If there was any belief left in the Phoenix Suns, it would have to be rewarded coming out of the All-Star break with a light six-game stretch before a daunting close to the schedule.
It began on Thursday with a 120-109 loss to a San Antonio Spurs team that had just found out earlier that day that All-Star center Victor Wembanyama would miss the rest of the season, only for them to never trail against a team that should be incredibly desperate.
But the only thing you saw from the Suns (26-29) is the look of a group that is destined to miss the postseason entirely. It has gone far beyond asking how this is happening and instead is now about accepting that it is if you haven’t already.
The first quarter was a microcosm for how deep into the struggles the Suns are. That’s because their energy and intent on both ends was actually better than usual. But a 3-for-14 start shooting the ball and a few turnovers still resulted in a 31-21 deficit even though you saw what you wanted to with effort.
In other words, the Suns are not afforded the luxury of just deciding to try really hard and having that be the solution to all their problems. That can do the trick earlier in the year but we’re in late February. The ship sailed on that type of fix two months ago. It’s not as simple as, “Oh let’s lock in” and then this team is suddenly one that executes at a consistent level. We will never see that consistency.
Shortly later in the early second quarter, San Antonio had a back-breaking stretch of two offensive rebounds followed by getting diced by Spurs wing Julian Champagnie twice in transition to put the Spurs back up 13. With 7:24 to go in the second quarter, it felt like a potential breaking point.
That’s when Phoenix went small and immediately responded with a 13-0 run to tie the game. Again, for as frustrating as a watching experience the Suns prove to be, it is not the easy answer of just them folding and quitting whenever they have these inexcusable stretches. Which makes them even more incomprehensible of a basketball team.
The Suns trailed by six at halftime and continued to go small, starting Bol Bol over Nick Richards to begin the second half. That did not resolve their issues defending ball screens, as the ever-savvy Chris Paul knew exactly who to pick on and when. Phoenix had four straight horrific defensive possessions on ball screens that resulted in three open shots at the rim and a wide-open corner 3 to put the Spurs back up 11.
Awful turnovers, transition defense and ball screen defense were constant negatives weighing down the Suns heavily enough to trail by 15 going into the fourth quarter. All San Antonio had to do was keep taking advantage of that to score enough in order to hold on despite a severe gap in talent.
A spurt did come rather soon, with the Suns surging on a 17-4 run to get within three not even halfway into the final frame. Again, though, could they avoid those problem areas long enough?
No. They could not. The defense stumbled to allow a 7-0 Spurs run and put Phoenix back to chasing the game. San Antonio’s size on the perimeter against small Suns lineups featuring four guards and Durant was problematic.
It was 109-103 Spurs with 2:49 to go when the Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox hunted Grayson Allen three straight possessions to score on drives to the rim. A fourth for good measure in transition off a Suns turnover sealed it. The Suns have had no answer all year for dribble penetration, nor counters to that weakness like heavy helping toward an opposing star that can’t be effortlessly dissected. It’s mind-blowing.
With the All-Star break offering a chance for coaches to make more serious tweaks to their system, the Suns were a notable case given the issues with the starting lineup and lack of playing time recently for rookie Ryan Dunn.
Ever since the emergence of Dunn, the Suns have only had one sustained stretch of a fully healthy group of guards and wings, presenting the challenge of finding Dunn playing time amongst veterans that hold more trust from a coaching staff pushing everything to its limits.
In six games from Jan. 25 to Feb. 4, here was the minutes allotment on the perimeter: Devin Booker (39.1 MPG), Kevin Durant (37.8), Bradley Beal (31.3), Allen (27), Tyus Jones (25), Royce O’Neale (24) and Dunn (11.3). This did not include Bol, who reached 30 minutes in each of the last three games prior to the All-Star break.
There has been an understandable push from the fanbase to reduce Jones’ role and have him come off the bench given how little he is now involved on the ball and how he is targeted defensively, but Jones remained in the starting lineup. So did O’Neale, who replaced Dunn in the starting lineup after Dunn was the guy to get Beal’s spot.
Dunn did not play until the late third quarter and just for 20 seconds, with Allen, Bol, O’Neale and Mason Plumlee making up the reserves to go nine-deep. Sitting Dunn would make sense in Phoenix’s situation if he was raw and didn’t have immediate skills that translate but he has proven he can positively impact games in the areas the Suns lack. And that’s if the Suns were seen as a contender both this year and next! But they are not and must start developing talent for the future. Now.
Richards cannot play only nine minutes, Dunn cannot play only 20 seconds and rookie Oso Ighodaro also needs to start getting minutes.
This was a bizarre Booker game we’ve seen a few times over the years, where he’s clearly focused and putting in maximum effort, only for his offensive game to result in uncharacteristic mistakes.
I can’t remember the last time I saw him called for traveling off a catch from the perimeter but that happened on Thursday. This all came on a night when his defense was back at the level it should have been all year, and yet, it was one of his worst overall performances of the year. He was 4-of-14 for 17 points with eight assists and four turnovers.
Durant was hardly involved in the second half to finish with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting while O’Neale scored a career-high 27 points. Durant was briefly fiddling with the left thumb that forced him to miss a game recently while Booker dealt with some discomfort in this right knee. Both guys kept playing.
Jones got 23 minutes and was 1-of-9 from the floor. Beal was a bright spot with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
San Antonio had all nine guys getting minutes reach at least eight points, led by Fox’s 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Points off turnovers were 25-7 Spurs.
Wembanyama out for year
The biggest news of the day was Wembanyama coming down with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, more simply known as a blood clot.
With this obviously being such a scary thing to pop up, Wembanyama thankfully has just a short-term diagnosis and is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Some additional info from ESPN when it comes to this type of injury and how he should be OK going forward:
There have been a number of high-profile athletes, including numerous basketball players, who have been diagnosed with blood clots and were able to proceed with great careers. When a blood clot is diagnosed, two things become important: First, you must get on anticoagulant medication immediately to prevent more clotting and mitigate the risk of a clot traveling to your heart or lungs. This medication is typically needed for around six months and comes with a restriction on certain activities, including contact sports. That is why it is known today that Wembanyama will be out for the rest of the season.
Wembanyama entered the day listed as doubtful on the injury report due to an illness and was coming off a stretch at the start of February when he noticeably lacked his same energy, with fatigue that kept him out of a contest back on Feb. 1. San Antonio’s was recently getting smoked when Wembanyama was on the floor, which combined with the illness indicated something wasn’t quite right for one of the best bigs in basketball.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported the Spurs wisely had Wembanyama undergo testing when this persisted after the All-Star break.
San Antonio (24-29) was poised to make a late run at a play-in spot in the Western Conference with Fox now in the fold, albeit while working from behind and requiring a strong closing pace. Without Wembanyama, the Spurs aren’t absolutely cooked, but will need Fox at the All-NBA level he’s reached in the past combined with some breakout stretches from others to stay in that mix. If they cannot, that would essentially leave 11 teams competing for 10 spots.
A minor subplot absolutely worth noting is if San Antonio sinks down the standings, it not only has its own first-round pick but Atlanta’s as well. The Hawks, currently ninth in the Eastern Conference, are five games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets in the loss column, two teams below the play-in line. Atlanta lost star wing Jalen Johnson for the year and sold heavy at the trade deadline, so it will fall, but it’s a matter of if anyone in the East can win enough games for it to matter.
To paint a realistic expectation of where the Spurs and Hawks could land, let’s slot them ninth and 10th in the reverse standings. Add up the lottery odds and that would give San Antonio a 34.2% chance at a top-4 pick and a 7.5% opportunity for the No. 1 overall selection. It’s the type of talent bump that can push a long-term core over the edge.
