What Went Wrong: Sunset

Similar to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NBA Playoffs will see 16 teams vying for their ultimate prize, with 15 of them coming up short. Someone has to be the first to fall, because that's how it goes, and that someone just happened to be the Phoenix Suns. I still remember the first NBA Finals I recapped on Vocal: it was the 2021 Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks. Phoenix reached the Finals for the first time since 1993, when they were the last victims of the Chicago Bulls' first three-peat.

The Suns lost that Finals to the Bucks in six games, leaving them still looking for that elusive first championship. Since then, they haven't come close. Back-to-back second round exits following that Finals appearance, and after Monty Williams was suddenly out as head coach, the team is currently on their third coach in as many seasons. Last year saw them miss out a year after being swept in Round 1, but this year saw them finish 45-37, a good record, but not good enough to finish in the Top 6 in the Western Conference.

Phoenix finished at #7, which is the best spot in the Play-In Tournament. Not only were they in the 7th seed game (which is win and in), they hosted it. However, they lost at home to the Portland Trail Blazers, forcing Phoenix to have to play for the 8th seed. Suns did win the 8th seed game, but their big prize: a 1st round series against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. This was the NBA equivalent of the Avalanche/Kings series from this year: for the Suns, it went about as well as one expected.

Suns were doomed either way once they were trapped in the Play-In. Say they had won that 7th seed game. They would have faced Wemby and the San Antonio Spurs instead, and most likely would have received the same fate. Even so, this is a continuing downward spiral for the Suns since reaching the Finals in 2021 and coming within two wins of their first championship.

Devin Booker needs to get the hell out of Phoenix. He does. He's been there for over a decade, he's eventually become the team's leader, he led that wild 2021 run to the Finals, but here it is, five years later, and it's getting worse. Two playoff series wins since that year. Way too many coaching changes. That 2020-21 team breaking up bit-by-bit, the biggest cause being that dumb deal to get a washed Kevin Durant (who is now with the Rockets). Booker had a taste of the Finals, but he's nowhere close now. A player like that deserves a real chance with a real contender. He needs to get out of there and save himself!

And with that, another disappointing Phoenix Suns season comes to an end. Dating back to the 2023 playoffs, the Suns have lost 10 straight playoff games, a far cry from that team who reached the Finals back in 2021. From what I've been seeing from the Suns, especially in the last three years, they are definitely not going back to that form again--mainly due to the Thunder and Spurs being the current juggernauts in the Western Conference. For the Suns, it's back to the drawing board. I do have a suggestion for the Suns: get Devin Booker some help! Dillon Brooks does nothing but cause trouble. Jalen Green and Royce O'Neale are too inconsistent. Grayson Allen can't stay healthy. It's a total mess in Phoenix, and sadly, I see absolutely no signs of anything resembling improvement.