"In most NBA seasons, the rule of thumb is that it takes 20 games to assess a team's identity. That's just under a quarter of the 82-game schedule.

The Suns played their 17th game in a compressed 66-game season Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors.

Coach Alvin Gentry and the Suns still are trying to figure out, on the fly, just who they are.

During a five-game road trip the Suns navigated with mixed results, Gentry changed his starting lineup. He inserted Ronnie Price into the backcourt with Steve Nash and put Jared Dudley on the bench. And he moved rookie Markieff Morris into the frontcourt for Channing Frye.

Now he's wondering if he needs to tweak it again.

"I put Ronnie in because I thought he'd give us more of a defensive presence, and I think he's done that," Gentry said."