The Phoenix Suns just lost their most recent matchup to the Milwaukee Bucks. With no Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Bucks lineup, this game seemed like an easy win for Phoenix. However, the Bucks had different plans for their meeting tonight. After the game, Kevin Durant exchanged a few words with the media regarding tonight’s loss and what may have led to such an outcome.
Advertisement
As per the official injury report of the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo was listed out as he dealt with Tendinopathy in his left hamstring. However, despite his absence, a game that should’ve been an easy win for Phoenix turned out to be an embarrassing loss for them.
Kevin Durant finished the game with a mere 11 points, shooting 4-10 from the field and 1-3 from beyond the arc. Attempting only one shot in the fourth quarter, KD had this to say.
“Grayson took my spot scoring. I had to do other sh*t. We got ourselves back in the game.” He also went on to add, “Defensively, we lost this game. They made more threes than us. They got hot in the first half. But my shot attempts, my points, I know it’s a talking point but we scored enough points.”
As much as anyone would like to disagree with Kevin Durant here, he is quite accurate when pinning the blame on what led to this embarrassing loss. The Suns have not been a good fourth-quarter team throughout this season. Further, while the team’s offense has been finding its way, the Suns’ defense has been atrocious, which has cost the franchise in more than a few contests already.
Players that the franchise brought in for the purpose of defense also seemed to have moved away from their quality on that side of the floor. Grayson Allen, who was known to be a defense-first player before his stint in Phoenix is now the league leader in three-point percentage. While that may be good on paper, having no real defensive threat on the roster has resulted in opposing teams taking full advantage of the Suns’ weak coverage on the perimeter and in the paint. As for the offense, even though the Suns dropped 129 points when the team was at full strength, it still wasn’t enough to take down the Bucks who ended up outscoring the Suns with a 140-point outing.
Devin Booker opens up on the Suns’ loss
Losing to a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks squad was a tough pill to swallow for the entire Phoenix Suns team. The Suns had six players scoring in double-digits by the end of regulation. Out of the six, three of them even finished with 20+-point games as per StatMuse.
After the game, Devin Booker took some time out to reflect on tonight’s loss to a team that was playing without their leading scorer.
“You got to understand that when teams are missing somebody who usually dominates the ball a lot, those guys are going to go out there and play free and that’s what they did.”
Tonight’s loss brings Phoenix’s record to 39-29, tying them with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs, who won the season series against the Suns, also just defeated the Denver Nuggets in tonight’s matchup.
The Suns lost to the Bucks and the Mavericks defeated the Nuggets. These couple of games have given Dallas an advantage over Phoenix in not just the standings but also the play-in tournament that will be taking place for the seventh & eighth seed in the playoffs.
Given how the Phoenix Suns lost to a team without their leading scorer, their chances of finding much success in the postseason don’t seem too bright. Will the Suns be able to make a deep playoff push or will this season turn out to be a bust? All will soon be revealed as the playoffs approach, marking an end to the 2023-24 regular season.
