"I'm just tying them as tight as I can," Davis said before last night's game, "because my pride won't let me ask somebody to tie my shoes."

Davis can't play video games so he's been surfing the net, and purchased a watch on amazon.com.

"It took me almost an hour and a half to get dressed," he said. "I was home by myself, just me and my dog. I couldn't strap my watch on. I was biting and scratching. I just realized how important it is to have your thumb. You need your thumb. It's not even a finger, it's a thumb, but it's important."

Davis' right hand doesn't itch under the cast. "But it has a really distinct odor," he said. "It's kind of a bad odor."

Davis scrubs under the cast with a toothbrush and joked he might advertise his self-made "cast cleaner" on an infomercial.

Davis admits his autograph is so illegible without the use of his thumb, it wouldn't earn any bids on eBay. He was taken aback when a boy about 12 years old asked him why he got in a fistfight with a friend and risked injury two nights before the season opener.

"That was hard," Davis said. "It was like I made a bad decision at a crucial time."

Plus, Davis had to give the boy an illegible autograph.

Davis plans to resume practicing on Dec. 1, but he's not sure when he'll be ready to play in a game. With Shelden Williams playing so well in his absence, Davis might have a hard time breaking back into the lineup.

"I'm not worried about the rotation," he said. "I'm just going to be there whenever my team needs me. I just got to be in shape and be ready."

Davis gained weight after breaking his thumb, but has lost some of it recently. He said he weighs 290, a bit more than at the start of training camp.

He was quoted in ESPN the Magazine as saying he wanted to play pro football, but he insisted last night that he had no plans to do so.

"No way," Davis said. "I'm playing Basketball."

Hill considered Celtics

Coach Doc Rivers thinks Suns swingman Grant Hill seriously considered signing with the Celtics last summer, but decided to stay in Phoenix in order to start and play more.

"He missed a lot of his career (with injuries), so I can see that," Rivers said.

Hill signed for $3 million with Phoenix. The Celtics offered less money, $1.9 million, but a better chance to win a title.

Shamrocks

Brian Scalabrine didn't play after coming down with back spasms on Thursday. "We didn't practice (Thursday)," Rivers said. "How the heck you hurt your back on an off day, I don't know." ... Tony Allen has yet to play this season after undergoing surgery on his right ankle, but he hopes to begin practicing a week from tomorrow. Allen ran up and down the court before last night's game, then took off his brace to see if his ankle swelled up. It was a bit swollen and it's still painful at the top of the nasty scar on his ankle. ... Speedy Suns guard Leondro Barbosa missed his third consecutive game with a sore wrist.