A RE-EMERGING PHOENIX: CHANGES HAVE SUNS STARTING OVER.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE NBA 

Shawn Marion's eyes surveyed the Phoenix Suns dressing room at Staples Center Thursday searching out familiar face, some sort of link to last year's team that finished with the best record in the NBA and came within three wins of reaching the NBA Finals.

Amare Stoudemire was back home in Phoenix rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee. Joe Johnson was in the building, only now as a visiting Atlanta Hawk in town for Friday night's game against the Clippers. Quentin Richardson was 3,000 miles away in New York, a member of Larry Brown's rebuilt Knicks.

Around Marion were nine new teammates.

If the Suns were aiming for continuity this offseason, they had a funny way of making the point.

``I mean we got what, three new guys just in the starting lineup alone,'' Marion said. ``That's a pretty drastic change.''

The question is, was it change for the better?

The answer is on hold for at least four months. That's how long Stoudemire, the most dynamic young power forward in the league, is expected to be on the mend after undergoing knee surgery. Until then, the Suns will try to hold on in the weak Pacific Division, then hope Stoudemire returns healthy enough to propel them to another big playoff push.

``We might not get a blowout every night,'' said Raja Bell, a free agent pick up this summer. ``We just have to be one point better than the other guy when time runs out. Right now, we just have to figure out ways to win until Amare gets back.''

Stoudemire's injury - a microfracture in his left knee - was the final blow in a chaotic offseason for the Suns. The revelation came just days after they signed him to a five-year, $73-million extension and just a short while after Johnson, miffed that the Suns didn't reach out and extend his contract two summers ago, stunned them by forcing a sign-and-trade deal with the Hawks for Boris Diaw and two first-round picks.

And Richardson, who faded in the playoffs, was dealt to New York for veteran big man Kurt Thomas. It was a curious move, considering Phoenix had just lavished Richardson with a big contract to leave the Clippers the previous summer. The Suns knew they needed to get bigger to match up with San Antonio, and after signing Bell and trading for Indiana's James Jones, Richardson was their most marketable chip.

Nash, the reigning MVP, and longtime veteran Marion practically needed name tags the first few days of training camp just to get acquainted with all the new faces.

``We're still getting to know each other,'' Nash said. ``It's going to be awhile before that transition is complete.''

At least Nash is around to speed along the process.

There's no one better in the league at making sure an offense flows properly, familiar faces or not. He found Jones and Bell for wide-open threes down the stretch Thursday to secure the win against the Lakers, and if he can see to it the Suns keep pace with San Antonio and the rest of the top teams in the West while Stoudemire is on the mend, he'll be a lock for a second straight MVP.

``He's like a maestro, they way he can control a game,'' Bell said. ``When things get a little wild and out of control, he reins us in. Some guys do that verbally, yelling at their teammates. It's not like that with him. He's just so subtle the way he controls a game and we feed off that. And on top of all that, offensively you know he's going to put the ball right in your hands exactly where you want.''

--So who is the best? With all due respect to San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Lakers forward Lamar Odom would take Shaquille O'Neal over him if forced to decide between the two former MVP post players.

All things being equal, Odom just thinks O'Neal makes a bigger impact.

``Shaq can play defense without playing defense,'' Odom said. ``Say you're an off guard and the ball's in your hands and you feel you can take your man off the dribble. But you see (O'Neal) waiting under the basket. Mentally, he just played defense on you.''

Odom also wonders what would happen if Duncan traded places with Kevin Garnett.

``The way (Gregg Popovich) coaches and the way Garnett love to pass from the post like Duncan does; the way he rebounds and scores the ball. ... They can win a championship,'' Odom said.

--That didn't take long: Milwaukee, maybe the most improved team in the league, wasted no time securing GM Larry Harris's much-deserved extension by beating Philadelphia and New Jersey on the road to open the season.

Harris had a productive offseason - securing All-Star Michael Redd with a long-term extension, drafting big man Andrew Bogut No. 1 and convincing Bobby Simmons to leave the Clippers for Milwaukee. The Simmons signing made Desmond Mason expendable, and Harris used that chip to bring in solid big man Jamaal Maglorie.

The Bucks aren't ready to move out Detroit or Indiana in the Central Division, but they, along with improving Cleveland, add depth to the best division in basketball.

--Clank: It's not yet panic mode in the state capital, but the Kings' 0-2 start is cause for alarm after Geoff Petrie rebuilt the roster around Mike Bibby, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic.

Stojakovic, who can walk as a free agent at the end of the year, hit 8 of 27 shots (29.6 percent) the first two games. Bibby was even worse, making 5 of 22 (22.7 percent).

The bad shooting resulted in a 93-67 clunker against New Orleans/Oklahoma City.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 3 boxes

Photo:

Hawks forward Joe Johnson left Phoenix for big bucks in Atlanta.

Getty Images

Box:

(1) JOE JOHNSON ... Q&A

- Vincent Bonsignore

(2) OFF THE GLASS

- Daily News wire services

(3) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Ross Siler