Eric Gordon's comments on role comes at bad time for the Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are not in a good place right now. They have gone a dreadful 1-4 in their last five games, and sit at .500 ahead of an important Christmas Day matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. You can't win a championship in December, but you can certainly lose in.

Sitting at 10th in the Western Conference - the Golden State Warriors one spot back have won four straight to draw level with the Suns - is absolutely not where a contender should be at this stage of the season. Which is what this team was built up to be before the season began, yet they seem further away from their goal than ever right now.

Head coach Frank Vogel has tried to do what he can with the group he's been given, and the continued absence of Bradley Beal - this time with an ankle sprain - has put a real negative spin on the rotation. It is hard to remember when, if ever, a team in this position has come from as far back as the Suns are now to make a serious postseason run.

The franchise needs all hands on deck right now, which makes the comments by Eric Gordon about his role on this team ill-timed, to say the least.

Speaking with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report in the wake of Friday night's loss to the Sacramento Kings, Gordon had the following to say;

"Early on in the season, it was better. And lately, there just hasn't been an emphasis (on Gordon getting his number called). So, it's definitely different. Lately I haven't been getting hardly any touches really."

Eric Gordon

There is no question that Gordon has a valid point here. In the loss to the Kings, Beal and center Jusuf Nurkic (family matter) were missing, and yet he only took two shots. Then again - when you're playing alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker - some nights are just going to be like that.

Gordon doesn't quite see it that way though, and had more to say to Haynes on going to speak to coach Vogel about his current situation.

"No question. Everybody knows the type of player I am and what I'm about. I came here to win, but what I do is score, and I think when I score, it really opens up the door for a lot of people because I can score in big games and in big ways. That's just what it is."

Eric Gordon

Nice as it is to see Gordon show some passion in the midst of a rough stretch for this group, would he have been better served speaking with Vogel internally on this, and not letting the media behind the curtain? At 34-years-old (Gordon will be 35 on Christmas Day), surely he has been in the league long enough to know when to keep business in house?

It is one thing to issue a rallying cry to your teammates through the media, but the Suns are not in a good spot right now. All these comments are going to do are be both misconstrued by some, and used as a tool to criticise the franchise in a tough moment by others. What Gordon is saying might be true, but he should know better than to bring it up to the media after the fourth loss in five games.

Perhaps if this was a young player it would be a different story, but Gordon was added this offseason to be a leader and a good presence in the locker room. These comments don't necessarily change that, but they now become another headache for the Suns to deal with moving forward, and everybody is going to be questioned about it by the media as well.

Gordon mentioned that he wants to win, and that requires sacrifice from everybody, not just the perceived star players. Interestingly, Gordon is taking more shots per game this season (11.0), than he did in his last season two seasons, which were split between the Houston Rockets and L.A. Clippers. Not ideal heading into a crucial time for the organization.