Suns Hope to Bounce Back in Four-Game Road Trip
In this story:
It's very rare to see the Phoenix Suns ran out the gym not once but twice in back-to-back fashion.
After dropping horrendous games to the Dallas Mavericks (130-111) and Boston Celtics (125-98), the Suns have lost consecutive games by 19 or more for the first time since February of 2020.
Phoenix also scored less than 100 points for just the third time all year.
The presence of Chris Paul (four points/rebounds/assists) for the first time after missing 14 games with right heel soreness failed to make a significant difference on Wednesday night, yet you could argue anybody who wasn't Josh Okogie (28 points) didn't show up, either.
“Well, you can’t take much from a game like that. You can say some things that fall under the category of coach speak. We just got beat, in every area of the game tonight," said Monty Williams after the loss.
"There were some missed shots, I thought that deflated us a bit but they took it to us. It’s just as simple as that. We just felt like they had way more purpose in their physicality than we did. I thought that bothered us a bit, but as far as taking anything away from the game like there wasn’t much to take away … Overall, just an unbelievably tough night."
Up until last week, Phoenix were believed to be one of the top teams in the West, if not all the NBA. Consecutive losses to roadblocks in the way of a franchise-first NBA championship have now cast a shadow of doubt on that.
Yet a new opportunity arrives for the Suns in the form of a four-game road trip beginning in New Orleans tonight against a Pelicans team that is right along Phoenix for the top spot in the West.
They'll take on NO twice this weekend (Friday/Sunday), a team that has won their last ten of twelve games. The Suns previously got the best of the Pelicans 124-111 in their first matchup, but the presence of a healthy Zion Williamson has undoubtedly propelled New Orleans since.
Their road trip will finish with games in Houston and Los Angeles (Clippers) before returning home for a four-game homestand.
In an 82-game schedule, the Suns again have the opportunity to establish themselves as one of the better teams in the league against strong competition.
"We have time to regroup and think about it. It feels like that game should count for two losses, but good thing it’s still only one. I feel like we’re at the meat of our schedule with some pretty good matchups still coming up and we have to be ready to go," said Devin Booker.
Phoenix is indeed at the meat of their schedule - we'll see if they can cook.
