The Suns‘ philosophy following a bad loss is to “flush it,” but that’s harder to do when those bad losses come in consecutive games, writes Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. Having entered the week as the Western Conference’s top seed, the Suns were blown out in Dallas on Monday, then returned home and were thrashed by the Celtics on Wednesday. At one point in that second game, Phoenix trailed Boston by 45 points.
As Bourguet writes, the Suns are still 16-9 and deserve the benefit of the doubt for now, especially with Chris Paul just returning and Cameron Johnson still sidelined. But the lack of a reliable No. 2 scorer behind Devin Booker could become an issue, and the ongoing absence of former starting forward Jae Crowder, who is waiting to be traded, has been a problem as the team deals with injuries.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- After losing their top spot in the West to the Pelicans, the Suns have two big games on tap in New Orleans on Friday and Sunday. Those games will give the team a good opportunity to show that its recent swoon was just temporary, says Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic. However, if the slump continues, president of basketball operations James Jones may face increasing pressure to make a roster move well before February’s trade deadline, Moore argues.
- Although Wednesday’s loss to Boston was a disaster, Chris Paul‘s return provided a silver lining, especially given his postgame comments, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Paul said he “felt good” in his first appearance after a 14-game absence. “He looked good and talking to him after the game he felt good, most importantly,” Devin Booker said of his backcourt mate. “Coming off any injury no matter how much time you take off, you’re going to be a little hesitant getting back into it. He said he was pain-free, didn’t feel anything and he’s ready to go, so that’s good news.”
- Monty Williams isn’t surprised by the success Joe Mazzulla is having in Boston, telling reporters this week that he tried to get the Celtics‘ current head coach to join his coaching staff near the start of his time in Phoenix. “He was a guy that was smart enough to not come here with us,” Williams said, according to Rankin. “I had heard about him through a number of people, and I talked to my representation about talking to him, but (the Celtics) thought so highly of him there, you couldn’t even talk to him.”
Ayton, Crowder & Phx’s 2025 1st for John & Clint is something that might work at/near the trade deadline if Jalen Johnson shows signs of being a guy we can be our starting 4.. Phoenix gets a big time scorer in John that can be their #2 scoring option. They also get the best rebounder in the league, a great lob threat & a great defensive 5 in Clint… Atl gets a young beast at 5 in Ayton & an infusion of toughness in Jae. We also save a lil $ this season & a lot next season. Also Onyeka & Ayton would be able to play together less awkwardly than Clint & Onyeka
I can actually see that if Ayton shows lingering signs of crab -e-ness
3 disgruntles and a lob partner for CP3 blockbuster from 2 still high functioning teams
Kudos for fitting that mayhem together, rare do we get this challenge gem trades anymore but that one would be fun . My skepticism would lie in the extra future monies for Phx overlapping a possible Booker ext
Alt takes too big of a hit
Mazzulla inherited a roster. He deserves credit for keeping it maintained & running, but the machine was built by somebody else, and he isn’t the grestest thing since sliced bread. Lets be honest…
Mazzulla inherited a roster that excelled on defense but struggled at times with offense. He’s taken nearly the same roster and adapted it so that the offense is on pace to be best in NBA history while the defense still holding its own without the Time Lord.
Technically you could say the Udoka inherited the roster from Stevens.
I 100% would say Udoka inherited a loaded roster from Stevens. The players growth in the off-season, and the same core guys returning year after year isn’t a credit to Stevens, or Udoka, or Mazzulla. Lets give it all to Ainge for putting all these guys in the same room together??? The fluffy & fabulous all star coaching nod might be coming, and then coach of the year if the Celtics go uninjured, and keep playing well. Lots of early praise for a rookie coach
Stop hating and look at the current reality. Best Team in the league with the youngest 1st year coach in the league. This experiment could of gone side ways but since it’s not you don’t want to give him any credit? Go Celtics and Go Joe.
No idea why my last reply posted twice