Previously in this space, we told you the Los Angeles Clippers needed to get a grip after losing their first five games with James Harden in the lineup. Since then, the Clippers have gone 15–5 and look like a legitimate title contender.
Now it’s time for the Phoenix Suns to dig deep and put together a similar run.
The Suns are 3–9 since Nov. 29, and their wins haven’t been particularly impressive, notching victories over the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors on the night Draymond Green hit Jusuf Nurkić in the head, and the tanktastic Washington Wizards.
Meanwhile, the losses have come against all kinds of opponents, including a Dallas Mavericks team without Kyrie Irving on Christmas. Luka Dončić was more than happy to pick up the slack, slickly step-backing his way to 50 points to go along with 15 assists. Phoenix lost that game by 14 despite actually leading heading into the fourth quarter. And the loss came amid ESPN reporting Kevin Durant’s frustration was growing during the swoon, and the franchise had taken notice.
Look, it’s not surprising to have a star player be upset that his team is playing poorly. If anything, it’s a sign that Durant actually cares about this team’s performance, and isn’t happily coasting until the playoffs. But the Suns need to turn this around. And it’s on Durant and Devin Booker to find a way to fix it.
José Luis Villegas/AP
Injuries have played a massive factor here. For a team already razor thin, it can’t afford many absences. Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal have played a grand total of 24 minutes together over two games this season, and Beal is currently out for a while longer with a sprained ankle. Booker missed time to start the year. Important role players—Grayson Allen, Nurkic, Damion Lee (who hasn’t played at all)—also have missed significant time. These are tricky roads for Frank Vogel to navigate on top of finding cohesion for a new superteam. Vogel was already facing a challenge as a new coach of a team with only five returning players from a season ago.
The Suns very much brought this challenge on themselves, however. It was Phoenix who went all-in for Durant at the trade deadline last season when there were seemingly no other suitors—a deal that practically emptied every last one of its trade assets. Then the Suns leaned harder into the second apron by trading Chris Paul and Landry Shamet for Beal in a move that ultimately increased their tax burden.
It’s too early to re-litigate the Beal maneuver, and it’s important to note the Suns didn’t exactly have great flexibility in the summer. The upshot, ultimately, is this current team is very much built in the vision of its stars and its ultra-aggressive owner.
“I think it’s funny that people think, ‘Oh, having three great players doesn’t work,’” Suns owner Mat Ishbia told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix before the season. “I believe with a hundred percent of my heart that this is going to work.”
I respect Ishbia’s conviction, and in general think it's better for all sports to have aggressive owners who are willing to spend on their teams. The Suns, however, are experiencing the downsides of their experiment. Trading for Beal, who played only 90 games in the last two seasons combined, exposed Phoenix to this exact scenario. If one of their stars misses extended time, the roster doesn’t appear to have enough talent—even with two top-10 players—to pick up the slack.
The answer from Phoenix has to come from within. Durant and Booker have to find a way to make this work. It’s not easy, and no championship team wants to be floundering around the .500 mark in December. But the Suns boxed themselves into a corner with how they decided to attack the offseason. If the stars wanted this superteam, then it’s on them to fight their way out.
