It’s no secret that the Phoenix Suns (14-13) are struggling, having lost seven of their last 10 games, after blowing a 16-point lead to fall to the Portland Trail Blazers last night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Becky Hammon, the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and former assistant coach under Greg Popovich with the Spurs, had some interesting comments on the Suns today on ESPN.
“It’s not a skillset problem,” Hammon, who has won the last two WNBA championships, said about Phoenix. “You gotta dirty the sheets. No folding clean sheets. You gotta get in there and mix it up. Maybe that’s the grittiness and the toughness I’m talking about. Take a punch, get the frick back up and hit somebody.”
"You gotta dirty the sheets. … Go hit somebody!" 😤 @beckyhammon on the Suns' toughness. pic.twitter.com/ucOAxRkuhY
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 20, 2023
Hammon is a very qualified coach to be talking about this, and it is very clear Phoenix needs some figuring out.
Durant is averaging an ultra-impressive 31 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists on 52/47/87 splits on the year.
Booker has struggled as of late in the point guard role, but is still averaging 27.9 points, 8.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds on the season.
Yes, Bradley Beal won’t be back until at least Jan. 1, but the Suns are struggling to find any help around these two.
3P% from Suns role players this season:
Keita Bates-Diop: 25.0%
Josh Okogie: 27.5%
Jordan Goodwin: 30.7%
Chimezie Metu: 33.3%
Yuta Watanabe: 34.8%
Nassir Little: 36.4%SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP UP.
— Suns Are Better (@SunsAreBetter) December 20, 2023
the Suns are more than one questions to answer, but it’s no secret their role players need to step up, and they need to play with intensity. Even some very highly-regarded coaches can see this.
Suns’ 3rd quarter nightmare leads to loss against Trail Blazers
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
