*The record says 1-13, but Suns coach Terry Porter knows that the slate often wipes clean – at least for a week or two – during a coaching change. The Thunder fired turned-out coach P.J. Carlesimo over the weekend (check the track record of coaches in any sport surviving a franchise move) and installed assistant Scott Brooks as a replacement.

 “I don’t like playing teams that have new coaches. Everybody is out to prove they deserve more minutes or they should get more minutes or they are worthy of their minutes.”

 The Suns are 5-2 on the road so far – with a short-handed loss in Chicago and a poor effort in Utah – but they seem to calm down and player a tighter game. Phoenix’s wins in San Antonio, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Sacramento rank among the best in the early going.

 “From a consistency standpoint, we play better on the road than we have as far as energy and the way we approach it and the results we’ve been getting,” Porter said.

 *Look for Leandro Barbosa to step right back in and play plenty tonight – especially since Matt Barnes is gimpy with a sore toe and Alando Tucker remains on the sidelines as he recovers from knee surgery.

 Porter liked what he saw in Monday’s practice, even though Barbosa admitted he lost his conditioning and lost weight during his nine-day, five-game absence in Brazil. “He went through everything and he was good. He’s fresh, moving quick and his shot looked good. Playing basketball is a good thing for him right now.”

*Shaquille O’Neal isn’t going to ask out of the lineup, but he sees the results of extra rest as clearly as everyone else. And the more time off between games, the better. Not only are back-to-backs tough but “the first day off is not really like a day off. The second day is when you can just start all over.”

 Back-to-backs have been a disaster. In games against New Orleans, Indiana, Shaq has found himself in almost constant foul trouble and averaged 6.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.

 But O’Neal with one day off as been a mixed bag. He put two good games together against the Lakers (Thursday) and Blazers (Saturday) with one day in between.

 So it’s likely he sits out tonight, plays Wednesday against Minnesota (where the middle won’t be so open for Suns-killer Al Jefferson), and looks to dial it up again when his old friends from the Miami come to town Friday. Sunday’s game against the perimeter-oriented Nets offers another possible rest day.

 *Kudos to Amare Stoudemire, whose efforts to rehabilitate fresh water wells in Sierra Leone ($50,000 donation) as earned him the NBA Community Assist Award for October.

  The Suns continue to be very visible in the community, be it their annual celebrity waiter event at Majerle’s in Chandler over the weekend, or Shaquille O’Neal feeding hundreds of families for Thanksgiving

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