The Phoenix Suns are still a few weeks away from seriously jeopardizing their 2024-25 season, setting the table for a dramatic roster shakeup within the next seven months if there aren’t enough changes to their game. And if things continue like this, we won’t even have to wait until summer.

Phoenix fell to a record of 14-14 on Monday after suffering a 117-90 loss the night before to a Denver Nuggets team that had just advanced to overtime.

The Suns were without Devin Booker (left groin soreness) and Grayson Allen (concussion protocol), two serious absences that, however, should not cause their quality of play to come anywhere close to what we saw.

Denver reached 100 points in three quarters, continuing a string of reprehensible defense from the Suns.

What is hurting this team the most right now is the secondary. At first action, clear effort and intent can be seen in most possessions. But the rotations once the game has started to develop, and especially the attention to detail on spacing and rebounding, are nowhere to be found. To make it easier to understand: These are the moments when, as the ball goes through the basket, you feel like everyone on defense is just standing there and watching.

Add to that terrible transition defense, especially when looking for shooters, for a team that rotates a lot, and you can quickly become a bottom-tier NBA defense. All of this happens before the squad limits are reached.

Get up on your soapbox and take that trade here and that rotation pick there. It really doesn’t matter, with all due respect to your search for solutions.

Phoenix’s first quarter included a sluggish closeout to Nikola Jokic after the 50% 3-point shooter picked up his dribble, breaking away from Jokic after he had the ball up court, several botched rotations on Nuggets scoring on a layup , and two offensive rebounds that should never happen.

The most obvious way to give the Nuggets a lead is to take advantage of the Nuggets’ terrible offensive woes when Jokic comes off the floor. According to NBA statistics, the offensive rating drops from 122.4 to 97.6. Denver improved by +2 in the first half, made possible by an unacceptable decline in offensive execution as Phoenix looked aimless and haphazard.

The Suns trailed by four points at halftime when it felt like they should be down by 20 points. Typically that means a team is about to be 20 points behind. Any chance of a new lease of life coming out of the break began with a 9-2 Denver run that included: terrible pick-six turnovers by Kevin Durant and an inexplicable possession in half-transition defense with no one at the 3-point line Michael Porter Jr., the man who had 17 points in the first half.

Last year’s fourth-quarter disasters clearly weighed on Phoenix, multiplying its biggest failures in execution and organization.

But then the game is on the line. In the third quarter, especially the first few minutes, it’s all about energy and concentration. That’s it. Seriously. Just those two things. This phase, which is now becoming Phoenix’s weakness, says a lot about how the team is currently, just as the problems in the fourth quarter did for this group.

The Suns actually trailed by 20 less than seven minutes into the third quarter.

The Nuggets, without Jamal Murray (right ankle sprain), improved to a 5-1 record without their point guard. They’re by no means having a perfect season, but they clearly have the fighting spirit needed to survive despite being outnumbered. Phoenix needs a search and rescue party to find that within herself.

Royce O’Neale, starting in place of Booker, was battling around a screen midway through the third quarter when a collision forced him to go to the ground in pain. It wasn’t a violent collision, but one that looked more embarrassing than anything else, either because O’Neale hyperextended his right leg or caught a knee in the back. O’Neale grabbed the inside of his right thigh before generally palpating the upper part of his thigh. He initially attempted to hobble up the court before heading back down, forcing the Suns to call a timeout.

Although O’Neale’s return is worth mentioning considering how irreplaceable he is. Looking solely at consistency this year and not each player’s overall contribution, O’Neale can only be surpassed by Durant this season. He was incredibly solid all year and is having the best season of his career statistically. Phoenix feels the weight of Allen being out, given the crucial minutes gap between him and the other options in the wing rotation. That will be even more the case if O’Neale misses his first game of the season.

It’s time for a gut check. For a unit that seems to enjoy playing with each other, it’s time to see if they can truly come together as a collective to solve these problems. On the other side of the country, for example, the Orlando Magic responded to the news of losing Mo Wagner this year (while also being without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner) by defeating the Boston Celtics.

These guys compete like they’re going to kill themselves for each other. We have not received any indication that these Suns are capable of playing with it any determinationlet alone reach this level.

There is no boring middle ground here. They will either fail in spectacular fashion or get over it in a rush to the playoffs. What outcome would you bet on two months later and six weeks until the trade deadline?

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