The Phoenix Suns continue to hang around the play-in conversation, but that is as much to do with what is happening around the league than anything else. They haven't put together a run of impressive performances as the end of the regular season comes into focus, and at this stage they are still sitting in the 11th spot in the Western Conference.
But with the Dallas Mavericks a mess right now - the Suns recently beating them as well - it may be that Phoenix squeaks into the final play-in spot by virtue of the Mavericks continuing to lose games. Hardly the ideal way to enter a mini-tournament that they likely wouldn't even get out of, with a playoff beatdown awaiting them if they somehow did.
The lack of respect for these Suns has now plunged to a new low.
Have you ever heard of Cam Spencer before? Even some of the more hardcore fans of the league won't be aware of the Memphis Grizzlies' rookie, who has appeared in only 13 games this season for that franchise. Spencer does boast a 51 point performance in the G League, but his 16 point output in 20 minutes in a 120-118 win over the Suns was his most notable game yet.
The reason for this has nothing to do with his performance - although that in itself helped them win - but rather how Spencer went at Kevin Durant after making 3-pointer over him to end the third-quarter. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with having a signature moment in the league and making a shot over one of the best to ever do it.
But the fact Spencer had the confidence to do this, shows just how far the Suns have fallen throughout the league. It was one thing in the playoffs last season to see Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves go at Durant - his hero - on the way to sweeping him out of the postseason. That was a coming out party for a star player.
But Spencer has barely played in the league, yet he went at the 36-year-old with all of the confidence of somebody who knew his team were going to pull out the win. Which they did, while the coming together that followed between Durant and Spencer's teammate Desmond Bane was also not a good look.
Players are told not to escalate a situation like that, which is understandable. But Royce O'Neale looked like the only guy who had Durant's back. We're not expecting Devin Booker to run in swinging, but this was a great opportunity for the team to show that they've got some fight left in them, and to have each other's back.
Neither of those things happened, with Spencer, Bane and the rest of the Grizzlies ultimately having the Suns' number once again. They won an overtime game 151-148 a few weeks back, and edging out another close one will have done wonders for their confidence. Less so the Suns, who are really going to struggle to break 40 wins this season.
If you cast your mind back to 2021 for example, a rookie wouldn't have dreamt at going at Booker or Chris Paul (oh how they miss him) in this way. Or if they did they were either on their way to being an elite player themselves, or were quickly eviscerated by the Suns. Instead this team rolled over - as they have done essentially all season - and got clowned by a guy who most didn't know existed.