The Suns are still in the mix but the walls are closing in.
Week 16 of the Phoenix Suns’ season felt like a marathon with no finish line. The trade deadline is a fever dream. Rumors swirl, deals dangle on the edge of reality, and just when you think something has to happen, the clock runs out. Then comes the exhale. The roster, for better or worse, is set.
Meanwhile, there’s still basketball to be played.
We clung to the hope that deadline magic might shift the team’s trajectory, but instead, Week 16 was when reality settled in. The preseason visions? Dead on arrival. The Suns, despite their star power, are once again a team built for the wrong era, trying to force a square peg into a round, pace-and-space league.
It’s a cruel twist of fate. Just like the Seven Seconds or Less Suns were built a couple of decades too soon, this version of the team feels a decade too late. Back then, a roster stacked with max-contract stars was a blueprint for success. Now? It’s a straitjacket, squeezing out depth, cohesion, and adaptability in an era that demands all three.
So what’s left? Ten weeks of searching for silver linings in a season that hasn’t gone as planned. We squint at the future, trying to spot something — anything — that translates beyond this year. Bol Bol had a hell of a week, so sure, let’s cling to that. If this season has taught us anything, it’s that hope is relative.
Look, I’m not here to go full doomsday preacher. The Suns are still in the Play-In mix, even if the Western Conference just lapped them at the trade deadline. The waters are rising, but they haven’t drowned yet. And yeah, maybe this team won’t make a postseason splash. But you know what? I refuse to let Houston get the satisfaction of a lottery pick from our misery. That’s the hill I’m dying on.
Everyone’s betting against the Suns. No one believes in this team but us. So screw ‘em. Let’s make the playoffs out of pure, unfiltered spite. Spite wins, baby! Let’s tank the value of that pick and watch Houston squirm.
Week 16 Record: 1-3
@ Portland Trail Blazers, L, 121-119 OT
- Suns 3PAr: 49.4%
- Suns 3PT%: 35.7%
On a night meant for celebration, the Suns stuck to the script. Historic moment, crushing loss.
Devin Booker surpassed Walter Davis as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, but Phoenix still fumbled an overtime heartbreaker to the Blazers. Deandre Ayton, in the cruelest twist imaginable, chose this night to dominate, dropping 25 points and 20 rebounds while suddenly remembering how to hit free throws.
The Suns? Couldn’t grab a board, couldn’t execute late, and couldn’t escape their own ghosts. Joy is fleeting. Suns purgatory remains eternal.
@ Oklahoma City Thunder, L, 140-109
- Suns 3PAr: 51.4%
- Suns 3PT%: 38.9%
Barf.
vs. Utah Jazz, W, 140-109 OT
- Suns 3PAr: 53.8%
- Suns 3PT%: 39.3%
The Suns did everything in their power to lose to the lowly Jazz, coughing up an 18-3 run to a team missing two of its best scorers. Down 120-116 with 4.1 seconds left, it felt like another collapse. Then, Grayson Allen happened.
GRAYSON ALLEN SENT IT TO OT FOR THE SUNS
He only had 0.9 seconds to catch and shoot pic.twitter.com/3uL4doDfJf
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 8, 2025
First, a fading three to cut it to one. Then, after two Utah free throws, an ice-cold bomb to force overtime. From there, the Suns dominated, closing on a 16-5 run to stun the Jazz, 135-127, and snap a three-game skid.
vs. Denver Nuggets, L, 122-105
- Suns 3PAr: 51.0%
- Suns 3PT%: 34.0%
The Suns limped into battle without Durant, Beal, or Grayson Allen, and predictably, Denver reminded them who’s boss. Kudos to the Sins for putting up a fight for a few moments, but once Denver went out in front, this one was easily over.
When you have that many guys out, this is what your substitution pattern looks like:
Week 16: 51.5% 3PAr, 37.0 3PT%
When you’re missing Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the default setting is to chuck threes like your life depends on it. Why? Because generating offense in the NBA is hard, especially for bench guys still figuring out how to create their own shot. So you space the floor, pray to the basketball gods, and let it fly.
This week, the Suns crossed the 50% three-point rate mark for just the second time all season. The last time? Week 5. The result? An 0-2 skid. This week? 1-3. Moral of the story: living and dying by the three hasn’t exactly been a winning formula. Instead of turning into a discount version of the Charlotte Hornets, maybe teach the kids how to run actual sets. Basketball is more than just camping beyond the arc and hoping for the best.
Then again, after shipping out all our assets for Charlotte’s leftovers, maybe we are the Hornets now.
What’s next for the Suns?
Week 17 is a short one with the All-Star break on the horizon. Phoenix has just two games on the schedule: one at home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, followed by their first matchup this season against a revitalized Houston Rockets team the very next night.
It’s no easy task. But then again, when has anything ever been easy for Phoenix? With just nine weeks left in the regular season, the Suns are facing the toughest remaining schedule in the league. Cheers.
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