Some nights you have it, some nights you don’t. And for the Phoenix Suns, the nights where it is not there have started to show up a little too often. As the season winds down, that early joy, the feeling of watching a group outperform expectations, it has faded, and it has faded as quickly as their point of attack defense.
Thursday night in Charlotte felt familiar. The issues on the perimeter showed up again, and everything flows from that. When you cannot keep the ball in front, the defense bends,
and then it breaks. The paint opens up, rotations get late, and without consistent rim protection, teams feast inside. That is how you end up asking why the Suns give up so many points in the paint. It starts on the outside.
Give credit where it is due: the Charlotte Hornets play hard, they are feisty, and they will make you earn it. But Phoenix did not help themselves. And that is the part that sticks.
Because the game opened with a different feel. The Suns dropped 41 in the first quarter, and with Mark Williams back and Dillon Brooks settling in during his second game back, it felt like maybe things were starting to line up. Like the timing was coming back, like the pieces were finding each other again.
And then it unraveled.
They lost every margin that matters. Second-chance points, points in the paint, bench production, points off turnovers, three-point efficiency; you run down the list, and Charlotte had the edge everywhere. The Phoenix Suns looked a step slow — sometimes two — reacting instead of dictating, chasing instead of controlling.
And yeah, nights like that happen. You can live with a bad night. The Charlotte Hornets are not a pushover. They play with energy, they play with pace, and when they get rolling it is tough to deal with. But the concern is not just one night. It is the pattern.
Over the last two months, the Suns are 12–15. That is the 11th-worst record in the league in that stretch, sitting right alongside teams that are not trying to win games. Injuries have played a role, no doubt. And now that guys are returning, there is an adjustment period, rotations shift, roles change, and timing gets thrown off.
But earlier in the season, they were navigating those same challenges and still finding ways to win. It did not always look clean, but it worked. Right now, it is not working the same way.
This team needs to be one that can beat you in multiple ways. That is how they are built, that is how they found success. Lately, they are losing in multiple ways instead. And that is the part that sticks as the season starts to slip toward its end.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Chalk up another Bright Side Baller for Devin Booker following the loss against the Magic. You can pin your blame in plenty of directions for the overall team performance that night. Booker was leaast at fault.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 77 against the Hornets. Here are your nominees:
Jalen Green
25 points (10-of-19, 3-of-6 3PT), 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 block, -11 +/-
Devin Booker
22 points (9-of-22, 3-of-8 3PT), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, -13 +/-
Dillon Brooks
13 points (5-of-12, 3-of-5 3PT), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 turnover, -14 +/-
Grayson Allen
13 points (4-of-10, 2-of-6 3PT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3-of-5 FT, 0 turnovers, -16 +/-
Mark Williams
12 points (6-of-7), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 blocks, -12 +/-
Oso Ighodaro
6 points (3-of-6), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers, -7 +/-
Where do you end up?
