👋 GOOD MORNING
Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 — Happy Friday! I think that’s what day it is, at least. Tough to tell in these weird holiday weeks. In any case, today I’m taking a look at the Suns and their recent struggles, and with basketball on the mind, I can’t help but get excited about the college basketball season. All eyes will soon turn to the Sun Devils and Wildcats as they enter the heart of their (first-ever) Big 12 schedule.
The Sun Devils are off to a solid 9-3 start, though they dropped their Big 12 opener against BYU on Tuesday. The Wildcats, meanwhile, started slowly, but have made up ground and won three straight including their conference opener against TCU. Hailing from Iowa State, I can tell you there’s nothing quite like Big 12 play. There truly are no “gimmes” on any given night, and though the conference continues to try to elevate its stature in the college football world, it is hands down the top one in college basketball.
And man, I cannot wait for that Wildcats / Jayhawks battle on March 8. That’ll be a fun one.
Thanks for hanging out during a few crazy holiday weeks. Let’s run it back next week — On to the show!
Why Aren’t the Suns Winning More Games?
It sure doesn’t feel like that long ago that the Suns were 9-2.
But, yeah, that was all the way back on Nov. 12.
Phoenix has gone just 6-15 since then, and though their initial losing streak was essentially given a free pass because of a litany of injuries, we haven’t seen anything even close to resembling that hot start since. It’s almost unfathomable to think that if the playoffs started today, the 15-17 Suns would not be participating.
The team started slow last season, too, as they were 17-15 at the same point of the season before finishing the year at 49-33 and a first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Missed Games Take Front and Center
We’ll start with the obvious — injuries have taken a huge toll on the team.
As of this morning, Phoenix has lost the following players for extended periods of time:
Josh Okogie: 12 games
Bradley Beal: 10 games
Kevin Durant: 10 games
Grayson Allen: 9 games
Jusuf Nurkić: 9 games
Devin Booker: 5 games
Ouch. Literally, and figuratively. Not every missed game was related to an injury (Nurkić is currently serving a three-game suspension for his role in an on-court kerfuffle against Dallas), but the lack of continuity among the roster — especially with critical players in the starting five — has not allowed the Suns to find any sort of consistent rhythm.
Even when it looked like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, Beal re-injured himself in the first quarter of Tuesday’s New Year’s Eve matchup against the Grizzlies. PHNX Suns reporter Gerald Bourguet posted yesterday that Beal was practicing Thursday, albeit in a limited capacity with no contact. Grayson Allen, meanwhile, appears closer to a return.
It’s troubling, to say the least. With Beal’s latest injury, the Big 3 of Durant, Booker and Beal has only appeared fully healthy once since that aforementioned 9-2 start, and the team needs to get out of the injury parade to make any sort of run to the postseason. Otherwise, brass may just blow it up and start all over. Please, no.
Inconsistent Scoring From the Rest
The Suns’ most recent slide has seen them drop six of their last seven games, most recently a 117-112 setback at home against Memphis. To be fair, the Grizzlies are 23-11 and second in the Western Conference, but even so some of the Suns’ other losses have been tough to watch.
Take, for example, the 98-89 setback to the Mavs, who were playing without star Luka Doncic. 89 points just isn’t going to cut it in the NBA, and the Suns lacked punch from anyone not named Durant (who scored 35) — the rest of the starting five (Beal, Nurkić, Ryan Dunn and Tyus Jones) combined for just 22 points.
Sure, Booker was absent from the lineup (see above about injuries), but that excuse is starting to get old.
“We’re there, but you have to make a few more plays defensively, make a few more plays offensively,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “There’s a fine margin of error with winning and losing in our league, and we’ve been on the wrong side of it, but we can get on the right side.”
Budenholzer’s system isn’t getting any help with a constant stream of player injuries, but there comes a time when role players need to step up. Royce O’Neale has shown flashes, and we’re all aware of the talent Ryan Dunn has shown throughout the season, but any consistency is simply not there when it matters most.
That has taken its toll.
“Frustration level’s high,” Booker said after Tuesday’s loss. “We’re all competitors in here, and we realize these games are going to cost us in the end of the season, so you want to do the work early, pre-All-Star break, before it comes down to the nitty-gritty, and you never know what’s going to happen. Injuries can happen around that time, too.
“We want to gain some ground, get up out of the play-in position and just win every possible game you can.”
The Season is Far From Over, But the Suns Need a Jump-Start
Durant has been his usual All-Star self when he’s been in the lineup, and early returns on All-Star Game voting for this season back that up. He’s currently second in voting, behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic, for the Western Conference.
Booker is in the discussion as well (currently ninth in voting), but considering the promise shown at the start of the season, the Suns’ place in the standings as the new year takes hold is concerning.
But, all is not lost.
Budenholzer, for starters, has seen good things from Dunn and Okogie.
“Ryan and Josh, they make some plays around the rim,” he said. “Getting steals, getting out in transition, I think those are all types of plays that can give the group energy. I think they’re playing to their strengths, and those things are helping us.”
For his part, Okogie (who had one of the coolest stories of the week) said the praise rings hollow without a corresponding win.
“It doesn’t matter what you bring, if you don’t win the game, we didn’t complete our job,” he said. “We have to find a way to continue to do the right things, focus a lot on the process, and the results will come.”
Phoenix now needs a lot of strong play (and a little luck) to turn around its season, but there’s no lack of confidence among the team. The roster is absolutely loaded with talent, and perhaps the biggest question mark heading into the season — an aging Durant — has been emphatically answered.
He’s still an elite NBA player, and is surrounded by a litany of talent that can run with the very best in the league.
Okogie may have summed it up best as The Valley rang in the New Year.
“2025,” he said, “Let’s make it better than 2024.”
Here’s hoping that New Year’s resolution doesn’t fall by the wayside.
🧢 TIP OF THE HAT BY BRANDED BILLS
Gotta respect a QB that lays out when it matters most. Huge win by Notre Dame in the CFP!
