You watch the Suns, and you feel like Bob Wiley following the guidance of Dr. Leo Marvin. Baby steps. Baby steps. If this team is going to get better, they have to start taking baby steps. And on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors, it felt like some of those steps were finally being taken.
After all, the Suns got off to their best start of the season, building a 17-point lead in the first half. It was easily the most impressive opening stretch we've seen from this team thus far. But as we've learned through the early portion of the season, Phoenix still has plenty of work to do. Nothing comes easy for this group. Everything has to be earned.
If they want to earn another victory this season, they're going to have to clean up multiple aspects of their game. One thing we've been waiting to see is whether this team can actually close out a basketball game. On Monday night, that question remained unanswered. They simply couldn't close.
Down one point with two minutes remaining, Devin Booker missed a wide-open 12-footer. On the next possession, Booker turned the ball over. The possession after that? A turnover by Jalen Green. And then, to complete the sequence, Booker was called for an offensive foul.
Was it a flop? Probably. When you have no room for error, it ultimately doesn't matter. What does matter is execution, and that continues to evade this team, particularly when it matters most. They've yet to put together a complete game, and every time it feels like they're ready to take a full stride forward, they stumble.
So we're left with baby steps.
Those baby steps were certainly present on Monday night. At times, the defense looked locked in. At times, the offensive sets were functioning the way they're supposed to. There were stretches when you could see what this team is trying to become. But in the NBA, when you have a roster that feels like it's fighting against itself because of how poorly it's constructed, when you can't consistently rebound the basketball or prevent opposing teams from generating extra possessions seemingly at will, baby steps might be all you're capable of taking.
Perhaps that's the most frustrating part of watching this team right now. You can see the progress, recognize the improvements, and appreciate the effort, but none of it matters much when the same mistakes continue costing you games. The Suns are learning how to compete, yet they haven't figured out how to win. And while Dr. Marvin might applaud the baby steps, the NBA standings certainly won't. At some point, Phoenix has to learn how to walk.
Collin Gillespie's double-double off the bench, where he went for 16 points and 10 assists, earned him his first Bright Side Baller of the season. 52% of the vote went his way, with Miles Bridges (38%) and Dillon Brooks (5%) getting some love as well.
Game 5 against the Warriors. Here are your nominees:
Miles Bridges21 points (7-of-14, 3-of-5 3PT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, +1 +/-
Devin Booker26 points (8-of-18, 2-of-4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, -18 +/-
Dillon Brooks18 points (5-of-8, 2-of-2 3PT), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, -13 +/-
Jalen Green11 points (5-of-14, 0-of-4 3PT), 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, +4 +/-
Oso Ighodaro14 points (6-of-6, 0-of-0 3PT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, -4 +/-
Luke Kennard6 points (2-of-6, 2-of-6 3PT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers, +15 +/-
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