Suns coach Terry Porter said Amare Stoudemire was able to take part in all facets of the shootaround on Wednesday and reported no problems with his new goggles. The Suns have three games on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and won’t practice on Friday or Sunday, so he won’t get his first full-contract practice until next Monday. The Suns want him to get one or two weeks of conditioning under his belt, meaning his first preseason appearance likely won’t come until at least Oct. 20, when Charlotte visits U.S. Airways Center.

 Meanwhile, Leandro Barbosa remains in Brazil at the side of his mother, who remains gravely ill. The Suns have communicated with him only through text messages (because of poor phone connections) and his return remains opened-ended. Porter said he was going to send Barbosa a video version of the playbook so he could do some studying during his vigil.

 As expected, Boris Diaw will start for Stoudemire at the power forward spot. He and the other Suns starters (Raja Bell, Grant Hill, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal) are expected to play 20-25 minutes tonight against the Hawks

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