At the beginning of the season, the Phoenix Suns looked like the best team in the Western Conference. Even without Chris Paul for large chunks of time, the Suns were dominating the competition thanks to the play of Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton, and superstar guard Devin Booker.
Recently, however, the Suns have been reeling. After Booker went down with a hamstring strain, the Suns have been unable to keep their heads above the water and are sinking down the standings at an astounding rate.
In the aftermath of their sixth straight defeat, Shaquille O’Neal took a swing at the team and rescinded their status as title contenders.
“Right now, they are not a championship contender. The difference between them and Golden State is that the Warriors are experimenting and teaching at the same time. Experimenting by ‘we’re gonna play all you young players’ but don’t forget they got the blueprint on how to win a championship. When it comes time for the playoffs, those young guys will have a better experience and all you need is one or two guys to lead and they have that. They know exactly what they’re doing. Phoenix, I don’t know much about them. I’m scared for them. Hopefully, they get it together, but there’s something going on.”
Shaq on the Suns:
"Right now, they are not a championship contender… I'm scared for them… There's something going on."#WeAreTheValley pic.twitter.com/UvFVKNaSzg
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) January 11, 2023
It’s a harsh stance from Shaq, especially when you consider how much this Suns team has been decimated by injuries. Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton have been in and out of the lineup and two-way veteran Jae Crowder hasn’t even shown up to play at all. Still, their problems go beyond just missing Crowder.
What Is Wrong With The Phoenix Suns?
Even before booker went down, there were a lot of doubts that the Suns were legitimate contenders. After making the Finals in 2020, they followed it up with a second-round elimination last year.
Now, things have been so bad that Deandre Ayton felt compelled to call his team out amid their recent losing streak.
“I don’t even know what’s going on,” Ayton said. “For me, I could tell you this — I’m not used to the no fight in us. I’m used to us being down a hundred and we still are going to pull out and win the game, or we still have that mentality like we’re about to win this game. Right now, we don’t have that, so that’s the only thing that’s going on throughout these games and why we’re losing. We just got to really lock In and fight. Right now, we can’t be thinking that somebody’s going to feel sorry for us or thinking somebody is going to save us — nobody is going to save us.”
There’s still time for the Suns to turn this around. When Devin comes back, and their team is whole again, they could easily go on a run and climb back up the Western Conference.
But there’s a real sense that this Suns team isn’t ready to win a championship just yet. After what we’ve seen from this group, it may be time for the team to make some serious changes. If not, it could result in a lost season.
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