Monty Williams Calls Out Suns' Poise, Physicality

There's two main areas where the Phoenix Suns can improve. Just ask head coach Monty Williams.

The Phoenix Suns now face the stark reality of elimination from the postseason after dropping Game 5 to the Denver Nuggets. 

It didn't take long for Suns head coach Monty Williams to point to the reason why things fell apart for Phoenix.

"Poise. You have to have a level of mental stamina in the playoffs. You lose a game, it happens. You have to keep your level of poise at a productive level so that no matter what happens on the floor you can always run your stuff or rely on your defense," he said following the game. 

"I thought they had a lot of momentum plays tonight that changed our poise, or their physicality got into us a bit tonight. We just didn't have the normal mental stamina it takes to hang in there so you have a chance to win a game."

Phoenix's 118-102 game never felt close in the second half. The Suns previously erased a 15 point lead in the second quarter before ultimately falling apart, trailing by as much as 24 in the loss.  

"We didn't get off to a great start, either. I thought the start set the tone for them, and then in the third quarter it was nothing like we've put on the floor this year from our standards, translating all the stuff that we built up going into halftime, into the third quarter," said Williams. 

"I just felt like we played with great pace the last two games, they nullified that with physicality." 

Game 6 will be Thursday, May 11 at 7:00 PM PST. We'll see if the Suns can match what Williams and his staff are looking for.