Unable to come up with more excuses as to why the Phoenix Suns are unable to stay consistent game-by-game, the on-court dissolving effort must be formed by something internal. The lack of effort or inability to find the fortitude and leadership to rally from a 20-point deficit with five minutes remaining in a game must begin in the locker room.
Halfway through the third quarter on Friday night, Suns guard Devin Booker managed to pick up his fourth and fifth fouls due to a lackadaisical defense and an inability to concentrate on bringing the team back into the game against an Oklahoma City Thunder squad missing Shai-Gilgeous Alexander.
This all comes down to the Suns giving up on head coach Frank Vogel.
It is the last thing you want to hear or believe when the talent is stacked on this Suns roster, and with eight games left against playoff opponents, there is still time to gain some traction. The Suns have shown not only on the court but in the post-game interviews that playoffs might not matter this year, and that they can care less about making them.
Duane Rankin of AZ Central received a response from Kevin Durant after the game Friday night that really didn’t sit well. We got 8 more games left,” KD said. “Hopefully we get an opportunity to play in the postseason.”
It’s hard to believe that maybe this team is looking forward to next year, but if the stars on the team see differently than the coach, the first one to go is the coach.
The belief should already be within these players that they are in the playoffs, for as of Sunday morning, the Suns are currently in the 7th seed in the Western Conference standings. They are ahead of the Houston Rockets by 4.5 games who currently sit at the 11th seed and have won 11 games in a row.
The Rockets are capable of catching up to the Suns with eight games left, but they will most likely lap the Golden State Warriors for the 10th seed. The Suns’ hopes of making the playoffs will likely come down to the collapse of the Warriors, who have won three games in a row, but are like the Suns and have shown that they are bipolar as well.
Backing into the playoffs can only mean that this Suns team will likely exit in a play-in game or two, or even the first round of the playoffs.
A team like this might need to come back next year and play a full season to get things right, but in their minds, doing that under Vogel might be something they want to avoid. It is normal for stars to rid of their coach, even if that coach has won a title or two.
You don’t want to waste a Jusuf Nurkic season when he was fully healthy, or one of Durant’s career years. You also don’t want to waste one of Devin Booker’s prime years and Grayson Allen’s career year of shooting from three, but if the players know better, then we will have to wait another season for a title.
Do you feel like this team wants to move on from Vogel, or do they know they can’t compete with other teams in the West with their current roster?
