The Phoenix Suns had one of their worst losses last night! They had all the chances to defeat the threatening Memphis Grizzlies and still managed to throw it away. Especially, Kevin Durant, the offensive aggressor of the team, had two straight opportunities to pull the team from the clutches of defeat but missed both game-winners. Yes, once at the end of the fourth quarter and the other one in OT. Nevertheless, KD seemed least bothered about it as he regretted another costly miss! Result: Coach Mike demands action!!

It felt like everything was pitted against the Suns. During the crunch minutes in the fourth quarter, Devin Booker fouled out, leaving the Slim Reaper to bear all the risky buckets. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his night. The Suns could have easily walked away with a comfortable win without putting their life on the line. But just like in an Aviator Game, where the stakes keep rising until a sudden fall, the Suns saw their advantage vanish in an instant.

With 1:17 left in the overtime, the Suns held a 4-point lead, marching toward a comfortable win. At that time, a defensive lapse left the Grizzlies big man Santi Aldama wide open. He had already hurt the Valley side with 4 three-pointers and he didn’t hesitate to hurt another time. That was it. The team never really recovered from the blow. Speaking of the moment, KD regretfully said, “Wide open. Lose our man after a make. We can’t have that.” Moreover, over the last few months, fingers were pointed at a lot of players, blaming them for the team’s slump. First, the responsibility came on Bradley Beal. Then it was passed on to Jusuf Nurkic, Ryan Dunn, and Tyus Jones. Last night, Kevin Durant took the blame upon himself, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault.

“I was close to the play. But I was guarding my man. Maybe I should have ran out there,” said the big man with a sullen face. Ideally, it should have been either Mason Plumlee or Bol Bol. These two big men ran straight to the rim in the transition, leaving the in-form Aldama wide open. These are the simple mistakes that hurt the team in the end.

Amid this defensive blunder, Coach Mike Budenholzer delivered an important message to his players at the post-game presser as the Suns move far away from the play-in contention.

Following Kevin Durant’s confession, Suns coach sets new goal

Standing in the 11th seed, the Suns are not far away from throwing it all away for this season. However, last night, the team played like they wanted to win. And they were so close, too. Even Coach Mike Budenholzer seemed impressed with the effort, as he said, “I just think guys had an aggressive mindset. I thought We got in the paint. We played with the pass… Reacting to each other, moving off each other, you know, getting penetration,” at the post-game presser.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to compete against the Grizzlies, as they equally made plays to counterattack the Suns’ offensive flurry, especially in the third quarter. Moreover, Coach Mike also addressed the weak area that resulted in the loss.

Santi Aldama’s three-pointer definitely stung like a bee! Mike said, “. I think Aldama is 5-7 from the 3-point line. You know, those guys making shots, some of the transition.” Yes, it was three straight out of the transition. Above all, affected by the painful play, he dropped a new directive, saying, “We got to find everybody get to shooters, be better defensively, you know, some rim protection.” 

With 24 games left in the season, the Suns will have to get everything right to find themselves a spot in the postseason. Will they make it? Let us know in the comments below.