Even without the Houston Rockets’ superstar and potential MVP James Harden sitting out last night for illness (rest), the Suns were still sure to be over-matched. Then Phoenix sat T.J. Warren for illness (rest) and the game was almost never in serious jeopardy for the Rockets.
Losing to the Houston Rockets
Losers of 11 straight, the third longest losing streak in franchise history, the Suns were facing an uphill task in pulling out an upset and ending the streak even with the vaunted James Harden sitting the game out. Mike D’Antoni’s offense scores a ton of points and Phoenix’s defense (now the worst in points allowed in the NBA) obviously allows a ton of points, so the odds were stacked in Houston’s favor to pull off the season-series sweeping victory.
Houston did just that, not necessarily in a convincing manner, but decisively nonetheless, as the Suns never took a lead of more than two points (the largest lead they have held versus the Rockets in any of their four matchups this season) although they remained within striking distance throughout the entire fourth quarter, down by a few as four, but never more than 10.
As has been the Suns’ modus operandi during this period of outright tanking, they have been keeping close to their opponents, and giving fans a competitive game while still losing in the end. This has kept these nearly guaranteed games of losing still enjoyable and entertaining, and the players allowed on the court have still given fans a reason to support the product. Not one single player on the roster has given up, Earl Watson is just not allowed to play the best players that General Manger Ryan McDonough has given him.
For those who are still not a fan of the tanking, this period of intentional hand-cuffing should be looked at from this perspective: The Suns’ intentionally losing right now is a macro game of chess and sometimes in chess you sacrifice a piece to set up a series of moves down the line. It happens on occasion that enticing your opponent to take your Rook allows additional cleared space to reach his King. Losing intentionally gives Phoenix an advantage in only a few additional moves. Their first offensive move in the offseason will be at the draft. Then free agency and trades. Each of those move will have been set up by losing, in this case sacrificing a Rook, so they can make their move on the King.