Charles Barkley is not a believer in the 2023-24 Phoenix Suns. Following the NCAA Tournament Final Four games in Glendale, Arizona, Barkley was asked if he thought the Suns would figure things out this season.
"No, they're not gonna figure it out," Barkley said. "... They don't have any mental toughness, the leaders are not leading. So, you're not gonna turn it on this late in the season. So, I'm not sure what you're expecting but their mental toughness, they're weak mentally and it's not gonna go good for them."
"Oh, that's on them, brother," Barkley stated when asked how the Suns could fix things. "But from afar, they just really soft... the players have not led."
Barkley did not pull any punches, which wasn't all that surprising considering the kind of character he is. While the Suns legend might have angered some fans with his comments, the team certainly hasn't proven him wrong.
Barkley had made those comments after the Suns had won three games in a row against the New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. That was an impressive run, but they followed it up by falling flat on their faces.
The Suns saw their winning streak snapped by the Pelicans, a day after Barkley made those comments. They then suffered arguably the most embarrassing loss of the season to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Suns were down 35-4 late in the first quarter and trailed by 37 points at one stage to a Clippers team that was without Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. They managed to trim the deficit to 91-84 in the fourth quarter but were unable to get any closer and lost 105-92.
The Suns dropped to 46-33 on the season with that loss and are seventh in the standings in the Western Conference. That three-game winning run had given fans some hope that maybe this team had somehow figured things out but as Barkley said, that doesn't really happen this late into the season.
All signs are pointing to a disappointing end to the campaign for the Suns. Their early season struggles were attributed to injuries, but now even when Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal are healthy, they don't look right.
Considering all the expectations placed on the Suns after they acquired Beal, they might well end up being the team that has had the most disappointing season. If they do make the playoffs, their ceiling is the second round, but the chances of them winning even a series seem rather slim at this point.
Charles Barkley Said Kevin Durant Is Not A Leader
Barkley has long been concerned about the Suns' prospects for the season. He didn't particularly buy into all the hype surrounding the team and Barkley even criticized Durant during the All-Star game.
"Booker has to be your mental leader and your vocal leader. No disrespect to Kevin Durant, he's a follower, he's not a leader. He's proven that in all his spots. Booker is a hell of a player, he's going to have to take the initiative to take this Sun's team to another level. Kevin's a hell of a player, I don't wanna say anything bad about him. I said the same thing about Boston, one of you guys has to step forward. For Phoenix to be successful, I think it has to be Booker."
If the season does end badly for the Suns as I expect it to, we can expect Barkley to go off on Durant once again. I think it's also safe to say he hasn't seen that leadership from Booker that he wanted and might have some strong words for the star guard too.
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