Suns are latest failure of championship dream in Phoenix
DAN BICKLEY
UPDATED: MAY 11, 2023 AT 10:50 PM
Kevin Durant (35) of the Phoenix Suns taps his head in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Championship dreams always die hard. In Phoenix they die angry.
The Suns 2022-23 is just our most recent failure.
Eulogy won’t be kind following Thursday’s pathetic 125-100 loss to the Nuggets at the Footprint Center. The Suns went into the postseason favorites to win the Western Conference, but were eliminated in the second round by another significant home loss.
Once is a coincidence. Twice is a pattern.
“It sucked,” said Suns star Kevin Durant. “It was a bad feeling. Awkward. They came out and hit us in the mouth. We couldn’t recover.”
A healthy sports city could understand the natural order of things and understand that the Suns need a full season off to assemble a full, cohesive team around Durant and Devin Booker.
But that’s no consolation for a region that hasn’t hosted an NBA championship in 55 years; owns the longest championship drought in the NFL; and has spent most of the century feeling ashamed of our NHL franchise.
It’s also extremely painful for a fanbase longing to retire beloved Al McCoy with a long-awaited championship ring. This is a chance we’ll never get again.
Also, the biggest problem wasn’t the bench or the overall quality of the roleplayers. It was the ongoing struggles of Durant who failed to live up to the hype, an all-time great who was far from doing well after joining the Suns in February. To his credit, he took the blame and refused to make excuses.
“If I put the context in place, that would only be seen as an excuse,” Durant said. “We just have to be better next year.”
With Durant and a marginalized Booker fighting together, the Suns gave up 44 points in the first quarter. At halftime they were 30 points behind, leaving the place to a chorus of boos. It was eerily similar to the Game 7 debacle against the Mavericks. The only difference was the name of their Eastern European conqueror.
“I take it personally that our team isn’t quite ready to play in the biggest game of the year,” said head coach Monty Williams. “That’s something I’m proud of, and that just didn’t happen tonight.”
However, the same thing happened last year, and Williams bears a significant share of the blame on many fronts.
Cameron Payne, who led the team with a playoff high of 31 points, said:
“It hurt. It hurt a lot, especially with our team. It hurt, (especially) in front of our fans… that’s not us. Especially after last year when we kind of did the same thing. It’s not a good one Feeling.”
The disgust is palpable. Durant’s troubles have only compounded the loss of fan favorite Mikal Bridges. The polarizing Deandre Ayton ruled out Game 6 with a rib injury and likely played his last game in Phoenix. Chris Paul’s future is also uncertain and it’s clear that a major upheaval is on the horizon this summer.
Former NBA star Isiah Thomas is a confidant of new owner Mat Ishbia and has been with the team for most of the postseason. His opinion of general manager James Jones and head coach Monty Williams is likely to carry significant weight.
Williams deserves credit for those magical days in the Orlando bubble; for instilling a culture of hard work and mentoring young players. But his teams gambled away a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals and a 2-0 lead against the Mavericks a year ago. He was playoff fodder for opposing coaches and a terrible postseason leader. He doesn’t seem to be able to reach this team, or whatever’s left of it.
Here’s the bright spot: Ishbia is extremely wealthy, ambitious, and impatient. He has Booker ascendant for another five years and Durant for three years. There will be no turning back this time, and with the right signings, the Suns should be a strong contender for the elusive championship next season.
So take heart, Arizona. Even if the current team lost somewhere along the way.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.