The Phoenix Suns are 22-16. They are currently tied with defending champions San Antonio Spurs for seventh place in the brutal Western conference. They hold a comfortable 3.5 game lead on ninth place New Orleans Pelicans, and a four game lead on the injury-riddled Oklahoma City Thunder. They are 10-2 in their last 12 games, winning four in a row overall. The last three losses for this team have been by a combined nine points. For some reason, though, this team has been counted out by everybody. Playoffs? For this Suns group? Not a chance. Not with Oklahoma City getting healthy for the stretch run. Right? Wrong. Fans, media, national pundits around the world, and the NBA need to keep this team on its radar, because they are not going to go away.
One month ago, the Phoenix Suns were in the midst of a six-game losing streak. They suffered a heart-breaking defeat at the buzzer not once, but two times in a week. Two lucky bounces that pretty much told this Suns team, "Sorry, maybe next season." Players started to complain about playing time. David Aldridge of NBA.com asked Isaiah Thomas why he thought he would find playing time here behind Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe on the depth chart.
Isaiah's response, "I really went home, talked to my family, prayed on it. I really tried to envision how it would really work, 'cause it didn't make sense. But when they put it on paper and they told me I was going to be a big part of what they do here, I believed them. I felt like they were genuine. And we've had ups and downs this season, but at the end of the day we're trying to do the best we can to make it work. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We tried..."
Only half way through the losing streak, P.J. Tucker had some words about the team as well.
"We got to man up. Point blank. Period. We got to stop looking for excuses, we got to stop doing everything we're doing, stop looking at the standings. It's on every one of us, me included."
It was easy for everyone to write off this Suns team at that point. Heck, it was even easy for the Suns to throw in the towel themselves at that point. Considering the fact that the Thunder won seven straight, while the Suns lost six straight, and tugged ahead of Phoenix in the standings, you would be hard-pressed to have found someone who believed in this team. At that point, the Suns were 12-14, 10th place in the West. This season was pretty much lost, right? Not so fast. 12 games have been played since that six-game losing streak, and the Suns have gone 10-2. Only the Atlanta Hawks have been better during that stretch. They have gained some much needed separation from Oklahoma City in the standings out West. The Phoenix Suns are out to prove that despite what is being said about them, they belong up there with everybody else, and here's why.
Three-Headed Monster
When the Phoenix Suns acquired Isaiah Thomas in the off-season, he was not insurance in case Eric Bledsoe left. The Suns had a vision. They had a vision of running three point guards in the same lineup, something no other team in the league can do. For the first 26 games, the three did not share much time on the court together, if any at all, which is not what was envisioned. These past 12 games, the deadly trio has finished all the contests on the court together, and the team has gone 10-2. They have combined to average over 52 points per game in this recent stretch. Eric Bledsoe had a stretch of six games where he averaged over 19 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, and six assists. It looks beautiful, the ball movement, the scoring, the penetration, and most importantly, it is resulting in wins. They are also a great option in the clutch. In the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe are both in top five in field goal percentage. Opposing teams are having trouble guarding these three at the end of games. You just do not practice defending a lineup with three point guards in the NBA, but the Suns are rolling right now, and it is because of their off-season plan finally coming into effect. All Phoenix needed was for the ammunition to buy into the plan and learn their roles before being able to use the weapon, and they are locked in now.
The emergence of Alex Len
Alex Len was selected number five overall in the 2013 NBA Draft for a reason. Ryan McDonough, Suns general manager and former Boston Celtics assistant GM, had a track record for finding talent no matter what position his team drafted. When he selected Alex Len over more popular prospects, Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore, he received some heat. Now, fans are eating their words. Alex Len looks like a future star. When inserted into the starting lineup 13 games ago, he was supposed to provide much needed rim protection for this struggling Suns squad. How does three blocks per game sound? How does a 10-3 record, with the three losses coming by a combined nine points sound? How about over eight points and seven rebounds on 60 percent shooting in under 24 minutes per game? Per 36 minutes as a starter, he is averaging 12.5 points, 10.7 rebounds, and nearly five blocks per game. He has recorded five-plus blocks in four of his 13 games as a starter.
"It's unreal because he has no ceiling. He could really be one of the best centers in the league. Seriously, at his size with the way he can move, he doesn't know what he can do yet. He's just out playing. He plays hard... I sit and look him and it's unreal. He's a freak." -Suns forward PJ Tucker on Alex Len.
At 21 years old, this guy has been everything the Suns imagined, and more. People may laugh now, but this guy is a future star, especially as the NBA is rapidly declining at the center position. 7-foot-1-inch, 255 pounds and possibly still growing, this kid deserves more attention. The Phoenix Suns finally have a rim protector and interior defender that they have craved over the past decade.
Infants
Infants. That is what the Phoenix Suns are compared to the rest of the league. The average age of the Phoenix Suns is 25 years old. That is the fourth youngest team in the league, behind only the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns are younger than the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, L.A. Lakers, and New York Knicks. Take those seven teams, and ask yourself where those teams currently stand, and look at where the Suns stand. Those handful of teams have a combined record of 54 wins and 186 losses. Yikes. The Phoenix Suns do not have a player over the age of 30, unless you count Shavlik Randolph, who averages five minutes per game. Their oldest rotation player is P.J. Tucker at 29 years old. Teams like Orlando, Boston, Philly, Utah, and Minnesota get the excuse, "They are still young. Give them three years." How about the Suns? They are right there in age, yet won 48 games last season and are in position to end right around that mark this season. It is hard to believe, but Eric Bledsoe is 25, the Morris twins are 25, Alex Len is 21, Isaiah Thomas is 25, not to mention they've got a couple of boys who are not even old enough to legally drink. They possess a unique ability to win games now, while rebuilding, which is what every franchise dreams of. People need to understand, the era of the Phoenix Suns has just begun and is only going to be getting better for a long time.
Deep As Can Be
The Phoenix Suns utilize one of the biggest weapons there is to offer - a deep bench. The Phoenix Suns second unit consists of Isaiah Thomas, Gerald Green, Marcus Morris, Miles Plumlee, and newest addition Brandan Wright. Those five can consistently start for a lot of teams in the league. Those five alone would probably garner the number one seed in the Eastern conference. All jokes aside, the Suns are armed with insurance in case of an injury. Behind the fantastic-five sitting deeper on the bench are the Suns draftees, Archie Goodwin, Tyler Ennis, and T.J. Warren. This team can suffer an injury and still sustain success (although lets hope that is not the case). Take a look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, missing Durant and Westbrook for 18 games, and they started the season 5-13. That is no blow to OKC, losing your two best players will put a lot of teams in a hole such as that one. But not this team. The next man is out to prove they are better than the one in front. More importantly, rest. The Suns do not need to play their big name players 35 minutes per game, they can afford to keep the minutes low and lessen the risk of injury or fatigue to its players. Phoenix is number one in the NBA in bench scoring at 44 per game. The rest of the league needs to look out because the Suns have an advantage most teams do not.
Tough Victories
The Phoenix Suns hear all the time that they are a mediocre team. They beat the bad teams and lose to the good ones. That is not the case this season. They have beat the team with the best record in the NBA, Golden State Warriors and the defending champion Spurs. They have road wins over Dallas and Washington. They also beat Dallas once more in Phoenix. They recently demolished Toronto. The Phoenix Suns can hang with the best of them. This is not counting losses by one point on the road versus the Clippers in an overtime battle, or in Oklahoma City losing by three in overtime, or in Toronto losing the game in the final minute. Victories over the NBA's top contenders and a solid 22-win campaign, but still no love for Phoenix. When they faced the T-Wolves on Wednesday night on ESPN, it was their first nationally televised game of the year. Yup, it took 38 games, nearly half of the season to get this Suns team a single game on national television. It is hard for the NBA to explain this when they are giving the Lakers and Knicks television time nearly every week. Take away some lucky bounces, and this Suns team could be somewhere around 25-13, a top-five seed in the West. 22-16 is nothing to complain about, especially with the fact that this team has played 22 road games already, tied for most in the league. The Suns have a lot of home games in the final three months, including an eight-game homestand in a few weeks, and that should shoot them up in the standings even higher.
Assets
Fans hear about teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks trying to acquire stars via trade all the time. That is nice and all, but they are missing something that might be important in trying to make trades, that is assets. The Phoenix Suns are loaded with valuable assets, starting with players in their low 20's to multiple draft picks. They have four players still on their rookie contracts, which could be the most valuable trade assets a team could possess. That does not include rights to recent first-round draft picks Serbian guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. They have Isaiah Thomas making only $7 million per year for the next four years, Miles Plumlee at slightly over $1 million, and P.J. Tucker and Marcus Morris both around $5 million for multiple years to come. They also have Gerald Green on an expiring contract. Perhaps their biggest asset is the Los Angeles Lakers 2015 first-round pick, which is top-five protected. This was rewarded to Phoenix in 2012 via the Steve Nash trade. Luckily for Phoenix, the Lakers are projected to finish anywhere from the fourth to the sixth worst team in the league, meaning they have a chance to steal a top-10 pick for their contending team. If not conveyed in 2015, the pick only has top-three protection in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, the pick has no protection. The Suns will receieve this pick sooner or later, thank you Steve Nash. What can these assets be used for? Although Phoenix is in position to get better as the years go on due to their young age, it can never hurt trading for a star, especially when you can keep your core intact, and that is exactly what they are in position to do. Patiently waiting for a disgruntled star to come out and ask for a trade, the Suns will be ready to strike. We just saw the Suns acquire Brandan Wright from Boston for next to nothing. They likely have an upper-edge over all other teams trying to acquire stars via trade because of these assets.
The Phoenix Suns are a good team. You won't hear it from ESPN, you won't read it on NBA.com, but the Suns are a good team. They have been all but eliminated from competing for a playoff spot in favor of Oklahoma City by nearly every single national pundit living on this Earth. Despite the fact that the Suns sit four full games ahead of OKC in the standings, people do not want to believe it. Phoenix Suns' own SB Nation Blog, "BrightsideoftheSun", recently published an article explaining why the Phoenix Suns should lose more games because Oklahoma City is going to eventually overtake their playoff spot.
Suns forward Marcus Morris took it to Twitter to reply to that article, and tweeted "foolishness" to the Brightsideofthesun Twitter account.
Armed with a deep bench, possessing the ability to run three high-level talent point guards in the same lineup, tons of assets, and a young, hungry squad, this team is ready. The Phoenix Suns will be right there when it is said and done. The league needs to take notice sooner rather than later because 12 games ago, the Phoenix Suns put their foot on the gas, and they have no plans to brake. The pieces have gelled, players learned their roles, and the chemistry is second to none. If you have been sleeping on the Suns like the rest of them, it would be a pretty good idea to wake up right about now. Ladies and gentleman, the Phoenix Suns are the best team you've never heard about.