Tracking 40, Week 19: Phoenix Suns are proving one thing week after week…they can’t stop anybody

The Phoenix Suns’ defensive collapses are setting them up for an offseason reckoning.

Imagine yourself aboard the RMS Titanic, embarking on a grand voyage from Southampton to New York City. The destination is clear. The hope is real. But then, an iceberg intervenes, rewriting your story in an instant. Now, imagine knowing that iceberg lies ahead. Watching it grow closer, powerless to change course. No lifeboat. No miracle. Just time. Time to sit, to wait, to feel the inevitable tighten its grip.

That’s where the Phoenix Suns are right now.

After a dismal 1-3 showing in Week 19, the dream of reaching “New York City” — winning an NBA championship — has faded into the mist. Instead, we drift aimlessly through the North Atlantic, fully aware of the iceberg in our path. That iceberg? The offseason. And when it strikes the RMS Phoenix Suns, it won’t just leave a dent. It has the potential to tear this whole thing apart.

We can see it coming. We just can’t stop it.

Seven weeks remain in the regular season. Then two months of playoffs. Until then, there will be no course correction, no dramatic shift in direction. Only time. Time to think. To wonder. To analyze. To decide whether we brace for impact or quietly slip into a lifeboat before the worst arrives.

Week 19 reminded us, yet again, who the Suns really are. They can’t beat the good teams. They struggle against the bad ones. Their lone win? A hollow victory against a New Orleans squad that emptied its bench. Bol Bol had to play hero. That’s where this team stands.

And as we press forward, the seas only grow more treacherous. Phoenix faces a remaining schedule with a combined opponent winning percentage of .587. Not just difficult. Brutal. Borderline impossible. The kind of stretch that tests resolve and crushes hope.

And so, we brace for impact. The iceberg looms. The waves churn. The fate of this ship is no longer a question of if. Only when.

Week 19 Record: 1-3

@ Memphis Grizzlies, L, 151-148 OT

• Suns 3PAr: 37.4%
• Suns 3PT%: 56.8%

Shoot lights out. Hoist an adequate amount of three-pointers. Miss a free throw. Lose a game. Ugh.

vs. New Orleans Pelicans, L, 124-116

• Suns 3PAr: 533.7%
• Suns 3PT%: 33.3%

Shoot well. Play well. The fourth quarter comes around. Shoot bad. Play bad. Ugh.

vs. New Orleans Pelicans, W, 125-108

• Suns 3PAr: 50.6%
• Suns 3PT%: 52.5%

Shoot well from three on high three-point rate. No Zion. Finally win again.

vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, L, 125-108

• Suns 3PAr: 31.0%
• Suns 3PT%: 52.5%

Good first half. Poor second half. Any goes off. Suns go down.

Week 19: 48.9% 3PAr, 43.6 3PT%

In the 40/40 world, the Suns just had one of their best weeks of the season. On paper, at least. They ranked second in the NBA in three-point attempt rate and three-point percentage, a statistical surge that suggests an upward trend. If you’re just scanning the graphs, you’d think Phoenix was finally turning a corner.

But what the graph doesn’t show is the collapse lurking beneath the surface.

The Suns were 28th in defensive rating this week, giving up 122.0 points per 100 possessions. Their net rating? A dismal -3.5, ranking 20th in the league. And when it mattered most — after halftime — things spiraled into disaster. In the second half of games, Phoenix posted a ghastly 137.5 defensive rating, essentially turning every opponent into the best offense in basketball.

For this team, offense has always been their best form of defense. The philosophy is simple: outscore everyone, and the wins will follow. But that approach has failed. Even an average defense would elevate this group, yet they’re nowhere close to average. They’re not just bad; they’re utterly incapable of stopping anyone.

There’s no midseason tweak that will fix this. No quick adjustment to patch the leaks. This offseason demands a full-scale teardown of their defensive identity, a rethinking their philosophy, their execution, and their ability to secure the ball.

Until then, the Suns remain exactly what their numbers say they are: a team that can shoot the lights out but can’t stop the bleeding.

Week 20 Preview

Three games are on tap this week, and the road ahead is anything but easy.

It begins Tuesday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers, a team the Suns have surprisingly handled well this season. Phoenix holds a perfect 3-0 record against L.A., a rare bright spot in an otherwise turbulent year. But any comfort in that success will be short-lived.

From there, it’s off to Denver to face Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, a team that rarely lets Phoenix walk away unscathed. Then, it’s a showdown in Dallas against a revamped Mavericks squad clawing to stay in the playoff race. Kyrie Irving will be waiting, and the Suns will have their hands full trying to slow them down.

This stretch is a gut check. Can Phoenix build on their strengths and find something resembling consistency? Or will these matchups expose the same old flaws? One way or another, we’re about to find out.

56% of the community predicted the Suns would go 1-3 in Week 19. Kudos to you. You nailed it. Not even a depleted, tanking Pelicans squad could throw you off the scent of this team’s stench. You saw the writing on the wall, and Phoenix did exactly what you expected: stumbled through another week, proving once again that optimism is a fool’s errand with this group.

What will they do this week?

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