2024-01-12 01:19:26
Phoenix Suns continue to fall short of high expectations
In our latest Talking Phoenix Suns and NBA, Duane Rankin discusses this 1-3 stretch in which the Suns lost to the Grizzlies and twice to the Clippers.
Arizona Republic
LOS ANGELES — The Phoenix Suns came out of Wednesday’s practice fully healthy for the first time this season outside of Damion Lee (knee), who hasn’t played all season after having surgery Oct. 11.
Then 90 minutes before Thursday’s game against the Lakers, the Suns announce Drew Eubanks is out with an illness.
This throws off their plan to throw “multiple bodies” at Anthony Davis, Suns coach Frank Vogel said, but the Suns (19-18) have an opportunity to make up some ground in the conference with almost everyone available outside of Eubanks and Damion Lee (knee), who hasn’t played since season.
“We go as far as our mind takes us,” Suns wing Nassir Little said. “At some point in the season, we have to change our mindset to it being a long season and shift it to the mindset we’ve got to start winning some games and putting things together because with each game, the season gets shorter and shorter.”
If the playoff started today, Phoenix would have to come out of the play-in tournament to make the postseason. The Suns are 3½ games behind the Pelicans, who are sixth. The top six teams in each conference avoid the play-in.
“We have to start calculating things, start figuring it out and start jelling because you don’t want the Western Conference to get too far away from you,” Little added.
Bol Bol, two-way big Udoka Azubuike and Little all are available for Thursday’s game as they are the last three players to come off the injury report.
Little missed Phoenix’s last seven games with left knee tendinitis, Bol was sidelined the last two with a right ankle sprain while Azubuike missed the last game with an illness.
“We’ve shown during stretches, we’re almost there,” Bol said. “Just one or two things need to click a little bit better and I feel like we’re going to get this thing rolling.”
Little had just come off a seven-point effort at Houston in which he played well, but Little sat the next game Dec. 29 versus Charlotte with what the Suns first called knee soreness.
“It’s one of those things where it’s a balance of pushing through some discomfort, but also being smart,” Little said. “Throughout an NBA season, you’re not always going to feel like a million bucks, but it does get to a point where you got to look a bigger picture and be smart about your workload.”
Coming from Portland in a three-team trade right before training camp, Little was available for the Jan. 3 game against the Clippers as part of a six-game homestand. After that morning shootaround, Little participated in a pickup game that’s mostly for low-minute players at the practice facility. Little tweaked the knee in that pickup game as he departed from it early.
“That’s why it seemed to come out of nowhere,” Little said. “That’s when it kind of flared back up on me.”
Little said the Suns took more precautions with a slower ramp-up to return this time.
“I’m feeling better, got some live action (Wednesday),” he said.
Little had been in the rotation early in the season, then Bol finally worked his way into it.
Having hardly played in his first season in Phoenix, Bol played his first decent minutes Jan. 1 against Portland as Kevin Durant was out with an injury.
The 7-footer posted a near double-double of 11 points and nine boards in 20 minutes of a win over the Blazers. Bol followed that up with a season-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting (2-of-2 on 3s) in a Jan. 3 loss to the Clippers.
He then scored four points on 2-of-2 shooting in 10 minutes of Phoenix’s victory Jan. 5 over Miami before going down with an ankle sprain on an inside basket. Bol lost his footing and fell to the floor while hitting the shot to put the Suns up, 89-71, with 2:02 left in the third quarter.
“I was trying to see if I’d be able to run and be fine,” Bol said. “I was putting my shoe on really tight. I tried to really (see) how much strength my ankle had. It hurt a little bit, but I was just more concerned about getting to play.”
Bol missed the next two games against the Grizzlies and at the Clippers, but is now back looking to further establish himself in the rotation.
“I’m very excited,” Bol said. “Just want to build off the last three games I played. Bring energy on defense and playing hard. Not worrying about offense. Just playing within the game. I think that’ll just help me pick up where I left off.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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