How much PRESSURE is on the Phoenix Suns to win a title? | NBA Today

How much PRESSURE is on the Phoenix Suns to win a title? | NBA Today

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 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 graceon 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’re defensively 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’re 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 Kerr had a big conference with Steph Curry and he basically said stop stop trying to be nice stop trying to set up Kevin and they all to work and they won aamp that that’s what’s happened except this time it was Kevin Durant saying to 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 and I know efficient 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 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 takes like a second transaction cycle Matt isia 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 right 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 Devon 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 that 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 Malik 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 that’s the Golden State

Warriors because if they don’t do it this year that’s not 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 has Paul George hasn’t yet 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 it’s 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 no by the way uh Ramona and I are definitely matching

Today this isar of V this is we we both went with 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 oh 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 it 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 rooll 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 Deon 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 going to they’re all going to resign they’re going to go into the new Arena everyone’s going to be nice and Happ

Everyone’s just going to ride off into the sunset as long as they can stay hell Nicola yoga you put on a show a season High 42 points to go along with 12 rebounds eight assists this coming after handing the Celtics their first home loss of the season on Friday night CH do

People sleep on jokic’s scoring abilities absolutely he could do this every night he’s fourth in the NBA and assist he’s averaging nine assists a game if you drop that to six he’s averaging 3032 and he’d be in the conversation again which he already is for MVP so yeah people sleep on his

Scoring because his passing it it’s Sensational look at that one his passing is so magical it’s almost like what all right let’s go from the east coast to the West Coast kawaiian company finished a game on a 22 to0 run to beat the last night the 220 run it matched the largest

Unanswered run by any team to end a game in the last 25 Seasons Mr windhorse do you think the Clippers are ready for a championship push oh my gosh this is impressive as the Clippers have looked in the last 5 years and I would argue Malika that the

Most relevant thing that’s happened in the NBA so far this season is how good kawh Leonard looks him playing this way makes anything possible yeah I mean he’s been healthy and looking good all right from LA to htown where the Celtics took care of business Chris porzingis LED all

Scorers with 32 but is going to be out tonight against Dallas Ramona how important is he to this Boston team he is playing like the Unicorn he was named when he first came into the league by Kevin Durant 50% on all mid-range this year 69% on post-ups also hit six threes

And five blocks how many players in the league can have six threes and five blocks in the same game right and that is why they call him the Unicorn all right we’re back in La now where the Lakers they beat the Blazers last night LeBron and D’Angelo Russell combined for

62 while had 14 and 14 his 35th double double of the season but let’s pump the brakes just a little bit though because this game was Portland’s 10th 20o loss of the season the most by any team you got to take care of the teams in front

Of you but sometimes Portland makes it a little bit easier than others the Lakers they have eight games remaining though until the trade deadline you can see here the last six come as a part of a road trip that includes stops against the Warriors the Celtics and the New

York knck what will our East and West Conference Finals matchups be Ramona start us off all right in the Eastern Conference I’m going to go with the Boston Celtics okay and right now right now based on how they’re playing and also with an eye towards the idea that

The that the Sixers are going to improve at the trade deadline I’ll go with Philly and in the west Denver and the Clippers that’s mine did you cheat off me Miss Stanford all right wait we got the same Brian what do we have for you I I everything Ramona says I agree

With exactly including the Sixers improving it’s not so much about the Bucks it’s about the upward Mobility the Sixers I got the same four no one has the Milwaukee Bucks or or or the heat who are always there heat are always in this the picture or the Sun the

Milwaukee Buck surprises me a little bit that no one has the Milwaukee confence that’s going to do it for us today here on NBA Today

On NBA Today, Brian Windhorst, Chiney Ogwumike and Ramona Shelburne join Malika Andrews to discuss the pressure the Phoenix Suns face with an aging trio between Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker before speaking on which teams are most apt to make the NBA Finals:

0:00 Phoenix Suns surging
3:46 Suns or Warriors have more pressure?
8:21 Clippers ready for Championship push?
9:03 Kristaps Porzingis’ Celtics importance
9:54 Conference Finals matchup predictions

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