It’s still impossible to believe the Suns lose to the Hawks

Can the Phoenix Suns make us believe? Actually, don’t focus on us. Can they even make themselves believe?

Tuesday’s 122-117 loss to the Atlanta Hawks was another indefensible defeat against a mediocre opponent who beat key players with maddening team basketball.

The Hawks were without two of their top three scorers, Jalen Johnson (19.8 PPG) and De’Andre Hunter (19.4 PPG), limiting their offense to star Trae Young and a disappointing supporting cast.

But because the Suns refused to be the aggressors and continued to float through stretches of play, it burned them once again.

And they know why it keeps happening. Even if they were blind to it, which they are not, they are repeatedly told how, whether through consistent messages from the coaching staff or questions from the media after the game .

And there is no logical argument that would show that they collectively care enough to overcome this problem. So how can you make a logical argument to keep this team together?

Atlanta grabbed 20 offensive rebounds for 27 second-chance points, the fifth time in the last six games that the Suns have allowed more than 19 in that category, a staggering number. That allowed the Hawks to make 14 more shots, and Young’s 43 points (averaging 13-of-31 shooting) steered the ship while another mediocre center, Onyeka Okongwu, took Phoenix’s lunch money. He had 22 points and 21 rebounds in 28 minutes.

The Hawks went 17 of 41 (41.5%) on 3-pointers to score enough to counter the 30-plus from Devin Booker (35, 12 for 23) and Kevin Durant (31, 13 for 20). ).

The scoreboard doesn’t tell you what a horrible start it was.

Phoenix was massively disconnected from the physicality and engagement of the game. When players returned to defense, their efforts were aimless, which was also reflected in the way everyone remained on their feet once the ball came into the corridor. Almost no one found a body, and when they were still faced with these moments, it was rare to see anyone attach themselves to that opposing player to get physical.

If the Suns don’t take these details seriously, it is impossible to consider them. them seriously. Bravo to you if you are still able to do it.

Faced with quality competition, Phoenix would have lost more than 15 points. But Atlanta, in this lineup, stinks.

Either way, that type of energy will eventually show up in other parts of the field, just like when playing hard rewards you, as it did for Ryan Dunn. This is what was confusing about this opening to the competition. Dunn was fighting like hell to irritate Young, and beyond the initial first or second defensive rotation, there was no response to the tone the damn rookie needed to set.

One of the reasons you should love basketball (and should if you don’t) is that it contains great principles that “you can’t cheat in the game.” The Suns went from just two points after the first quarter to quickly trailing by 10 early in the second quarter. This nonsense wasn’t going to stick on the scoreboard.

Atlanta extended its lead to a dozen minutes later and would lead by eight at halftime.

The Suns found more energy to start the second half and Atlanta was unable to find opportunities beyond the initial action, which is where Phoenix can stifle them. They led for just six seconds in the first half before an 8-0 run shortly after the third quarter gave them a three-point lead. Durant really got going, increasing that advantage to nine.

Atlanta’s offense at this time has stabilized. Young was trying to foul first and do something else offensively later, a sign of defeat in the Suns’ more concerted effort to wear him down. But then Okongwu got five straight points on the offensive glass, Bogdan Bogdanovic was fouled to prevent an open layup and Royce O’Neale succumbed to Young’s antics by grabbing his arm (as Young will do to defenders) for Young to get free throws.

The Suns went from having a window to open this one to just one lead at the end of the third quarter. Durant then turned the ball over and missed a midfield, while the Hawks regained the lead after Okongwu continued to create secondary opportunities heading into the final quarter.

Phoenix started the fourth missing a few open 3s, Atlanta made its own and suddenly it was a 20-3 run that put Atlanta up 95-87 on a 20-3 spurt. Phoenix got back into the game thanks to Booker and Durant, down three with less than five minutes remaining.

Vit Krejci, a borderline NBA player who looked comfortable all night and who Phoenix let get comfortable producing 15 points with six assists and zero turnovers, hit his third triple to give the lead by seven in Atlanta with 3:43 to play. After a Suns miss, Krejci fought to get his hands on a loose ball that allowed Hawks sharpshooter (and other borderline NBA player) Garrison Matthews to drill his fifth 3, which meant that the Suns would need things to fall perfectly in under three minutes to escape with it. an undeserved victory.

But Young was able to do just enough in that span for Atlanta to withstand Phoenix’s newfound desperation.

There are a few times a year where you’ll see Booker have an extra edge to his behavior, almost in a sense of defiance towards everything going on around him, probably a lack of engagement that he himself sees from the from his teammates. This led to some of his best scoring nights, like the famous 70-burger in Boston or some of his other 50+ point performances on losing efforts.

But it’s always been a mixed bag, with negative results coming from a guy who’s clearly forcing it. Booker wants the Suns to play faster and on Tuesday he was pushing the ball as high as possible. That led to his five turnovers in the first half before he found a better rhythm in the second half, playing without rushing.

After making a free throw with seven seconds left in the first half, Bradley Beal inexplicably lost Bogdanovic in the corner for a 3 that should have gone in. With the Suns bench in the background, a body language accountant looked like Booker was about to lose it before taking his time alone on the bench while keeping his hands warm to settle back . Moments like this seem like nothing at first, but start to feel less and less like nothing when the team’s poor quality of play on the field persists.

Beal turned his left ankle midway through the third quarter, struggling for a rebound in transition after a turnover. He was incredibly frustrated and left the hotel before returning later. It was the eighth consecutive game played by the Big 3 of Durant, Booker and Beal, doubling the second-highest streak in the second week of the season.

Grayson Allen was able to play after a troublesome left knee forced him to miss the second half of Sunday’s win. Suns reporter Amanda Pflugrad noted that Allen said it was a knee that had been acting on Allen for at least the last two years, and that he had experienced some discomfort before the game which intensified further at halftime.

This is fortunate for the Suns and Allen, who has finally started to look like himself recently after a few different injuries slowed his ability to pick up where he left off last year.

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