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Kevin Durant has had enough. Following Phoenix’s eighth loss in its last 10 games, Durant had harsh words for his team.
“We didn’t play up to our standards at all,” Durant said. “We embarrassed the fans and we embarrassed ourselves the way we played. I want us to be better.”
Durant’s comments came on the heels of a 116-98 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Phoenix is 3-11 over its last 14 games and has dropped to 28-33 overall. The Suns are currently 11th in the West — four games back of Dallas for the final play-in spot. With Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal on the roster, Phoenix entered the season with high hopes. Now, the Suns appear unlikely to even reach the play-in tournament.
The star forward was the focus of trade discussions at the deadline last month but ultimately stayed with the Suns. An 8-1 start to the season added to the hype surrounding the team, but not much has gone right since that time. Durant leads the team in scoring with 26.7 PPG, but his greatness hasn’t translated into victories.
Against Minnesota, the Suns held a two-point lead at halftime but were outscored by 13 in the third quarter. Speaking to his team’s tough position within the Western Conference, NBA champion coach Mike Budenholzer acknowledged that time is running out to turn things around.
“We’ve got to go on a run, but it’s got to start,” Budenholzer said. “There’s no doubt that the standings, the circumstances that we’re in, there’s an awareness and we’ve got to do something to change it.”
Amidst a lackadaisical fourth quarter performance which saw the Suns commit nine turnovers and display poor effort, the crowd hailed boos down on its team. Durant noted Phoenix’s lack of fight, as well.
“When adversity hits, we start floating a little as a team,” Durant said. “That’s tough to deal with it.”
“That’s why we lost,” Durant said. “Forty points off turnovers, tough to overcome that. They didn’t overpower us on the glass, we just gave them the ball.”
If the Suns want to make a run at a play-in spot, they will need to overcome a tough schedule in the next two weeks. Phoenix’s next seven games are against teams currently in the Top 10 of the West standings — vs. LA Clippers, @ Denver, @ Dallas, @ Memphis, @ Houston, vs. Sacramento, @ Los Angeles Lakers.
