After losing on October 25 on the road to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns reeled off seven wins in a row. That improved their record to 8-1. It seemed as if a coaching change from Frank Vogel to Mike Budenholzer made Phoenix the threat everyone thought they would be last season. Instead, the Suns were unceremoniously swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the 2024 playoffs.
Fast forward to today, and that 8-1 record is now at 12-11. Phoenix has lost three straight, most recently to the Orlando Magic on Sunday, and now barely sit over .500. Much of this season has been around this simple fact: win when 36-year-old Kevin Durant is in the lineup, lose when he isn’t.
The Stark Differences In The Suns Play Without Kevin Durant
The Suns Have Been Without Kevin Durant For 10 Games
Now that last statement isn’t completely true. The Suns aren’t undefeated when Durant plays, and they aren’t winless when he doesn’t. It’s close enough though. Durant has appeared in 13 games, and Phoenix is 11-2 in those outings. Do the math, that means the Suns without Kevin Durant are a miserable 1-9.
The four-time scoring champ has missed the last three games, all Phoenix losses. It was a week ago on December 3 that Durant sprained his ankle in an NBA Cup outing against the San Antonio Spurs. He turned his ankle when he went up for a shot but stepped on the foot of Julian Champagnie. It was later reported the injury would keep him out 1-2 weeks.
Luckily for the Suns, they do not play again until Friday in a road matchup against the lowly Utah Jazz. It gives Durant more time to heal up and possibly return the next time they are in action. If he does sit out though, and Phoenix loses to Utah, it will have the fanbase wondering aloud why the Suns struggle even against bad teams without Durant.
This is the second time this season that Durant has been out with injury. On November 8, the two-time Finals MVP sustained a left calf strain against the Dallas Mavericks. The injury kept Durant inactive for seven straight games in mid-November.
Differences With And Without The Former MVP
Again, the Suns are 11-2 with Durant in the lineup and 1-9 without him. It is often told how the Denver Nuggets fall apart when three-time MVP Nikola Jokic isn’t on the court. This season, it is the same with Durant and the Suns.
The Suns are outscoring their opponents by an average of 5.1 points when Durant has played. When he hasn’t? They have been outscored by an average of 8.6 points in the 10 games that Durant has missed with injury.
Phoenix has an offensive rating of 116.7 in the 13 games Durant has played. They have shot 48.6% from the field and 39.2% from beyond the arc. Their defensive rating in those contests is 111.5. The offensive rating has dipped to 114.4 in Durant’s 10 missed games. The team has shot 44.6% from the field and 36.2% from three-point territory. While Durant is more known for his offensive prowess, the more pronounced difference with him off the court has been on the defensive end. Their defensive rating is more than 11 points higher at 123.3.
The Suns now sit 10th in the Western Conference and just a half-game ahead of San Antonio who is in 11th. The Suns without Kevin Durant have been a disaster, and they surely hope his return is imminent.
