Suns Stress Patience With Star Trio

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns were supposed to be far better than their 19-18 record currently displays.

Sure - the potential is still there for Phoenix to make good on their elite trio of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker - though that's all the Suns have been able to sell fans this season. Potential.

That won't take you far in a result-oriented business. Phoenix gambled on their stars staying healthy and role players outplaying their minimal contracts on a nightly basis.

As we approach the halfway point of the season, neither has happened consistently.

There's still time (and hope) for the Suns to right the ship, and that was still the message after they dropped both games of a back-to-back against the Grizzlies/Clippers.

"It’s going to take time, we know that, we’re remaining confident, but it was a tough night for us," Suns coach Frank Vogel said after Monday's loss.

“It starts with their resumes. They are three of the best scorers in the game, and it’s going to take time for them to learn each other on the floor and stick together some wins. We’ve seen some brilliant stretches, but we aren’t as far along as the team that we saw tonight."

As of this morning, the Suns stand with the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. Phoenix is just three games back from emerging out of play-in territory and should they go on a run, they're 7.5 games back from the No. 1 seed.

That's far out in the future, however. The Suns can't get caught looking ahead, nor can they keep delaying time on the court with their star trio after they've played just a handful of games together.

“We are still figuring it out because we’ve only played five games together now. The times when we are all three out there, we have some kinks to work out. We just have to be better," Booker said.

Their next opportunity comes on Thursday when the Los Angeles Lakers play host. Whether they can get back in the win column remains to be seen, though the Suns are still preaching patience when it comes to building continuity on the court.