Suns Are Awful in Fourth Quarter - But Why?

The Phoenix Suns have been the worst team in basketball in the fourth quarter.

The Phoenix Suns would be the best team in the world if the first three quarters were all that counted.

Unfortunately, the fourth quarter counts as well.

The Suns have been outscored by 61 points in ten fourth quarters this season, and largely rank near the bottom in nearly every offensive metric.

That's the fourth really poor fourth quarter for the Suns costing them a game they should have won and that's just 10 games in. It will be much better in the future and there are many reasons why but it still can't be to this level in the present. Not going to win or improve.

— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) November 13, 2023

The most discouraging effort is potentially last night, where Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant were the only players to make field goals in the last frame.

Surefire get rich quick scheme: Bet against the Suns at the beginning of every fourth quarter.

— Max (@maxmcc11) November 13, 2023

Many of these issues can be attributed to the absences of both Beal and Booker, putting more on the role players than what is normally asked of them.

While that is a valid reasoning, the Suns just fall inexplicably flat to close games, a far cry from the Monty Williams' years where it was usually to begin halves. 

The new-look Suns are way too undisciplined with the basketball for the relative amount of talent and basketball IQ the roster possesses. Far too many lazy reads, possessions with little off-ball movement, and far too many good opportunities that don't get converted. 

"I think that tonight’s fourth quarter is different compared to some of the other fourth quarters we’ve had," said Frank Vogel after Sunday's loss. 

"Last 48 hours, we’ve put a lot of work into our execution. I felt that our execution was better. A lot of our shots just didn’t fall. And a tough night. I think you have Bradley (Beal) battling through his back injury, trying to get his legs under him. KD (Kevin Durant) has been carrying a heavy load for us; played every game all season and pretty big minutes. But I think the execution was better than it was against the Lakers and with some of the other fourth quarter breakdowns, we just didn’t make shots.” 

Say what you want about the Williams-led teams, but the teams frequently took care of the ball and played a safe, calculated brand of basketball that tended to lead to more success than failure. 

On top of that, Phoenix has improved its ability to get to the rim, but has somewhat disappointed as a team from behind the arc. The team is currently shooting 36.3% from three-point range, with a few players such as Grayson Allen consistently shooting well and a bunch of inconsistency elsewhere.

The inability to consistently take care of the ball, the inconsistency behind the arc, and the perceived predictability of closing offensive sets make this a bigger fix than "just" getting Booker back.

The ugly truth is the Suns are not yet a good basketball team. The team has a collection of good players, a good coach, and great management/ownership. 

So why is this team unable to play a complete 48 minutes?

“It just comes down to missed shots," said Durant. 

"We can’t win games that way. No matter what names you got on the roster, how many points they scored in the history of the game, if you don’t make shots that night, you can’t win. Jalen Williams 11-of-16 and 3-of-4 from three, Chet (Holmgren) 3-of-6 from three, Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) 13-of-22. They made eight more baskets than us; that’s the game.”  

The answer likely has to do with a bevy of factors, including those above, but this won't be an easy fix. Phoenix will likely go through some adversity this season, much like last, with the hope that they peak at the right time. 

Until then, Suns fans need to keep the faith and believe that the squad can get out of this funk.