Windhorst: Kevin Durant’s Suns Questioned Themselves About 4Q Struggles for Months | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Phoenix Suns face an 0-2 gap of their first-round collection in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it does not seem they’ve solved the woes that existed through the common season.

Phoenix has been outscored by 10 factors within the fourth quarter in opposition to Minnesota, persevering with a pattern that baffled the Suns all yr lengthy.

“This query has been requested and never simply by the followers within the media, prefer it’s been requested internally by the Suns for months, and belief me they checked out every little thing that they may have a look at to attempt to determine why within the fourth quarter they can not deal with their enterprise,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated on The Hoop Collective (21-minute mark).

The Suns had been the NBA’s worst fourth-quarter crew by a big margin through the common season. Their opponents outscored them by 11.6 factors per 100 possessions, greater than double the NBA’s next-worst crew (Miami Warmth, -5.5 internet ranking). Phoenix’s fourth-quarter internet ranking was worse than some other crew’s complete internet ranking for the 2023-24 season.

For comparability, the Suns truly outscored their opponents by 3.1 factors per 100 possessions through the common season. In different phrases: Phoenix outscored its opponents by 14.7 factors per 100 possessions throughout the primary three quarters of a recreation earlier than fully falling aside within the closing quarter.

As Windhorst notes, this isn’t a brand new downside. Kevin Durant spoke of the Suns needing to “simplify” in fourth quarters all the best way again in January.

“I really feel like typically we will simplify our assault a bit bit extra and simply play to our strengths as people,” Durant instructed reporters then. “I believe our recreation has been, once we had some stable fourth quarters, it was us driving closeouts. Coming down making fast choices. Stepping into our offense a bit earlier within the shot clock, stuff like that. So we bought to lean on that sort of stuff. If we play a bit bit quicker, however below management within the fourth, it would begin to flip for us.”

Whereas the fourth quarter has not been Phoenix’s solely downside in opposition to the Timberwolves—their worst quarter has been the third on this collection—the late-game woes have not helped. Now, one of many league’s most star-studded and costly groups is 2 video games away from a disappointing first-round exit.