Concerns Grow Over Suns' Depth: 'There's No Margin for Error'
The Phoenix Suns are heading back to Los Angeles with their series against the Clippers tied at 1-1 after a crucial Game 2 victory last night.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant dominate storylines as Phoenix prevented themselves from falling in an 0-2 hole in the first round, certainly a position nobody would have expected a championship caliber team to be in to open the postseason.
A main cause of concern heading into the playoffs was the lack of depth the Suns provided behind their star-studded starting lineup. Through two games, Phoenix's bench has provided just 23 combined points off the bench.
In Game 1, the Suns took their starters out with a seven-point lead with three minutes in the third quarter for rest. When the fourth quarter rolled around, that lead evaporated.
Last night, both Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Devin Booker all played over 38 minutes. Deandre Ayton would have seen similar numbers if he didn't find himself in foul trouble.
The Suns were able to emerge victorious thanks to strong contributions from their starters, but is it sustainable?
Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd doesn't believe so.
Concerns Grow Over Suns' Depth: 'There's No Margin for Error'
"They say that styles make fights. Sometimes you got to see boxers fight for a couple of rounds to understand how it's going to work. When I watched the Clippers with all that depth against the Suns without much of a bench, my takeaway is Phoenix needs another guy," said Cowherd on his show today.
"They feel like they're a guy is short. If you gave them the Clippers' Norman Powell or a Terrence Mann, just a reserve, it would feel different. But they gave away three players, all of them important players to Brooklyn to get Kevin Durant. So they had to give up Mikal Bridges - you know that was going to hurt right, but you're not going to get Kevin Durant without him. But even a guy like Cam Johnson who they gave up, Cam Johnson was averaging 14 points a game, and that's about what they feel like they need: a little margin of error. Cam Johnson the other night against Philadelphia had a huge night. Every time I'm watching this series, every time Phoenix has a substitution, you're holding your breath.
"Now Cameron Payne is the backup point guard to Chris Paul, but he's injured and maybe when Cameron Payne comes back, that's the guy. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe that's the guy. But I feel like there's no margin for error. It's almost like if you have a connecting flight at an airport and you only have like 25 minutes. If there's a 10 minute delay, you miss your flight. If one of your kids has to go to the bathroom, you don't get there on time and they close the door. Last night Phoenix's starters - give me a break, they shot 60% from the field. That's not gonna happen again. Devin Booker shot 64%, that's not gonna happen again.
"There's no margin for error. I think the Clippers need another star. They have depth. The Suns don't need another star. They need another guy, which the Clippers have a couple of. Again, maybe that's Cameron Payne, but I think they need another dude. And that's why teams like Milwaukee all year added Jae Crowder, they add a piece here. It's amazing how often just another dude matters. But I watched it last night and I'm like, 'Cameron Payne needs to play' because they're not going to shoot - the Phoenix starters shot 60% last night.
"There's no margin for error, that game was tied at half. It was in Phoenix. They're gonna go back to Los Angeles and they may be lucky to get out of there with a 2-2 split. That's what it feels like to me."
Game 3 is Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 PM PST in Los Angeles.
