Who would have thought that the Suns would suddenly collapse after seven consecutive wins?
In the game against the Pacers, the whole team was immersed in the rhythm of scoring with Booker, so that the whole team was in no state in the final quarter, and was reversed by the Pacers, making Booker's 62 points empty. Once Booker can't keep out, the Suns are overwhelmed on both ends of the floor.
Playing magic today, it seems to be the same plot. Booker scored 10 points in the first quarter, Booker scored 11 points in 5-of-5 in the second quarter, and Booker scored 8-of-10 in the third quarter, scoring 21 points in a single quarter again. At the end of the third quarter, Booker scored 42 points, and the Suns led by as many as 13 points.
However, the game entered the rhythm of "wrong" from the beginning of the third quarter, and the Suns lost by 2 points in the third quarter, and the team only scored 29 points with Booker scoring 21 points. The Suns once again fell into the rhythm of watching Booker play, especially in the fourth quarter.
So when Booker was 0-of-4 in the fourth quarter and only scored 2 points from the free-throw line, the Suns' collapse was not too surprising. At 10:10 of the fourth quarter, Durant hit a jumper to give the Suns a 92-89 lead, which was the last point scored by their main lineup in the game.
From 10 minutes and 10 seconds to 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the Suns were hit by a 21-2 attack wave by the Magic. The Suns didn't score a single ball, and only Booker scored two points on a free throw. When Booker was frantically flanked, the imaginary scenario of Durant/Beal stepping up and taking over the game did not appear.
Everyone knows about Beal's decline, but Durant's stealth, and it should be the third stealth in a row, is incomprehensible. Three games earlier, Durant had just raised his scythe against the Bulls and scored 43 points. Over the next three games, Durant averaged 15.7 points on 12.7 shots per game.
Durant seems to have entered the "humble" mode again, that is, the kind of Booker who feels good, and he is watching from the side. By the time Booker gets caught in the bag or has a cold hand and needs Durant to take over, he can't do it again.
They only scored 17 points in the final quarter against the Pacers, and today it was even more exaggerated, with only 9 points in the final quarter before garbage time. If it's just an offensive issue, the Suns aren't so desperate, and their defensive problems are even worse.
Remember that during the seven-game winning streak, the Suns' defensive efficiency was in the upper reaches of the league, but in these two games, their defense disappeared again and became the worst team in the league in the final quarter.
The Magic's size advantage is vividly reflected in front of the sun, Banchero can impact, large and small Wagner can impact, and even Isaac can rush several. In the end, the Magic didn't shoot any three-point chances, which was to hit the sun, because the sun would disperse as soon as it rushed.
Vogel finally put on a strange lineup of Durant + Booker + Beal + Gordon + Allen, Durant held the ball all the way and singled, and the four scoring guards stood by and watched, and the scene looked very funny.
Although Nurkic's defense is not excellent, without him, the Suns' defense and rebounding will collapse directly, and no one can step up to replace him. The Magic made 19 more shots than the Suns today, and if it weren't for Booker's super touch in front, the Suns would have shot a long time ago.
Deporter has scored 152 points in his last three games and 106 in his last two, but has not won a single game. When he lost by 70 points before, the Suns were still in the stage of the Western Super Fish Belly, and the whole team could only watch him score.
Now Booker's ability to cut points seems to be stronger, 20+ in a single quarter is really as easy as drinking water, as long as he is allowed to play alone, his super jump shots one by one are really incomprehensible. But Booker, who scored high scores, still couldn't win, and at this time Booker was standing next to Durant and Beal.
Everything looked rosy during the seven-game winning streak, with victories over arch-rivals the Mavericks and multiple comebacks showing the team's resilience. But the sun fell from heaven to hell overnight, and such a large rise and fall shows that the upper and lower limits of the sun itself are outrageous.
Durant is still averaging 30 points per game this season and is still an All-Star starter, but as long as you watch a few games of the Suns, you can see that Durant is no longer the Durant he used to be. His ability to hold the ball has dropped a lot, and now he is most sure of catching and shooting.
Like today's game, Durant didn't play much of the offense, with seven turnovers, while Booker and Beal each had four. Seriously, before the trade deadline, the Suns should hurry up and get a real point guard, and don't let the brothers force themselves to do things they are not good at.