PHOENIX — Monday's solar eclipse was likely the first since 2017, but astrologers are wondering how the night sky this Phoenix Suns season will be devoid of certain stars and how the sun will be completely eclipsed as a result. I must have not checked to see if it was correct.
Phoenix is in an embarrassing situation where they are unable to play when the opposing team is without their best player, but they continued to face the Los Angeles Clippers team without Kawhi Leonard (right knee inflammation) and James Harden (right foot inflammation) on Tuesday. This ensued with a crushing defeat of 105-92.
After trailing by as many as 37 points, a late rally that brought them within seven points made the final score look much better than it actually was.
The stakes couldn't be higher in the final week of the regular season, with a potential play-in tournament appearance on the line. The Suns themselves said the playoffs basically started two weeks ago.
But do you know when a creature consumes itself? That's how I feel sometimes when I watch this Suns team.
A few unforced errors at the beginning immediately created an “oh, here we go again” feeling in everyone, and while they started missing, missing, missing the half-baked looks; The crowd became increasingly restless. A 35-4 start opened up the scars of the previous two playoff losses at Footprint Center, and Suns fans understandably booed en masse before the score became that ridiculous.They cheered sarcastically when Devin Booker made the first of two free throws, ending a scoreless game that lasted 5 minutes and 18 seconds. aloud.
They were making fun of Booker, the face of the franchise who has been here together through ups and downs. It didn't matter that it was him, and it shouldn't have been. The ridicule was natural.
The Phoenix's continued signs of this are exactly what they are and have come to fruition with frightening efficiency. The slight uptick since Christmas has all been partnered by esoteric people like Tuesday, and a loss in San Antonio without Victor Wembaneyama will, for many, erode complete faith in the future of this team. This was the final nail in every team's coffin, if not the final straw. There remains some optimism for the Suns' season.
Lost tailspin and terrible connections on the court all create liability issues in the locker room. Here's what head coach Frank Vogel, Kevin Durant and Booker had to say when asked to explain it.
Booker: “I think we're better now than we were earlier in the season.”
Vogel: “They want to win tomorrow.”
Followed up on whether he felt accountable to his team, Vogel responded, “Of course.”
Durant asked for clarification on the question before being told that the fan base wants to know what kind of discussions are taking place at a time like this in the season.
“We talked about the game and what we need to do to get better. But we're not going to put the blame on one player or anyone,” Durant said. “I think what the fans want is to shift blame. But we win and we lose as a team, so we talk about it every day. We can all play better, so we do that.” , that gets talked about a lot. I know people want to blame one player or coach, but we win and lose as a team.”
Don't shoot the messenger here. But if you're looking for a quote about how bad Tuesday got, there wasn't anything that came close to adequately portraying it. The closest it came was Booker admitting he knows what a snowballing loss like Tuesday feels like.
Choose how much credit you want to give the Suns for their breakthrough over the past two quarters. Once momentum starts to build, fans who are willing to join their team in creating a spark deserve to benefit.
If there's a lesson to be learned from basketball, it's that Phoenix needs to give up its second center in the rotation and employ small-ball lineups more often.
Despite many saying a backup center is not the desired method and the way the Suns (46-33) need to revitalize the offense is best done with a five-out group. , Vogel uses it only as a last option as his second half begins. There's little physicality in the group and it's not his style to lose even more physicality when his teams usually feature a big frontcourt, but time is running out to adapt to what best fits the roster.
Jusuf Nurkic (sprained right ankle) did not play and is doubtful for Wednesday's rematch (51-28) in Los Angeles.
With the victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (47-32), the Suns returned to seventh place in the standings. Both teams were fortunate to have a 20-point lead against the Oklahoma City Thunder before coming back late and losing to the Sacramento Kings (45-34).
Sacramento plays New Orleans on Thursday and Phoenix on Friday. The Suns need to beat Sacramento to secure the tiebreaker, but first the Kings may need to beat the Pelicans to tie New Orleans' loss total with Phoenix.
