SPORTS
The Sun Sets on Phoenix: Story of the Series
The Phoenix Suns have reached the end of the road, while the Denver Nuggets continue on to the Western Conference Finals
“There is no way this is happening again.”
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That was my first thought when I saw the Phoenix Suns were down by thirty points at halftime of game 6 against the Denver Nuggets. Yes you read that right. In an elimination game at home, one of the favourites to win it all this year was trounced so thoroughly, it defies belief. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Phoenix faithful were so quiet you could hear their hearts breaking. And the worst part is, this isn’t the first time this has happened, as Bleacher Report pointed out on Twitter.
What a difference a year makes? Well if you’re the Suns, little to none.
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This was one of the most strange playoff series I have ever watched. On paper the Nuggets were the higher seed and had all the tools they needed to win this series. Led by their star big man Nikola Jokić, the team was at full strength going into the series. Yet when you compare their rosters, this seemed like anything but a cakewalk. On the contrary, there were many who thought Phoenix was the perfect counter to Denver. With two of the best scorers in the league, a veteran floor general, and plenty of decent role players, no one would have been surprised to see the Suns prevail over the Nuggets.
Then the first two games came and went, with Denver thrashing the Phoenix Suns by double digit deficits in both games. While I was certainly surprised at this outcome, I knew better than to prematurely declare the series over. I may not be even a quarter of the basketball player Paul Pierce was, but at least I know enough to avoid that mistake.
Sure enough, the Phoenix Suns won the next two games, tying up the series. But here’s where I noticed something: in the first two games which the Nuggets claimed, they won by 18 and 10 points respectively. In the next two games the Suns took, they won by margins of 7 and 5 points respectively. And that seemed odd to me, because in all four games, all the star players on each team were firing on all cylinders. So why were the Suns winning by the skin of their teeth, while Denver ran circles around their opponent on the nights they claimed victory?
In a word: versatility.
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So often the NBA is viewed as a league where victory is dictated by the stars, even more-so than other professional sports leagues like the NHL or NFL. When only ten players will be on the court at any given time, the impact of having a superstar is much more palpable. While Patrick Mahomes or Connor McDavid are superstars in their respective games, it is much harder for them to singlehandedly win a championship for their teams. On the other hand, the moment Kevin Durant moved to Phoenix and joined up with Devin Booker and Co., many labelled the Suns as title favourites. Their reasoning, while flawed, was not unsound. Having two of the best offensive players in the league who can create, take, and make shots effortlessly is a luxury few teams get to enjoy. Yet for as offense-centric and star-dominated as the league becomes, the fact remains that having two of the best players in the world is not enough. You need a well rounded team. You can have the engine and body of a Ferrari, but if the wheels are deflated or the brakes are spotty, you’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’.
In the end, this wasn’t a quarter-mile drag race. This was a rally circuit full of turns and obstacles. The Denver Nuggets may not have been as flashy or boasted as much horsepower as the Phoenix Suns, but they were far more versatile. Jokić and Jamal Murray were excellent. But they didn’t need to be otherworldly every night just to give their team a fighting chance. On the other hand, watching Kevin Durant and Devin Booker step onto the hardwood and try to win games all on their own was like watching Atlas hold up the sky. Eventually, these two titans buckled under the weight of the world on their shoulders, and the apparent juggernaut in Phoenix was once again flattened. The future is uncertain for this organization, but what is certain is that the Denver Nuggets will be moving on to the Western Conference Finals and are now a mere eight wins away from going down in history as champions. Whether that ends up being the case or not is anyone’s guess. But as the third chapter of the NBA playoffs shapes up, one constant will remain.
