Phoenix Suns: 3 takeaways from 2017-18 season opener
The Phoenix Suns’ 2017-18 NBA season got off to the worst start possible short of anyone getting hurt. Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s disaster.
In the season opener of the Phoenix Suns‘ 50th year as a franchise, and their 1,000th game at Talking Stick Resort Arena, the team’s official hashtag, “#SunsAt50,” nearly became prophetic.
Many knew #TheTimeline would be a slow-going, painstaking process, but it nearly moved in reverse Wednesday night as the Suns suffered a 48-point defeat at home, 124-76. Not only was this the worst loss in franchise history, but it was also the worst season-opening loss in NBA history.
It wasn’t a complete rout from the start. Phoenix trailed by eight after the first frame, but had cut the lead to 31-28 with 9:53 to go in the first half. From there, they were outscored 29-7 to close the second quarter, giving up a 15-0 run right before the break.
In the 33 minutes and 53 seconds that followed that 31-28 deficit, the Suns were outscored 93-48. They trailed by as many as 58 and saw their score nearly doubled late in the fourth, until a Mike James garbage time barrage prevented the #SunsAt50 slogan from becoming the worst sort of irony.
Eric Bledsoe “led” the way with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, shooting 5-for-18 from the floor. Devin Booker chipped in 12 points and five boards on 6-of-17 shooting before leaving the game with cramps. Josh Jackson had 11 points in his first career start, going 4-of-10 from the floor, while Mike James had 12 points in 11 minutes off the bench.
The Suns shot 31.5 percent from the floor, made only seven of their 27 3-point attempts (25.9 percent) and finished with only 10 assists on 28 made baskets, compared to 16 turnovers. They were also out-rebounded by 26, and this was a thing that actually happened:
The good news is, it’s only one game. The bad news is, it’s one game that can very easily set the tone for an entire season when expectations are low and inexperience becomes a crutch. Head coach Earl Watson emphasized that this team would make no excuses, but that’s a no-brainer for such an inexcusable loss.
The question is, what — if anything — should the Suns and their understandably outraged fanbase take away from this game? Is it possible to shrug off such a lopsided result, and were there any silver linings on the night? Here are three quick takeaways from the Phoenix Suns’ historically awful season opener.