Suns keep things in perspective after frightening Damar Hamlin moment

Depleted and fatigued as they get set to wrap up theirseason-long, six-game road trip Wednesday night in Cleveland, thereeling Phoenix Suns are keeping things in perspective.

It started with a candid conversation between the whole team,coaching staff included, following a listless 102-83 loss to theKnicks on Monday afternoon in New York — Phoenix’s thirdstraight defeat and sixth in seven contests. However, the topic ofdiscussion shifted Tuesday on the heels of the tragic cardiacarrest that Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered mid-game inCincinnati after Phoenix's contest ended.

“We saw last night how important our brotherhood in sports is,watching the young man [Damar Hamlin] go down on the field lastnight. We talked about that today,” Suns head coach MontyWilliams told Basketball News and the Arizona Republic at anafternoon practice on Tuesday.

“Yeah, we want to be really good as a team, but let's not forgetpeople are going through a lot more worse than us. We lost a fewgames, you know? This young man is fighting for his life and hisfamily's going through a tough time... I think it's just anothersituation where a guy was doing the very best to help his team inone of the biggest NFL games of the year, and then that happenedand the whole scene changed from 'sport' to 'life.' And that alwayshas to be at the forefront. With that in mind, we have to be ableto compartmentalize as best we can and do the jobs that we're paidto do.”

Suns forward Mikal Bridges echoed Williams’ sentiments about thetrivial nature of the game versus the health of a humanbeing.

“It's life. It's gonna get bumpy on the road. Luckily for us,our 'bumpy on the road' is just losing games. [There are] a lot ofother things that's worse,” Bridges told Basketball News and theArizona Republic. “We've just gotta stay with it, just keep gettingbetter and just get through it. You know, it ain't gonna rainforever, but if you just soak it in, just sit out there, it will.So you've just gotta keep fighting through it, keep going and justget through it.”

On the court, away from the Footprint Center since ChristmasDay, Phoenix has had its troubles with the injury bug and finding arhythm on both ends. Devin Booker went down four minutes into atrip that began on a holiday in Denver and will conclude across thecountry in Cleveland just days into the New Year.

Nobody’s body feels perfect; Bridges had a bag of ice on hisright knee and Chris Paul had a wrap on his left calf, while CamPayne just reentered the fold last game after missing half ofDecember with a foot injury and Landry Shamet even missed some timewith a sore Achilles following a 31-point outburst in relief ofBooker. Cameron Johnson is still on the mend as well, recoveringfrom meniscus surgery, and hasn’t played a game since Nov. 4. (Hewas getting shots up on Tuesday, so that’s a good sign.)

But the longtime NBA player and coach Williams knows this iswhat happens over the course of an 82-game NBA season, and in theseshort-handed times, it’s about finding a way to execute with theSuns players who are available to go.

“I just think you want to see a consistent style of play, nomatter who you have on the floor,” Williams responded to BasketballNews. “The outcome might not be the same because of the talent, butyou can still play the same style. Nobody can take away your effortand your defense, and that's something that is an old adage in theNBA. I'm looking more for a consistent style of play. Sometimesyou're not gonna make shots, but you can still play hard, you canstill defend.”

Williams said that the Suns were shocked when he told them theyactually won the second half against the Knicks. (Phoenix outscoredNew York 52-48.)

“You always want to finish out a road trip on a winning note,but in order to do that, it has to be a step-by-step process,”Williams stated. “We have to stack salad as best as we can, and notget deflated if you miss a few shots. I thought that hurt us in thefirst half. The first half put us in a hole; that can't happen, butmore in a hole emotionally.

"I believe we'll be better tomorrow because you have to learnthrough these moments. Everybody in the league is gonna go throughit. You can lose, or you can lose and learn, and I hope we do thelatter.”

Bridges kept it simple about his expanded role and how the teamcan adapt.

“Maybe being a little more aggressive, but I just feel like keepplaying the right way, find opportunities to score and then, justplaying good ball. Play the right way at all times,” Bridgessaid.

“I just know you have to be resilient through the ups and downsof a season,” Williams added. “Like, no team in this league isgonna have a full allotment of their players through the season. Soyou're gonna have those adversities. No team is gonna play a gamewhere they agree with the whistle every game. And I could gothrough the list of notes. You have to be resilient. We've had along road trip. We've been on the road for a long time. It's like,look, man, that's life. You could be digging a ditch in a differentcountry. So our guys understand what we have to do, we gotta do itmore consistently, but we also understand that basketball is just agame.”

Whether the Suns finish with a victory at Rocket MortgageFieldHouse or not, they’ll return home for a quick cup of coffeeagainst the Miami Heat and the same Cavs they’ll face Tuesday.Then, another four-game swing on the road will await.

The competition will come fast and furious, and there will be notime to feel sorry for themselves. Williams appreciates the factthat Phoenix is unhappy with its play of late and has takeninitiative to ensure things get turned around.

“I mean I think teams have these [meetings] two or three times ayear, especially if you have expectations. I applaud the guys forcaring enough to talk about it,” Williams said. “I'm not into the'team meetings' stuff where they go off and do all that. That'sjust not my thing. If you're gonna have a team meeting, in myopinion, you do it with everybody, [including] coaches, so we canall hear each other talk about stuff.

“And it's not that dramatic. The guys understand that there'sthings that we have to do at a higher level because we are one,missing guys, and two, playing on the road against good teams. It'snot like Hebrew math. You've gotta figure it out. So I applaud theguys for talking and caring, and they care. Our team is filled witha bunch of poor losers. It's one of the reasons I love these guysso much.”