"It feels good to go back to the four and play my own position," Jefferson said before Wednesday night's game against Phoenix. "Defensive purposes, it's helped me out a lot. If I make a mistake, I know he's got my back. ... The guy got to the NBA Finals two years in a row (with New Jersey). He knows what it takes to win."

Collins was averaging a modest 1.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in five games with the Wolves heading into Wednesday's contest, but coach Randy Wittman said the eight-year veteran has contributed in ways that go beyond the stat sheet.

"I like the kind of starts (we're getting)," Wittman said. "We're a little bit more solid defensively, I think, to start with."

In addition to Jefferson, the move to Collins allowed Ryan Gomes to move from power to small forward, so the new lineup has worked well for everyone.

"Right now we're in a good rhythm," Collins said. "We have a good rotation pattern going down. ... We've been in just about every single game except for that third quarter of the Boston game, but we're doing a good job and we need to keep that going."

Tall order: The Suns gave center Shaquille O'Neal the night off Tuesday in a 99-98 victory at Oklahoma City, which didn't bode well for the Wolves.

According to the Arizona Republic, O'Neal has averaged 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in the four games he has played after at least two days' rest this season, compared with averages of 6.7 and 5.0 rebounds when he plays on consecutive nights.

Rested or not, Collins said after Wednesday morning's shootaround that O'Neal is still a handful at 36 and someone who has provided him with memorable moments.

"My first time playing against him," Collins said. "Granted, I wasn't starting, but the Nets' big men didn't exactly do a great job that night. I think he had 40 (points) and 20 (rebounds) against us or something like that. That was my rookie year. That was my first time playing against him, and it was in my hometown of Los Angeles so I had a lot of friends and family watching the game."

Rookie wall: Rookie Kevin Love lost the starting job at power forward when Collins moved into the lineup.

In the four games since, Love had averaged 6.0 points and 4.7 rebounds and obviously still has some catching up to do.

"He's a rookie," Wittman said. "Like all of them, they have to learn how to play their position. Speed and strength, quickness, size, all of that's new. The more he gets through it one time and sees people for the first time, he's one of those players that puts that in the back of his mind. He's going to have that understanding of how to play that guy next time."

Injury watch: Guard Rashad McCants (back) was active for Wednesday's game after missing the previous two.

Guard Kevin Ollie (calf) was inactive for the fourth consecutive game.

Quote to note: Wittman, on Randy Foye's up-and-down season: "Randy's just got to continue to grow, as he's progressed through learning how to be a complete point guard."

Briefly: First-year Suns coach Terry Porter, who played for the Wolves from 1995-98, came into the game with a 6-0 record against his former teams.