{"id":108271,"date":"2024-11-21T12:32:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T17:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=108271"},"modified":"2024-11-21T12:32:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T17:32:44","slug":"the-suns-get-a-much-needed-break-after-5-game-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/21\/the-suns-get-a-much-needed-break-after-5-game-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"The Suns Get a Much-Needed Break After 5-Game Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/20\/phoenix-suns-kevin-durant-retire\/\" target=\"_self\">Phoenix Suns<\/a> face a rare five-day break as their next game is not until next Tuesday when they face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/20\/lakers-teammates-praise-dalton-knecht\/\" target=\"_self\">LA Lakers<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/11\/ranking-the-suns-4-nba-cup-opponents\/\" target=\"_self\">NBA Cup<\/a>. It has been a familiar story for the Suns, as injuries have derailed their early season form. After beginning the season 8-1, they have since fallen to 9-7, much in part due to the absences of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a>. Following their <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/nba\/boxscore\/_\/gameId\/401704823\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">138-122<\/a> defeat to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/17\/rotation-issues-plague-the-knicks\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Knicks<\/a> on Wednesday night, they have lost five games in a row and dropped to seventh in the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/17\/two-western-conference-teams-in-season-deal-2\/\" target=\"_self\">Western Conference<\/a>. This next week presents a much-needed opportunity for the side to rest and recover, and welcome back some big faces ahead of another tough stretch of fixtures.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Suns Get a Much-Needed Break After 5-Game Slump<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Get Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal Healthy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The priority during this extended break is for the Suns to get healthy.\u00a0 The Suns\u2019 slump has coincided with the injuries to both Durant and Beal. They are dealing with similar left calf strains. Durant appeared to have suffered the injury against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/21\/dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-injury\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Mavericks<\/a> 12 days ago, in which he led the Suns to their eighth win. The team has won just one game since and has sorely missed the 36-year-old, who had been playing at an MVP level. Not only have they been without their most reliable scorer, but also arguably their best defender.<\/p>\n<p>Beal has missed the last five games, and the Suns are winless in this stretch. The pair are nearing returns, though, as ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania reported that they are hoping to come back sometime next week, perhaps as soon as their next game with the Lakers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia appears on NBA Today to discuss his heavy investment into the Suns \u2014 plus joining <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/malika_andrews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@malika_andrews<\/a> with an update on Kevin Durant (calf): <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hiP0RKP0Xo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/hiP0RKP0Xo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1859345728524431430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This will provide a huge boost for head coach <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/coaches\/budenmi99c.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Budenholzer<\/a>, who has had to navigate rotations without the duo, a task which has proved difficult with players struggling for consistency, particularly on the offensive end. In the last five, the Suns have lost by an average margin of 13.6 points per game. They have allowed an average of 118.6 points in this span, which <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/opponent?LastNGames=5&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=OPP_PTS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ranks 26th<\/a> in the league. Offensively they have averaged just <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/traditional?LastNGames=5&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=PTS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">105 points<\/a>, ranking 27th, highlighting the reliance on the duo on both ends.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Rest Devin Booker<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In the absence of Durant and Beal, the offensive load has fallen on the shoulders of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a>. It has been a difficult season for the 28-year-old so far, as he has yet to reach the heights expected of him from previous years. Through 16 games he is averaging <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/3136193\/devin-booker\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">24.1 points<\/a> and has seen a significant drop in efficiency compared to last year. Having the majority of defensive attention placed on him is a rational explanation for his early-season problems, though he was still not himself when the team was whole. He posted a season-low 12 points against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/21\/isaiah-hartenstein-is-as-good-as-advertised-for-the-thunder-debut\/\" target=\"_self\">OKC Thunder<\/a> last week but has since produced 44-point and 33-point outings against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/14\/timberwolves-could-make-a-change-at-point-guard\/\" target=\"_self\">Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> and Knicks. This is a very welcome sign that Booker could be getting back on track after dealing with an illness.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, Booker desperately needs some rest, and he will get some over the next few days. He has averaged 38.6 minutes per game in the last three games. Booker and the team will be hoping for some reinforcements in the form of Durant and Beal next time they step foot on the court, but for now, this is the ideal moment for the guard to rejuvenate himself before the next game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Phoenix Suns face a rare five-day break as their next game is not until next Tuesday when they face the LA Lakers in the NBA Cup. It has been a familiar story for the Suns, as injuries have derailed their early season form. After beginning the season 8-1, they have since fallen to 9-7, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5293,"featured_media":108307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,28],"tags":[311,352,69,550],"class_list":["post-108271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-suns","tag-bradley-beal","tag-devin-booker","tag-kevin-durant","tag-mike-budenholzer"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}