Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images Maybe the Suns weren’t that bad after all. Losing sucks. We all wish that the Phoenix Suns were still playing basketball right now. Their early exit from the 2024 postseason most likely opened up some time on your calendar. For those who like to continue watching basketball, even though is not Suns-related, you’re probably enjoying the fact that you’re viewing basketball stress-free. You’re not overanalyzing each possession on both the offensive and defensive end, noting where players are making mistakes, and finding yourself upset when an open three-pointer is missed. Regardless of what you’re doing with your excess time, I believe that we can all agree that we would rather feel the stress of the postseason in early May versus contemplating what the future is for this team. Having Kevin Durant, Devin, Booker, and Bradley Beal on your roster and earning zero wins in the postseason was a frustrating and embarrassing experience for the fan base. But perhaps there is a silver lining. Perhaps there is something that we can take away from what is occurring in the Second Round series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets. The Timberwolves have gone on the road and faced the defending champions, and they’ve held their own. And then some. The Timberwolves are up 2-0 in the series after walloping the Nuggets by 26 points last night. Michael Malone: “It’s a long series.”That’s pretty much what Devin Booker said after game two.
Barkley just summed it up on TNT: “This series is a wrap.”— Tim Ring (@timringTV) May 7, 2024 What the Timberwolves are showing us is the rise of Anthony Edwards in addition to an extremely savvy defensive group that includes players with size, length, switch ability, and defensive acumen. It is unfortunate for the Suns that they played this team in the First Round, as it appears that the Minnesota Timberwolves are this season’s surprising postseason buzzsaw team. Is that a silver lining? That perhaps it wasn’t that the Suns were disconnected and had internal issues? Perhaps it was because the Timberwolves were that good. Is Phoenix actually good?— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) May 7, 2024 It certainly helps the Phoenix narrative. The Suns had their issues, but it appears that the team that entered the postseason with the best overall defense has found its identity when the play becomes more physical and the whistle becomes buried. The first two games of the series were bloodbaths, but the officials are letting them play. It’s the exact scenario in which the Timberwolves can thrive, and their young superstar Anthony Edwards is stepping up to the stage. Even if that is the case, why did it have to be against the Suns? (note: I’m about to become a whiny Suns fan who has been broken by year after year of disappointment) Why were the Suns embarrassingly bounced by a team that has found themselves? Because that’s the Phoenix way, isn’t it? It’s like the Houston Rockets in the mid-90s. They were a team that was trying to break through behind the unique style of Hakeem Olajuwon. When the moment was just right, when they were ready to take flight, they did so at the expense of the Phoenix Suns. Part of the factor was the opposition was ready to take the next step and their development as a team, and they just so happened to do so against Phoenix. That is our historical place in the NBA. We are the punching bag that soon becomes the sparring partner that readies a team for their championship bout. Very rarely do we find ourselves in that final ring, and when we do, we fail to achieve the ultimate prize. We fail to have the ability to knock out the opposition. We take a few in the ribs, a couple on the chin, and ultimately fall on the mat with a bloody nose, some cracked dreams, and a 10 count of crushed hope. There is no true silver lining in being the team that allows opposing teams to find themselves and build confidence. It is a ruse that we play to get through an offseason that has ended too early. You can feel nice in the moment, knowing that perhaps the debacle that ended your season wasn’t all on the team that Phoenix roster. Ultimately as distance from the moment occurs, all you see on Basketball Reference is that the Suns were swept. Context very rarely translates. But hey, at least the Timberwolves are playing well against the Nuggets. These are the two teams that ousted the Suns from the playoffs the last two seasons. I don’t even know who to root for in this series. I’m just watching and wondering what might of been, as I always am at the end of the season.
Source: https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2024 ... we-thought