Pain Scale: Games that sunk the 2008-09 Suns

Eighty-one games in the books. One game to go. No hope of playoffs.

These are all facts that are very real to the Phoenix Suns and their fans. Many, including myself, have tried to diagnose the reasons why the Suns won’t be participating in the postseason. Yes, there have been injuries, and the coaching changes. I’m not saying that these reasons didn’t play a part. But one of the simple facts is this–the Suns simply picked a bad year to have an off year.

The Suns will likely end the year with 46 victories. Certainly, that’s not an earth-shattering total, but it’s a solid win total. In fact, in 17 of the previous 20 NBA seasons, the 8th seeded team in the Western Conference had less than 46 wins, and one of those years was the lockout-shortened 2000-01 season. So 89% of the time, 46 wins will get you into the playoffs. Just not this year.

It’s also likely that the Utah Jazz will end the year with 48 wins, just 2 games better than the Suns, meaning that you can definitely point to certain games that slipped through the Suns’ fingers (the overtime loss to the Jazz, anyone?), and contributed to their extended offseason.

Here’s the games that sunk the Suns, with it’s place on the pain scale. The games will appear in order of least painful to most painful.

November 30, 2008 - New Jersey 117…..Suns 109
Devin Harris went off for 47 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, as the Nets erased a 10-point deficit heading into the final stanza. Isn’t Devin Harris the guy who lost to the playground player on YouTube? Yeah, I thought so. Maybe the Suns should have signed Stuart Tanner to play back-up point.
Pain Scale : 3 - Since it was November, it wasn’t that painful a loss.
Real Life Pain Equivalent : Stubbing your pinkie toe.

January 16, 2008 - Minnesota 105….Suns 103
Randy Foye hit a 20-foot jumper with :01 on the shot clock with under 2 minutes to play to give the T’Wolves a 2-point win over the Suns. Granted, this was during Minnesota’s lone hot stretch of the season, when they won 10 of 12 to start January, but still, you should never lose to Minnesota on your home floor.
Pain Scale : 3.5 - The Suns had a 9-point lead in the third quarter, and lost a rare game when they scored over 100 points.
Real Life Pain Equivalent : Paper cut.

January 23, 2008 - Charlotte 98…..Suns 76
Seventy-eight points? When was the last time a Phoenix Suns’ team scored 76 points in an NBA game? Answer: 2006, when they got blown out in New Jersey 110-72. Translation: a long time. It was Charlotte’s first ever victory over the Suns, and Phoenix castoff Boris Diaw destroyed his former team with 26 points and 11 rebounds. This was also the game that spurred GM Steve Kerr and owner Robert Sarver to fly to the East coast to light a fire under their team.
Pain Scale: 4 - This was probably the game that sealed the firing of head coach Terry Porter.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: A nagging headache.

February 4, 2009 - Golden State 124…..Suns 112
Stephen Jackson, a one-time Suns’ draft pick, torched Phoenix for a triple-double 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, as the Suns got run out of the gym in Oakland. The Warriors put up 43 points in the first quarter, and never led in the ball game.
Pain Scale: 4.5 - It just sucks getting dominated by a less-than-stellar team.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Shampoo in your eyes.

January 7, 2009 - Indiana 113…..Suns 110
Danny Granger had 37 points, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to sink the Suns. Phoenix trailed for most of the game, but fought all the way back, taking their first lead with just 45 seconds left on a 3 by Leandro Barbosa. But then Granger tied the game with a jumper with only :34 left, setting the stage for his heroic last second shot from 28 feet away.
Pain Scale: 5.5 - The Suns trailed by 11 points midway through the 4th quarter, fought to take the lead and still lost…to an inferior team.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Sitting down wrong and catching a testicle underneath you. (Sorry ladies, you can’t relate.)

The Road Trip From Hell
March 3, 2009 - Orlando 111…..Suns 99
March 4, 2009 - Miami 135…..Suns 129
March 6, 2009 - Houston 116…..Suns 112
March 8, 2009 - San Antonio 103…..Suns 98
This road trip was like some sadistic version of Groundhog Day. It was the same plot line over and over. In all four games, the Suns had opportunities in the 4th quarter to take control, and they couldn’t come up with a stop on the defensive end when they needed one. In Orlando, the Suns led by 3 with 7:26 to go, and got outscored 23-8 the rest of the way. In Miami, Phoenix got to within 4 on a few occasions in the 4th, but couldn’t stop the Heat, who feasted at the free throw line in the last 1:21 of the game. In Houston, it was the same old story, as the Suns had tied the score at 112-112 on a three-pointer by Steve Nash with :30 to go, but Aaron Brooks made a driving layup with :07 left to seal the win. And in San Antonio, once again the Suns couldn’t make a defensive play when the game was on the line, allowing Tony Parker to get into the lane to bury an 8-footer with just :26 left to put the game out of reach.
Pain Scale: 7 - The repeated nature of these games left the Suns and their fans frustrated to new levels.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Standing naked, and being hit by a continuous stream of paintballs.

December 25, 2008 - San Antonio 91…..Suns 90
Roger Freaking Mason? Really? Welcome to the club of Spurs players that murder the Suns, Roger, and Merry Christmas to you. Mason entered the game with 4.3 seconds left, and drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to put a lump of coal in the Suns’ stocking. Grant Hill had given Phoenix a 2-point lead with :04 left, before Mason stole Christmas. Suns’ faithful had become accustomed to having their hearts ripped out by Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Bowen and Horry, but Roger Mason?
Pain Scale: 8.9 - It’s not good to spew that many obscenities at your television on a holy holiday.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Walking in your bedroom to see your mortal enemy on top of your wife or girlfriend, while wearing only a Santa hat.

March 29, 2009 - Sacramento 126…..Suns 118
Ouch. The Sacramento Kings, a team the Suns had beaten by 48 points the last time they had met, really screwed up any chance of Phoenix reaching the playoffs. Dallas had been beaten earlier in the day by Cleveland, opening the door for the Suns to pick up a full game on the Mavs. Except the Suns forgot one thing, they had to play that night. The Kings had 7 players in double figures, and had over 100 points after the third quarter.
Pain Scale: 9 - They lost to the Kings! It’s like losing to a 3-year old in chess.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Having your fingers and toes slammed in a car door.

March 28, 2009 - Utah 104…..Suns 99 - Overtime
The Suns completely sleep-walked through the 2nd quarter, scoring 11 points, and fell behind by 17 points at the half. The lead grew to as many as 21 in the third quarter. But the Suns started chipping away, and trailed by 11 heading into the fourth. The blitz continued, and Phoenix dominated Utah in the 4th, building a 7-point lead with just over 2 minutes to play. The Jazz had cut it to 2 points with :23 left after a jumper by Deron Williams. Grant Hill inbounded to Matt Barnes, who under defensive pressure flipped the ball back to Hill. The ball bounced right off his chest, and right out of bounds, turning the ball over to Utah. Williams made another jumper with :13 left to tie the game, which headed to overtime, where the Suns lost by 5.
Pain Scale: 9.9 - This was the game that really killed any chances the Suns had of making the playoffs, especially seeing as how the Jazz have tanked down the stretch, going 2-6 since that game.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Root canal. No anesthesia.

April 5, 2009 - Dallas 140….Suns 116
National television audience. The Suns visiting Dallas, with a chance to close to within 2 games, and put some pressure on the Mavericks heading down the stretch. Not only did Phoenix not win. They embarrassed themselves by giving up 81 points in the first half en route to a demoralizing, hope-deflating, soul-crushing 24-point loss. Jason Kidd had 16 assists–in the first half! Josh Howard, who was questionable for the game, sank a 75-footer at the halftime buzzer just to rub more salt in the wound. Alvin Gentry summed it up with this quote, “Not in a million years would I have thought we’d come out and play that way in a game of that significance.”
Pain Scale : 0 - This loss essentially ended the pain.
Real Life Pain Equivalent: Are you familiar with the ending to Old Yeller?

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