The Phoenix Suns were last under.500 at the 39-game milestone in the 2019-20 season, when they were 16-23. This was the tenacious young club who went 8-0 in the bubble and began their return to importance after a decade in obscurity.
In just their sixth season since then, the Suns are 19-20 after 39 games in 2025, with the largest salary in NBA history. They went below.500 for the second time this season after allowing Trae Young 43 points as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Suns 122-117 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Trae Young drops the Suns below.500 with a long-ball dagger.
The Suns began the new year on a three-game losing run, but they were about to enter a soft stretch of their schedule, with only three of their first 12 games in 2025 against teams above.500.
They’ve only gone 4-3 thus far, barely over halfway through this run, and they’re not looking good. Even their victories over Philadelphia, Atlanta, Utah, and Charlotte were difficult, requiring poor opponent shooting, significant opponent injuries, and late-game comebacks.
On Monday night, they faced a Hawks club that was missing Sixth Man of the Year contender De’Andre Hunter and first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson. They still fell short, trailed for practically the entire game with only a glimmer of hope in the third quarter.
Trae Young took 31 shots in the absence of the team’s other main scorers en route to his season-high 43 points, including a deep dagger 3-pointer to seal the victory.
However, it was the Hawks’ backup center, Onyeka Okongwu, who changed the game. In just 28 minutes, he had 22 points and 21 rebounds, a career high. His ten offensive rebounds surpassed the Suns’ total of six for the game.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant combined for 66 points, and the Suns shot more than 51% from the field, but it wasn’t enough to earn the road victory. The Hawks took 14 more shots than Phoenix and made 17 3-pointers, including six from Trae Young.
The Suns can’t continue living like way.
The Suns have made headlines in recent weeks for a variety of reasons, none of which involve playing terrific basketball. They’ve been dangling their money for Jimmy Butler for weeks and have made some not-so-subtle lineup tweaks as well. Neither the lineup adjustments nor the cupcake schedule have done anything to prevent underwhelming results.
Bradley Beal’s performances off the bench have been identical to those when he started, and he’s trying to adjust to the new situation. Jusuf Nurkić’s removal from the rotation has sparked trade speculation and angered fans.
Nurkić has faced significant challenges this year. His averages are down across the board, with the most notable being an alarming amount of turnovers and a struggle to finish in the paint.
However, rebounding troubles have been linked to his absence thus far. Since his suspension on December 28, the Suns have ranked dead bottom in the NBA for opponent offensive rebounding rate. Until that point, they ranked ninth in the NBA in this statistic.
The team’s troubles cannot be attributed solely to Nurkić’s absence. They were also drastically underperforming with him on the court, as seen by a minus-7.0 on/off difference. His playing time has been significantly reduced for a cause.
The team’s defensive performance has deteriorated, their 3-point shooting volume has decreased, and they are now outside the Play-In with a negative net rating for the season following Monday’s loss. They’ve put on far too many soulless performances this year to overcome what appears to be a group that is letting the rest of the NBA pass them.
The panic meter is only increasing, causing more analysts to consider whether radical changes are required. If this club cannot find the passion to play at the level of their potential, we may see more sparks fly out of Phoenix. Team Governor Mat Ishbia has demonstrated in his brief time that he is not one to sit on his hands, so we may need to be prepared for even more changes.
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