PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns continue to hold on to hope that the roster GM James Jones and owner Mat Ishbia have built will be able to take on anyone in a seven-game series, but it is far from a shoe-in.
The Suns are in the midst of the best rendition of arguably the strongest Western Conference since 2014 – that certainly complicates things after Phoenix was a second-round exit in a relatively weaker version of the West last season.
Nonetheless, the Suns are still a title contender – even if the squad is on the fringes of that territory. They arguably are built for a long playoff run as much as anybody as well.
Reasons as to why the Suns will – and won’t – reign supreme in the NBA world come June:
The profile of modern NBA championship teams are built around two premises – elite top-end talent, such as the Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors teams, or teams that are built around one elite player and elite supporting pieces. such as the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks.
The Suns are fortunate to have both – possibly in the same boat as the early 2010’s Miami Heat teams.
Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Eric Gordon, Royce O’Neale, and even Bol Bol have positioned themselves to be definite power brokers for the Suns in the imminent playoff run built around the star trio.
At the end of the day, the Los Angeles Clippers are the only squad that can possibly come close to matching the Suns’ trio of stars from a talent perspective.
The shooting factor plays right into the positive outlook for Phoenix moving forward.
The Suns are tied for sixth in the association when it comes to three-point percentage, clocking in at 37.8% as a team.
Phoenix ultimately has a bevy of players from Allen (47.5) to Gordon (38.2) that can punish teams for coverages carried out on any of the three star players.
The most encouraging sign as of late is that Phoenix has tapped into the shot more often – the playoffs almost always come down to the math game/execution – and the more threes the Suns get up, the more likely they are to prevail in playoff contests.
Lastly, the Suns’ have had a top-10 caliber defense for nearly two months to this point – and this might end up being an underrated strength of the team.
Durant is having an all-defense caliber season. O’Neale has been an undeniably impactful and versatile defender. Players such as Allen and Bol don’t shy away from difficult assignments.
Most importantly, Nurkic has been a revelation – both as a rim protector and as a rebounder.
Nurkic has been anything but a liability on defense over the recent stretch – and it seems as if the Bosnian Beasts’ emergence in coach Frank Vogel’s system is a symptom of that very system finally taking off as was intended from the start.
