Takeaways: Suns Crumble to Bucks
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are now 39-29 after a tough loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Only 14 games remain - and the Suns likely need to finish with around 48 wins to avoid the dreaded play-in tournament.
Phoenix certainly lost out on a prime opportunity to defeat the Bucks sans Giannis Antetokounmpo - and there are certainly a mixed bag of conclusions that could be drawn from the outcome of this game.
Suns' Offensive Balance Shows
The Suns nearly fought back to take the lead behind an extremely balanced scoring effort from the squad - three players scored 20+ points, and three more players got into double-figure territory.
Phoenix also shot nearly 60% from the floor, over 42% from three-point range, and role players such as Royce O'Neale made up for Suns star Kevin Durant having an off game.
One of the most encouraging developments with the Suns in a turbulent season is the seemingly reliable nature of various role players - especially Grayson Allen.
The role players could benefit more in a potential playoff run than they do even now - just due to the gravity the star trio possess when on the court.
Perimeter Defense Shows Cracks
The Suns' defense has been consistently good over the last two months, but this is the third game in a week span where the defense had a major lapse in at least one half.
While coach Vogel has done a great job managing the personnel that was handed to him, the limited athleticism of said personnel has shown up more as of late than any point post-Christmas.
Milwaukee hit an NBA first-half record 18 three-pointers in the first half and Damian Lillard - who has struggled for a fair portion of this season - enjoyed a night that is etched into Bucks' history.
Prime Schedule Opportunity
The Suns ultimately have a massive week ahead - and some unfortunate injuries could give them an upper-hand over the next eight days.
Phoenix is set to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.
It is highly unlikely that Philadelphia star Joel Embiid or Atlanta star Trae Young will be available for the pair of contests - Phoenix has to secure win number 41 with those two games on the schedule.
The Suns then visit the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday/Monday in another back-to-back duel akin to the games the Spurs played in Phoenix in October.
Phoenix famously dropped both of those games - and Victor Wembanyama has improved exponentially since the last meeting, so the pair of games in San Antonio are far from shoe-in victories.
Phoenix realistically does need to go 4-0 in this slate to feel good about avoiding the play-in tournament, however.
