(Matt York/Associated Press)

New head coach Terry Porter was brought in to change things up for the Phoenix Suns. That was the mantra of Steve Kerr, Robert Sarver and fans during the off season.

So far, so good. Everything coming out of training camp seems to indicate that the Suns will run a more deliberate offense that has set plays, that the onus will be taken off of Steve Nash to make everything happen, that plays will start down low with Shaq and Amare and that defense is key and that there is no longer a “Club Med feel” to practices.

All of that has to excite you if you are a Suns fan. But what about an expanded player rotation?

According to Coach Porter that may not be part of the plan.

Although there are ten players with a legitimate chance to be rotation players Porter expressed that a eight man rotation is a possibility and that it will lend itself to great positional battles.

One problem, the lack of adequate minutes and play from the bench plagued the Suns throughout the D’Antoni era.

For the first time in recent memory, the Suns have a deep enough bench to expand the rotation while maintaining a high level of play. If Porter falls into the same trap as D’Antoni and plays seven or eight guys the majority of minutes, the Suns will find themselves in a familiar spot at the end of the season. Tired, injured and without a championship.

So far Porter has said all the right things when it comes to defense, the offensive style and how to handle his super stars. Let’s hope these comments were just a way to motivate guys like Alando Tucker, Robin Lopez and Boris Diaw to work hard.

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