Frustrations boil over after Suns blow it in first quarter again, this time to Trail Blazers

Duane Rankin
The Republic | azcentral.com
Richaun Holmes talks with coach Igor Kokoskov during the first half of the Suns' 108-86 loss to the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.

PORTLAND — The Phoenix Suns cleared the air and talked about having a greater competitive spirit the day after scoring just nine points in the first quarter of Tuesday’s lopsided home loss to Sacramento.

Twenty-four hours later, they came out and scored the same amount again, fell behind big again and wound up losing in embarrassing fashion, again, 108-86, to the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.

“When the challenging moments come, you have to show toughness, show that we’ll stick for each other and we play as a team,” Suns coach Igor Kokoskov said.

That's only half the story.

From rookie Mikal Bridges and Kokoskov having friction during the game to Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker exchanging words afterward, there’s clearly tension and a disconnect with this team right now.

On the court. Suns trailed 34-9 at the end of the first quarter two days after having an equally bad start against the Kings.

On the bench. From Jamal Crawford, one of the more positive players in the NBA, slamming the ball on the floor at the end of the third quarter to the friction on the bench between Bridges and Kokoskov, the frustration was apparent.

“How long have you been around basketball,” Suns veteran Trevor Ariza asked a reporter in a calm voice when asked what the conversations are like on the bench when trailing by 25 after the first quarter.

“So what do you think the conversation would be like after that?

“Probably not very positive."

Ariza laughed.

“Exactly,” he said. “Not too happy, but again, that’s on us for not playing hard.”   

After the game. Phoenix’s top two players, Booker and Ayton, exchanged words after the 10-minute cooling off period as members of the media entered the visiting locker room for the tail end of that conversation.

These two have had words before on the court, with Booker correcting Ayton on what to do on certain plays. Both have agreed to hold players accountable, but this felt different.

“I’m an emotional guy, too,” Ayton said. “I start to feel stuff. When I don’t sense it and the energy is not there, that’s when you start to hear my mouth. I don’t care who it is. Nineteen-year vet or 15 years, it don’t matter. We all have a job to do and I have to step it up a little more, too.”

"Look in the mirror"

Being 4-21 can bring out the worst in a team and Kokoskov, a first-year NBA head coach, has the challenge of trying to keep the Suns together just as all seems lost right now for an franchise having its worst start ever.

“At this point, we’ve got to just look in the mirror,” Suns reserve center Richaun Holmes said. “We’ve got to change something.”  

Suns rookie Elie Okobo drives to the basket against Trail Blazers guard Seth Curry during the first half of a game Thursday at the Moda Center.

Phoenix once again played without its top two scorers, Booker (hamstring) and TJ Warren (ankle), who both remain out with injuries. That’s part of those challenging times.

Another part is playing four rookies in Bridges, De’Anthony Melton, Elie Okobo and Ayton.

Combine the two and Kokoskov admitted pregame that finding offense would be a struggle.

Then, he started Holmes instead of rookie Ayton as the No. 1 overall pick said he was feeling sick to his stomach Wednesday night.

“It’s me not eating,” Ayton said. “Sometimes after practices, I don’t eat. Trying to play on a hungry stomach, it kind of gets me and it got me after (Wednesday’s) practice.”

Holmes said he found out he was he starting at Thursday’s shootaround, but Kokoskov said he was going with the same starting lineup as last game that included Ayton, but wound up starting Holmes.

Confusing.

Three minutes into the game, Kokoskov inserted Ayton to replace Holmes.

“My decision was not to even play him at all, but he insisted on playing the game,” Kokoskov said. “… I was surprised he played this game.”

Jake who?

Trail Blazers forward Jake Layman had 24 points against the Suns on Thursday at the Moda Center.

That didn’t change anything for the Suns.

Damian Lillard and Jake Layman just kept scoring and the two had 15 points apiece in the first quarter.

Lillard going off isn't surprising. He’s fifth in the NBA in scoring at 27.3 points a game. With C.J. McCollum out with an ankle injury, of course Lillard would be more aggressive.

And he got hot. Lillard went 6-of-8 from the field in the first, knocking down three of his four 3-point attempts.

He’s an all-star. One of the game’s best point guards, and he finished with a game-high 25 points.

Now, Lillard’s caught fire before, but Layman?

He came into Thursday’s game averaging 5.1 points per game, but went 6-of-6 in the first quarter and connected on his three 3-point attempts to finish with a career-high 24 points. 

Against Sacramento, Phoenix fell behind by as many as 35 points in the second quarter, but played better in the second half. On Thursday, the Suns were more competitive in the second quarter only to end up trailing by as many as 31 in the fourth.

The Suns will continue to struggle to score without Booker and Warren. They score 40 percent of the team’s points and likely won’t play Friday against Miami in the second game of a back-to-back.

Kokoskov said Ayton will be back in the starting lineup for a matchup against Heat big Hassan Whiteside, but Phoenix clearly has greater concerns moving forward.

Veteran leadership

Suns forward Trevor Ariza gets set to put up a shot against Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu during a game Thursday.

Phoenix has three veterans in Jamal Crawford, Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson.

They’ve all been on winning teams before, with Ariza capturing an NBA title.

Now, they find themselves on a team that not only having a disastrous season, but that’s young, its best players are young, and it needs them to play very well to even have a chance of winning.

Oh yeah, a team which also has a first-year head coach who was hired by the general manager team owner Robert Sarver fired before the season. A team that has fired coaches three games into a season (i.e. Earl Watson).

How are they handling this?

“I don’t have an answer to be honest with you,” Crawford said. “I can’t even formulate it. I’m not a liar so I can’t lie to you.”

 

Ariza was a little more vocal about the situation.

“It’s tough,” Ariza said. “Losing is tough no matter what it’s in, but again, at this point, all I can try to do is continue to be positive. Continue to encourage our younger players to try to get better and do the right things and look for the positives in losing if there is any.”

Now, this is coming from a guy who might not be with the Suns by this time next week.

The Suns can trade him on Dec. 15, but Ariza took responsibility for how the team is playing right now.

“Being one of the oldest guys on the team, starting with pretty much four rookies, I should be more vocal in telling guys that we collectively have to play better,” Ariza said.

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard  drives to the basket against Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) during the second half of a game Thursday at the Moda Center.

Ariza, Crawford and Anderson are proven veterans with high character, but they are outnumbered by younger players. You wonder if their message is reaching them, but productivity carries weight when telling others what to do.

Anderson isn’t playing. Ariza scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting. Crawford missed all seven of his shots and finished with two points off free throws.

Winning cures all. That might be the only way to fix a team dynamic that is clearly off. Having Booker and Warren back healthy will improve Phoenix’s chances of doing that.

Final line

Once they fell behind by 25 points in the first quarter, the Suns didn’t get any closer than 20 to Portland for the remainder of the game.

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