On Wednesday night, the Phoenix Suns got torched for 123 points.
Torched by a team that came to Phoenix averaging 95.6 points per game.
Torched by a team that was missing its second-leading scorer who had averaged 17.2 points per game against the Suns during his career.
Torched for 123 points by a team that hadn’t scored that many points in a single game since last season.
Torched by the friggin’ Philadelphia 76ers.
So bad was the Suns’ defensive effort against Philadelphia, that a certain player on the team chirped to the media about the team’s lack of intensity.
Here’s the quote (h/t to NBA Fanhouse):
It’s just a little bit frustrating when you come in the locker room and people are talking about the offense. That’s not the way you’re going to win NBA games. I don’t know if it’s just me, or maybe I’m just different, but I came from a team where everybody’s competing and trying to do the stuff that coach is saying. We’re just totally changing our rotations, changing our stuff that we set before the game. We’re not playing hard enough and I’ve just got to tell you, there’s a lot, a lot of work in front of us. The positive thing is? It can’t be worse.
OK, now guess who made those remarks.
It was one of the Suns’ new players, center Marcin Gortat, who has been with the organization less than two weeks.
There’s two schools of thought on this. One, good for somebody stepping up and calling out himself and teammates for a lackluster defensive performance. Players need to be held accountable, and there’s only so much the coaching staff can do.
But the other side of the issue; is it right for a guy who has worn the uniform all of three times to be the guy chirping?
You bet your sweet bippy it is! As one of the better defensive players on the team, Gortat is right to speak up even though he’s been in Phoenix only a little longer than UConn and Oklahoma–the two teams playing in Saturday’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
The sad part is, Gortat’s words will likely only make a small, temporary difference. The Suns are not a team built for defense and it’ll take yet another facelift performed by Dr. Sarver to make this a team that really prides itself on ‘d’.
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