We knew it would be hard. We knew it would be a grind. Houston was shorthanded on Monday night, but they still had more high-end talent than Phoenix. Even so, the Suns walked in and reminded everyone that grit matters. The fact that they kept this thing tight until late in the fourth says plenty.
Yeah, it feels weird saying a 22-point loss was closer than it should’ve been. But if you watched the game, you know the Suns were on the precipice throughout.
The bigger problem for the Suns was their conversions.
Houston coughed the ball up 16 times. Phoenix turned that into 15 points. The Suns grabbed 13 offensive boards and squeezed 13 points out of them. When a team keeps handing you extra chances, you have to turn those into something real. If Phoenix had cashed in a little more, the night might have felt a little different. But here I am, wandering into the land of What Ifs.
All things considered, Phoenix impressed me. They were short on bodies. They were on the second night of a back-to-back. They were outgunned in the talent department. And they still came out swinging. They took elbows to the chin and fired back with a few of their own. This group is building a reputation one bruised forearm at a time. A tough out. A team you don’t look forward to seeing.
So the tick in the loss column stings less than the marks they left on Houston.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Jordan Goodwin’s 15 points and 10 rebounds against the Spurs on Sunday night were good enough to gain him admission to the Bright Side Baller room, a place so exclusive that only eight people on planet Earth previously had access to this year.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 18 against the Rockets. Here are your nominees:
Dillon Brooks
29 points (11-of-22, 2-of-8 3PT, 5-of-6 FT), 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 0 blocks, -14 +/-
Devin Booker
18 points (5-of-13, 2-of-6 3PT, 6-of-8 FT), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 6 turnovers, 1 block, -11 +/-
Collin Gillespie
16 points (6-of-12, 3-of-6 3PT, 1-of-1 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 0 blocks, -14 +/-
Royce O’Neale
12 points (4-of-10, 4-of-8 3PT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 1 turnover, 1 block, -16 +/-
Jordan Goodwin
7 points (3-of-8, 1-of-3 3PT), 4 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers, 0 blocks, -24 +/-
Nick Richards
4 points (2-of-4), 11 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 block, -17 +/-
You know it’s a tough night when Richards makes the list. Who you got?
