Gaara doesn't have to appear before Naruto arrives, plotwise useless. Gaara is connected to Naruto, not the others. Kankuro doesn't serve a specific purpose right now either.
That's why we only see Temari, we needed a girl to bitch at Shikamaru. And I agree with Hotsuma, we have a winner [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]