Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard Humble Nash-Less Phoenix Suns Back-To-Back
The Phoenix Suns headed out on their east coast road trip on a three-game winning streak.
The streak included a road victory over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in which they made a franchise record 22 three-point field goals, and a home win over the Denver Nuggets after trailing by 15 points in the first half.
However all that was quickly forgotten after the Suns were throttled in South Beach on Wednesday night by the Heat. Phoenix struggled from the field, the three-point line, and its porous interior defense has never been more obvious.
The Suns weakness on the rebounding front has long been their Achilles heel, but with center Robin Lopez out for the next few weeks with a knee injury, Phoenix will be tested like never before.
If the 27-point loss to Miami was enough to rain on Suns fans parade, then Thursday night's shellacking in the Magic Kingdom at the hands of Dwight Howard and company likely brought thunderstorms.
Sure, it will go down in the books as a 16-point loss on the road, but the first three quarters told a much different tale.
Orlando dominated Phoenix from tip off and the game was already out of reach by the end of the first quarter, Orlando led 31-15.
By the end of the third quarter Phoenix was playing purely for respect, the lead had ballooned to 32 points.
Two nights, two humiliating losses, two huge stories.
Two-time league MVP Steve Nash missed Thursday night's game with a groin injury suffered the previous night, forcing head coach Alvin Gentry to start Goran Dragic at point guard.
At 36 years old, time isn't on Nash's side and for years now it seems that basketball analysts everywhere have dismissed him every season, claiming he can't keep it up and compete against the league's younger guards.
Trade chatter has been prevalent early this season in the desert also, rumors have been swirling that if the Suns show little playoff promise in the coming months the front office could deal him to a contender in exchange for some young talent.
But for now it seems as if Nash will be fine and wearing purple for some time to come, he has missed back to backs in the past due to back spasms and other minor issues.
Moving on to the Suns' defensive and rebounding concerns.
Phoenix will never stifle opponents on the defensive end or win the battle of the boards every night, but they've never had to because of their potent offense which could shoot them into a game just as quickly as it could shoot them out of one.
This season the Suns' do not own the league's highest scoring offense like in years past, they have lost a step, primarily because of the addition of so many new faces.
What does that mean?
Easy, the Suns' must rebound by committee, and rebound well, if they are to have any chance of keeping their heads above water in the wild west.
In addition to the rebounding crisis Phoenix faces at the moment, the Suns are equally pitiful in the interior defense department.
Chris Bosh had a coming out party against the Suns on Wednesday night scoring a season-high 35 points in the win.
Fast forward 24 hours later, and it was Dwight Howard torching the Suns defense for a smooth double-double (20 Pts, 12 Reb).
Both are undoubtedly excellent players and superstars in their own right but it is the fact that their performances were met with such little resistance.
Phoenix likes to run, but you can't run if you are consistently inbounding the ball from underneath your own basket.
One bright spot from the Suns' disastrous start to the road trip has been the play of Grant Hill, the 38-year-old has mastered back-to-backs this season, and chipped in a game high 21 points on 8-9 shooting Thursday night.
The Suns will look to bounce back and shake the losing streak Saturday night in Charlotte when they take on the Bobcats (4-7).
Patrick Clarke is a student at Towson University and writing intern for Bleacher Report.
