The Phoenix Suns are Playing With a Sense of Urgency
The Phoenix Suns have come into this season with a chip on their shoulder. After struggling the first few weeks of the regular season, the team has regrouped and is currently on a 10 game winning streak. The ceiling will only get higher for the Suns as the season progresses. Their goal is to continue to keep themselves a top contender in the Western Conference.
There’s a lot for the Phoenix Suns to be motivated about this season. Not only because they fell short of a championship a season ago, but because many believed their trip to the NBA Finals was a fluke. We can all admit that last season was bizarre. As All-Stars in LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and others had injury-plagued seasons, the Suns were luckily healthy enough to be stabilized and continue to dominate with their roster. So far, the Suns are only capitalizing off of what they were able to build last season.
The Phoenix Suns Right Now
How They Stack up Against the Rest of the West
Many can discuss how the Warriors, Lakers, and other teams in the West have built a better roster through the offseason. Sneakily, the Suns have regrouped in a terrific way as well. One of their key acquisitions in the offseason was signing JaVale McGee as a backup center. McGee is a three-time NBA champion who has been in numerous playoff situations. His presence along with his experience has helped the Suns tremendously. Another key signing was Landry Shamet, a guy who can provide a spark on offense with his hot shooting. Those two acquisitions combined with the rest of the team have dominated thus far and are showing no signs of slowing down.
So far, the top guns are doing their part as far as leading the team. Devin Booker has been leading the way offensively and is continuing to become more assertive, capitalizing off of last season. Finally having a taste of the postseason, Booker understands how to compete at the highest level. Through 14 games this season, Booker is averaging 23 points per game on 44 percent shooting. As Booker has led the way, both Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton have followed his lead. Paul is averaging 14.1 points and 10.5 assists while Ayton is averaging 15.8 points and 11.6 rebounds.
Defense is Key
The biggest key in the Suns’ current winning streak is how they have hung their hat on defense. Through the first portion of the season, there were many blown assignments and miscommunication on that end of the floor. Recently, they keep themselves together and hold themselves accountable on the defensive end. In the last four games, the Suns have kept their opponents under 100 points and have really thrived to shut things down in the fourth quarter. In their last matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, they outscored their opponent 37-25 in the fourth quarter. They locked in on both ends and came out with a huge victory.
Although it’s still early in the season, the Suns are playing with a sense of urgency right now. They want the rest of the NBA to understand that they are true contenders and are looking for another Finals appearance. Even with so much turmoil that has surrounded the team over the past few weeks, the Phoenix Suns as a roster are locked in and looking to carry momentum.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
