PHOENIX - Another road loss, another batch of cryptic postgame comments that can only lead you to believe there is more to the Warriors' recent dreadful stretch than just simply a dreadful stretch. Friday's game against Phoenix went about the way you figured it would go. Miles removed from the Bay Area, the Warriors continued an alarming trend of failing to be competitive in venues other than the Arena in Oakland. The place was America West Arena, and the final: Suns 104, Warriors 93. It was the Warriors' 10th consecutive road loss. Average margin in those defeats: 15.5 points. It was also the Warriors' 10th loss in 12 games overall. Are players tiring of coach Eric Musselman? Are there issues between and among players? Has Musselman lost confidence in his team? Has the team lost confidence in him? What's the Warriors' front office's role in all this? There are no black-and-white answers. Just lots of gray and lots of intimation. "It's very disappointing because we've got enough talent to get it done, " forward Clifford Robinson said after a game in which the Warriors fell behind by 20 points in the second quarter and 24 in the third. "But talent only takes you so far. You've got to play hard. You've got to play consistent. You've got to play together. "You've got to want it. My honest opinion is that as a group we don't want it. We don't truly want it. We say we want it. But we don't do the things it takes to win games on a consistent basis. A stretch here, a stretch there, that's not going to get it done." As reporters walked away from Robinson, a veteran of 14 NBA seasons, he said loud enough for all to hear: "And that's from top to bottom. From top to bottom, not everybody is on the same page." The Warriors were more than just a little sluggish in the first half, something Musselman in part attributed to the team being undermanned -- no Nick Van Exel and Brian Cardinal -- and the fact it played Thursday night. But so did the Suns, owners of the worst record in the Western Conference. Phoenix (14-26) shot 65.8 percent in the first half on its way to an 18-point halftime lead. Musselman seemed to coach with desperation in the first half, substituting more like a hockey coach making line changes than a basketball coach. The only thing he seemed to be missing was a cane, which he could have used to get players more efficiently off the floor. After each Phoenix score or Warriors miscue, Musselman invariably looked down his bench in search of a better player or better unit. The only player seemingly given any slack on this night was Calbert Cheaney, who managed to play 16 first-half minutes despite going 1-for-5 from the field. Musselman has called Cheaney his best perimeter defender, but it was virtually impossible to single out any Warrior for defensive prowess. Every Phoenix player but one made at least half his shots in the first half. "I think when you get down by a large margin you have to do something, " Musselman said. "You can't just ride the ship. We were searching for an offensive combination and a defensive combination." That quest has been ongoing since the start of this road losing streak, which began with a 119-93 loss at Orlando on Dec. 19. Neither general manager Garry St. Jean nor special assistant Chris Mullin has witnessed any of the recent road debacles firsthand. Earlier in the season, at least one of them was accompanying the team on the road. Neither, however, has made a trip with the team in any of its past four road trips. Point guard Avery Johnson, a veteran of 15 NBA seasons, offered a different opinion of what might be wrong with Team Warrior. "It's just that we're in a funky groove right now," he said. "It doesn't smell good. It doesn't taste good. And personally, a lot of the guys on this team, from what I see, treat basketball like a job. And some of what I've seen in other situations, it was more love of the game." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 兩個老將忍不住講講話了 --

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