With Losses Piling, Should Suns Panic?

The Suns have now lost four consecutive games.

Nov 18, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) scores a basket in between Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0), center Goga Bitadze (35), and guard Jalen Suggs (4) during the first half of an NBA game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- Is it time for the Phoenix Suns to panic?

The Suns - who once started the season 8-1 - are now reeling at 9-6 following four consecutive defeats.

Phoenix graded out around the middle of the pack in terms of net rating even through the 8-1 start to the season, which would lead most to believe that this was an average squad - and have continued to deal with the fallout of significant absences in the lineup.

Grayson Allen has missed four games, while taking several games to return to form. Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant have missed 6 games each. Josh Okogie just recently returned from a hamstring injury.

Through all of this, the offense has largely stalled due to Devin Booker's slow start, the call to action of role players such as Royce O'Neale to play outside of the pigeonholed roles that have been crafted for them.

In other words, a player such as O'Neale is at his most effective next to a lineup featuring the Suns' big three.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer spoke on the mentality of the locker room following the loss to the Orlando Magic last night - and his response should be quite reassuring.

“These guys I think stay together. It's a good group, they've got a good spirit. They've got a good way about them, through good times and the hard times. You got to keep doing like coming to work, putting your individual time in, put your team time in and keep your head up. This group will do that. They're very good. They're very resilient.”

- Budenholzer on Suns' mindset

This squad is simply more connected compared to the 2023-24 rendition - regardless of how much continuity has been built with newcomers such as Tyus Jones.

This Suns team comes to compete on a night-to-night basis regardless of outside circumstances and has clearly kept an unmistakably positive mindset through this adversity.

Phoenix has lost a handful of games in convincing fashion. They have also competed through a tough stretch of road games and back-to-backs. Both are true. This also doesn't account for Booker's slow start to the season that has historical precedence before the 10-year vet takes off and finishes the season with elite statistical output.

The silver lining through this is that Phoenix has only one more contest over the next week - a home contest pitted against the underhwelming New York Knicks tomorrow night.

There's a very real chance that both Beal and Durant will be able to return for the NBA Cup contest on Nov. 26 against the Los Angeles Lakers - the team will be ready to take off without looking back in that case.