There are a few tricks of the trade you pick up when you write as much as I do. One of them is keeping a thesaurus nearby, a trusty little companion that helps you find different ways to describe situations, emotions, and perspectives. Sometimes you need a better word to properly articulate what you’re trying to say. And as I sit here holding that thesaurus in my hand, flipping through its pages like a desperate man searching for answers, I cannot find a collection of words that adequately expresses
the disappointment and frustration I experienced Wednesday night watching the Phoenix Suns open their season.
Every season opener carries a certain magic. There is hope. There is anticipation. After months of speculation, theorizing, and convincing ourselves that certain players will develop and certain decisions will pay off, the rubber finally meets the road. The basketball starts counting. Reality arrives.
On Wednesday night in Portland, reality arrived driving a car and promptly ran over the Phoenix Suns. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. Reality threw the damn thing into reverse and backed over the mangled corpse for good measure. Perhaps it’s appropriate the Suns call The Morg home.
As the regular season began, nearly everything we feared about this team was on full display. The inability to facilitate an offense. The inability to consistently knock down three-pointers. The inability to effectively rebound the basketball. All of those concerns we spent the offseason discussing came screaming back to life, standing in the middle of the Moda Center like some grotesque collection of basketball nightmares.
And the things we hoped would carry this team through those deficiencies? They were nowhere to be found. The energy we expected never materialized. Instead, we watched technical-inciting tantrums. The leadership and composure we believed would help establish an identity evaporated into chaos. The toughness, connectivity, and collective effort that were supposed to define this version of the Suns seemed to disappear the moment the ball went into the air.
I kept searching for the right word to describe it. Frustrating? Disappointing? Pathetic? Somewhere in the English language, there had to be something that captured the magnitude of what we witnessed. And after exhausting the thesaurus, I kept coming back to one word.
Embarrassing.
Now, I understand this was Game 1 of 82. If life and decades of watching the Phoenix Suns have taught us anything, it is that the opening game of a season rarely tells the entire story. There will be adjustments. There will be growth. There will be nights when this team looks considerably better than whatever the hell we witnessed in Portland.
But understanding the importance of perspective doesn’t mean we have to ignore what happened in the moment. We are allowed to react. We are allowed to be frustrated. We are allowed to look at a team that scored 12 points in the first quarter while surrendering 43 and wonder how in God’s name an entire offseason of preparation produced that particular brand of basketball catastrophe.
Eventually, things will settle down. The rotations will stabilize. The offense will find some semblance of rhythm. Hell, we might even score a few points along the way. But Wednesday night made one thing abundantly clear. The hope and belief surrounding this team will have to be earned. Every ounce of it. The Suns spent the offseason talking about culture, toughness, accountability, and fortifying their identity. Those words sounded wonderful in September. They looked considerably less impressive when the lights came on in Portland.
Reality is here now. And reality doesn’t give a damn about your offseason optimism.
Bright Side Baller Standings
Jalen Green’s performance in the preseason finale was enough to earn him his first BSB of the season.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 1 against the Blazers. Here are your nominees:
Devin Booker
23 points (7-of-13, 0-of-0 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, -43 +/-
Jalen Green
10 points (4-of-12, 2-of-6 3PT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, -23 +/-
Dillon Brooks
10 points (4-of-11, 1-of-2 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers, -29 +/-
Miles Bridges
8 points (3-of-11, 0-of-5 3PT), 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, -35 +/-
Oso Ighodaro
8 points (4-of-7, 0-of-0 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 turnovers, -7 +/-
Mariah Carey
10 AMA’s, 14 Billboards, 5 Grammys, 34 Grammy nominations, 2 MTV VMAs, 19 World Music Awards
Jordan Goodwin
3 points (1-of-4, 1-of-3 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, -28 +/-
Let the regular season voting begin…
