If you hadn't already tempered your expectations for the Phoenix Suns, last night's embarrassing loss to the LA Clippers should be the final blow to any legitimate playoff hopes.

-Gerald Bourguet

Suns' lack of urgency, accountability and leadership on full display in embarrassing Clippers loss

The solar eclipse was on Monday, but the LA Clippers picked up the moon's mantle and ran with it, completely blotting out the Phoenix Suns Tuesday night. In a 105-92 drubbing that was far more humiliating than the final score indicated, the Clippers opened up the game on a 35-4 run -- and yes, you read that right.

By halftime, the Suns trailed 66-33, and they fell behind by as many as 37 points. They regrouped in the second half and showed some signs of life by pulling back within seven in the fourth quarter, but the margin for error was ultimately too slim.

“Yeah, we lost the game," coach Frank Vogel said bluntly. "We gotta turn the page to tomorrow.”

For a team that entered the night as the 6-seed and has teetered on the edge of play-in territory for weeks, such a complete lack of effort and execution at this time of year was inexplicable. Losing to the desperate New Orleans Pelicans in a game Zion Williamson took over? That was one thing.

But getting completely throttled by a Clippers team that was missing Kawhi Leonard and James Harden? In the final home contest of the year, when every game is vital, and on Fan Appreciation Night, no less?

There's simply no excuse for it.

“[They] just came in there ready to play, and we weren’t," Devin Booker said.

“We got our ass kicked in the first half," Vogel added. "So we gotta be better.”

Okay, but how, exactly, is this still happening three games before the playoffs?

It only counts as one notch in the win-loss column no matter how many points it comes by, but Tuesday's lifeless affair felt damning for a team that's been as unpredictable as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde sharing Forrest Gump's box of chocolates.

And as this fanbase has grown sickeningly familiar with, the Suns once again unraveled in a game with postseason implications in front of their increasingly traumatized home crowd.

“We didn’t play well enough in the first quarter, we didn’t execute," Vogel said. "When we did, we didn’t make shots, and when we got down, we started pressing, and it snowballed.”

The Suns shot an abysmal 2-for-19 from the floor in the first quarter, letting turnovers and missed shots fuel their defensive slippages. Vogel called three timeouts in the opening period -- one at the 7:58 mark when they trailed 17-2, one at the 5:44 mark when it was 23-4, and another at the 4:18 mark when it became 28-4.

None of it stopped the avalanche from burying Phoenix, and despite the message in the huddles trying to stay positive, everyone was clearly demoralized from the opening minutes.

“Just keep playing," Kevin Durant said. "We understand we’re in a shitty position when you’re down that big, 37-10 in the first quarter. Couldn’t get a bucket to go. It’s one of the worst feelings to have.”

Vogel didn't sense any result like this brewing before the game, and he even went as far as saying he felt confident the Suns would win it. But whether it was his early insistence on sticking with Drew Eubanks (-20 in 12 minutes while filling in for the injured Jusuf Nurkic), the Suns' mental toughness completely wilting, or some locker room discord behind the scenes, Phoenix looked dysfunctional, uninterested and disjointed.

This team simply wasn't prepared to play high-level basketball, and Vogel neglected to shed light on why that was.

“Always when you lose, there’s things you can do better," he said.

Like what?

“I’m gonna leave that between me and my team.”

The lack of accountability across the board may have been more infuriating than the loss itself. The full extent of what was or wasn't said behind closed doors in the locker room was unclear, and those types of things are rarely divulged anyway. What we know is Vogel addressed the team, but his responses were short when asked about the specific message.

"A bad night for us," Vogel said. "We gotta turn our attention to tomorrow. My team understood the message that I gave them in the locker room. I don’t need to share all that with you.”

Booker mentioned that what was said in the locker room was "really quick," while Royce O'Neale similarly skirted the question.

“See what we did good, and see what we did bad," O'Neale said. "There was more to it, but that's it.”

Leadership extends beyond the head coach, and the Suns' highly vaunted, highly paid Big 3 deserves their fair share of the blame. Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal combined for 6 points on 0-of-12 shooting in the first quarter, and by halftime, they only had 14 points on 4-of-25 shooting.

After such a humbling performance, the lack of ownership was glaringly obvious. When asked about whether he felt there was accountability in the locker room, Vogel ducked the question by saying, "They want to win tomorrow," before being pressed into adding a curt, "Of course."

Asked about the level of accountability, Booker answered, "I'd say better now than it was earlier in the season." And after requesting clarification multiple times on the same, straightforward question, Durant charted his own path to answering it.

“We talk about the game, and we talk about what we need to do better," he said. "But we're not putting the blame on one player or we're not putting the blame on anybody. I guess that's what the fans want us to do is place blame. But we win or lose as a team, that's what we talk about every single day. We all could play better.”

That's absolutely true, but the Suns need someone to step up, and each member of the Big 3's refusal to do so is maddening. Durant has always been a "lead by example" guy, but he remains frustratingly uninterested in the leadership role he could fill given they way his teammates look up to him.

Beal, the new guy and third member of the star trio, has given thoughtful, bluntly honest answers all year long, but as he's done numerous times throughout the season, he left the arena before reporters could ask him questions. Postgame habit or not, there's only so much accountability to be found in that, especially after such an upsetting loss.

And as for Booker, his 1-for-11 performance against LA came nowhere near his usual "lead by example" standards, and all those praises sung by his coach and teammates about how he's the most vocal Sun fell flat when he was asked about the level of frustration in the locker room.

“Chillin’," Book said nonchalantly. "Another chance tomorrow.”

Uhh...what? Surely Booker could give more insight on the mood of the locker room, right?

“Umm I don’t know," he said. "I haven’t really talked to anybody, we’ll see on the plane. I’m sure -- pissed off.”

Booker has always been an advocate of the "never too high, never too low" mantra, but maybe some emotion is warranted when your highs are contender-caliber flashes and your lows are historically appalling losses at home?

This obviously isn't new territory for Booker. He's been a central part of two of the most lopsided, ignominious playoff losses in NBA history between Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks in 2022 and Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

Tuesday may not have been a playoff loss, but "Game 79 against the LA Clippers" fit neatly alongside those two. It made Booker's even-keeled demeanor afterward even more jarring, and it earned its own question in postgame interviews as a result.

“‘Cause I’ve been here before," Booker said. "I’ve had the best record in the NBA, and they’re gonna say it just matters what you do in the playoffs regardless. So we’re a week away from that, and that’s when the story starts.”

That may be true, but the Suns continue to operate like a team that's definitely going to the playoffs. They're currently a play-in team as the 7-seed! And there is little reason for anyone to have faith they'll beat the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Lakers in do-or-die games to even earn a postseason spot!

Vogel claimed he's been part of late-season blowouts before with teams that went on to have a deep playoff runs, but the only ones that came close were a game for the 2014 Indiana Pacers, who trailed by 23 late in a season where they'd reach the conference finals, and the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, who trailed by 20 near the end of their bubble run that resulted in a championship.

Those are nowhere near the same caliber as getting walloped by 37 at home. That may be why Vogel simply responded "yes" when asked if it's hard to explain how the Suns could follow up three quality wins against playoff opponents with a performance like this.

The lack of consistency is baffling, as is the Suns' mental approach. It's like they've got all the time in the world -- and the ability -- to just flip a magic switch and turn into contenders whenever they choose.

“I don’t get into the too high and too low thing," Booker said. "We just gotta take it a game at a time. Our next task is tomorrow, and we’ll cross that bridge once we get there.”

Despite all signs pointing to a fractured locker room and a team that has zero urgency, Vogel believes the team is still on the same page.

“It's high," Vogel said of the frustration level. "But we're manning together and connected and confident.”

It's hard to put any stock in the "confidence" of a team that has done nothing to warrant such belief. The Suns haven't put together a consistent stretch of good basketball since before the All-Star break, they haven't stayed healthy enough to build cohesion, and their aggravating turnover problem and confounding fourth quarters exacerbate everything.

But perhaps worst of all is one avoidable truth that was on full display during and after Tuesday's indefensible beatdown: The Suns lack leadership, accountability, urgency and mental toughness.

“Well, we didn’t show it tonight, but we did respond in the second half," Vogel said. "We are remaining confident, and I believe in this team.”

That makes one person at least, but this fanbase is understandably confused about why they should give a shit if the players don't start showing they do too.

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