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Remember that time the Suns said they would play hard every night and they would compete and fight and play good defense? Good times at the podium.
On the court, however, it's been a complete embarrassment through three games.
Shots might not be falling in a not-so-unusual early season kind of way, but despite all the talk about focus and effort this team has yet to put together a 48-minute stretch where they've demonstrated consistent effort and focus.
Why is that? Do they not actually realize how little top flight talent they have and how the only way they are going to stay in games (let alone beat teams like Orlando) is to follow the lead and words of Luis Scola and play hard for the full 48?
Ugh.
Here's some choice quotes from the Suns coach and players:
POSTGAME QUOTES: SUNS AT MAGIC - NOV. 4, 2012 | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE PHOENIX SUNS
"We played really well in the first half and then we went through the motions and started exchanging baskets. We let them get it going. They are playing at home and had the momentum and then they started making big shot after big shot." - Scola
Phoenix Suns take step back against Orlando Magic
"You’ve got to believe in the players and they’ve got to believe in what you’re doing and continue to work," Gentry said. "At some stage, it comes together. It’s not anything that’s easy to do, but this is what we have. This is our team. I think that we’re going to be a very good basketball team at some stage."
And some other recaps of this shit show.
NBA scores: Knicks beat Sixers, Lakers finally win - SBNation.com
The Suns are horribly awfully bad, but Glen Davis had a second straight good game, Arron Afflalo was a beast and J.J. Redick did work off the bench. The Magic: not nearly as bad as we thought they'd be! (Also, the Suns: exactly as bad as we thought they'd be.)
Phoenix Suns Implode In Orlando! Suns 94 - Magic 115 - Sun-N-Gun - A Phoenix Suns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
This was an awful loss for the Suns as they had control of the game throughout the first 30 minutes, and to watch them just collapse in that fashion is just nothing short of an ugly scene.
Magic 115, Suns 94: Big third quarter propels Orlando to win - Orlando Pinstriped Post
All told, Afflalo scored 10 of his 22 points in the crucial third period, with Davis contributing 14 of his 22. Foul trouble kept Davis off his game in the first half; though he logged 15 minutes, he missed seven of his nine shots.
Orlando Magic 115, Phoenix Suns 94 -- Snowball beatdown
Jared Dudley, Markieff Morris and Sebastian Telfair are on the list of players that still haven’t looked comfortable on the floor.
I don't have high expectations for this team this season (35 wins) and I'm not surprised they are struggling early in the season. But lack of consistent effort is not acceptable. Period.
Bad teams in Phoenix always struggle holding on to fans. But bad teams that don't put up a fight don't deserve any (fans).
Some other useful links:
- Suns vs Magic boxscore
- Suns vs Magic coverage
- Orlando Pinstriped Post