'We're not the Suns of old': Phoenix misses out on play-in tournament, but gains respect through 8-0 Orlando run
“Here we changed the narrative," All-Star Devin Booker said. "We changed how people think of us."
Before the Suns headed back to their Orlando hotel, their fate out of their hands, Monty Williams was adamant about conveying a locker-room message.
The coach called his team’s stunning surge during the NBA’s restart an “unreal ride.”
He described coaching an inexperienced-yet-resilient group of players “therapeutic.”
He pointed at Devin Booker and acknowledged, “You’ve been through a lot.”
He told his players he loved them.
“I know what I got in this room,” an emotional Williams said. “And it has been cool for me to be with you all every day, to watch you guys work and battle and gain the respect of your peers the way you have on this trip.
“We’re not the Suns of old.”
Phoenix routed Dallas 128-102 Thursday afternoon to finish 8-0 in its seeding games, becoming the only team to rip through its entire slate of pre-playoff contests during a magical two-week run at Walt Disney World. It was not enough for the Suns (34-39) to sneak into the play-in tournament for the Western Conference’s final postseason slot, as Portland and Memphis also won Thursday to finish just ahead of Phoenix in the standings.
But Williams and Booker believe their team gained something deeper during this unexpected finish to a strange and memorable 2019-20 season.
“There was some sentiment before this that we didn’t belong,” Williams said, “and I think we changed that sentiment.”
Added Booker: “Here we changed the narrative. We changed how people think of us — from the NBA, from the refs, to different teams, to everybody. Every time somebody plays the Phoenix Suns, they know it’s gonna be a tough matchup.”
That respect is only earned through playing style and on-court results.
This was Phoenix’s first meaningful stretch-run basketball since 2014. It galvanized a fan base that has been tortured for the better part of a decade, while a long-floundering organization cycled through coaches, executives and players. It drew in additional supporters around the globe who appreciated a young roster’s competitive fire, or love a Cinderella sports story. A viral social-media video of the players’ heartwarming reactions to their families announcing the starting lineup made the Suns even more likable.
When asked to immediately reflect, Williams and Booker called this experience a highlight of their respective careers.
“It has been a blast,” Williams said. “ … Our team didn’t complain. They just came to work.”
That the Suns even had stakes entering Thursday’s rematch against the Mavericks was remarkable.
When seeding play began, Phoenix had less than a 1 percent chance of making the play-in tournament, according to 1,000 simulations run by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. The Suns needed to jump the four teams ahead of them in the standings, and finish within four games of the eighth-place Grizzlies.
Phoenix took care of lowly Washington, then rallied to beat Dallas despite Booker and Deandre Ayton sitting much of the game with foul trouble. Booker’s buzzer-beating fadeaway topped the Clippers. Phoenix beat Indiana (and former Sun T.J. Warren) and Miami, then pushed through back-to-back contests against shorthanded Oklahoma City and Philadelphia.
Players and coaches applied a methodical-yet-focused approach to each practice, each film session, each game. During seeding play, the Suns have the league’s best net rating (plus-12.9) entering Friday, and rank third in offensive rating (120.3 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defensive rating (107.4 points allowed per 100 possessions). Phoenix also got help from Memphis’ 2-6 stumble, and that teams such as New Orleans and Sacramento never gained traction.
“Every one of our games was a Game 7, and our guys brought it every single night,” Williams said.
And Phoenix finished this stretch off brilliantly, by playing a style Williams said epitomized the Suns’ “DNA.”
The Suns raced out to a comfortable lead against Dallas and never let up. They committed just five turnovers, and racked up 34 assists. They shot 55.1 percent from the field and made 14 3-pointers. Because of Phoenix’s 21-point halftime advantage, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle opted to sit star Luka Doncic for the rest of the contest.
As his Suns were rolling, however, Williams acknowledged he kept glancing at the scoreboard “about as big as Texas” that was updating the Grizzlies-Bucks game being played at the same time.
“I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t looking,” Williams said. “ … I tried to (tell the players not to pay attention during) one timeout, and I felt like a hypocrite, because I was doing the same thing.”
This process began last offseason, when general manager James Jones hired Williams and reconstructed the roster around Booker and Ayton.
Phoenix signed Ricky Rubio, giving it a savvy, pass-first point guard who could orchestrate Williams’ “0.5” offense. A flurry of draft-night moved yielded Cam Johnson, Dario Saric and Aron Baynes. The Suns re-signed Valley Boyz mastermind Kelly Oubre Jr., and banked on the development of Mikal Bridges. Jevon Carter came back in the Josh Jackson trade, and Cam Payne was signed right before the restart began.
Following a preseason practice in October, Booker confidently proclaimed his goal was to make the playoffs. Williams did not scoff at the comment, nor pump the brakes. The coach welcomed it.
“I’m not afraid of all that stuff,” Williams said. “I back our guys up in anything they want to do on the floor.”
The Suns were an early-season surprise, starting 7-4 with wins over the Clippers and 76ers. That early rhythm, though, was derailed by Ayton’s 25-game suspension for testing positive for a banned diuretic, and a steady stream of minor-to-moderate injuries. Phoenix played exactly one game with its entire roster available.
Yet encouraging moments surfaced just before the NBA’s abrupt suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. Booker became a first-time All-Star. The Suns collected impressive wins against Utah, Portland and Milwaukee. Phoenix was on its way to leading the league in assists (27.2 per game), and setting an NBA record for team free-throw percentage (83.4).
Some mocked the Suns’ inclusion in the 22-team restart, either for health or competitive reasons. But when the NBA revealed its Orlando plan, the first player to excitedly reach out to Williams was Booker. Rubio checked in from Spain. Players rolled through the spruced-up Veterans Memorial Coliseum while Talking Stick Resort Arena underwent renovations, working diligently on the court and in the weight room.
“We were hungry to prove (ourselves),” Saric said. “… When we practice, we can see this is a quality team.”
Williams stressed before departing for Orlando that, other than the teams with a legitimate shot at winning a championship, the Suns had the most to gain from participating in the restart.
They went through a second training camp, with practices Williams described as fun and intense. They bonded off the floor through Spikeball games, fishing adventures and while watching documentaries about racial injustice.
And they thrived while playing in games that mattered.
If not for Damian Lillard’s heroics — including scoring 42 points and burying an eye-popping logo 3-pointer in Thursday’s squeaker over Brooklyn — Booker would have been the MVP of seeding play after averaging 30.5 points and six assists while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor. Williams is the frontrunner to win Coach of the Bubble. Every rotation player made an impact at some point during the eight games.
“The bubble definitely grew us up,” said Ayton, who had 11 points and nine rebounds Thursday. “It felt like every game was a playoff game, and we knew we needed every game. The approach we had toward every game was insane.”
Still, falling short delivers an important lesson to a developing team. As Williams says, everything counts.
Losing to Detroit and Golden State on back-to-back nights in February counts. Blowing double-digit second-half leads to Sacramento and Memphis counts. An eight-game losing skid in December counts. Dropping last-second heartbreakers to Portland and Denver counts.
“We gotta learn, and we gotta take care of business before it’s too late,” said Rubio, a playoff veteran. “… We can’t blame nobody that we didn’t make it. It’s on us.”
Yet this momentum also counts.
Booker said after Tuesday’s win over Philadelphia that, playoffs or no playoffs, the Suns would not leave Orlando with sad faces. He reiterated as much Thursday. As Ayton answered postgame questions nearby, Booker and Bridges separately Zoom-bombed the session.
“Eight-and-oh!” Bridges repeatedly hollered while sliding his face into the frame.
“Eight-and-oh, man. We don’t take no ‘Ls,’” Booker said while walking in front of the camera.
Their words and demeanor expressed pride in themselves, a sense of accomplishment and hope for the future.
And that a long-struggling franchise had finally gained the NBA’s respect.
“This is special,” Williams told his team in the locker room. “Don’t let anybody take this away from you. … Now, we gotta build on it.”
Great piece! I’m so proud of this team! Coach Monty is the right coach for this team. Hopefully the lottery gods will smile upon us to continue to change “the narrative.”
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