Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns have not won more than 24 games in any of the last four seasons.
Simply put, the Suns are the punching bag of the Western Conference.
This year will surely be more of the same, however, dynamic duos in The Association are all the rage, and it’s very possible that Phoenix could have an organic one in Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
Devin Booker’s offensive game is irrevocably silky. Book’s love of dribble hesitations, floaters and pull-up transition threes are a league pass pleasure. He’ll take and make difficult shots with rudimentary ease. He’ll miss a few. He’ll talk some trash, too. (Do not double team him in summer pick-up.) There was the game last year where he had to be held back while trying to run to meet Gorgui Dieng in the tunnel to fight after both were ejected. Devin Booker is pretty great. He’s the youngest player in NBA History with back-to-back 50-point games. He scored 70 once. Sure, his numbers are a bit inflated because he plays for a bad team, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a high-octane player. Dude, Devin Booker is only 22 years old! He’s clutch. He’s got that Mamba Mentality.
Deandre Ayton had a pretty quiet rookie season for a number one overall draft pick (mostly thanks to Luka), but Ayton was still pretty damn solid. Ayton down low and Booker on the perimeter is the kind of combination you want from a one-two punch. He’s a presence in the post and says he worked on extending out his game this summer. We would prefer him to focus on his defense.
After having an excess of point guards not that long ago (somehow it’s been FIVE years since the three-headed point guard monster of Dragic, Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas), the Suns didn’t have a capable point guard after trading Eric Bledsoe from that hair salon. But now Phoenix has a point guard in Ricky Rubio, who will alleviate a lot of the ball handling and play-making duties that Booker was also required to burden. Some folks are skeptical of the fit, which is fair because Book does seem to like to work with the ball in his hands a la Harden, but Rubio will allow Booker to focus more on what he does best: gettin’ buckets.
White role player alert! No really, the Suns brought in the white cavalry this off season: Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky, Aron Baynes and Ty Jerome. Nothing wrong with it, we just happened to notice.
The Cam Johnson lottery pick was a head scratcher, but a knock down three-point shooter is a gold mine for any offense in today’s game. Next time, maybe trade down since nobody else had him close to that high on their draft board?
We were always skeptical of previous head coach Igor Kokoskov who was fired after just one season. We love the hire of Monty Williams. Kokoskov didn’t seem to be able to relate to his players, something that Monty excels in. Williams is the fifth Suns coach in five years and Phoenix hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010. Perhaps with GM James Jones, Phoenix will finally find some stability moving forward.
League Pass Notes
You might not have realized this, and we will admit that they are usually unexpected, which only adds to their greatness, but Devin Booker is a power dunker! Just ask Anthony Davis. And there was a random Wednesday night in December of 2016 when the Suns were down 16 to the Rockets with 30 seconds left, the game was over, and D-Book power dunked all over poor Kyle Wiltjer. We stan Devin Booker. (In case you haven’t noticed, there’s nothing we love more than garbage-time power dunks in random December games. Also, with only 14 career games played, this was Kyle Wiltjer’s lasting NBA moment.)
Deandre Ayton is also a capable power dunker with the majority off oops and put-backs.
As noted above, you might have heard, D-Book can cook. We love attending a good cookout.
The Final Questions / The Final Take
Will we see Los Suns: Lineup de el Blanco? Tyler Johnson, Ty Jerome, Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky, and Aron Baynes. Wait, that lineup kinda works out positionally!
Can Booker and Ayton develop their two-man game to the next step with Rubio’s and Monty’s help?
The Suns will be a lot more fun than they are good. UNDER 29.5 wins.