Suns still in control

The Phoenix Suns are coming off the kind of gut-wrenching loss that can stay with you and have a detrimental effect on future outings.

Up by seven late in the fourth quarter and on the verge of taking a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, the Suns saw it all evaporate like a glass of water left out on a hot day. It was theirs to take and then it was gone.

They have lost two in a row and seen a once-promising 2-0 series lead disappear.

Chris Paul had one of his worst games in years in Game 4. Devin Booker had a poor outing in Game 3.

By all accounts, this team should be considered down and ready to be counted out.

The truth of the matter is that these Suns are in control of these NBA Finals.

Part of it is home court advantage, which the whole world has seen play out in this series with the road team 0-4 so far. It is now a best-of-three series, with Phoenix playing host for two of those games.

But that's just part of it.

The other side of it — and the part that should give Suns fans plenty of confidence regardless of where the momentum meter is pointing at this stage in the series — is the steady hand of Monty Williams.

Coaches probably get too much blame and quite often too much credit for what transpires from night to night in the field of play.

But at this point in time with the series where it is, Williams' influence cannot be overstated.

Williams' life experiences from his career, from his first foray into coaching — which he readily admits was a real learning experience — to his off-court dealings with real life have prepared him for a moment like this like few others.

His message to his players heading into an all-important Game 5 on the Suns' home court: “Don't drift on me.”

“It's just life,” Williams said of where that message came from. “You're going to face stuff. You know what I'm saying? The human tendency, the natural tendency, is to drift, not count your blessings. That was what I was trying to do, remind our guys how hard they've worked to get to this point.”

The Suns' situation isn't as bad as one might think.

The Game 4 loss was anything but crisp Suns' basketball. Look no further than the 17 turnovers for proof of that.

And then ask yourself what are the chances of Chris Paul having back-to-back five-turnover games?

It's hardly likely given his track record. Paul certainly doesn't seem to be overly worried about it.

“Even though it may be an anomaly, it happens,” Paul said. “I turned the ball over hella times before.

“End of the day, we got to win the game. Me turning the ball over is not giving us enough shots at the basket. I'll figure it out.”

The fact of the matter is not only are the Suns coming home to their raucous crowd and familiar surroundings, they are coming back knowing that the things that prevented them from having a lead in this series are easily corrected.

From Paul's uncharacteristic turnovers, to Booker's foul trouble — which kept him from taking the force and rhythm he had in the third quarter of Game 4 into the fourth — the Suns have plenty of room for improvement and they know it.

And they have Williams saying all the right things and keeping this team locked in on the prize ahead.

Sure, the last two games haven't gone their way, but the series remains theirs to take.