When the Suns broke the huddle under Mike D'Antoni, they chanted "Suns!" Under new coach Terry Porter, that mantra has changed to "Defense!"

OK, so it wasn't quite Hickory High coach Norman Dale tossing the basketballs aside to start his first practice in the movie "Hoosiers." But it didn't take long for his charges to understand this is a whole new ballgame under Porter.

There were the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns, spending more than half of the first workout Sept. 30 on defensive principles and the basics of a motion offense as training camp began.

In one drill, the ball was little more than a prop as one player after another went from denying the ball, to switching on defense to forcing a dribbler away from the middle and toward the baseline. No shot was taken.

Even the evening practice set aside for scrimmaging was going to feature competition drills and other teaching opportunities.

"We don't just want to throw up the ball. It's too early for that," Porter said.

Mike D'Antoni's Seven Seconds or Less? Gone in 60 seconds.

The Suns knew they were in for a change. They fully expected what was waiting for them. But after four years of shoot-'em-up, there was still a fair bit of culture shock.

"These types of practices are a lot different from Mike's," guard Raja Bell said. "We did a lot of offense with him. That was the focus. Guys will have to get used to this."

Bell has been a member of the NBA's All-Defensive team for the last two years, and he spent two years under Jerry Sloan in Utah, so he knows all about practicing defense all day. But even for him, practicing the art isn't high on his favorite's list.

"To be honest, I've never been a big fan," he said. "But that's because defense takes a lot of work, and practice is no different from games. That's why a lot of guys don't necessarily want to do it in games, because it takes a lot of energy and it takes work."

The work has a track record of paying off. Porter was an assistant in Detroit last year, where the Pistons led the NBA in defense (90.1 points allowed per game). That was just a tad better than the champion Boston Celtics (90.3) and the Suns' annual nemesis, the San Antonio Spurs.

Porter's lofty goal is to lift the Suns, who finished 25th in defense (up a bit from previous years under D'Antoni) and allowed 105 points last year, to a spot among the top five.

"That's were you have to be," Porter said.

The scoring differential between Detroit (7.4 points) and Phoenix (5.0) wasn't nearly as dramatic, because the Suns put up 110 point a night with an entertaining style that made them the darlings of the league. But it didn't add to their jewelry collection.

So while top five in defense would be great as far as Bell is concerned, even a boost into the middle of the pack would represent a titanic shift.

"We have the whole crew back. We're going to have a potent offense," Bell said. "If we add something to that on the other end, it can only help."

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