PHOENIX — Steve Nash played 34 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

"Thirty-four minutes is about right for him," coach Terry Porter said. "We can keep him fresh that way."

Guess how many minutes Nash averaged last year under Mike D'Antoni, when he supposedly was worn out by the postseason?

You got it: 34.

My point? Porter's Suns won't be as different from D'Antoni's Suns as we were led to believe.

Now, that doesn't mean Seven Seconds or Less is going to make a comeback. Clearly, Porter has his own ideas and is his own man. He'll use his bench — he went 10 deep against San Antonio — and there will be a greater emphasis on defense.

Plus, he'll stick Shaquille O'Neal where he belongs, in the low post.

"The way they played last year, I think Shaq got lost a lot," said New Orleans coach Byron Scott before the Hornets' 108-95 victory.

In some ways, however, the Suns won't change at all.

Take their defense. For all the talk about the Suns' shortcomings under D'Antoni, the fact is that last year Phoenix ranked a respectable 12th in the league in opponents' field-goal percentage (45.6 percent). Conversely, San Antonio shot 50 percent from the field — without Manu Ginobili — and New Orleans made 37 of its 78 shots (47.4 percent).

"They spread the floor real well, but at the same time we have to do a better job," Amare Stoudemire said.

Will the defense improve as the players get used to what Porter wants? Probably. But don't be fooled into thinking the Suns will become a stingy team. They're just not built that way. Other than Matt Barnes and Raja Bell, they don't have an above-average defensive player on the roster. Schemes and effort will only go so far.

Offensively, there will be more half-court sets and dumps into the low post, particularly for Stoudemire. But when the Suns absolutely, positively have to score, they'll give the ball to Nash and let him do what he does best — create off the pick-and-roll.

"You're not going to change in a month what they've been doing the last (several) years," Scott said. "They've been very successful in doing it. So I don't see that changing a hell of a lot."

Speaking of Nash, it's already become obvious that Porter will have a hard time limiting his minutes. Against San Antonio, the Suns were plus-17 with him on the floor and minus-12 when he was taking a rest.

Thursday, Nash was taken out with 1:06 left in the first quarter and the Suns trailing, 28-21. In the 7:48 he was on the bench, Phoenix scored four points.

The Suns fared better early in the fourth quarter when Nash took a seat, but he still played 36 minutes in the second end of a back-to-back.

"I think the second unit can do some things offensively," Porter said. "I don't think there will be times when I have to get him back in."

None of this is meant to dismiss the Suns or suggest Porter isn't trying to change the culture of the franchise. But it's folly to think Phoenix can transform itself overnight just because Porter is of a different mindset than D'Antoni.

It's going to take time and some different players. Until then, Porter will have to figure out how to mix what he wants to do and what best fits his talent.

That dichotomy is one reason the Suns can't be considered one of the Western Conference's top teams. The Lakers, Hornets, Jazz and Spurs, they all know what they're doing. Phoenix is a work in progress.

The question is whether they can make enough progress to be a real threat come the postseason.