The Phoenix Suns Are Seeking Redemption And Dominating Along The Way

When the final buzzer sounded on their 2021 playoff run, it was difficult for the Phoenix Suns to see any beauty in the process. For professional athletes, the immediate aftermath of an agonizing loss will supersede any moral victories — even if the team’s core has a bright future ahead.

The Suns knew they let one slip away in the NBA Finals.

After leading 2-0 and, eventually, holding a 16-point lead in Game 5 with the series tied, they were in the driver’s seat multiple times. Phoenix just didn’t account for the Bucks waking up in time. Milwaukee made the proper adjustments and feasted inside the paint to capture its first championship since 1971.

The Suns’ hopes were cut short. In the minutes and hours following a heartbreaking defeat, no team wants to hear the glass-half full spiel. All that matters is the recent blown opportunity, sitting fresh in everyone’s mind as they pack their bags and load up the bus.

Although losing the final challenge (directly in the national spotlight) can be tough to swallow, head coach Monty Williams had to remind his guys of how imperfect the journey can be. While simultaneously dealing with the loss himself, he was tasked with compartmentalizing his thoughts and raw emotions. It was his job to give Phoenix the proper perspective.

A section of his postgame dialogue included a word that accurately described the mood. It was also a word every single championship team has felt, at some point, as they built a winning formula and fought through adversity.

Pain.

Good ol’ competitive pain.

Every group to ultimately raise the Larry O’Brien trophy has dealt with roadblocks. Those can come in many different forms – multiple playoff defeats in a row, injuries occurring at the most inopportune moments, or a player simply not having adequate help around him for the first few years of his career.

To become a champion, it’s essentially a prerequisite to get knocked down in the heat of battle. More times than not, regardless of the team’s average age, you can expect at least two years of learning the hard way. You can even anticipate roster shakeups – both minor and major – if multiple letdowns happen.

When the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors started their season 20-4, the vibe was just different. Of course, they were in the honeymoon phase of introducing Kawhi Leonard to a veteran group and promoting a new head coach, but it was much more than a talent injection. In November of that season, you could sense a mentality shift. There was a level of preparation within the team that didn’t quite exist before.

Toronto had been through the trenches, coming up short against a legendary force in LeBron James. As I wrote early in the 2018-19 season, it was finally time for the Raptors to break through the proverbial door.

Last year’s Bucks followed a very similar path.

Milwaukee didn’t become champions by snapping their fingers and fast-tracking the process. Giannis Antetokounmpo and company had to experience defeat many times; they dropped three first-round series, one second-round series, and squandered a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals to the aforementioned Raptors.

The Bucks didn’t skip any steps. They fell short in five separate playoff runs, switching coaches along the way and tweaking the rotation around Giannis until the pieces — and experience — lifted them to new heights.

For Phoenix, Williams had to carefully navigate last year’s Finals loss and make sure his players knew it was simply step one.

“(Milwaukee) went through the deep playoff hurt, and we had never gone through that,” Williams said during All-Star weekend. “And it helped us grow. Whether or not we can win (this year), we’ll see. We’re going to try our best and our players have committed to the program in a way that I’m so grateful for. I’m appreciative of what we went through with Milwaukee just because they stressed us out and helped us grow.”

Growing as a unit isn’t always linear, either. In the case of the Raptors, they inched closer in 2016, with a Conference Finals berth, than 2017 and 2018. In fact, Toronto was two wins from advancing to the NBA Finals in 2016 before getting swept in the second round for the next two years. The Raptors ran into a transcendent, once-in-a-generation player all three times. LeBron torched them and showed zero signs of concern in each matchup.

Milwaukee, too, wasn’t expecting to take a step back after their 2019 Conference Finals defeat. At the time, their most disappointing heartbreak came at the hands of another all-time talent, Kawhi Leonard. But, a year later and a round earlier, they found themselves outclassed by a Miami Heat unit that proved how valuable preparation is during the playoffs.

So, nothing is guaranteed for Phoenix. In year two of this core being together, they aren’t entitled to a championship, or another trip to the Finals.

They lost four straight games to Milwaukee, largely due to Antetokounmpo cementing himself as one of the most accomplished players ever at age 27. And no matter how many times Phoenix looked in the mirror or how many great habits were built since last July … Antetokounmpo is still here, in his prime. The West still has tier-one foes to get through. The East still has battle-tested groups, such as Miami, who’s second in the conference despite not being fully healthy all year.

Nevertheless, nearly 60 games into the 2021-22 season, the Suns are controlling what they can control. With a 49-10 record, their pace equates to 68 wins over a full season – a mark only six teams have reached in NBA history. Strictly in the halfcourt, they sit third in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating. Removing garbage time, they have outscored teams by 9.2 points per 100 possessions, improving on last year’s net rating of 6.2 per 100 possessions.

They remind me of a certain West powerhouse from eight years ago, who also happened to lose in gut-wrenching fashion during the 2013 Finals.

The San Antonio Spurs felt as if they gave away the 2013 title. Leading by five with 28.2 seconds left in Game 6, the Spurs failed to take care of business in Miami. It was shocking to see such a veteran-heavy team and revered coaching staff fall short when everything seemed to be in their favor.

After not being able to bounce back in Game 7, the Spurs entered the offseason feeling the same type of pain and disgust Phoenix did last July. Gregg Popovich used the Finals loss as a motivational tactic in practices throughout the 2014 season. They kicked off training camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where Popovich played during college. He made them sit and rewatch Game 6; every late-game mistake and missed free throw marinating in the players’ souls.

A few weeks later, the Spurs were rolling. They started the season 13-1, which included an 11-game winning streak. By the end of the schedule, San Antonio had finished with a 62-20 record – four games ahead of their record from the previous year – and managed to win 19 straight games from late February to early April.

Now, here’s Phoenix in 2022, also trying to avenge a tough Finals loss by stomping on everyone in the regular season. They are seven games ahead of last year’s pace. Much like San Antonio, they already have an extended winning streak (18 games) in the bag. Heading into Feb. 25, Phoenix has won 19 of its last 20 games.

After 59 games, their season profiles have some similarities:

The Suns are currently 3.3 points per 100 possessions better than the league-average offense, matching San Antonio’s relative mark in 2014. Defensively, Phoenix is performing even better at this juncture of the season.

It’s not a perfect comparison, though, for various reasons. San Antonio had a few players, namely the big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, who had already been through a decade-plus of playoff experience. Frankly, these Suns aren’t in the same universe as it pertains to having rich postseason success up and down the roster.

Still, just seeing the dominance on a night-to-night basis makes it hard not to believe they’re on the same trajectory. This redemption run feels just as special.

Chris Paul, who leads the Suns in every meaningful advanced metric this year, is well aware of how powerful a playoff loss can be. From his Western Conference battles in New Orleans, LA, and Houston, he’s no stranger to the importance of sticking together.

Paul has been a part of teams that took incremental steps forward the very next year. He has also seen what happens if the chemistry takes a hit, or too many valuable pieces are moved as an overreaction.

“What’s crazy is, all preseason we said the biggest advantage we have coming into the season was our continuity,” Paul said during his All-Star availability. “And then we started off this season 1-3, and I’m sure everybody was like, ‘oh that’s some bull–,” but it’s still our advantage. We know each other. We’ve had some heartache together.”

He’s referencing Phoenix’s slow start out of the gate, in which they looked out of sorts on both ends of the floor.

After starting 1-3, the Suns immediately flipped the switch. Since Oct. 30, they are 48-7 and on the heels of Boston for the best defense in the league. For context, the next-best record in that span is Golden State at 39-16, nine full games back.

Williams and Paul are, unequivocally, the leaders of the team. One is the head coach and locker room voice that unifies the group behind one common goal. The other is an extension of the coach on the floor, known for his aggressive leadership tactics and striving to be a perfectionist.

Paul, who turns 37 in May, says he’s learned how to adjust his tone on and off the floor. It was an imperative part of fitting in with a much younger Suns team, and with Oklahoma City during the COVID-shortened season.

After coaching a younger Paul in New Orleans during the 2010-11 season, Williams is seeing the growth of his point guard as a teammate that everyone can rally behind. Meanwhile, Paul is thankful they’ve had the opportunity to reunite and potentially take care of some unfinished business.

“Oh, Mont is everything,” Paul said about his head coach. “I’ll tell you, at this point in my career, I can’t imagine playing for another coach. I’m serious. Some situations you’re in, you get spoiled and you’re like … look, this is the standard. I don’t know anything different than this.”

While mentioning his desire to stay alongside Williams in the twilight of his career, Paul also acknowledged how each of them became more advanced in their roles over the past decade.

“I think what’s cool about it is, we’ve both had a chance to grow, sort of, apart to come back together,” he added. “Mont and our whole coaching staff, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

When Paul mentions the unique nature of the Suns coaching staff, what he’s really referring to is how focused they are on the small details. How strong or weak the opponent is – relative to Phoenix – doesn’t matter. For them, it’s about staying locked in on each section of the scouting report.

To Williams and his staff, everything goes back to the smallest details. The games within the game. The battles on the margin that you must win, in any matchup or series, to be successful.

“I think we have to admit that the Finals opened our eyes to the importance of it all,” Williams said. “Coaches talk about it, but we fail in it also. I think when we went through the Finals experience, it allowed for our guys to say, you know, if we want to get to the next level, we have to not just take (the details) seriously – but we have to apply it every single day. From the time I got there, all of our players were about the details.”

While a coach’s expectation is that his players learn from their regular-season miscues and they eventually learn how to eliminate the errors before they happen, Williams is pragmatic. He’s been coaching within the NBA for 17 years and guided many different teams. By now, he understands not even a six-month season will be enough to wipe away every mistake, or remove the possibility of a defensive lapse.

“We’re all human and when you get in certain moments, things tend to wane,” he said. “But boy, you can’t have that happen when you get in the playoffs.”

The night of Game 6, after Phoenix watched green and white confetti shower the court as the Bucks celebrated a title, Williams knew right away that his team would be starving for another chance. Despite 2021 being the playoff debuts for most of Phoenix’s top guys in the rotation, including star Devin Booker, there was a level of maturity present that even took Williams by surprise.

“One of the first conversations I had with Book on the plane back from Milwaukee was about the details. I asked him, “what did you learn?” And the first word out of his mouth was “details.” As a player, you understand why we are doing this drill, or why we have to go over this play one more time. Because you never know when you’re going to run into that situation during the game.”

Before Paul arrived on the scene in November 2020 and brought an extra gear of accountability, the Suns’ young pieces were already 100 percent bought into Williams and his coaching philosophy. The message was loud and clear from the moment he took over the job.

“You can’t grow a program without commitment,” Williams said. “From day one – led by Book – there’s been nothing but commitment. That has allowed us to have a partnership. Then, we got guys like Chris, Jae, JaVale, older guys that had been there and been in tough situations. That allowed for our young guys to understand the “why” behind what we’re doing.”

Paul and Jae Crowder were the two leading voices on the court last season, given they had the most playoff miles and knew what to expect in those critical, clutch-time moments. In the offseason, Phoenix was able to sign JaVale McGee to a one-year, $5 million deal to shore up their frontcourt depth.

Aside from being part of three championship teams (two with the Warriors, one with the Lakers), McGee supplied Paul and Booker another dynamic rim-running center that has strong relationships with his teammates anywhere he goes. As a roll-man after ball-screens, McGee has scored 1.47 points per possession this season — ranking him second in the NBA among all bigs with at least 100 opportunities.

Booker, who has been a fourth quarter savant this year when games get tight, is enjoying the process of integrating their new role players and experimenting with different lineups.

“I think our thing as a team, especially (after) adding a couple new pieces this year, is working on the details,” Booker said. “I feel like that’s what the regular season is for. Even in your wins and losses, still trying to get better and remain healthy for when that time comes. We learned a lot during the season last year that benefited us later on in the playoffs.”

Harping on the details applies to both sides of the ball.

Defensively, which is mostly where the Suns came up short in the Finals, can include many things. It can be knowing when to switch and remembering the gameplan of when not to, so you don’t put yourself in an unfavorable matchup. Or, being cautious of how far you’re cheating off of perimeter shooters when the coach tells you to shrink the floor. Then, to finish a possession, remembering the details can apply to boxing out the nearest man, putting bodies on rebounders, and preventing the opponent from getting a second chance.

Offensively, every Suns player has to be aware of proper spacing for every minute they’re on the court. With the most diverse and polished pick-and-roll attack in the NBA, Phoenix’s main sets require precision; recognizing when to cut, how long to hold screens, and when to make skip-passes to the corner:

Mostly because of how surgical they’ve become, Phoenix is the closest thing to unbeatable in clutch moments. If the score is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining, the Suns are 25-3 in those situations. That’s north of an 89 percent winning rate. During those 86 total minutes across 28 games, the Suns have outscored opponents by 41.6 points per 100 possessions. Yes, Forty-one point six. The next-most dominant team in the clutch is Chicago with a +19.5 net rating.

“When we’re in these – I know they’re just regular season games – but I feel like those games prepare you for the long-run,” Paul said. “Of course, everybody always says, it’s just the regular season. Well, we shouldn’t even play the regular season then. You know what I mean? But I think our team, we just continue to build. All you want to do is have a chance (to win). And we know we got a chance.”

Unfortunately for Paul, he’ll be forced to watch the remaining 23 games of the season from the sidelines. On the last day before the All-Star break, Paul suffered a right thumb avulsion fracture. The Suns announced on Feb. 20 that they would evaluate Paul in six-to-eight weeks, which lines up with the final week of the regular season.

Considering Paul was yet to miss a game this year (he had played in 198 of the last 202 possible regular-season games), it was a stinger for the point guard who now prides himself in being available every night.

“There’s always going to be frustration with injuries,” Paul said. “I’ve already had four hand surgeries in my career. Like, my hand surgeon is part of my family now. But, things could be a lot worse. I’m still blessed and grateful that we’re 48-10. And if I do miss some time, I know my guys are going to hold it down.”

It’s true — Paul’s hand doctor has been in the mix for quite a while now. Last offseason, CP3 underwent surgery on his left wrist, which he injured during the Finals and continued to play through.

Booker believes his backcourt partner should look at the situation as a positive, at least in some respect. Given the major cushion Phoenix has on the race for the No. 1 seed — currently 6.5 games ahead of anyone else in the league — it would be ideal for the player with the most miles on the team to rest his knees before the postseason.

But, don’t say that to Paul. He’s been taking after LeBron, his close buddy, when it comes to silencing any talk about rest and sitting games.

“For me, I always want to play,” Paul said. “I haven’t missed a game all season. So, when I did feel that in my hand, I was mad for all types of reasons. Obviously, we don’t want to do anything dumb or stupid, so I’m going to try to heal as physically possible. The second I’m able to play, I guarantee you I’ll be playing.”

With Booker leading the way as the de facto floor general, the Suns just have to steer clear of more injuries. If they clinch homecourt advantage throughout every playoff round, there should be no doubting their status as title favorites.

That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. Eight years ago, the Spurs faced two monumental challenges in the 2014 playoffs, including their first round matchup against the No. 8 seed Dallas Mavericks. Then, they found themselves in another war with Oklahoma City.

Phoenix has all of the same tools the 2014 Spurs did.

Outstanding passers who give up good shots for great ones. Solid post-play, with Ayton developing a lethal turnaround hook. A complex offensive system that keeps opponents guessing on every possession. Top-tier coaching.

Mix in the versatile scoring brilliance of Booker in what’s shaping up to be his most complete season, and there’s potential for an historically gifted team.

“I’m proud of what we’re doing,” Booker said. “I’m proud of it. I really am.”

However, they have to capitalize on their quest for redemption. As Monty Williams will always remind them, well-done is better than well-said.