there too; Colangelo wanted to run, while Smitch wanted to play smashmouth. Porter's style of defense-first was in line with Kerr's philosophy to start the season, but since then, the focus has been on trying to push the tempo while at the same time cutting down on the turnovers.

Again, it would be fairly insane to fire Porter just 20 games in. The fact is, he's been without his full compliment of players for more of the season than he's had his full squad together. Players have missed time for a variety of reasons, including injuries, suspensions, personal issues, the birth of their children, or just plain needing to rest. It's not all on him at this point that the team hasn't been able to gel, when they honestly haven't spent enough time on the court to be able to do so.

Once Porter has the full group together and they can get accustomed to playing with some familiar lineups, I think they'll find a way to turn things around; there's just too much talent there not to. Whether or not Steve Kerr will have the patience to wait for that to happen before making some big changes however, remains to be seen.