Sixteen teams are in the mask-mandatory NBA post-season and had started their respective match-up series. Toronto kicked off their title retention bid by overpowering Brooklyn, Boston beating Philadelphia, Denver Nuggets winning over Utah despite Donovan Mitchell’s 57 points, good for the third most points scored in NBA playoff history.
Boston won against Philadelphia but lost Gordon Hayward to a foot injury. The LA Clippers survived Dallas and Luka Dončić, Orlando upsets Milwaukee and Miami won over Indiana. The games between Oklahoma versus Houston and the LA Lakers against Portland are yet to be played as of this writing.
But the best thing that happened during the seeding games was the impressive 8-0 run by the Phoenix Suns. The abnormal situation afforded the team the right moment to bond, find chemistry and transformed into a unit that reminds us of the days when the trio of Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion played a pedal-to-the-metal kind of game for Phoenix. Too bad the unbeaten run was not enough to qualify them for the playoffs but surely, we will be seeing a much exciting Suns basketball next season with the young core of Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, and Cameron Johnson.
The last time Phoenix went to the playoffs was in 2010 where they played against the LA Lakers for the Western Conference title and lost 2-4. Going undefeated in the bubble was not enough even if the sun was shining brightly for Phoenix.
Booker played like an MVP and he finally had a strong supporting cast, with a solid defense anchored on Ayton. With an experienced pass-first point guard in Ricky Rubio, it has placed Booker on a much more productive 2-spot. Although it was not a guarantee for a playoff appearance, I can only imagine had Kelly Oubre been playing and not been recovering from a knee operation. The high energy small forward is second on the team in scoring, second in rebounds, second in blocks, third in steals, and first in high-light reel dunks.
The 8-0 run was not a stroke of luck but a statement that the Suns will be back even if their season was over. For 10 years they had struggled but now, they are on the right path. I’m not a Phoenix fan but had rooted for them for the play-in but as the saying goes, some good things had to end. Suns fans should be proud and again get loud./PN
