NBA TODAY | “Suns Big 3 are a threat in West”- Windhorst on Suns torches Pacers for 5th straight win

NBA TODAY | “Suns Big 3 are a threat in West”- Windhorst on Suns torches Pacers for 5th straight win

Today presented by ESPN bet I’m Malika Anders happy Monday everybody today it marks The Unofficial start of the second half of the NBA season can you believe it somehow the Western Conference it is even better this season than it was last year which makes the race at the top

Incredibly exciting so the Minnesota Timberwolves right they have had a hold on the one seed since before Thanksgiving but their grasp on that top spot it is dwindling after a close loss to the second seated Thunder over the weekend plus the Nuggets knocking off the Boston Celtics and what was quite

Possibly the game of the year so far but at times they might be changing right the Clippers they moved from 11th back in as recently as in December they have now skyrocketed up to Fourth and now they’re just two and a half games back from that top spot that’s thanks to

Going a league best 19 and four since December 1st kawaiian company they closed out yesterday’s game against the Nets on a 22 to nothing run I mean what that’s insane and now they stay even with the defending champs in the Lost column so there was a clear delineation

Right when you look at the top four and then the rest of the conference right less than four games separate those top six teams in the west which has really opened up the door for the Suns to make some serious moves up the standings and last night that push continued for Kevin

Durant and Company against the Indiana pce there’s no Tyrese halberton in this one some injury management for him chaum here as well as Kevin Durant goes to the cup we really saw the sun’s big three what they could do in the first half year but had 20 points uh excuse me 17

Durant had 20 Bradley Beal had 15 and then going ahead to the third quarter here CH Kevin Durant just showing off what he can do Katie put on a show I mean they were really great at attacking the paint but that’s his bread and butter right there the mid-range look at

This behind the back dribble lose the defender silky smooth jumper that’s why they call him Easy Money Sniper they also call him 40 ball he had 40 points on 18 of 25 shooting and then look at this here 3 minutes to go in the fourth quarter a two-point game nice ball

Movement Mala watch the ball snap crackle and pop it is moving everywhere this is the difference for their offense before they were trying to figure out how to make it work they were dribbling a lot look at the ball move yep nine out of 10 players who played for the Phoenix

Suns had an assist there has been a shift in how they approach the offensive game and it’s working in their favor absolutely nice little five out there more good ball movement and then Beal just laying it in the Suns get the win 117 to 110 Booker Durant Beal they

Became the first Trio in Sun’s history to score at least 90 points in consecutive games that’s the first time that’s happened in franchise history they’ve scored exactly 91 in both of them they’re two highest scoring games as teammates and with that we’re going to say hello to a couple of our senior

Writers Ramona shelburn Brian windhorse with us as well so Brian let’s start with you here should the Suns big three now that they’re figuring things out should that start to scare the rest of the Western Conference yeah you’re definitely keeping an eye on them I think you know

I would spent some time with them at the beginning of this win streak a couple of weeks ago and being around them I really sensed uh a group effort to really try to bring things together now that they were healthy if you go back and look they’re eight and three since Bradley

Beal basically came into the lineup to stay coming off of that ankle injury and they’ve been so much more dynamic as an offense since then not just with the big three but you look at Grayson Allen he’s been shooting over 50% on threes in that stretch Yousef nket was putting up some

Big numbers and they have some challenges there’s some fourth quarter problems with this team they they defend offensively way down from they were a year ago because of the structural differences that they’ve made but talking to Frank vogle talking to their leadership talking to their players I think that there’s a real confidence

Within this team I don’t think it’s all or nothing this season they may not be at their actual best until next year but you got to keep an eye on them and they are surging at this point in the season you know Brian I think we were all at

That game where the the Suns played the Lakers here in Los Angeles on January 11th before that game Kevin Durant went to Devin Booker and said you know what forget about all this trying to run be the point guard set everybody else up go shoot the ball be yourself go be free go

Be Devon Booker okay so since that Devin Booker is averaging 31 points a game he had that 52 points the other night and he’s taking 22 shots a game in these last five games before that he was averaging only 18 shots a game but in the nine games before that Laker game

Devon took less than 20 shots in those nine games that’s the fewest time few most consecutive games he took less than 20 shots since his rookie year okay since that Laker game he’s just shooting and it reminds me a lot of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry when they first got

Together in Golden State there was a feeling out process for those two as well where Steph was being polite Kevin Durant was being polite they lost to the Cavs on Christmas and Steve cerr had a big conference with Steph Curry and he basically said stop stop trying to be

Nice stopped trying to set up Kevin and they all went to work and they won a championship that year that’s what’s happened except this time it was Kevin Durant saying to Devin Booker go cook yeah you know watching this team I think we’re all surprised at how slow they

Started now we know that they finally are getting games with a big three but I don’t I wouldn’t like I’m not in the camp of Wendy’s saying like keep an eye I definitely think I would be worried about this team I know that defense is a

Big issue for them but in this league you can play spoiler with offense and this is one of the best offensive teams we’ve seen in a short amount of you know a sample size in a while I mean KD giving you 40 in I know a is such a

Generic word but like for a shooter to be able to make more shots at an easier clip the way that he does it’s underrated really dbook evolving his game to pass more Bradley Beal I think he was the key piece because it’s like how do we make this work because his

Identity has been so far for such a long time in another place he didn’t really have the off season with these guys like dbook and KD had so you finally starting to see like they were disgruntled a few weeks ago they finally figured it out like less is more right move the ball

Make things easier I would be worried to play against this team because they can string together as we’re seeing in real time some wins now Championship defense has to be there but to be able to play spoiler win games and really put yourself in a good position for the

Playoffs they’re fully capable of that but Bri Brian you just said that it’s not necessarily Championship or or bust for this team and I I try not to be in that camp of you have to win this year or else but you and I have both been in

Phoenix this year we have both talk to Matt ishia it certainly sounds like the way that the the the governor the owner of the Phoenix ends the way that they are talking is kind of like they need to go and win a championship and when you

Look at the new restrictive CBA when you factor in the age of Kevin Duran’s 35 Bradley Beal on the other side of 30 I I don’t know I’m not sure I agree with you on that is there any team facing more pressure than the suns in the

West yeah that’s my view as somebody who’s been around the league for over 20 years got a little gray hair coming in um I say that I’ve seen teams like this before and it takes like a second transaction cycle Matt ishia who’s been in the league for less than a year and

Has been one of the most aggressive owners we’ve ever seen he would like to not lose another game from now until mid June that’s how he operates and that’s how he’s driven the franchise to operate so yeah that’s my viewpoint on it that’s how they’re looking at it and certainly

With three guys and even Devin Booker has had injury issues over the last couple of years with who are potentially fragile you can’t mess around but being a pragmatist and looking at how strong the Clippers and Nuggets are I don’t favor them to win the west but I like

This team’s chances to do anything this year and I really like their chances when you give James Jones in his front office a chance to tweak the roster and you give Frank vogle a chance to figure out the lineups when they were in at Los Angeles two weeks ago guys like Frank

Vogle was still trying to figure out which five players he was going to put together at different points in the game when they were 40 games into the season give him a season and a half before you really judge him although it’s not going to be up to me you are right Malika

Listen they’ve got a couple of years to figure this out because those guys are under contract for a couple of years I know it gets expensive I know they hit the second apron it becomes much harder to change that team around but there’s one team that has all the pressure this

Year and it’s that’s the Golden State Warriors because if they don’t do it this year the Golden State Warriors do not prove the Golden State Warriors are under the most pressure of any team in the west more than the Clippers this is a dynastic team okay Kawhi Leonard just

Signed an extension they got some time they got I mean like Paul George hasn’t yet Paul George hasn’t yet he negotiating okay to me the Golden State Warriors are a dynastic team that is fighting for their survival they are fighting for their right to stay together and they they are in they’re

Not even in the playing tournament at this point so the Phoenix Suns everybody’s under contract they have some time to play together but the Warriors if they don’t show something in the next couple of weeks here let’s ask the other Rose sister I know by the way

Uh Ramona and I are definitely matching today this isar of Vander this we we both went with our Stanford Cardinal colors and then also the same patterns but we did not talk before the show but is it the Warriors I don’t think it’s the Warriors I do think that you have

Steph Curry who to me is like the most important piece and his he’s capable of playing in his prime you need to put him you know have players around him that can extend his prime they still got that precious gold right there in Gold Golden

State you see what I did right there I feel like it’s the Lakers I mean LeBron James is 39 how how much longer are you going to look at LeBron James playing in general and then also what are you going to do as a team that has those

Expectations each and every year to me may not be the Suns with a one-year type of situation going for a championship the Warriors know that they have a window with Steph he could be the best player that wins a championship the surrounding pieces now LeBron James and

The Lakers like how do you want that story to end and I feel like that’s really predicated on this year because he has options right yeah he does Brian what about you yeah I mean look Klay Thompson is a free agent Steve Kerr is a free agent um

I don’t know how they’re going to feel about a $400 million play role at the ownership level after this year I agree with Ramona and look nobody’s going to sit there and worry about the Warriors they’ve got four titles they won one two years ago if they break apart that’s

Just what history will be written is where it ends but they are facing the daily pressure heavier than anybody else I think one of the things that is good for the Suns is that they are playing much more free not worried about where their seat is going to be not worried

About their situation dayto day and only worried about themselves when I talked to De Booker about this he said we’re not even worried about who who our opponent is we’re focused totally on ourselves right now and that’s a little bit freeing for the Suns I you guys are

Convincing me as I’m hearing you talk but I if the Clippers aren’t number one they have to be somewhere in that conversation just I know that Kawhi Leonard s and Paul George they’re all going to resign they’re all going to resign they’re going to go into the new

Arena everyone’s going to be nice and happy everyone’s just going to ride off into the sunset as long as they can stay healthy well I mean the Clippers did do just that over the weekend right they rode off into the sunset they had a comeback for the ages exactly when they

Needed it the most is La showing enough to make our experts come my spe little attack acing targ TR out never an ally has been defeated an ally has been defeated develop Darkness you have defeated an enemy double kill kill your tower has been destroyed your tower has

Destroyed enemy has deated an enemy has defeated your team has destroyed a [Applause] towering out you have been an ally has been defeated I always find my mark an enemy has been defeated you have defeated an enemy it’s not over yet an enemy an ally has defeated crying out deated enemy double

Kill our base is under attack you have defeated enemy double kill trip kill trip acing Target you can’t hear your secret crying out it’s not over don’t P [Applause] that an enemy has been Defeated Domina for

NBA TODAY | “Suns Big 3 are a threat in West” – Brian Windhorst on Suns torches Pacers for 5th straight win