5-on-5: What’s Most Disappointing About Suns Losing Streak?
2. Did the 2nd half meltdown surprise you on Sunday considering what was riding on that game against the Thunder?
Bourguet: It probably shouldn’t have, but yes, it did. The Suns came out guns blazing early. I don’t care how pessimistic a fan you might be, watching Phoenix rack up a 20-point lead in a must-win game made everyone believe this young team knew its back was against the wall….until the wall just sort of fell on top of them. I didn’t think the Suns would make the playoffs, but you’re lying if you thought they were going to let a 20-point lead slip away like that.
Chasen: Not really. The team has done this far too many times for it to be a surprise. After withstanding the initial Russell Westbrook surge, the Suns let their one-time 20 point lead get cut to single-digits by the half, and at that point it seemed like the team was trending in the wrong direction. I will say this though… My favorite tweet from the game came from Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco), who remarked that just like college basketball needs a 30-second shot clock, all the Suns need to contend is to play “24-minute games.”
Hann: If I was a casual fan of the NBA and had tuned in to NBATV for the contest, of course I would be shocked! Here is a team playing in a must-win game at home with a 20-point lead and they blow it. Wow! On the other side of the spectrum, if you’re a Suns fan and have followed this team at all this season, you know deep down you almost expected the meltdown. The game itself was a microcosm of the entire Suns season.
Saar: It just seemed like they ran out of gas. They had played at a high level throughout most of the season, they were just rundown. It wasn’t a lack of heart or anything, they just didn’t have the talent.
Schall: A little bit. The playoffs were likely out of reach, but that’s no excuse for not treating it like a playoff game regardless. For approximately 18 minutes they did by sharing the ball and dominating the Thunder’s recently porous defense. While chemistry and maturity have certainly been issues throughout the season, effort hadn’t been until now. Russell Westbrook scored 15 points in just over four minutes and even though Phoenix still had an eight point lead going into the half, the game was for all intents and purposes over. Oklahoma City got whatever they wanted in the second and the Suns seemed content to let their season slip away.
Next: Closing Focus