PHOENIX — It is a testament to the Phoenix Suns’ continuity that more offensive woes have not materialized without Jalen Green, but after back-to-back wins without Devin Booker, too, the offense did spiral in Sunday’s 117-93 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Suns actually took care of business from the 3-point line, shooting 19-of-46 (41%). Coming into Sunday, teams that made 19 or more 3s this season had a record of 111-26, per Stathead.
But the lowest output for points in those 137 instances was 111, and the Suns managed only 93.
How?
Phoenix shot a woeful 33% overall, weighed down by a 12-for-47 (26%) mark on 2s. A lot of that damage came from the midrange, where the Suns were 5-of-32 (16%), per Cleaning the Glass. 18 points in the paint were a season low, and they only got a dozen points at the foul line.
“We couldn’t get to the rim, so that’s a portion of it,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “Anytime you can’t get to the rim, and you’re shooting 2s, a lot of those shots aren’t efficient. When you’re not getting to the free-throw line, even in those midrange 2s where we do get to the free-throw line, that helps your efficiency.”
Suns guard Grayson Allen thought some of what factored into the 2s was taking shots without going through multiple actions, and those quicker looks where it feels like Phoenix is just taking the first half-decent shot it can get has been a habit for this shorthanded group.
That 33% is a once-in-a-season type of dud. Failing to crack above 36% has happened one or fewer times in seven straight Suns seasons.
On top of that, they turned it over only five times, which is just the 10th time that’s happened this season leaguewide, according to Stathead. Just a very bizarre outcome.
A 20-point first quarter was a sign of things to come, as it was one of those nights where the Suns were leaning heavily on 3s and not enough of ’em were going in. The Suns’ defense did well to keep them in it and stagnate a Clippers offense missing James Harden (personal reasons) but the double-teams on both Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac only muddled up so much.
Los Angeles had 36 points in the third quarter to Phoenix’s 28, and then a 9-2 opening to the final frame saw its lead balloon to 21. While the Suns had a few mini-flurries throughout the game to prevent a dramatic deficit from forming, nothing caught on for more than a few possessions.
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A pivotal difference was Phoenix only scored 13 points off the 18 turnovers it forced, and with the Clippers’ size, got bullied 21-8 in second-chance points.
Despite how incredibly consistent this Suns team has been, you do have to remind yourself that wins like Thursday included a 40-burger from Dillon Brooks and wins like Friday included 80% shooting in the third quarter. Without those blazing-hot factors, this depleted offense from a talent perspective will understandably hit lows, even on a great night from deep.
The lack of shot-making was the story. The trio of Suns creators able to play were all inefficient. Brooks (7-for-20), Allen (7-for-21) and Collin Gillespie (4-for-13) did not knock down enough shots.
Leonard was solid through the doubles for 25 points and there were enough contributions elsewhere with the extra space provided. Without Derrick Jones Jr. (right knee sprain), younger wings like third-year guard Jordan Miller have gotten more room to run, and Miller was terrific on Sunday with 20 points off the bench. Rookie guard Kobe Sanders is another and he had a dozen points.
John Collins has been sensational over this 21-game stretch the Clippers are now 17-4 in, and he kept that momentum rolling with 16 points and nine rebounds.
L.A. also threw in a new wrinkle, which is nothing new for head coach Ty Lue. After the center duo of Zubac and Brook Lopez played a total of seven minutes together this season, they played 9:02 on Sunday as a pair and the Clippers were +10 in those minutes.
The shooting was one thing, but it was even more of a rare blip to see the Suns bench get eviscerated. Oso Ighodaro was -19 while Miller was +18 for the Clippers.
“That’s a great comment, that we’ve played so well with our second unit and they’ve had the juice so, so often. (But) tonight we just didn’t have it,” Ott said.
Booker’s one-week deadline of a re-evaluation for his right ankle sprain passed on Sunday and Ott had no new information on his status for the upcoming week. Phoenix takes a quick one-game trip to Portland for a Tuesday matchup before returning for home games on Thursday and Saturday.
Green’s absence was strictly due to his hip, per Ott, even though the injury report included both “right hamstring injury management” and that left hip contusion. The worry now becomes that Green has missed enough game action over the last week to where conditioning will continue to be a point of emphasis for that hamstring.
Booker was named an All-Star reserve pregame, his fifth time earning the honor. He was at a real risk of not making it given all the “locks” to get a reserve spot in the Western Conference, but one of those was Leonard, who did not get in despite his incredible form the last two months. As someone who has covered his whole journey, it is cool to see Booker himself reach the “lock” status he deserves.
The NBA is still figuring out the balance within American and international players in its new format. A few players could go on either team, which the league will sort through on Tuesday, according to insider Marc Stein. If there are less than eight international players, commissioner Adam Silver will fill as many extra spots necessary to reach that figure.
That could give Brooks, a Canadian, his opportunity to make it. There is also the case of injury replacements, and it is unclear if a player like Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has to be replaced by someone from the East or someone that would play for the international group.
Other international players that will be vying for a replacement spot like Brooks include Houston Rockets big man Alperen Sengun, Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey and Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen.
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