Injuries are part of the game, but they still hurt. The Phoenix Suns played the Sacramento Kings without a true point guard and no big man to play inside. It was a strategy that didn’t work out for them.
Basketball teams all across the world employ a wide variety of strategies in an effort to win games. Some play big. Some play fast. Some play by shooting as many 3s and possible. The Phoenix Suns attempted to play Tuesday night against the
Kansas City
Sacramento Kings without having either a big man who plays in the paint or a to notch point guard, which, out of all the unique strategies out there, turns out not to be the best.
After the Boston Celtics blew out the Suns Monday night in a game where Phoenix looked completely out of sorts on the offensive end of the court, it was easy to point to Ricky Rubio’s absence as the likely culprit for being out of sync.
While Rubio played in the first half against the Kings, he didn’t really play. His back spasms clearly limited his movement and he wasn’t the same player the Suns have enjoyed so far this season.
Suns fans may want to pitch in and get him a better mattress.
As if this unfortunate wasn’t enough considering the lack of point guard depth, the injury bug decided to take a bite out of Aron Baynes‘ hip while it was as it.
Baynes, who apparently is human after all, sat out against the Kings, which left Frank Kaminsky as the team’s starting center.
The thing about Kaminsky at center, he is a 7-footer in name only. The former Hornet likes to spend the majority of his time on the perimeter which is beneficial is certain scenarios, but over the course of a full game, doesn’t exactly lead to either easy points in the paint or rim protection on defense if he is the only big man on the court.
Oh, and if you’re keeping track at home, Deandre Ayton is still suspended.
Cheick Diallo got some additional minutes. He’s nice and all, but if he is your go-to big man, then, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
No star point guard and no big man to play down low led to exactly what you might think. The Kings got nearly all their points right around the rim while the Suns had to rely on what seemed like exclusively mid range jumpers.
That led to 30% shooting for the Phoenix Suns in the first half compared to 60% shooting by the Kings, and more importantly, a 62-45 halftime deficit the Suns could simply not crawl back from.
But crawl back they tried.
The Suns picked up their energy in the second half and especially in the 4th quarter, but it proved to be too little too late.
Sans a good chuck of their roster, the Suns needed to play with the energy they did in the 4th quarter all game long, and unfortunately, it just wasn’t there.
The final score was close (120-116), but it never felt like the Suns had a chance, especially after Bogdan Bogdanovic decided he was the best shooter in the NBA all of a sudden, putting up 31 points on 7-9 from 3.
Suns fans have to love the fact this team didn’t quit, however this team will not settle for moral victories. They will attempt to get a real one back home against the Zion-less Pelicans Thursday night.