Kenny Smith explains why 'incomplete' Suns aren't living up to hype
Today at 11:53 PM
Many people across the NBA have given their two cents about the Phoenix Suns. Kenny Smith is no different. As the Suns were taking on the San Antonio Spurs, the Inside the NBA cohost gave his two cents about the team.
"I used to have a lot of these in college, incompletes,” Smith said. “I think this is an incomplete kind of situation because we've seen them play together, but we haven't seen them tested. I'm not really sure when they're tested, what are they going to do defensively, and what are they doing to do offensively yet."
Although Smith mentioned that the Suns haven’t been tested, they’ve been tested in their unique way. They’ve dealt with a barrage of injuries, among other things. After starting the season 9-2, the Suns reverted from their consistent ways. Despite hiring Mike Budenholzer as their head coach, the offense hasn’t been up to par.
Funny enough, the offensive rating and points per game metric were currently better under Frank Vogel. Still, only adds to Smith’s comments about the team. They haven’t gelled much together. Much like last season, it feels that the Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker cannot play together.
Kenny Smith’s comments reign true with the Suns
Even with Smith talking about the Suns being an incomplete situation, he brought up another point. He said he wasn’t sure when they’d been tested. However, there’s a statistic that backs up any claim. For example, Phoenix has an 11-19 record against teams that have a .500 or greater win percentage.
Against the teams below .500, it’s 15-10. While the latter isn’t bad, for a team with three superstars, it almost feels inexcusable. However, some of the problems have started back in November. After a game against the Brooklyn Nets, Durant illustrated the Suns’ mental lapses in that game.
They were on the second game of a back-t0-back set. That game took place in November. Fast forward three months, and some of those mental lapses are there. Coming out of the All-Star break, the team looked defeated during their game against the Spurs. Plus, there were a variety of questionable rotational moves.
For instance, Budenholzer played center Nick Richards for nine minutes and then benched him the rest of the game. Rookie and arguably their best defender, Ryan Dunn, had 20 seconds of game time in the loss. These are only some of the questionable moves that the team has made.
To put a bow on things, Beal was benched at the beginning of the New Year. They’ve mixed the lineup on any given night. As a result, it’s altered the chemistry with specific players and what their roles are.
Time is ticking for the Suns to solidify a playoff spot. As of writing this, they are out of the play-in game. The continued downward trend could leave the franchise questioning what to do next.
The post Kenny Smith explains why ‘incomplete’ Suns aren’t living up to hype appeared first on ClutchPoints.
