Monday’s solar eclipse was said to be the first since 2017. But if you’ve been following the Phoenix Suns’ games this season, you might have noticed something similar happening. Certain key players, like stars, were missing, and the team’s performance suffered as a result. It’s like the sun being completely covered during an eclipse, causing darkness.
Suns’ Loss to Clippers Shows Cracks
Phoenix lost 105-92 to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers were missing their top players, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, due to injuries. Phoenix seems to struggle to play well when facing teams without their best players.
The team made a strong comeback in the second half, reducing the lead from 37 points to just 7 points by the end. This made the final score seem much closer than it actually was.
The last week of the regular season is super important for the Suns because they might have to play in a special tournament just to make it to the playoffs. The Suns have been treating their games like playoff games for the past two weeks.
Watching this Suns team sometimes feels like seeing an organism eat itself.
The game started badly with a few mistakes that made us all worry. The players kept missing shots, making the crowd more and more frustrated. The other team took a big lead, reminding us of past disappointments in the playoffs. Suns fans started booing even before the score got really bad. Finally, when Devin Booker made a free throw after a long time without scoring, the crowd cheered, but it was sarcastic.
They were laughing at Booker, who’s been with the team through thick and thin, the one everyone knows. But it wasn’t right to make fun of him. He didn’t deserve it.
Phoenix has consistently shown their true colors, and it became clear with scary speed. Every small improvement since Christmas has been followed by disappointing performances like Tuesday’s. If losing to San Antonio without Victor Wembanyama wasn’t enough for many to lose hope in this team’s future, this latest setback surely killed any remaining optimism for the Suns’ season.
The team’s recent struggles and bad internet connection during games raise the question: who’s responsible in the team? Here’s what head coach Frank Vogel, Kevin Durant, and Booker said when asked about it.
Booker: “I’d say better now than it was earlier in the season.”
Vogel: “They want to win tomorrow.”
When asked if he feels his team is accountable, Vogel replied, “Yes, definitely.”
Durant wanted to understand the question better before finding out that fans were curious about what kind of discussions happen during this time in the season.
Durant said, “We discussed the game and what we can improve, but we’re not pointing fingers at any one player or person. Fans might want to blame someone, but we believe in teamwork. That’s what we focus on every day. People might want to blame a player or the coach, but we win and lose together as a team.”
Tuesday was really bad, and there weren’t any quotes that truly captured how terrible it was. The closest thing was Booker saying he understands how it feels when losses keep piling up.
Give credit to the Suns for their performance in the last two quarters. Also, recognize the fans for their support, trying to boost their team when momentum started to build.
One thing to learn from basketball is that Phoenix should stop using two centers in their lineup and instead use smaller lineups more often.
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Despite many signs suggesting that using a backup center isn’t the best strategy, the Suns (46-33) need to activate their offense by using lineups with all five players spread out on the court. Vogel, the coach, only uses these lineups as a last resort, like he did at the start of the second half. He prefers to keep physicality in the game, especially since his teams typically have big players in the frontcourt. However, it’s now necessary for him to adapt to what works best for the current roster.
Jusuf Nurkic hurt his right ankle and couldn’t play. It’s uncertain if he’ll be able to play on Wednesday when they play again in Los Angeles.
The New Orleans Pelicans won a game and moved ahead of the Suns in the standings. The Suns are now in 7th place. Also, the Sacramento Kings lost a game to the Oklahoma City Thunder, even though they were leading by 20 points earlier.
On Thursday, Sacramento plays against New Orleans, and on Friday, they play against Phoenix. The Suns want the Kings to win against the Pelicans on Thursday so that both New Orleans and Phoenix have the same number of losses. This makes it easier for the Suns to secure a tiebreaker if needed when they play against Sacramento on Friday.
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