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**Dissonance19** · 10-25-2007, 03:16 PM

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On Tuesday night, Amaré Stoudemire was supposed to go through his first full practice with contact since undergoing arthroscopic right knee surgery Oct. 2. But it was hard to catch the Suns center to give him contact.

Stoudemire said he felt "healthy" and "strong" after he played well during an hourlong practice and a brief scrimmage in front of about 6,500 fans at US Airways Center.

"It was pretty physical as far as getting back used to the pounding, crashing the boards and using quickness," Stoudemire said. "It was a great test for me, but Thursday is a real game (a preseason home matchup vs. Denver) against pretty good competitors. I'm ready for it."

Stoudemire dunked aggressively Tuesday for his first two scores - a reverse against Brian Skinner and a fast-break finish.

"You forget how physical Amaré is," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "You forget the dominance physically that he does and the quickness. You play really well, but then you put him out there and it's a different type of game."

Stoudemire scored with his left hand and off a finger-roll drive. He assisted Shawn Marion nicely and missed on one attempt with his new weapon - a three-pointer that drew a crowd gasp. He gasped, too, taking a seat in the front row for a breather.

Conditioning will be the only thing to limit his minutes, but he expects to be ready for his usual number by the Nov. 1 regular-season opener at Seattle.

Hill in, Barbosa not
Suns forward Grant Hill's back spasms improved and allowed him to practice Tuesday, but guard Leandro Barbosa likely will miss the final two preseason games due to bruised ribs, Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson said.

Barbosa injured the ribs on his left side late in Sunday's game when he dived for a loose ball and a Charlotte Bobcats player landed on him.

"It hurts, especially for me to breathe," Barbosa said. "I cannot move. Every time I try to move it and do some action, I feel popping. It hurts a lot."

Wildfires affect Suns
The Southern California wildfires are affecting the Suns. General Manager Steve Kerr and his family evacuated their Rancho Santa Fe home Monday, taking photo albums, home movies and documents.

Kerr said the fire crept within a mile of their home and burned down 30 houses in his San Diego-area neighborhood.

"When I was a kid we had a brush fire that burned part of our house in 1978," said Kerr, who is now in Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver's Coronado, Calif., condo. "Mother Nature can be harsh. It was scary. Last night, we weren't sure if our house was going to survive."

The wildfires also prompted TNT to pick up Thursday's Suns-Nuggets game because a Jazz-Lakers game in San Diego was canceled. The Suns game will remain a 7 p.m. tipoff.

TM · 10-25-2007, 08:53 PM

no game thread? am i the only one watching this? unbelieveable.

HB · 10-25-2007, 08:55 PM

I am actually shocked he is playing to be honest

TM · 10-25-2007, 09:00 PM

i'm not shocked that he's playing, but it is sort of surprising how much he's playing.

**Dissonance19** · 10-25-2007, 10:41 PM

Yeah, no preseason game threads. We had the preseason chatter thread to talk about the games.

Starters ended up sitting after PHX took a lead mid to late 3rd and the bench held it up against their bench.

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