In a chat with the media ahead of Game 3 on Friday, Kevin Durant spoke candidly about where his team stands in the current playoff picture. Contrary to popular belief around the NBA, Durant says the Suns are all on the same page and that everybody is still locked into the mission at hand.
"We are going through the grind together, says Durant. "Do we agree on everything all the time? Nah… But everybody understands the mission, everybody’s in this together.”
Durant seems rather unphased for a guy who is facing an early playoff exit for the second year in a row. In 2023, he led the Suns past a broken and crippled Clippers team and even managed to take the Nuggets to 6 games before ultimately being bounced in the Semi-Finals. This year, with Bradey Beal added to the mix, the Suns were supposed to be even better, and new owner Mat Ishbia paid top dollar to join three All-Stars together.
All season long, the Suns have been wildly inconsistent and they've struggled to close games in the fourth quarter as one of the worst clutch teams in NBA history. After finishing 49-33 in the West this season, the Suns are in 6th place in the standings and are now the underdogs in a must-win game against playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Needless to say, the odds are stacked against the Suns this year and it will take nothing short of a miracle to advance past this current series. Unfortunately for Phoenix, however, their problems run much deeper than this campaign and if they don't at least put up a fight in this series things could get ugly when it's time to make some tough decisions this summer.
The Phoenix Suns Have Serious Problems
As perhaps the most top-heavy team in basketball, the Suns came into this post-season with pretty big expectations and their play down the stretch of the season gave many fans hope that they could find a recipe that worked for them. So far, however, that hasn't been the case, and the trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal have not looked comfortable together.
Among the biggest issues of all for the Suns is their lack of depth at every position. Outside of the big three and wing shooter Grayson Allen, the Suns don't have anyone that they can consistently rely on in the rotation. Off the bench, only Eric Gordon is seen as a respectable shooter and it's just not enough for the Suns to keep up offensively.
The truth is, after spending everything to go star hunting, the Suns may have sabotaged their own situation. Instead of building around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, Phoenix gave up the opportunity to build up their depth by trading for Bradley Beal. And now, since he's got a no-trade clause, the Suns are at his mercy on any potential future moves.
Without a doubt, Frank Vogel's job could be in jeopardy if the Suns lose this series or somehow get swept by the inexperienced Timberwolves. Beyond that, there's nothing the Suns can do but move forward and follow Kevin Durant's lead. As long as he's in a Suns uniform, they will always shave a chance to make some noise.
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