To say this season has been a disappointment for the Phoenix Suns would be a vast understatement.
Phoenix is 31-37 and No. 11 in the Western Conference. They sit 1.5 games behind the ailing Dallas Mavericks, who are dealing with a plethora of injuries.
Sunday’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers could’ve served as a springboard with a positive result in LeBron James’ absence.
That’s far from what came to fruition Sunday afternoon, however.
Stephen A. Smith apologizes to the viewers for Suns
Instead of using the national broadcast as motivation, the Suns came out lackluster. Small forward Kevin Durant shot 1-for-9 in the first half with three turnovers.
At halftime, the Suns trailed 54-37.
ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back when talking about the first-half performance he saw from the Suns.
“I would encourage us to give a public apology to a national audience for that atrocity we saw in the first half,” Smith said. “No effort whatsoever, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.”
It got worse, much worse, as Smith compared the Suns to a child being punished.
“The Phoenix Suns resembled a little kid that was placed on punishment by his parents and assigned to do chores. That’s how they made playing the game of basketball look in the first half,” Smith said. “Like it was this arduous, painful task that they had to subject themselves to. That’s how bad they looked. It’s disgraceful.”
14 games remain, and it’s not impossible for the Suns to creep up and snag the No. 10 seed and the last spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
With the situation Dallas is facing with their injuries, they’re just 2-8 in their last 10 and have allowed Phoenix to get closer.
If body language can tell us anything, it doesn’t seem like the Suns even want to be there anymore, so a late-season run might not be in the cards.