A Quick Thesis on Phoenix

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The Phoenix Suns are playing like a legitimate championship team. That may seem obvious at face value, as they are in the NBA Finals right this moment, but plenty of detractors have emerged throughout their playoff run questioning whether or not this team would be on this stage were it not for significant injury troubles striking their opponents throughout the postseason. Just this past week, multiple experts took to social media to eloquently make this point.

Whether it was a (slightly) hobbled Lebron James and oft-injured Anthony Davis for the Lakers in Round 1, the absence of Jamal Murray and multiple depth pieces for Denver in Round 2, or the mysterious exclusion of Kawhi Leonard in the Conference Finals, one can't help but notice the favorable hand dealt to the Suns this postseason.

Here's the thing: The Suns are just as deserving of their perch on the precipice of a championship as any team this year or even last year. I don't want to hear the slander about really either of the teams in these Finals. I'll elaborate more in a couple future posts, but the only team that I believe can legitimately assail the accomplishments of these teams on the grounds of injuries is the Brooklyn Nets. And I don't think too many people are weeping at the misfortunes of one of the most unlikable collections of talent in NBA history (plus my man Kevin Durant). Plus, the Suns are cruising through the Bucks at this moment in a similar fashion to what the Nets were doing before Kyrie Irving was hurt. They (the Suns) haven't had a series go to seven games the whole way through the playoffs, and they've finished each series with resounding wins to close out their opponents.

The Lakers may have been up 2-1 on the Suns in Round 1 when Davis injured his leg, but the Suns were winning Game 4. They proceeded to smoke the Lakers in Games 5 and 6. This doesn't even acknowledge that Chris Paul was clearly limited in both of the games they lost after a neck injury in Game 1. The Nuggets presented almost no challenge in a second round sweep, and I truly question whether Jamal Murray would have swung that series the other way in a supremely meaningful way. The Clippers have a case in the Western Conference Finals due to Kawhi's absence for...some sort of leg injury. Still, the Suns weathered a phenomenal series from Paul George that likely doesn't happen with Kawhi's presence and closed out the series in six games. There will always be "what-ifs" in the NBA playoffs, but to act like the Suns had the doors open wide for them to the point where a very undeserving team now represents the Western Conference in the Finals is disingenuous. In my opinion, the West wasn't as strong at the top as people made it out to be, and it was simply a good year for a plethora of teams to take advantage. The Suns did exactly that.

The Suns just might be the best team in the NBA playoffs since the first Warriors team with Durant in 2017. They share the ball, play excellent team defense, and never seem to play outside their roles. Now, I'm not saying the Suns are better than all the champions and non-champions since that Golden State team. What I am saying is that this team plays together so well on both ends of the court in a way that I haven't really seen replicated since. Each player fills their role and excels in it, and that is a testament to the coaching job both by Head Coach Monty Williams and Chris Paul. Speaking of Monty Williams, check out this example of how you coach someone through a rough stretch. I've always appreciated Monty, but seriously, I almost teared up watching him elevate his emerging star who immediately made back-to-back impact plays out of that timeout. The Suns are a phenomenally-coached team with exceptional team chemistry from the top-down.

Also, I want to clarify that this Suns team is in no way talent-poor. Chris Paul is playing some of the best basketball of his career, period. Devin Booker is one of the best bucket-getters in the game whose play-making has gone up levels this year. Deandre Ayton might be one of the top 3 pure centers in the league at this point, and Mikal Bridges has emerged as a legit two-way player in the mold of a Kawhi or Paul George (not that he's going to be as good as either of those players). Fill out that top four with a slew of eager and capable role players that are clearly ready for the playoff stage, and you have a young, but championship-caliber team. You could make the argument that this team is maybe a year early in terms of developing into a Western Conference powerhouse, but I think these playoffs simply accelerated that timeline for these players and the organization. They might have benefited from their path earlier on (I'm still open to debating this, because I still think they could have gotten here), but the way they are playing now shows they have legit championship DNA.

The Suns have an all-time point guard playing at a Hall-of-Fame level. They have a blue-chip scorer who looks primed to rule the league for years to come. They have one of the best two-way big man prospects of recent memory who is only scratching the surface of his potential, and they have an emerging wing player that literally every team in the NBA wants. They have battle-tested and confident role players that make all the little winning plays every game. And beyond all that, they play with the ego of a group of Tibetan monks because they're coached and led by men who know the value of teamwork and putting the team above their own interests. If the series concludes with the Suns hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy over their heads, they are 100% deserving of it.