Where the Suns don't rise

Phoenix's high hopes are being dashed.

Good morning. My heart goes out to friends in SoCal fleeing wildfires. This is a collective experience for those of us in the Western United States now, just like so many climate-related disasters are becoming normal for so many people across the world. It’s tragic and it’s infuriating. It’s also important to find hope and love and action in the response. So let’s cling to that.

Let’s basketball.

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The Wreck Buoy; J.M.W. Turner; 1849

Early in the season, a familiar pattern emerged in assessing the state of the Phoenix Suns. When Kevin Durant played, the Suns almost always won. When Durant missed action due to injury, the Suns almost always lost. This fact was documented thoroughly here and elsewhere, and served as a beacon of hope that, assuming Durant played many more games than he missed over the course of the season, the Suns would turn out fine. If healthy heading into the playoffs, they might be great.

One month ago, on December 8, the Suns stood at 12-11. At that point, Phoenix was 11-2 when Durant played and 1-9 when he didn’t.

Durant has played in every game since. The Suns are 4-8 in those games.

The pattern is broken, and the team might be broken.