The Suns are on the brink of elimination after losing their sixth straight game Sunday night in New York, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix is winless since Kevin Durant suffered a sprained left ankle last weekend, and although there’s hope that he can resume playing, it may be too late. At 35-43, the Suns would have to catch either Sacramento (38-40) or Dallas (38-41) to sneak into the postseason.
As Rankin describes, Sunday’s game was typical of the recent slide as Phoenix was competitive for much of the night but still found a way to lose. The biggest problem against New York was three-point shooting as the Suns, who rank third in the league in that category at 38%, were a dreadful 4-of-34 from beyond the arc.
Although their situation looks bleak, Devin Booker said the players can’t afford to lose their focus in the final four games of the season.
“Same approach, man. I keep saying for the love of the game,” Booker said. “You never play with this sport. This is our lives. Whatever the situation is, whether we’re in or out, we’re going to give it our all and do what we can do.”
Attention now turns to what the Suns will do this summer after a hugely disappointing season despite a payroll that tops $400MM with luxury tax included. Rankin expects another coaching change, even though Mike Budenholzer was just hired last May.
Trade speculation involving Durant has been steady for the last two months, and Rankin believes the focus should be on getting under the second apron so they’ll have more flexibility to remake the roster. He also notes that owner Mat Ishbia’s willingness to change coaches hasn’t extended to the front office where general manager James Jones and CEO Josh Bartelstein have kept their jobs despite not producing a contender.
There’s more on the Suns:
- Bradley Beal, who returned Friday after missing eight games with a strained left hamstring, said he’s feeling much better, Rankin adds in the same story. Beal was held scoreless in the first half Sunday, but he delivered 16 points after intermission. “Night and day better,” he said of the hamstring. “A lot more confident. Still, in the first, kind of felt like I was still trying to feel my way into the game, but I like where I was defensively. The effort on defense kept me in the game and I was able to find that rhythm in the second half.”
- The Suns weren’t able to work out a Durant trade before the February deadline because they were asking for “a massive haul,” sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Windhorst doesn’t expect Phoenix to get that kind of return when trade talks resume this summer, noting that Durant will turn 37 in September and will be eligible for a two-year, $120MM max extension. Like Rankin, Windhorst suggests that a Durant trade might provide the Suns with cap flexibility rather than win-now players and draft capital.
- Bol Bol was held out of Sunday’s game and has barely played over the last month or so. In a separate story from Rankin, Budenholzer explains his decision to bench Bol, who was used as a starter for 10 games around the All-Star break. “I think Cody (Martin) has gotten healthy, we’ve played Cody,” Budenholzer said. “Ryan (Dunn) has been playing more. Just always trying to give different guys opportunities, different mix, different combinations. So, (Bol’s) kind of fallen out of (the rotation).”
