It’s not an especially great time to be on the Phoenix Suns. Thursday night marked the second game in a row in which Phoenix dug itself into an early hole, as the team failed to score double-digit points in the first quarter of action. The Suns went on to lose to the Portland Trail Blazers, 108-86, marking their seven loss in a row to knock the team to 4-21 on the season.
These kinds of slumps can lead to obvious frustration popping up over the course of a game. For example, here is Suns coach Igor Kokoskov trying to coach up an obviously bummed out Mikal Bridges after he picked up his fifth foul against the Blazers.
https://twitter.com/TheRenderNBA/status/1070905684336762880
Kokoskov, a first-year head coach in the league, wanting to use this as a teaching moment is admirable, but it might have been best for him to let Bridges go sit down for a minute, as he wasn’t happy with the foul call nor with how his coach kept him from taking a seat. They weren’t the only two who didn’t appear to be happy with one another, as Duane Rankin of azcentral.com reported there was tension between Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker in the locker room after the game.
Phoenix’s top two players, Booker and Ayton, exchanged words after the 10-minute cooling off period as members of the media entered the visiting locker room for the tail end of that conversation.
These two have had words before on the court, with Booker correcting Ayton on what to do on certain plays. Both have agreed to hold players accountable, but this felt different.
It’s less than ideal when your established franchise player in Booker, who missed the game due to a hamstring injury, and the guy who just went No. 1 in the NBA Draft in Ayton are going at one another to this extent. Phoenix was always going to go through ups and downs with a young team that has a first-time head coach, but this is still not something the team wants to so. Plus if this team is going to start making a move in the Western Conference, whether now or (more likely) in the future, it needs Ayton and Booker to be on the same page.
The Suns have to hope this is a case of frustrations popping up due to losing, and that a winning streak is all the team needs to cure the ails that exist. If not, an already long season in Phoenix might find a way to get a little bit longer.
(Via Pro Baskeball Talk)
