Thanks to a new explosion of Devin Booker against the Pelicans, the Suns won the duel between the two teams, but the Phoenix fans were still shaking at the end of the match.
Because when CJ McCollum scored a 3-pointer at the start of the last three minutes of the match, there was only a seven-point difference between the two teams (115-108) while Kevin Durant and his gang had counted up to 27 points in the third quarter. Except that Arizona's offense tends to freeze at the end of the game.
The Suns collapse there
With 104.2 points scored over 100 possessions in the fourth quarter, the Suns are (by far) the worst offense of the last round, and as they are at the same time the 27th defense (118.2 points conceded over 100 possessions) , their “Net Rating” breaks records of mediocrity (-14.2)! To give an idea of the scale of the problem, the Heat, the second worst team in the fourth quarter, has a Net Rating of only -6.1, so the gap between 30th and 29th is as large as 'between the 29th and the 9th, the Lakers (+1.8)…
Obviously, the Suns therefore display the worst difference between points scored and conceded in the fourth quarter, at -224. The Heat are just ahead, with -98 while in first place, we find the Celtics (+110), the Nuggets (+89), the Wolves (+87), the Thunder (+83), the Knicks (+ 74), the Pacers (+70) and the Cavaliers (+57).
The most worrying thing is that the observation dates back several weeks. In mid-January, Frank Vogel and his players were already asked about their concerns at the end of the match. Bradley Beal then explained that the stars were undoubtedly afraid of stepping on each other's toes, when Kevin Durant pleaded for a simplification of the attack.
“I feel like sometimes we could simplify our offense a little more and play to our individual strengths”, he then explained. “When we had solid fourth quarters, it was when we attacked defenders who were getting on shots. We were making quick decisions. We were getting into our actions a little earlier on possession, that sort of thing. If we play a little faster, but keep control in the fourth quarter, it will start to work in our favor.”
Two and a half months later, things haven't really gone in the Suns' favor. Are Kevin Durant and Devin Booker too tired from their efforts up front to shine offensively late in the game? In any case, with a few games remaining in the regular season, this persistent problem is cause for concern.
Just yesterday, the guard only scored 4 of his 52 points in the last 12 minutes of the game…
The Pelicans do not reverse the situations there
The good news for Phoenix is that the Pelicans have their own problems in the fourth quarter. Unlike the Suns, they don't collapse there. But they are unable to achieve a comeback.
This season, New Orleans led or was tied 55 times after the third quarter. Result ? 45 victories for 10 defeats. Willie Green's team, on the other hand, was trailing 20 times at the end of the third quarter. Result ? 20 defeats. Yes, no stunning fourth quarter. Either the Pelicans have control of the match and they maintain it in the last round, or they lose.
In these conditions, Willie Green recalled that his players could not start the games badly, and thus chase the score, as was the case against the Suns.
“Even though they are trailing, the guys don’t give up. They stick together, they don’t complain, they fight”, assures the coach. “Our resilience is strong but our margin for error is low without Brandon (Ingram) and Jose (Alvarado). We are missing our passing leader by more than 20 points so we need to start better. We did it in the last few matches, but not this evening. We have to play 48-minute matches. Currently, it's more between 32 and 35 and we need to push that to 40. That would give us a better chance of winning. »
