The Phoenix Suns’ 1-4 start to the year feels like from an entirely different season but the sloppiness inside those games is starting to bleed into the team’s play the last few weeks, especially in Saturday’s 119-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Plays that can be defined as lazy, lacking effort or a loss of focus were a constant. Foolish turnovers, blown assignments on defense resulting in open shots and not enough intent on the defensive glass were aplenty.
Phoenix shot 71% in the first quarter for a season-high 44 points, which helped cover up some goofs that let Golden State get too many good looks.
The trend persisted and intensified, except the Suns’ own shooting. They went 25-for-64 (39.1%) from the field across the remaining three periods. A three-point lead at halftime should have been bigger, as should of a six-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Golden State extended its lead to 11 before the Suns cut it down to four with 2:35 left, and what came in that time were three separate plays not allowing the Warriors to end it easily.
A Suns stop was followed by Devin Booker missing a pull-up 3 and Stephen Curry made one from five feet behind the line as an apparent dagger before a banked-in 3 by Jordan Goodwin had it 112-110 Warriors with 1:10 remaining.
That’s when the Suns doubled Curry, and two crisp passes by the Warriors with step-slow rotations for Phoenix’s defense led to a Jimmy Butler and-one. But Booker drove straight to the basket off the free-throw make for his own and-1, and a Warriors mess let the Suns have a chance to tie or take the lead.
Phoenix pushed the pace and Collin Gillespie got open in the corner for a 3 that didn’t fall. After Curry made two free throws, though, Gillespie hit a ridiculous one-legged fadeaway to his left to have it at a one-point game with 9.8 ticks on the clock.
Curry then scored off the inbound, and Phoenix’s last timeout with 5.7 to go ended up with a play that didn’t even get a shot off, a fitting end despite the Suns’ usual fight when chasing a game.
Second-chance points were 26-11 Warriors and points off turnovers went 22-15 Suns. The former was not cleaned up after the Warriors should have racked up far more in Thursday’s Suns win.
The Suns are now 4-7 in their last 11 games, and two of those victories went down to the last possession.
They are in their most trying portion of the schedule but the areas in which they are faltering on the floor continue to tell the tale of a team losing steam. Jalen Green has only played five quarters and missed the other 26 games. His six-week reevaluation timeline for a right hamstring strain ends on Tuesday and Phoenix looks the part of a team desperate for the jolt he could provide. Grayson Allen missed his second straight game due to right knee soreness as well.
Phoenix’s inability to control and/or win this one shines through with the fact that both Booker (38 points, 13-of-27) and Dillon Brooks (22, 8-for-11) were effective offensively.
This was the fourth game in the last six that saw Mark Williams fail to crack 20 minutes. He played 18 on Saturday and is now averaging 5.8 rebounds per game across that span. Perimeter-based teams that stretch the floor have been giving him issues in particular as of late. But whether it’s his overall play, a lingering injury nagging at him or a combination of both, this is not the guy we saw play remarkably consistent basketball through the first six weeks of the season.
In the early second quarter, Gillespie drove to the rim and had his shot stuffed by Draymond Green. Green stood over him and screamed in his ear, and while the two made their way back down the floor, Gillespie was about to turn around to face Green as the play on the other end was finishing. Green either already planned to shove Gillespie or didn’t like Gillespie even making that type of move, and shoved him near the back of his head.
A whistle was called there and Green immediately got a technical foul. He then voiced his displeasure to the officials enough to get tossed before a review could even take place on an act that could have warranted a Flagrant 2. Who knows what set him off, which is something that has been said in the past about Green and this won’t be the last time, either.
The Warriors got enough from their stars with Curry (28 points) and Butler (25) combining for 53 points while a big-time 20 points off the bench for Will Richard was the extra scoring to push them over the top.
