Suns Address Abysmal Opener: 'That's Not Us'

The Phoenix Suns know they can be better.

Oct 5, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott watches from the sidelines as the Suns play the Detroit Pistons in the first quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns fans felt waves of shock and embarrassment following the team's season opening loss in Portland.

So too did the team itself.

The Suns are hoping to quickly put their 124-83 loss in the rearview mirror as the Golden State Warriors come to Mortgage Matchup Center on Saturday, which will provide Phoenix an opportunity to right some wrongs in their home opener.

"Today we addressed it head on. That's not us. We have a higher standard than that. It's up to us to hold each other accountable and then to move on to the next play," Suns coach Jordan Ott said today (h/t Duane Rankin).

"It snowballed. (Blazers) for sure. Our missed shots led to transition. They were in our paint. Calls that could've gone either way whether it was out of bounds or a foul called. We were in the penalty early and then we'd have opportunities and we didn't capitalized. Transition. Good looks and then before you know, it's 21-0."

The Suns have prided themselves on a culture and identity of hustle and effort throughout their 48 minutes on the court. However, it was Portland who looked like an inspired team hoping to make another leap in the 2026-27 season while Phoenix merely felt like bystanders.

It was only one of 82 games, and there's no time for the Suns to fall apart before things truly get started. Yet as Devin Booker put it earlier this week, Phoenix had a nice wake-up call — and Dillon Brooks co-signed on that when speaking with reporters on Friday.

"Communication. Energy. Togetherness. Feel like we got spread out away from each other, we weren't talking as much," he said post-practice (h/t Rankin). "We weren't stopping the bleeding. It's not good that it's the first game, but overall, you know, it's not like Game 50 or we're in a predicament with (playoff) seeding or whatever it is.

"It's good for us to get slapped in the mouth like that from that team and we're going to learn from it."

The Suns will be hoping to rebound (literally and metaphorically) against a Warriors team who will be on the second night of a back-to-back after facing the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.

Golden State lost their season opener to the Los Angeles Lakers in 127-105 fashion on Wednesday.

Suns-Warriors is slated for a 7:00 PM tip, and the home Phoenix crowd won't be shy in letting their team hear it if another poor performance follows them to Mortgage Matchup Center.