The Phoenix Suns Showed The World Why They Are An Absolute Wagon

Barry Gossage. Getty Images.

Advertisement

Let me be perfectly clear to start this blog. The Phoenix Suns are a wagon. Period. End of story. Not up for debate. You can try and argue against that claim, but you would be wrong. Just because ESPN doesn't slob their knob and you don't hear anyone talking about their success does not invalidate it. You saw what happened last night right? In the most anticipated matchup of the entire NBA season, they went blow for blow with a Warriors team that a lot of people are already crowning as champs. Steph Curry, who has been demolishing opposing teams since the season started was completely taken out of this game. I'm talking about one of the worst performances of his career, finishing just 4-21 from the floor. That's the Suns. Then you realize they did this while not having one of their best players for 75% of the game with Devin Booker tweaking his hammy and this win is even more impressive. 

As it usually does, it all starts with the Point Gawd

A game best +21, it wasn't just the 7-13 shooting, this man also finished with 5 steals. He was huge down the stretch in the clutch moments just like he always is. This is what makes the Suns so dangerous, they are one of the best clutch time teams in the entire NBA and have been for some time. A huge part of that is the play of Chris Paul. When the Suns needed buckets to finally put the nail in the coffin of GS, Paul delivered.

But what this game also shows you is why the Suns are for real and should be treated as just as much a Finals contender as any of the more popular teams. Their defense is NO JOKE. Their roster is built to handle teams like GS. They are long as hell, they switch and recover so seamlessly it's some of the most beautiful basketball you could possibly watch. Mikal Bridges had Steph Curry in jail all night. They didn't even need his offense, his job was to stick to Curry and make his life hell and that's exactly what he did. On the night he matched up with Curry a total of 37 possessions and gave up a total of 0 points. Name another player that has had THAT type of success defending Steph Curry this year. They don't exist. You want to say it was an off night for Curry, fine, but give Bridges and this entire Suns defense their proper credit.

With Curry taken out of this game, the Warriors went with waaaayyyyy too much Draymond Green in the final few minutes of this game and that's when they truly started to unravel. They kind of panicked if I'm being honest. Wild, out of control full court Draymond layup attempts when you need a bucket probably isn't the best strategy. All that did was give the Suns momentum, then came the Jae Crowder knock out threes and that was that. 17 wins in a row. It ties the franchise record set back in the Steve Nash Suns era of 2006-07. What an awesome team that was with Nash, Amar'e, Marion, etc. This group is different, but just as fun if you enjoy the game of basketball.

Winning 17 games in a row is rather outrageous when you take a step back and think about it. They haven't lost in over a month. The Rockets won 17 in 2018, the Bucks 18 in 2019, and who could forget the Warriors 28 straight in 2015. Last time I checked all those teams made pretty deep runs and were treated at legit title contenders. Why should it be any different for the Suns? Where are their holes? It's not offense, it's not defense, it's not coaching, it's not roster construction, it's not their record. Like I said, they are a wagon.

Advertisement

What's unfortunate is that we most likely won't see Booker when these two teams play again on Friday. I just don't think you screw around with hamstring injuries. I hope I'm wrong, but those things can stick with you for a long time if you don't give it proper time to rest and recover. So that stinks. But at the same time we know the Suns can hang without him. My guess would be Steph shoots much better in his own building, but I imagine that game will live up to the hype just like last night's did. This was an opportunity for the Suns to show on a national stage against the best team in the NBA that they deserve your respect. That they deserve to be mentioned when talking about the best teams in the league.

Continue to sleep on them if you'd like, it seems like that's exactly how they like it