Monty Williams Sees Fight in Struggling Suns

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams thinks this current struggle will pay off later in the season.

The Phoenix Suns have gone a very underwhelming 5-14 since their win against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 30th. They are now on their second five-game losing streak in their past 20 games after losing to the Miami Heat on Friday. 

Early-season skeptics of the Suns however cannot feel truly vindicated as Phoenix has played without three of their usual starting five in their lineup as Devin Booker (groin), Chris Paul (right hip and heel) and Cam Johnson (meniscus) have all missed significant time this season. 

Suns head coach Monty Williams and his staff still feel some positives could be taken and pay off when the team is at full strength. 

“We felt like the away trip over the Christmas break was going to be a big-time trip for us to bond and to grow as a team because we were gone so long and we had to grow a different way,” Williams explained. “But the analogy is something we can look at and say ‘It’s never over.’ If you think about everything we’ve been through, we’re still .500.”

The Suns could have backed down after an ugly first quarter with Paul exiting and trailing by seven. Phoenix battled back and made what could have been an embarrassing loss at home into a close battle to the end.

To help keep the squad focused, Williams made sure to use some history for context: “I started quoting Teddy Roosevelt about the man in the arena, that’s who matters and it’s during these moments that you have to go like this and I saw that from our group tonight," Williams said.

The loss of key players is felt by everyone on the team. Deandre Ayton explained, “That is why it can tend to get frustrating because we believe so much in our group. We know the culture and the things we have to go by to contribute to the team. When we do that, we do not get the dub, it can sit on our shoulders a bit.”

The Suns will have another difficult fight on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers after losing a defensive battle earlier in the week. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Arizona time.