I’ve been to many places. seen a lot. But I’ve never seen a team with a better mojo than the 2021-22 Phoenix Suns.
They won 61 out of 75 games. They beat the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday like a python crushing its prey. At the start of Monday’s games, they were nine wins clear of their nearest Western Conference opponents. They are overwhelming favorites to win an NBA title.
With any other team, you might worry about the pressure that comes with huge expectations, about the growing target behind them. But not this group.
They seem to live on external doubts and delight in all cynicism.
You’ve learned to manage grudges, settle scores, and maintain excellence.
They have the perfect mix of youth and experience. They have the perfect mix of personalities, from the ruthless to the goofy.
They have no fewer than six players who may have their own unofficial fan clubs in the Valley. They enjoy mingling with the admiring crowds at a lemonade stand while playing marquee games on national television.
Your boast is palpable. Your focus no longer drifts. Their commitment to basketball reflects their total commitment to each other.
Sounds cheesy and trite. But the clichés are all true about teams with great chemistry.
These Suns were literally born in a bubble, a team that happened to be included in the NBA’s Orlando restart. Since then, her record has stood at 134-43, playoffs included. In contrast, they won just 121 games combined over the past five seasons.
They trust their general manager James Jones to play the game, win three titles and fill in any needed gaps after a Finals loss to Milwaukee.
They trust their head coach, Monty Williams, a spiritual man skilled in the art of servant leadership.
They trust each other to pass and defend the ball. The latter sets this group apart from every other Suns team in the past, a franchise that hasn’t always emphasized the merits of holding down an opponent.
They’ve done all of this while dealing with an endless list of injuries. They did all of this while the NBA was conducting a behind-the-scenes investigation into Robert Sarver and his work culture.
Rev. Al Sharpton is currently leading an activist group demanding that Sarver be removed from the Suns ownership group. He has vowed to make that outcome a top priority and potentially bring demonstrations to Phoenix if necessary. This means that things can get noisy around the basketball team at the most inconvenient time, causing some distraction for the players.
One also gets the idea that these suns are too hungry to do anything but their own mission and shared ambition.
You are faced with a difficult internal decision. The Suns have seven games left. They could be looking to finish with a 68-14 record, blow away the existing franchise record (62 wins) and post a win total equaled or surpassed only six times in NBA history. It’s a legacy statement that catapults the Suns into the special fraternity of the greatest regular-season teams in NBA history.
They could also finish the regular season with 15 straight wins, having previously posted 18- and 11-game winning streaks.
Or they could focus on rest and recovery and take a few games off before the NBA playoffs grind.
The hardcore nature of this team leads you to believe they won’t mess with the recipe or their current temperature, a team that’s been feeling more like an incinerator in recent weeks. This is not a group that backs down from a challenge. This is a team that decided to go far by coming together. And we’ve never seen anything like it.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station weekdays from 6-10 p.m.