Following a pair of horrible losses, one notable ESPN NBA analyst took the Phoenix Suns to task for their lack of chemistry and guts after 72 games played in the 2023-24 NBA season.
Heading into the NBA games today, the Suns are in a desperate fight to avoid taking part in Play-In Tournament games next month. While they recently won three straight, those victories were sandwiched between a pair of ugly defeats that put the team’s biggest problems on full display.
Also Read: NBA power rankings – Where do the Phoenix Suns land in the latest rankings?
Despite having a trio of multi-time All-Stars on the roster, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal have not been able to turn Phoenix into the title contender many thought they would be. While injuries and lack of depth have hampered them this season, there also seem to be deeper underlying issues with this current group.
It is something that ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler spoke about on a Wednesday edition of “Get Up” when he explained why the Phoenix Suns are the playoff-bound team he has the least confidence in as the league heads down the final stretch of the regular season.
“They’ve had two of the worst losses I’ve seen all season. They lose to the Bucks, without Giannis (Antetokounmpo) giving up 140 points in that game. And then you lose to the Spurs, a team that’s not even trying to win, without Victor Wembanyama,” Legler said. “I don’t know how you pull that off if you’re the Phoenix Suns. It’s literally, virtually impossible to do what they did against the Spurs.
“So I’m looking at the Phoenix Suns right now. I see a group of guys that look like they just met each other. There’s no connection and there’s no toughness. They just don’t have that fight that you need to see every night. Do they even have leadership in that locker room because there’s too much talent?”
New owner Matt Ishbia has a lot invested in this team but the results have not been there this season. Heading into their game on Wednesday against the Nuggets, they are just tenth in points per game with 117, but they also give up 114 which has meant a lot more competitive matchups than expected for such a high-powered offensive group.
There have been rumblings that if the team falters in the NBA playoffs, new head coach Frank Vogel could be one-and-done with the Phoenix Suns.