The Phoenix Suns have only continued to spiral. Coming into the season, the expectation was that they would fare better with a new coach and point guards, but they’ve only gotten worse.
Following the Suns’ second consecutive humiliating home loss to the Rockets, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith expressed his displeasure with the team’s season.
Smith Calls Phoenix Suns & Mike Budenholzer Out
Smith did not hold back when he lambasted the Suns. He called out the team for their lack of pride while also questioning Budenholzer. He concluded with a bold declaration.
“And btw……I’m still speechless as to how awful (the Suns are) this year. I mean, Damn! No sense of pride whatsoever. The (Rockets) are real. Especially defensively. But they’ve got the (Suns) looking like they want no part of being on the court. I’ve got to look at Coach Budenholzer. The players are not buying in. Change has to come in Phoenix. I’ve seen enough,” Smith wrote.
Smith’s not wrong here, and on games like this, it’s hard not to look at the outcome of the game and not think that the Rockets are what the Suns were supposed to be this season.
High Expectations On Suns
The Suns were supposed to be among the best teams in the Western Conference and the NBA, but not only are they not title contenders, they’re not even in the play-in right now. Following Kevin Durant’s injury, it’s likely they will miss out.
It is truly a sight to behold watching what the Suns have become. Adding the talent that they did should have been their return to contention following their run to the NBA Finals in 2021. The Durant trade may have been costly, but it wasn’t the wrong move.
Everything else since then has pretty much blown up in their faces. Trying to assemble a big three in the NBA these days simply doesn’t work like it did eons ago because title contenders don’t just need rotation players; they also need supporting pieces. The Suns do not have that anymore.
Also, the big three in question in Phoenix was not a good one. Durant’s as good as anyone could reasonably expect from him at 36, but Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are not the same as James Harden and Kyrie Irving, and their results prove it. Now, their dissolution feels like an absolute certainty.
Detractors can loathe Smith all they want for how boisterous he can be, but he’s not wrong.
