{"id":557732,"date":"2026-01-24T12:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/557732\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T12:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:56:16","slug":"from-suns-resilience-to-wreckage-in-one-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/557732\/","title":{"rendered":"From Suns\u2019 resilience to wreckage in one night"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m still shell-shocked. As I type this, I\u2019m still trying to process what Friday night actually was. What it was supposed to be was simple. The end of a road trip. The last stop before coming home for five games, a chance for the home crowd to applaud the effort, the grit, the survival of a long six-game slog away from Phoenix. What it was supposed to be was an exorcism in Atlanta. Instead, the demons won.<\/p>\n

Jalen Green, injured. Devin Booker, injured, leaving the building on crutches. Sit with that for a second. What the fuck just happened?<\/p>\n

Injuries have been everywhere across the NBA this season, like a creeping fog that eventually finds everyone. For the most part, the Suns had avoided it. They ducked. They weaved. They stayed upright. Then Friday night arrived, and the bullet did not miss. It caught them square in the chest, center mass, no warning.<\/p>\n

Now comes the waiting. Waiting for updates. Waiting for timelines. Waiting to understand what the next phase of this season even looks like, and how long these guys might be gone. Waiting while wondering why there always seems to be a tax for loving a team that dons purple and orange.<\/p>\n

The irony stings. I spent most of the night before the game writing about my favorite Suns teams I\u2019ve ever watched. A love letter, really. A piece I\u2019ll probably publish later today once I finish sanding down the edges. And like every Suns story I\u2019ve ever told, there\u2019s a familiar thread running through it. No matter how bright the vibes feel in the moment, no matter how hopeful the setup, it always bends toward disappointment. Not immediately. Not gently. Eventually, and violently.<\/p>\n

So yeah, I\u2019m sitting in the doom tonight. I\u2019m swimming in frustration. I\u2019m carrying that heavy, familiar depression that only comes with the very specific experience of being a Phoenix Suns fan. None of this is their fault. Nobody asked for this. And yet somehow, every time, we\u2019re the ones left paying for it in emotional damage.<\/p>\n

Bright Side Baller Season Standings<\/p>\n

You ain\u2019t stopping J Good! His energy is infectious, and it infected the second team unit in the Suns\u2019 win over the 76ers. Make it 4 BSB\u2019s for the Dogg.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bright Side Baller Nominees<\/p>\n

Game 45 against the Hawks. Here are your nominees:<\/p>\n

Devin Booker
31 points (12-of-21, 5-of-9 3PT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, +5 +\/-<\/p>\n

Grayson Allen
16 points (7-of-12, 1-of-5 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers, +8 +\/-<\/p>\n

Collin Gillespie
16 points (6-of-12, 3-of-6 3PT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, -2 +\/-<\/p>\n

Oso Ighodaro
8 points (4-of-7), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, +3 +\/-<\/p>\n

Dillon Brooks
11 points (4-of-18, 1-of-5 3PT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, -11 +\/-<\/p>\n

Mark Williams
6 points (3-of-8), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 0 turnovers, -10 +\/-<\/p>\n

Who gets some love for their efforts in ATL?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m still shell-shocked. As I type this, I\u2019m still trying to process what Friday night actually was. What…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,62461,6,2065,472,4045,604],"class_list":{"0":"post-557732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bright-side-baller","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-phoenix","12":"tag-phoenix-suns","13":"tag-phoenixsuns","14":"tag-suns"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115950190550673229","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}