Mid-Season Report Card: Suns

The two-seed Suns have the brightest luminosity in the Pacific division, but are largely without experience. Can they be the 8-0 Bubble Suns once more?

It's been eleven seasons, but they're back

The last time the Suns saw the postseason was back in 2010 when they were defeated by the Lakers in the WCF. Flash forward to 2021 and Phoenix is in sole possession of the number two spot in their conference, also with the second best record in the entire league, right behind another pleasant surprise, Utah.

No one should be surprised, however. They were the best team in the Orlando bubble! It's a shame they didn't make the play-in tournament following their incredible undefeated run in that post-regular season, pre-playoff, strange game format. They beat the eight teams they faced but ultimately were just short of Memphis and Portland for the NBA's variation of a wild card game.

Devin Booker is now playing great alongside Chris Paul after a somewhat disappointing start. Phoenix has great role players in Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, and their centers Deandre Ayton and Frank Kaminsky are solid enough to persist in a slow offense commanded by the Point God.

The Suns are beating good teams

It's not an inflated record by any means. Phoenix has beaten the Jazz, Sixers, Bucks, Lakers, Celtics, Blazers, Nuggets, Raptors, and Mavs (three times).

Atop the league's standings, they are also not afraid of the other juggernauts, which is a great sign, building upon their contender status. If Chris Paul was able to carry the Thunder to seven games against Houston last year, he can surely do more with a much better team and co-star in Booker.

Playoff matchups

If the postseason began today, the Suns would be poised to face the seventh seeded Spurs or maybe the Warriors should the play-in tournament materialize that way. These matchups would most likely fall in their favor, but Phoenix should have goals that ascend beyond the first round. If they faced the Lakers in the second round it would surely be a tough matchup considering AD's size as well as LeBron James's playoff prowess. Surely they would struggle against the Clippers as well, so it seems as though the second round is Phoenix's ceiling. Not bad for a first postseason appearance since 2010. The Suns have a very bright future, and they'll be around for some time.

Grade:

A