3 Takeaways from Suns' Ugly Loss to Hornets

The Phoenix Suns have now lost 8 of their last 10 games.

Jan 7, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic (20) reacts after being called on a foul during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns suffered arguably their worst loss of the season Tuesday night when they fell 115-104 to the Charlotte Hornets, who entered the game 7-27 and had lost 18 of their past 19 matchups.

Phoenix started off the first quarter strong, but a 26-6 run to close the first half by Charlotte gave the Hornets all the momentum they needed the rest of the night.

The Suns now sit at 16-19 on the season, which makes them 12th in the Western Conference, and have lost eight of their last 10 matchups.

This loss came one day after Phoenix snapped a four-game losing skid with a big win over the Philadelphia 76ers and made a drastic lineup change, moving Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic to the bench and replacing them with Ryan Dunn and Mason Plumlee. Phoenix has not won consecutive games since Dec. 3.

You can read a full recap of the loss to the Hornets by clicking here.

These were the three biggest takeaways from the defeat:

Young, Fast Opponents Continue to Provide Problems 

The Suns have seemingly had no answers for teams built on youth who are athletic and like to run.

Charlotte dominated the fastbreak points 26-4, which is by far the largest margin the Suns have lost this category in a single game this season.

The Hornets also grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Suns 59-42 in total. They won the second chance points 19-9, as the Suns only recorded eight offensive rebounds.

These statistics fueled a lot of Charlotte's big runs, which have consistently hurt Phoenix night in and night out no matter the opponent.

In games where the Suns show some level of energy, they are usually able to put up a fight. A lot of this energy as of late has come from Josh Okogie, who only played two minutes against Charlotte.

When Phoenix needs some sort of a spark, playing Okogie seems like a decision that needs to be made, even if it doesn't work every night, because energy is an area the Suns need to find consistency in.

"You can't have that. The vibes and communication being high when we have it rolling and things going well and then when we get in a tough spot, just fold." Devin Booker.

"I just want to see the energy. Energy & effort high no matter what the score is. Just keep playing" #Suns pic.twitter.com/oxAk4lqzUT

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 8, 2025

Beal, Nurkic Negative Impact Carries Over to Bench

Statistically, the Beal and Nurkic benching made sense because of how poorly Phoenix played with the two on the floor.

Ahead of the 76ers game, where Beal shined in his first outing off the bench, Phoenix had a -9.3 net rating in Beal's 767 minutes across 23 games, the worst mark of any Suns player. Nurkic was the second worst with the Suns boasting a -5.3 net rating in his 558 minutes.

Last night, this trend continued with Phoenix having a 143.9 defensive rating and 90.2 offensive rating, making for a -53.7 net rating in Nurkic's 19 minutes. In Beal's 31 minutes, Phoenix recorded a -28.2 net rating (90.9 offensive and 119.1 defensive).

Both players also had the worst plus/minuses on the team for the game with Nurkic, who had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and five fouls, at minus-22 and Beal, who had 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting and five assists, at minus-21.

In comparison, the new starting lineup of Tyus Jones-Devin Booker-Dunn-Kevin Durant-Plumlee was a plus-17 in 10 minutes played, but only shared the court together at the beginning of the game and start of the third quarter.

Phoenix simply needs to find lineup combinations that work and stick with them moving forward.

Booker Responds after Rough Outing

Booker was a bright spot for Phoenix, recording 39 points on 14-of-25 shooting, 10 assists and six rebounds in 39 minutes.

This came after Booker had a lowly 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting against Philadelphia, but did mark his second-straight double double as he notched 10 assists against the 76ers. Booker now has nine or more assists in four-straight games.

Kevin Durant, as he has done almost every game, was right behind Booker with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting.

Beal was the only other player in double figures, as Phoenix had 29 total bench points after 54 against Philadelphia.

Booker and Durant need more help both when they are playing well and when they are having a down night, and the loss to Charlotte proved exactly that.