MILWAUKEE —  The Phoenix Suns are who they are — not an NBA championship contender. Not even close.

They might very well figure it out come playoff time, but right now, the Suns (39-29) are right where they should be — in the play-in that will be hell to survive with a seed.

Eighth in the West, the Suns would have to beat the Mavericks in Dallas to get the seventh seed if the postseason started today.

A loss and they’re hosting either the Warriors or Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Really? Wow. They’ve dealt with injuries, and only had their Big 3 together for 27 games (16-11 record).  

Devin Booker keeps saying they have things to address as he smiled after Friday’s win at Charlotte in saying the Suns (39-29) fix one thing, but then repair something else.

The following have been problems all season:

Turnover prone, don’t get back on defense after coughing it up and lack consistent urgency, which is crazy considering their current postseason situation.

Struggle in man-to-man defensive and give up the paint without much rim protection, which further hinders their already weak 3-point shooting defense. Too much hand down, man down.

That also leaves them vulnerable on the offensive boards, especially when going small.

Play iso ball, take tough shots and don’t get enough easy looks despite having three prolific scorers in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Booker.

Those ills are why the Milwaukee Bucks (44-24), even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, could splatter Phoenix with 82 points in the first half of a 140-129 victory Sunday afternoon at Fiserv Forum.

Let’s get right to the takeaways as the Suns trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and 25 in the second in concluding a four-game road trip.

Suns’ defensive disaster

Damian Lillard going for 31 points is one thing. With Antetokounmpo out, Lillard went Portland-mode early in being aggressive, but how did he come up with 16 assists, too?

The Suns not only couldn’t guard him off the bounce, they helped off so much, that it left the four other guys relying on Lillard to set them for 3s to have open shots off the drive-and-kick game. The Bucks went 24-of-41 on 3s two games after Boston blitzed the Suns for 25-of-50 Thursday night.

Lillard took advantage of what he called “lazy switching” by the Suns to score or find teammates.

Yes, this modern NBA is leading to historic offensive numbers, but any team that gives up 18 3s in the first half when they weren’t having to defend Antetokounmpo playing downhill to really force the defense to converge in the paint to help isn’t a championship contender right now.

Now, Bobby Portis going 5-of-5 from 3 in scoring 25 points in the first half came out of nowhere, even though he let it be known he’s caught fire like this before. Fair enough, but Portis made up for Antetokounmpo being out not only with his 31 points, but 10 rebounds and three steals.

Frank Vogel has a reputation for being a defensive-driven coach, but his team isn’t playing like that end of the court is a major priority — or maybe they just can’t guard the ball. Period.

Kevin Durant’s dilemma

He’s right. Any team that scores 129 points should win. The Suns lost Sunday’s game on defense.

He’s right. The Suns went small with him at the five and got back in the game. They cut the 24-point deficit down to six in the third, but Portland closed the quarter on a 9-0 run to go back up 15.

And yes, Durant had to take care of other things, like rebound and defend in that small ball unit as the Bucks played Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks off the floor by spreading the Suns out.

However, Durant taking 10 shots in scoring 11 points with only one coming in the fourth is not enough even with Beal cranking out a team-high 28, Grayson Allen having 25, hitting 6-of-11 from 3, and Booker adding 23.

Durant said after the game Allen took his “scoring spot” Sunday, but teams will live with Allen going for 25 if it means Durant’s scoring just 11. The Suns got by with Durant only scoring 13 in Friday’s win over lottery Charlotte, but the Bucks are a different monster that can score at will.

Phoenix needed Durant in that go-get-it mode. Allen can score, but Durant is now nine points away from passing Shaquille O’Neal for eighth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list for a reason.

He’s arguably the greatest scorer who can deliver on all three levels, get to the line and force the defense to adjust, which opens up the rest of the offense.

The problem is he’s also the team’s best defensive player. That shouldn’t be the case.

It’s great for the 35-year-old Durant to play at a high level on that end. He’s kept his word to Vogel about wanting to guard in his system, but to play 41 minutes with some at the five, which has become their get-back-in-the-game lineup, could be taxing on him physically.

He could very well be wearing down at this point in the season. The Suns need wins to stay out of the play-in and have called upon him to initiate an offense and be the team’s best defender?

More Suns: How Grayson Allen is quietly building a historic season in first year with Suns

Turnovers, again

Again, this is who the Suns are.

They turn the ball and the opponent scores off those turnovers as an alarming rate. The Bucks scored 24 points Sunday off 14 Phoenix turnovers.

Isaiah Thomas isn’t fixing this.

The Suns are signing him to a 10-day later this week, sources informed The Arizona Republic this weekend. The 35-year-old veteran point guard provides depth, but he can’t be the answer for their turnovers that are as much about decision-making than who is handling the ball.

Trying to make passes in traffic and without the proper spacing is a recurring problem.

They should be better than this, but the bigger problem is how they’ll respond to the turnovers in giving up points off them. That’s a greater concern than the actual turnovers.

Look, this team has more than enough offense. Can’t see them greatly improving on the defensive end in terms of man-to-man, but Royce O’Neale is a starting point.

O’Neale has been a liability from 3 on offense, but made 4-of-5 in the fourth. The Suns can only hope that carries over into the next few games because he can guard and isn’t backing down.

However, it’s on Eric Gordon, Allen, Booker and Beal to make a stronger commitment on that end in terms of contesting 3s and guarding the ball. The schemes clearly aren’t holding up as opponents are just gutting them with dribble penetration, ball movement and 3s.

The game has been played like this for a minute.

The Suns must be better — or this season of championship expectations will end in the play-in. Period.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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