Suns Thought Beating Spurs Would be 'Easy'

The Phoenix Suns once again overlooked an opponent.

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have once again overlooked one of their opponents.

That shouldn't be the case considering the talent in the Valley, led by a typically tough coach in Frank Vogel. Competitors such as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker with other talented players around them are responsible for the team's mentality on and off the court.

The potential is obvious - but so is the disappointment considering expectations placed on the team by both themselves and the outside world. Continually, despite being the better team, the Suns have slept-walk through games that ultimately cost them.

That was again the case for Phoenix in Monday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs - who were without the talents of star rookie Victor Wembanyama. The Suns had pieced together one of their more complete games in a win over the same squad two days prior, and expectations without Wemby were for Phoenix to once again to win in convincing fashion.

Apparently, the Suns themselves expected it too.

"It's disappointment. We came in here and laid an egg. We thought it was going to be easy with no Wemby. Just got our ass kicked. They came out aggressive, just like Coach [Frank Vogel] told us they would, and we didn't respond. Well, we did, but we didn't withstand their punches," said Bradley Beal following the loss.

Three of San Antonio's 16 wins have come against Phoenix.

Never mind the fact that Phoenix had a prime opportunity to cushion themselves in a tight postseason jockey to see who would emerge out of a tough Western Conference ahead of a mighty tough schedule - the Suns once again showed they don't have the mental fortitude to compete night in and night out.

"It's just unacceptable to lose that game," Vogel added. "For our guys, we all said the right things. We all did the right preparation. But we didn't play with the necessary focus in this position throughout, I would say, the first half."

The Suns have issues to fix - and with ten games remaining on the schedule - that should happen sooner rather than later.