The Phoenix Suns Are Suddenly On The Brink Of Falling Into The Lottery, So What The Hell Is Going On?

The first half of the NBA season has so far been full of surprises in each Conference. Some great, some not so great. Out of everything that has transpired through the first 40ish games, there's one thing that hasn't really made a whole lot of sense.

What the hell is going on with the Phoenix Suns?

After another double digit loss at home (this time to the Cavs), the Suns have currently lost 6 games in a row (2nd longest losing streak), sit one game under .500 at 20-21, and are currently in the 8th spot out West but are also tied with MIN/POR and lead the Lakers by just 0.5 games before they get into Lottery territory. 

The easy answer is Devin Booker got hurt. He only played a few minutes on Christmas, and they are 1-7 over that span. The issue though is this stuff had been a problem since the calendar turned to December and Booker was active. In fact, the Suns are 4-14 over their last 18 games which is the worst record over that span in the entire NBA.

Did things change cosmically after this very weak play from Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton? 

It's hard to say, but they are 10-13 since that moment. You know how dominant the Nets have been over their last 20? 18-2. Pretty good. That's basically how bad the Suns have been over their last 20 (5-15). That's….not so good. 

I think most will agree that Devin Booker is a damn good player, but the Suns were never really considered to be a team that were build around one star and nobody else. This shouldn't be a Luka in DAL or Jokic in DEN situation (last year), where if a team is without their star then they're generally cooked. Chris Paul is playing, Mikal Bridges is playing, Deandre Ayton is playing, so what gives?

This was a Suns team that spent last year going months without losing 2 games in a row. They rattled off 5 game winning streaks like it was normal. On December 1st, the Suns were 1st in the West with a 15-6 record. To be 5-15 since that moment is crazy, and once you look into the numbers you get an idea of where the slide is coming from.

Ortg: 112.1 (22nd)

Drtg: 115.7 (21st)

Net Rating: -3.6 (26th)

If you were curious how that compares to their 15-6 start. Well..

Ortg: 116.5 (2nd)

Drtg: 1098.1 (6th)

Net Rating: +7.4 (2nd)

Quite literally they've gone from one of the best teams in the league to one of the worst in all areas. Remember, CP3 came back on 12/7 and Booker didn't get hurt until Christmas with Ayton and Bridges essentially playing the entire month plus. I get that Booker is a huge part of their offense, but shouldn't that be enough talent available to not be the worst team in the NBA? Isn't that why you have CP3 and why you paid all that money to both Ayton and Bridges? 

It's one of the more bizarre storylines we have from the first half. How did a team that for 2+ years looked like an absolute basketball machine, now be at a point where they can't win a single basketball game? 

Maybe part of it is CP3's efficiency regression, he's shooting just 42.5% fromt he floor this year which is his lowest number since 2018-19. Needing more Landry Shamet minutes hasn't exactly worked out as he's shooting just 38% from the floor. Jae Crowder still refuses to come to work which is bizarre in and of itself. Even Auton's efficiency has dipped form 63% last year to 59% this year, and his 3s have dropped from 36% to 33%. Bridges has dipped from 53% last year to 45% this year. Outside of Devin Booker and Cam Payne, it seems like everyone has regressed offensively, but again through 21 games this was still the 2nd best offense in basketball. 

To me, it feels like the Suns have entered the part of a slide where it's more confidence related than anything. When things snowball like this, it can feel like no matter what you do it won't be enough to win. You start pressing when shots don't fall which immediately impacts your defense. The Suns were always able to come back to their elite defense, so for it to now be in the bottom 3rd for the last month makes sense when you see their struggles offensively. 

You also have to wonder if all the drama with Crowder and Ayton is maybe starting to bleed into the actual on court stuff. Is there tune out with Monty Williams? That would seem like a stretch to me considering they've shown they can win at a high level despite that stuff being a factor, but if it it's not an available talent issue, what's going on? 

This is a Suns team that made the Finals in 2020-21 as a 2 seed and then backed that up by winning 64 games last year and then getting off to a great start this season. Things don't just drastically change like that overnight. There's almost always more to the story. I get that Devin Booker is important, but this stuff started happening long before he went out on Christmas. The concerning news is the Suns currently have the 8th toughest remaining schedule in the NBA. It's not as if things are going to get any easier for them any time soon, so they need to find a way to stop this skid and they need to do it quickly.

I can't think of another team that was this good, for this long, go from top of a conference to the lottery in basically 5 weeks. All while the majority of their talent is available. 

Who saw this coming? Nobody, and that's what makes it so crazy.