The Suns, who recently won three in a row, lost to the Hawks away today, and the morale they had finally accumulated plummeted.

It's not scary to lose, it's how you lose. In the first three quarters, both teams were still inseparable, Booker and Durant's offensive firepower was on the line today, and Beal still insisted on returning to the court after a 90-degree kick, and the will to fight was not to be said, but it seemed that there was only the will left.

But the turning point came in the second half of the fourth quarter, when the Suns kept losing backcourt rebounds, and when the Hawks missed new offensive opportunities again and again on the offensive end, the Suns' morale fell across the board. It's hard not to be frustrated when you've managed to defend against the opposing offense, but you're not guaranteed to rebound and give your opponent unlimited new offensive opportunities.

So Durant was very depressed today, and it was understandable that he walked straight back to the locker room before the game was over. Today, Durant scored 31 points and Booker scored 35 points, and another round of smoke was ushered in a game that had not yet been won.

Today, the Suns lost 17 rebounds to the team, the Suns had 6 offensive rebounds, the Hawks had 20, and Okongu alone grabbed 10 offensive rebounds. Okongu had 22 points and 21 rebounds in the game, setting a career-high rebounding record.

The Suns' rebounding explosion was not an exception at all, and they also lost 13 rebounds in their last game against the Hornets. Mark Williams of the Hornets had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the first half, turning the Suns inside into a buffet. Ma Wei had 24 points and 16 rebounds in the game, which was also a season high.

In the previous game, the Jazz lost 12 rebounds, while Kessler and Eubanks grabbed 24 rebounds; In the first meeting with the Hornets, the Suns lost and lost 17 rebounds; Against the 76ers, who did not have Embiid and no Zhuangshen, they also lost 2 rebounds.

In the previous game, you could say that Nurkic didn't attack, defend, or rebound, but he has been on the cold bench for a week, and he was completely DNP by Budenholzer, you can't blame a center who can't play, right?

Putting Plumlee as the starting center is too hard for him. Plumlee is a 20-minute center forward at the top, and his standard is limited. Previously, the Suns had been playing the decisive moment with the more energetic Iguodaro, and today they didn't replace Iguodaro until they were 10 points behind in the final three minutes, and the dish was already cold.

The Suns are now 25th in the league in rebounding and 27th in the league in offensive rebounds. Teams that are worse than the Suns' rebounds include the offense-minded Pacers, the injury-plagued Magic, the Lakers who can't get up, the Nets who point fingers at Flagg, and the 76ers who don't play Embiid.

Plumlee and Iguodalo also have a reason, one takes a base salary, and the other takes a rookie contract. Isn't it normal for one to not have the ability to play as a starter, and the other to not have enough game experience, and to be snatched up by the opposite side?

Nurkic's $18 million contract has completely become a negative asset, the kind that can't be given away in a few second rounds, and it is very likely that he will stay with the Suns this season. Nurkic will be more difficult to trade than Beal, and the whole league wants to slaughter the Suns, and the Suns have no reason to stick their necks out.

Now that the whole league knows that the Suns want Butler, let's not talk about whether Beal is willing to give up the veto on the trade, even if the Suns get Butler in the trade of the lackey, can it solve the current rebounding problem? The three inner lines are still there, and they are still useless.

In my opinion, trading Butler for Butler means you have to give him a big long-term contract, which could put the Suns in a bigger trap than they are right now. Of course, there is a reason why the Heat did not renew Butler's contract, and not many teams are willing to walk into this trap when they know that Butler's future contract will inevitably be at a premium.

But if there's one team that does, it's probably the Suns. Ishbia, the owner of the Suns, is a player who has just entered the game, so he waved his hand to form a big three and prepare for stud, but the NBA has long been not playing like this.

Compared to the flashiness of the Big Three, the current team is competing for squad depth and rationality, the team's financial situation cannot be too bad, and there is enough potential to be tapped internally. It's a pity that the current sun is terrible in all these aspects.

A boss like Ishbia, who can afford to play and lose, is himself a venture capitalist. But such a person is not wronged, and he will not invest endlessly without regard for returns. The roster hasn't brought a playoff win yet, and the Suns look like they're just fighting for a playoff spot this season.

The path you choose, even if you kneel, you have to finish it. For the Suns boss, for Durant, it's true.