Monty Williams did not want to be alarmed after the last loss of his Suns, the fifth consecutive, against the Rockets. It had been two years since the Arizona club had not experienced such a bad series, but the head coach reminded his players that it was through work that the group would come out of this bad patch.
The absences of Devin Booker (for two games) and Cameron Johnson obviously don’t help either, as Deandre Ayton acknowledged the group’s current defensive issues.
On this series of defeats, the Suns collect an average of 124.6 points per game. Only the Hornets are doing worse, and the racket is particularly brittle since the opponents of the Suns are averaging 55.6 points in the paint over their last five outings. Only the Blazers and the Spurs are more permissive there…
“It’s generally linked to communication” assures the Bahamian at The Athletic. “Teams use smaller players in different positions, they move with the ball, move our defense and attack our racket. When I go out, there’s another big one who takes the rebounds and ends up near the circle. And then we make a lot of mistakes. As we defend a lot, it weighs on our attack. It’s difficult to pick up the pace in attack because we defend for so long, making mistakes. All this weighs on us, also mentally. »
But the pivot has another, more surprising explanation for his team’s problems.
“You could say a lot of things. But you just have to prepare for these games knowing that these teams want to rip our heads off. In defence, we have to communicate better and play harder. Stay more connected. The teams we see on video are not the ones we face. They play harder, they are more motivated. »
| Deandre Ayton | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | PHX | 71 | 31 | 58.5 | 0.0 | 74.6 | 3.1 | 7.1 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 16.3 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 38 | 33 | 54.6 | 23.1 | 75.3 | 3.9 | 7.6 | 11.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 18.2 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 69 | 31 | 62.6 | 20.0 | 76.9 | 3.3 | 7.2 | 10.5 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 14.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 58 | 30 | 63.4 | 36.8 | 74.6 | 2.6 | 7.7 | 10.2 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 17.2 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 26 | 29 | 61.9 | 28.6 | 72.2 | 3.0 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 17.0 |
| Total | 262 | 31 | 60.1 | 25.7 | 75.0 | 3.2 | 7.3 | 10.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 16.4 | |
