Sun screened
Phoenix’s slow descent to the bottom of the Western Conference has certainly picked up in the month since they and the Bucks first played against one another.
The Suns have gone 4-9 in their last 13 games since meeting with the Bucks, which includes their current four-game losing streak with losses to the L.A. Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, and Toronto Raptors.
And their team-wide injury struggles haven’t let up by any means. Just in the last week, they’ve lost Kelly Oubre to a torn meniscus, which subsequently needed surgery to repair it. Then, Suns second-year big man DeAndre Ayton suffered a nasty sprained ankle in their loss to the Raptors and head coach Monty Williams braced for an extended absence for the seven-foot center to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic:
"“When I looked at the injury, it looked like it got jammed and that’s a tough one cause you don’t know how it’s going to respond,” Williams said. “Usually when you roll it, you can see, but when you get it jammed like with that much pressure, I think we just got to wait and see. He had some swelling last night.”"
For a season that got off to such a promising start, the ever-growing injury list the Suns have accrued has taken its toll and led to their gradual decline as the year has gone on.