Suns Internally Addressed 4th Quarter Struggles

Even the Phoenix Suns themselves know it's an issue.

Apr 9, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel reacts during the second / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- It's no secret the Phoenix Suns have struggled during the fourth quarter all season long, and unfortunately that's stung the Suns in their first two postseason games, too.

Fans know it. Media broadcasts and writes about it. Players endure it. Coaches see it.

Even the front office knows it.

"This question has been asked and not just by the fans in the media, like it's been asked internally by the Suns for months, and trust me they looked at everything that they could look at to try to figure out why in the fourth quarter they can't handle their business," said Brian Windhorst on the Hoop Collective Podcast (h/t Bleacher Report).

During the regular season, Phoenix finished with a fourth quarter net rating of -11.6, by far the worst in the NBA. The next closest team was the Miami Heat at -5.5.

Finishing strong has again been a shortcoming for the Suns in the postseason, as Vogel's waved the white flag in both losses by emptying the bench with minutes to spare on the clock. They've trailed by as much as 19 in both Game 1 and Game 2.

Now, the team crawls back to Phoenix with an 0-2 series deficit to the Minnesota Timberwolves and could be without Grayson Allen, who looked to re-sprain his right ankle earlier this week.

"We gotta handle their pressure better. I thought we found some things in the first half that worked really well in terms of our movement and passing-cut offense. We didn’t sustain it when they went on a run, we didn’t stay locked into that plan, had too many lost possessions because of it," said Suns coach Frank Vogel after the loss.

Phoenix has turned the ball over 35 times in two games vs. Minnesota.

“My frustration is just within the team,” Devin Booker said after Game 2. “We need to execute. We play well when we're playing well. We need to stick together once things turn bad. We’ve done that throughout the season – something has to be corrected.”

We'll see if the Suns can indeed find whatever it is that needs corrected - their season depends on it.