Suns Named One of NBA's Biggest Disappointments

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are slowly but surely limping their way to the 2023-24 finish line after what was expected to be a great season in the Valley.

Collecting big names such as Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to pair with Devin Booker, the Suns banked on stars being consistently healthy and role players stepping up to help form one of the more daunting challenges in the league.

That perfect storm has only happened on occasion, and as a result, the Suns have been considered a somewhat of a flop with a 43-31 record thus far.

It's their dismal fourth quarter performance that nets them a spot on Bleacher Report's list of biggest disappointments

"When you're as all-in as the Phoenix Suns, merely making the playoffs doesn't count as success. Though it's possible a red-hot run (with some slippage by competitors) could get the league's ultimate win-now outfit into the West's top four, the likelier scenario has Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal fighting for survival in the Play-In as a seventh or eighth seed," wrote Grant Hughes.

"Injuries are mostly to blame for Phoenix's underwhelming position in the standings. Durant, Beal and Booker have appeared together in fewer than half of the Suns' games this season. With a threadbare supporting cast stitched together on minimum deals—a necessity with three maxed-out stars on the books—Phoenix didn't have the depth to overcome missed time by its stars.

"Less excusable and more problematic for Phoenix is its league-worst fourth-quarter performance.

"Final stanzas are the best regular-season approximation of playoff intensity, and the Suns' minus-14.2 net rating in the last 12 minutes is dead last in the NBA by a mile. Worse than that, lineups featuring Booker, Beal and Durant are barely scraping by, posting a plus-1.3 net rating when sharing the floor in the fourth. Considering they compiled that number against teams of all stripes, it doesn't bode well for their chances of success against a strict diet of quality teams in the playoffs.

"The Suns have no outs. They've dealt away virtually every pick possible. They're agonizingly expensive, and their best players are on the wrong side of the aging curve. All of that would be easier to take if they'd shown any ability to succeed late in games."

This is a topic that has been discussed by Suns coaches and players at near nauseating levels - but until something is actually fixed (despite it being a season-long issue) it will continue to hinder Phoenix and could quite possibly be their Achilles heel come playoff time.