Suns 5-on-5: Thoughts On The Brandan Wright Trade
4. Are you more encouraged or discouraged of the Suns 4th quarter collapse to the Spurs?
Bourguet: Discouraged. There’s no excuse for getting back-to-back technicals in a three-point game with less than two minutes to go. Instead of being able to play for a stop, the Suns had to play the foul game in the final minute. Losing to the defending champs in a close game on the road doesn’t sound bad, but San Antonio hasn’t been playing great basketball lately and were missing their four best players for most of the fourth quarter. No matter how you slice it, that was a bad loss.
Chasen: “Discouraged” isn’t really the appropriate way to determine how I felt, but it’s more fitting than “encouraged.” Truth be told, I was just annoyed. I was annoyed that Bledsoe missed not one, but two free throws in the last 45 seconds of the game. I was annoyed that P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris each picked up a technical foul in a three-point game with less than two minutes remaining. I was annoyed that the Suns allowed 41 points in the fourth quarter, after giving up just 59 the rest of the night. Those things can’t happen if you’re going to win against a good team, and I hope it’ll serve as an eye-opener for the Suns.
Hann: A little bit of both. Obviously it was extremely frustrating after watching the team battle back to take the lead, however the Suns are showing improvement by the game. Phoenix is clearly a year or two away from being considered among the elite in the Western Conference, so any letdowns this season should be taken with a grain of salt. They are right where they should be-developmental wise-this season. However, it is imperative that the Suns find a way to make the playoffs this season and too many more blown leads could be the difference between 8th and the 9th seed.
Schall: Discouraged for sure. Particularly when the Spurs were without their four best players for the majority of the comeback. Phoenix has shown over the last two seasons they can compete with anyone in the league. There are no moral victories particularly in this Western Conference.
Harris: I was definitely discouraged by their performance.There are not many positives you can take away from that fourth quarter against the Spurs. Allowing 41 points in one quarter is absolutely unacceptable if you have aspirations of becoming a playoff team. What makes it worse is that the Suns had a ten point lead at the end of the third. As long as Phoenix just traded baskets then they would have won.
Next: The Eight-Game Home Stand