Does Stephen A. have reason to believe in the Suns? ➡️ NO! WHY?! 🗣️ | First Take

Does Stephen A. have reason to believe in the Suns? ➡️ NO! WHY?! 🗣️ | First Take

Which loss was more troubling to you to me it was the Dallas Mavericks I mean we’ve got guys like Tim legler and others rightfully so I might add really really raving about what they’ve seen from the Dallas Mavericks particularly with Kyrie Irving and Luca donic clicking and what have you along with

Derek Lively and the acquisition of gaffy and others they’ve got some size on them Etc maybe they can make some noise in the west and then they go out and they lose to a 76ers Squad without Joel and be and I know it’s just one game is the regular season but you know

It’s moments like that that gives you cause to pause and make you look at a team like the Dallas Mavericks and saying how legitimate are they we know that Luca Dona can explode we know that Kyrie Irving can explode but if you can find a way to make things interesting

Which which which should be easy for most teams uh you know what what’s going to happen with them who can they really really be to why to bias Harris looked all World yesterday I’m looking at stuff like that and it just gave me cause to pause from the Mavericks in terms of

What I saw I expected better all right’s keep it in wait sorry Shannon go ahead what the problem trying to figure out you and you and park killed me the other day when I said the Maverick’s not going to do anything y’all beat me up y’all

Double te me y’all jump me right you in big Park did that to me well but I’m sorry wasn’t that before they lost to the 60s was wasn’t that before they lost I mean it was it was like I said it was like I said after I’m just saying without him

Being without embid it did get me it make me say the Dallas what’s up with y’all what’s up with that I mean was the game too early on a Sunday afternoon or something I did expect more what’s wrong with that okay okay you know go ahead

Tim get it in listen no no I’m going to get in on this listen because I you’re right I I have been high on Dallas since the Acquisitions at the trade deadline since they found the chemistry between Kyrie and Luke and Kyrie has looked energized and into it and he looks like

You know he wants to be out there every night here’s the problem I’m just going to call them out they don’t play hard enough they don’t play hard enough it’s that simple they do not lay it on the line defensively the way you have to to be considered a legitimate Contender

They have everything they need offensively every single night to go toe-to-toe with any team in this league because of the way that Luca controls the game as a scorer and passer and the supplemental offense to get out of Kyrie and they got more than enough shooting

They got bouncy legs in the middle now they’ve got everything you need offensively they just gave up 127 points a game in the last five games they don’t compete on the defensive end of the floor to the extent that you need to plain and simple and if they don’t

Absolutely right both you they could lose in the playin they could lose in the first round series if they can just leave a little more skin on the floor they have an opportunity to truly challenge to get to the Western Conference Finals if they do it if they

Don’t they go home early and it’s just a bunch ofy numbers that guys are putting up every night that doesn’t mean anything all right let’s move let’s talk about another another team out there in the west that has a lot of questions the Phoenix Suns uh Stephen A do you have

Reason to believe in Phoenix no why first of all I got to wonder about the health their health all the time Bradley Bill Devin Booker Kevin Durant have only played 23 games out of the 61 um that’s number one I mean I believe in them offensively I know

They’re all World they can score on anybody so in that regard I’ll believe in them but I got to tell you something right now you know what Shannon you’re watching games this maybe I maybe I watch the games this week and it just altered my thinking because I know you

Gonna get on me about that too I know you’re gonna get on me about that too but but but listen I’m G tell y’all why I wanted to bring up this subject because it’s something that’s very interesting that I couldn’t wait to bring it to both of y’all because I know

How y’all are on subjects like this we were arguing on NBA Countdown yesterday about Kevin Durant who by the way since he arrived in Phoenix is averaging 27 on 43% shooting from three-point range and we know from a skilled position how all World Kevin Durant is no question about

It but Bob Meyers was talking about you know how expecting too much etc etc and I was like yo yo did you know this Kevin Durant ain’t been out of the second round since he left Golden State this Kevin Durant we talking about that is not good that is not good now obviously

If Kyrie hadn’t gotten hurt against Milwaukee I thought they would have won it all but it happened but he has not been out on the second round since he departed from Golden State and by the way there’s a sweep in the first round at the hands of Boston not this

Boston team from a couple of years ago when he was in Brooklyn that happened with him and Kyrie on the floor so we got to pay attention to that and what I was saying guys yesterday was this at some point in time when we talk about leadership because leadership became a

Part of the discussion and Shannon and you and I talked about this last week with Kevin Durant what I said to Bob Myers was when you you go to the negotiating table do you just sit up there and say I’m going to put up numbers but we going to lose or whatever

Or do you say I’m a Difference Maker because they were talk he was talking about how people lead in different ways and I said when you it’ be one thing if you never won but when you have won because this is a two-time champion we’re talking about at Kevin Durant and

A two-time NBA Finals MVP that means you know what it takes that means you’ve been surrounded in an environment where you saw what it would take in order to capture it there isn’t something a little extra if necessary required of you to do that you extend beyond yourself if the chip is

That important that was the kind of discussion that we were engaging in and I was saying that’s what the Suns appear to be lacking and if somebody doesn’t step up and step out of themselves to give you a little something extra and what we’re accustomed to seeing from

Them they’re not going anywhere that’s where I was standing on it I wanted to know how y’all felt about that because that’s how I feel about the Suns go ahead go ahead Shannon I ain’t gonna beat you up CU we had this conversation me you and perk had the conversation

Last week and y’all beat me over the head told perk told me I need to watch more games legs even though I watch this game is he watch because I got to come out here and talk basketball with Stephen A the concerns that I’ve always had with the Phoenix Suns is their

Injury history Kevin durandis had knee has KNE injury problems Booker has had a hamstring ISS had hamstring problems Bradley Beal has had injury history so my concerns were can they play enough games together listen I’ve got I’ve got some serious concerns about him for for a couple reasons one you guys have both

Touched on it but listen can you three guys ever play together can you just get on the floor on the same night so we can really evaluate what it’s going to look like they’ve hardly played together so there’s always that caveat when you talk about the Suns well man you know we need

To see a larger sample size of what those it looks like with those three players I don’t know if we’re going to get it I feel like as soon as one guy comes back from an injury another guy gets gets tweaked or banged up and and

Goes and sits so we never really see him at full strength so that’s obviously one concern that has to happen between now and the end of the season like you need to see me give me a 15 game stretch where I see you guys every single night

They have a brutal schedule coming up over the next two weeks you got Boston twice you got Denver you got Milwaukee and you got the Cavaliers that’s five of your next seven games now if we can get all three guys on the court maybe it gives you a better idea how they stack

Up with these teams we haven’t seen it but here’s the actual bigger concern for me there’s no real flow to what they do offensively because they don’t have a true point guard they don’t have a table sitter an organizer offensively what they have are three great offensive players who sort of operate

Independently of each other we roll with this guy for a few possessions then we roll with this guy for a few possession possessions and then the other guy for a few possessions but when you watch teams with great flow and Rhythm to their offense and he ran into one last night

With Oklahoma city that has a clear identity every trip how they are going to play it’s going to be Shay gilgas Alexander in the middle of the floor either isoing or ball screen and then they space out off of that and they move it with great Rhythm so you look at

Every team in the league really there’s an identity trip after trip I don’t necessarily see that with the Suns I see a series of tough shots and a lot of tough shots that are made and it reminds you with the greatness of these players that is not going to be good enough

Against the competition level in the Western Conference look they’ve got what 23 24 games left whatever it is to change our minds but right now it sounds like we’re all in agreement we have high skepticism when it comes to the Phoenix Suns actually making a run through the

Western Conference so again I asked the question uh somewhat rhetorically but in all seriousness I just I I would like a quick answer on this what do we make of a team when you have a superstar because he is a superstar that is Kevin Durant

And it’s like yo I am who I am this is what I do work around it what do you do when it’s it’s something more that’s required when we think about the great ones that we’ve talked about you know it’s easy to point to MJ it’s easy to

Point to Kobe what about Isaiah Thomas what about the kind of leader he was what about the way he was able to hold Bad Boy Pistons accountable there was a certain way you were going to do things cuz we after the chip now you going to

Be a part of this or you ain’t gonna be you gonna be up out of here what about that I mean we don’t see that from a guy like Kevin Durant is that okay or is it a need that needs to be addressed in terms of digging something out of yourself that

May not be something that you normally do in order to get to where you need to go Stephen A I look at Kevin Durant’s situation like a relationship when you’re getting into a relationship with a woman you accept them as they are not how you wish them to be except Kevin

Durant as he is not how you wish him to be okay okay yeah and I and I would Echo it saying this Stephen A at this stage of Kevin Durant’s career you’re not going to see a change in that regard Kevin Durant’s always carried himself

Like I’m going to show up and play and do what I do and that’s going to be good enough because of this exceptional Talent you know and maybe in this case it would require more I just don’t see based on his personality and his track record and how he carries himself and

The way he leads which is by showing up and being productive every night at a really high level that’s how he does it it might not be enough in this situation but I don’t think you can expect change at this point because he told you

Stephen A he says the way I show up in work the way I practice the way I treat my teammates that’s leadership for him that’s the way he views it not saying anything about holding guys accountable like like I need you to do this that’s

Not what he is so I’m accept him how he is not how I wish him to be got it all right uh very good relationship advice by the way there Shannon for both men and women I you come to your boy if you want that relationship advice come to

Your boy night cap I give it to you night now we know we know we you got a few things on me that ain’t one of them N I ain’t we get together have some of that conac we we’ll get together have some of that CAC I’m talk about let’s all get

Together have some shout to VSOP and let’s let’s enjoy theight by latier

Does Stephen A. have reason to believe in the Suns? ➡️ NO! WHY?! 🗣️ | First Take

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Tim Legler talk through the state of the Dallas Mavericks, along with their confidence level in the Phoenix Suns.

0:00 76ers over Mavericks
3:11 Believe in the Suns?
6:39 Concerns about Phoenix

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