Monty Williams: ‘Gotta make our guys stronger’

He looked angrily at his players without saying anything. With four minutes left in halftime, Monty Williams had no choice but to call another timeout. He was still in contact with the Knicks about five minutes ago (31-20), his Suns suffered only terribly … 21-0 (52-20).

Other than the consistency of New York’s baskets, without an answer from their opponents, the level of offense shown by the Arizona players raises questions: only 11 points in the first quarter and 31 points in the first period.

Monty Williams assures after the meeting that his troops are under open fire. But shooting 39% all night, it’s hard to do better than that modest total of 83 points — his worst offensive performance of the season — or Donovan Mitchell’s Cavs in the only second period against the Bulls. .

Challenges outside

Performance as assessed by technician” worryingly, it happens all too often with this team “. Suns coach Julius Randle (10/12) and Jalen Brunson (just 6/11) lamented that they both took more free throws than their entire team: only 7 weak free throws (5/7). ” It’s hard to swallow, that’s what I’m saying “Without the risk of slipping, Monty Williams notes.

He adds: ” The only way to get through hard times is to get through them, I told the kids. This is basketball. We’ve been there before, in our first year: we lost eight straight games and ended the season with eight straight wins. I need to make our boys stronger mentally and emotionally. »

The coach does not want to attribute the current poor dynamics to the difficulties of the calendar, with a “road trip” that begins at Christmas and ends next Wednesday. But the Suns, who have just lost six of their last seven outings, are traveling badly: just six wins in 19 games away from home.

No savior is expected

An explanation? Deandre Ayton, the team’s leading scorer with just 12 points against the Knicks, is struggling to find anything. ” I’m not used to our lack of fighting spirit. I’m used to being 100 points behind (sic), We still have that mentality that we’re going to go out and win or we’re going to win this game. We don’t have any at the moment. […] We cannot tell ourselves that someone will pity us or save us: no one will. », develop loop probably thinking of Devin Booker.

In the absence of the latter, the Suns have a dismal record of two wins to seven losses. The team was still 3rd in the West (16v-10d) before the back’s health issues started. He then dropped to 9th place (20v-18d).

Deandre Ayton still has concerns about responding to the physical challenges offered by opposing teams. “ They try to abuse us, so they strike first. But we can cash it back. […] We have to take shots and not let ourselves down when we don’t, because in the end we have to defend on the other side of the pitch. This is what slows us down. We are either worried about the score or we are worried about not being able to score. This affects our efforts “Judge Ayton.

The interior awaits a response from his team in Cleveland on Wednesday. After this matchup, Phoenix will play twice at home (Heat and Cavs) before returning to a series of unexpected trips: Warriors, Nuggets, Wolves and Grizzlies…