Phoenix Suns: The Search For Consistency
In the first week or two of a new season, every team is trying to figure out where they belong on the NBA hierarchy. The bonafide contenders are usually easy to spot, as are the bottom-feeders, but with such tiny sample sizes to work with, it’s easy to get swept up in a week one trend or be confused by the limited information on hand for everyone in the middle.
Are the Toronto Raptors contenders? Are the Chicago Bulls or Oklahoma City Thunder not as good as we thought? Are the New Orleans Pelicans still a playoff team? These are the types of questions we’ve seen over the last few days, even though the law of averages will more than likely return them to their original projected standing in the league.
One team that’s been head-scratchingly difficult to place, however, is the Phoenix Suns. Never was that more apparent Friday night, when the Suns dropped a very winnable game against the Detroit Pistons, which was all the more painful considering it featured Marcus Morris‘ return to Phoenix.
Coming off their most impressive win of the season on Wednesday, it felt like one step forward and two steps back for the Suns — a trend that’s been going on since the surprising 2013-14 season led to last year’s disappointing campaign.
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Heading into 2015-16, with the team facing a potential six-year playoff deficit, the Suns retooled the roster to address areas of need and spent the summer building chemistry in offseason workouts. The vibes at training camp and Media Day were nothing but positive and, on paper at least, it feels like the Suns have a legitimate shot at ending their postseason drought.
That’s precisely why the Suns’ dud of a season opener was such a letdown. And yet, even after a game that needed to be flushed down the toilet, Phoenix responded with back-to-back dominant wins over the Portland Trail Blazers, a competitive loss to a title contender in the Los Angeles Clippers, and taking care of business against a DeMarcus Cousins-less Sacramento Kings team.
Six games into the season, it’s impossible to make a ruling one way or the other on the 3-3 Phoenix Suns. But here’s one thing we know for sure: this is a team that’s still searching for consistency in its ever-adapting playing style.
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