Suns will be glad when the calendar turns

Many people look forward to January 1st, for a multitude of reasons.

Whether you want to quit smoking, lose a little weight, eat healthier or just be a better person in general, January 1st offers up a clean slate of sorts.

It applies in the NBA as well, and the Phoenix Suns are more than likely looking forward to the beginning of the new year, mostly because December has been a real bitch.

The Suns entered the twelfth month of the year flying high. Alvin Gentry’s team had a 14-3 mark entering the month, best in the Western Conference. Due to their surprising start, the Suns were the talk of the league.

Last night the Suns swallowed another ugly loss–this one to Golden State. Phoenix allowed a season-high 132 points to a team that entered the game with just 7 victories on the season, and had lost their last 7 games. The Suns were sloppy with the basketball too, committing 21 turnovers that led to 35 Warrior points.

“You give up 132 points, you’re not guarding anybody,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said after the game. “We had guys that played well … but the bottom line is that they played harder than we did. We won’t beat anybody in the Pac-10 if we turn it over for 35 points.”

Saturday’s game was a microcosm of the month. The Suns started December with a stomach-churning performance against the woeful New York Knicks, losing by 27 points. The next night, the Cleveland Cavaliers toyed with Phoenix, beating them by 17, and holding them to 29 points in the first half.

The Suns are 5-9 in December, they’ve fallen from 1st to 5th in the Western Conference, and they now trail the conference-leading Lakers by 6 games. And wouldn’t you know it, before they can “clean the slate”, they’ve got home games against the Lakers and Celtics left–two teams that are a combined 47-10 on the season.

Maybe, unlike those New Year’s weight loss people, who gorge themselves until the stroke of midnight, the Suns can get an early start on a new month with wins over two great teams before we sing Auld Lang Syne.

Subscribe to your favorite Phoenix team or sport or Follow us on Twitter.

Tags: Alvin Gentry, Phoenix Suns