The Phoenix Suns have fallen back down to .500 with a 112-119 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Footprint Center, Phoenix tonight. The Suns were without Bradley Beal, but this loss has sent them a full game behind the Golden State Warriors for the No. 10 seed while the 36-17 Grizzlies solidify their hold on the No. 2 seed.
The Grizzlies had a balanced night with five double-digit players, led by Ja Morant’s 26 points (8-19 FG), seven rebounds, and six assists. Desmond Bane put up 20 points (6-13 FG) and eight rebounds while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 17 points (6-17 FG) and six rebounds. Santi Aldama had 14 points (5-10 FG) and five rebounds while Brandon Clarke had 14 points (7-11 FG) and seven rebounds off the bench.
Kevin Durant crossed the 30K points barrier with 34 points (12-18) on the night. Devin Booker put up 17 points (6-13 FG) and nine assists while surprise starter Bol Bol had 18 points (7-16 FG), 14 rebounds, and four blocks in a wonderful showing. Tyus Jones had 11 points (4-11 FG) and nine assists while Royce O’Neale added 11 points (4-12 FG) with six rebounds off the bench.
Let’s take a deeper look at this outcome and analyze the major takeaways.
A Cold Shooting Night For The Suns
The Suns did everything they could to snatch this win without Bradley Beal tonight, but the team’s offense was too cold to match up with the Grizzlies. Both teams had rough shooting nights, but a score-first team like the Suns can’t get away with the kind of offensive night they had tonight.
The Suns shot 41-92 (44.6 FG%) from the field and 12-44 (27.3 3P%) from three tonight, worse than the Grizzlies 43-100 (43.0 FG%) from the field and 12-39 (30.8 3P%) from three. Given how the Suns’ biggest advantage comes on the offensive end, a night like this is just not acceptable for a stream on the outside looking into the West Playoff race.
Devin Booker had an anonymous game under pressure from the Grizzlies perimeter defenders. He scored 17 points on under 50% shooting and zero made three-pointers. Without his production supplementing Durant, the Suns just had no firepower to compete with the balanced Grizzlies.
Rebounding Makes A Big Difference
The biggest difference between the teams came on the glass tonight, as the Grizzlies grabbed 60 rebounds compared to the Suns grabbing just 42. This was an insurmountable difference, especially with the Grizzlies getting 17 offensive rebounds compared to the Suns three.
The extra opportunities that the Grizzlies created led to 14 second-chance points for the franchise in what was a game that went up to the final possession. These margins are very important in an NBA game and the Grizzlies dominated Phoenix on that front. Even with all the center changes the Suns made this season, the duo of Nick Richards and Mason Plumlee were entirely outclassed by the Grizzlies.
The Suns have known that their center-play is a major weakness for them, something that reflected tonight. Nine of the Grizzlies’ 11 rotational players grabbed more than four rebounds on the night while the Suns were reliant on surprise starter Bol Bol to make a difference with his 13 boards on the night.
Suns Don’t Have Enough Talent
This game was a clear indictment of how the Suns’ roster matches up with any of the contenders in the West. They have enough to give every team a fight and were let down by a low-scoring night from Booker. However, stars will sometimes struggle, which is why you need to have a competent rotation behind them to supplement their production on nights when they don’t have it going.
The fact that Bol Bol emerged from out of the rotation to being Phoenix’s third-best player tonight is a telling criticism of how the roster has been constructed outside the stars. The team isn’t defensively well-built and Bradley Beal’s absence tonight essentially doomed them with poor guard production across the roster.
The trade deadline has come and gone, so the Suns can’t aim to make any sweeping changes to their roster now. They couldn’t get a deal done when the trade window was still open, primarily due to the poor asset situation they’ve locked themselves into. If they can’t be competitive this season, the future for Phoenix looks as grim as possible.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
