When plans for the National Basketball Association’s campus environment were being formulated, not a few quarters criticized the Suns’ inclusion in the mix. The concerns weren’t unfounded, to be sure; when the 2019-20 season was suspended in mid-March, stalwarts of the purple and orange were fresh off losses in five of their last seven contests. And, at 26 and 39, they faced the near-Sisyphean task of winning every single one of their eight seeding games just to move up from 13th in the conference and force sudden death for the last spot in the playoffs.
Fast forward a month into the league’s restart, and the Suns have clearly underscored that they belong in the bubble. They’re a perfect six of six heading into today’s match against the Sixers, with their run of success catapulting them past the now-eliminated Pelicans and Kings and putting them smack dab in the middle of a four-way battle for the final postseason berth. And, for all their failings prior to the shutdown, their recent string of triumphs is no fluke. They’ve been the best by far of the 22 teams quartered in Walt Disney World, no easy feat in light of the odds and the ease with which they could have instead coasted.
Considering the Suns’ scorching-hot showing, its no surprise that the naysayers have come and gone. Conventional wisdom pegged them as mere fodder, and an unnecessary one at worst — avoidable threats to health and safety protocols for a setup perennially in danger of being breached. Instead, they’ve emerged as first among equals of the tournament within a tournament. And, significantly, they remain as grounded as they were in the beginning. “We haven’t accomplished anything,” insisted head coach Monty Williams in the aftermath of their victory against the Thunder yesterday. “Everybody is trying to get to the playoffs, and we’ve just said we’re going to take it one step at a time.”
In short, the Suns are being smart first and foremost, pushing themselves to excel at factors they can control and not wasting time on those they can’t. Else, they would have been overwhelmed by the extent of the work facing them. Even now, there’s no guarantee they’ll be part of the play-in series; the Grizzlies, Blazers, and Spurs are lockstep with them in battle, bent on giving no quarters en route. Which is why they’re fine with any outcome for as long as they managed to do their best; there’s nothing else they can do but make the most of the opportunities given them.
Indeed, doing so has been a crucial ingredient to the Suns’ ascent. They’ve prevailed against handicapped opposition: the Wizards without Bradley Beal and Davis Bertrand; the Clippers without Montrezl Harrell; the Heat without Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic; and the Thunder without Dennis Shroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams. And, today, they’ll be taking to the court versus the Joel Embiid- and Ben Simmons-less Sixers. Of course, being handed chances is one thing, and taking advantage of them is quite another.
At this point, it’s anybody’s guess as to where the Suns will be at the end of their 2019-20 campaign. How they’re finishing it is clear, in any case: with their heads held high and all too aware of their bright future.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
