To say this season has not gone the way the Phoenix Suns would have hoped would be a massive understatement but things don't look like they are getting better anytime soon. The Suns have lost 17 of their last 19 games one of which was to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. After the loss to the 76ers, head coach Jeff Hornacek was none too happy with one of his players' effort. Hornacek didn't call out the player by name but it seems to be T.J. Warren, according to Michael Gallagher of Yahoo Sports.
There was one specific play that Hornacek was talking about where a player "totally didn't know where his man was." A vine attached to the tweet above shows Warren completely losing Hollis Thompson who made a wide open three because of his lack of awareness so it is extremely likely that's who Hornacek was referring to.
This is reportedly not the first time Hornacek has been unhappy with Warren though. Hornacek has regularly been unhappy with Warren's effort level, specifically on the defensive end where he hasn't been good this season. Warren did not come into the league known as a good defender but in the NBA if you want to earn playing time good defense is a good way to do so regardless of how well you can score.
Because of the questionable effort and lack of defense Warren's minutes have been very sporadic. Warren had a game last week where he played just three minutes before being benched by Hornacek because of what he called a lack of hustle, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Since then Warren's minutes have gone up, including the Suns last game against the Cavaliers which was on the same day when Hornacek questioned his effort. Most of Warren's minutes against Cleveland did come in garbage time though.
It is surprising to hear that a young player who is trying to make a name for himself in the NBA is having his hustle and effort questioned but that is the case with Warren and it is a shame. When Warren is on the court this season he has played extremely well as he is third on the team in scoring with 10.9 points while shooting 40 percent from three in 22.8 minutes per game off the bench. Warren is a gifted offensive player and the Suns may have something in the 22 year old forward but it is not promising to hear that his effort is already being questioned in just his second NBA season.
