The Phoenix Suns are sitting 15-17 and have been dealing with injury after injury, showing warning signs that the championship-aspiring team could very well miss the playoffs.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Only a few months ago in November, Suns legend and TNT analyst Charles Barkley spoke highly of the team, believing that they were going to be the second-best team in the Western Conference with the addition of Tyus Jones and the continuous dominance of Kevin Durant.
After starting the season hot with an 8-1 record, Phoenix is 7-16 since amidst various injuries to Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.
Finding themselves out of both a playoff and play-in spot, the Suns are searching for answers and Barkley has lost belief in the team when sharing his thoughts on the show “NBA on TNT.”
“I have zero faith in the Suns and the Sixers [Philadelphia 76ers]. That hurts my heart to say that,” Barkley said. “I watched the Suns play last week. They stink. They stink.”
"I have zero faith in the Suns and the Sixers. That hurts me to my heart to say that. I watched the Suns play for the last week. They stink. They stink."
Charles Barkley critical of two of his former teams, Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers, on @NBAonTNT . #Suns #76ers pic.twitter.com/0iOhWLV5LX
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 3, 2025
Impacting the potential of how far the team can go, all three of Booker, Beal and Durant would be back together before one would suffer an injury in someone else’s return. Beal came back from right knee swelling against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 19 only to see Booker exit in the third quarter with groin soreness. Booker then returned this past Tuesday vs. the Memphis Grizzlies and Beal sustained a left hip contusion.
With Beal’s status up in the air, the Suns could be down four crucial players for Saturday’s game vs. the Pacers. Jusuf Nurkić is set to serve the final game of his three-game suspension, Royce O’Neale remains out with a left ankle sprain and Grayson Allen is dealing with left shoulder soreness.
Time will tell if or when the team returns to full health for a stretch of games and can snap out of its three-game losing streak. Phoenix is currently 11th in the Western Conference, performing far below expectations with one of the highest payrolls in the NBA.
The NBA Trade Deadline is a month away on Feb. 6, so things will get interesting if the problems can’t be resolved beforehand. The Suns are on the outside looking into the postseason and with the amount of injuries to key players this year, there is a good chance something drastic will happen to the roster over the coming weeks.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, ASU Athletics and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
