Grant Hill is a specimen. But here's how he became one. He's been in the NBA since 1994, and he hasn't played that much. As they say, he's got young legs — until he got to the Suns. He spent six years with the Detroit Pistons and seven with the Orlando Magic before getting here, and he was injured a lot: ankle injuries, a life-threatening staph infection, a sports hernia. When he was with the Magic, he played only a third of the time. Two years ago, we gave Hill our lofty Best Sports Gimp award, but we have to eat, um, a little sweat sock now that Hill has been so, well, durable over the past couple of seasons. Iron-man durable. The third-oldest starter in the NBA last year had logged 128 straight games until a heal injury sidelined him for a measly game last January. Part of the reason is that run-and-gun poobah Mike D'Antoni is long gone as coach. Our argument in 2008 was that the hard-headed D'Antoni, who insisted on playing starters nearly whole games, had worn out Grant, who was injured at the end of D'Antoni's last season here, thus giving the Suns nothing in the playoffs. Coach Alvin Gentry has developed something D'Antoni never had: a stellar bench. Thus, Hill isn't needed as much. He starts but is spelled by the younger and brawnier Jared Dudley, among others. Thus, the team gets his slashing offense, glove-like defense, and floor-general ability (along with Steve Nash, with whom he's co-captain, Hill has the coolest head on the court and is an admirable playmaker in his own right. He was point-forward back in his Pistons days). The young Suns team — Robin Lopez, Earl Clark, Dudley, and a couple of new front-court acquisitions added in the off-season, notably — need the soon-to-be 38-year-old's wizened hand.