The NBA Finals will be held in June, which means the Phoenix Suns have nine months to grow and develop into a championship-caliber basketball team.
Despite concerns about the Suns’ 134-124 NBL loss to the Adelaide 36ers in their first preseason game on Sunday night, Phoenix fans have yet to press the panic button.
While the Suns are now the first NBA team to lose in an international break since 2016, they need to view the game as a learning experience, not a frustrating loss.
“Flush fast and move on,” Suns center Deandre Ayton said.
“It’s pre-season. At the end of the day, we’re still learning. It’s unacceptable, but at the same time, we’re just getting back and we’re just trying to perfect things and make ourselves better.”
Not only are the Suns trying to get out of their break after a long offseason, but they’re making sure not to overuse their starters when seven players come off the bench. The starters only played 22 minutes each.
This may indicate that the Suns’ main priority is not winning, but getting used to playing against each other again.
“I played them a little bit longer than I thought,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.
“They’ve become competitive and want to come back. I’m not going to let those guys come back, I want to play them tonight for seven minutes. I didn’t have a mixed lineup at all tonight. I hope those guys get used to playing together. “
It might just be a preseason game, but the Suns know they have to improve. They didn’t take their preseason losses lightly, an encouraging sign given the team’s desire to win every game, no matter the risk.
“It’s just our habit,” Suns forward Mikal Bridges said. “When we screwed up, we knew we had to get better. When both units were on the field, they were frustrated. We were just screwing things up and trying to help teach these guys.
“Every time you want to win and play our best game the way we do. That’s how it felt today.”
A preseason game won’t challenge a team. The Suns are bound to have their ups and downs in the 2022-23 season, but it’s important that they come together and stay together as a cohesive unit when they face challenges.
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