Jeff Hornacek Blasts Phoenix Suns, And Rightfully So

There’s something in the air in the Phoenix Suns lockerroom — and it’s a lot less “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” by Elton John and a lot more Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight.” The Suns have grown stale, the frustration is mounting and the stench of the lottery is lingering like a stale fart.

They play this song at arenas a lot because of the great drum lead-in and the ominous, rhythmic almost hypnotizing synthesizer, mixed with the eerie echo of Collins’ voice. But if you looked at the lyrics, you’d know this is no happy song.

Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I’ve seen your face before my friend
But I don’t know if you know who I am
Well, I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin,
I know where you’ve been
It’s all been a pack of lies

Things have changed in the lockerroom. It’s too soon to call it a full-fledged mutiny, but there are cracks in the foundation that seemed so strong just a few weeks back.

This next clip was from December 23, 2014, when it looked like the Suns had shaken the slow start and were turning things around. This was their fourth straight win and as I was in the lockerroom that night, it was a lot of smiles, excitement and players interacting in a jovial way.

In the last four days, we’ve had Markieff Morris blasting the Phoenix fans and this tidbit from coach Jeff Hornacek after last night’s 115-98 drubbing at the hands of the Miami Heat (via Paul Coro, Arizona Republic):

"We have to find out who on this team is going to be tough. In terms of going after balls, we are soft going after everything. Teams just take the ball out of our hands. Maybe they grab your arm but you have to be tougher than that. I don’t know what it is but, when teams get physical, we look like a high school team. We have to get tougher and we have to find tougher guys who are going to battle. I get tired of watching us not go after balls. There is nothing worse to me than being soft and not going after a ball."

There are no lines to read between here — this is far from a veiled shot — Hornacek dropped a nuclear bomb on his team. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about NBA players, it’s that they loathe being called soft. It’s a direct attack on their manhood, which is something alpha males hold most sacred.

Phoenix has the worst fans in the NBA. — unbelievably, a Suns player

Following the embarrassing 101-74 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in Phoenix, I witnessed something I hadn’t seen before — and something I wish I hadn’t seen at all.

By now you know about Markieff going on record to blast the Suns fans. There’s more to the story. He was the only one to go on record — he wasn’t the only one blasting the fans. Before heading into the showers, Markieff, Marcus Morris and Gerald Green were chatting it up, talking about the fans and their feelings about the supposed lack of support.

Here you see the arena’s entertainment team doing all they can…but how do you get up and cheer when it’s 75-41 heading to the fourth quarter?

Green — or maybe I should say the soon-to-be-free-agent Green — went so far as to talk about the Boston Celtics fans and how he missed playing in front of them. He mentioned how they were supportive and emotional (win or lose) anywhere — the arena, the airport and anywhere in-between.

It’s not that I’m surprised he said it. After all, based on noise, the Suns and Spurs had a split crowd on that night. I’m surprised that a team would go so far as to take their frustrations out on their own fans. Maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised. Hornacek alluded to a lack of accountability in his “soft” mini-rant. This is just another example.

Fans didn’t set a franchise record by scoring just 24 points in the first half that night. Fans didn’t shoot 29.8 percent for the game. Fans didn’t allow the Spurs to slice and dice them in the middle, making the matchup look more like this:

At the end of the day, the Suns are looking more dysfunctional than they have since Lindsey Hunter was in town. The players are blaming the fans, the coach is blaming the players, the owner blames the refs and nobody is pointing in the direction that is most suitable here — the mirror.

Next: New Look, Same Problems For Suns

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