Too-good Suns
For a team 8.5 games ahead of the pack for the top seed in the playoffs and are 59-14, the Phoneix Suns don't get talked about a lot.
They've been so good since last season that they've lost their novelty, despite reaching new heights this year. Everyone knows the Suns are awesome; we don't need weekly reminders anymore.
That makes them oddly underrated. After all, their two best players in Chris Paul and Devin Booker didn't even crack the All-Star starting lineup. Neither are also even close to being considered for First Team All-NBA. They might crack the Second or Third All-NBA teams, but it's unlikely they’re included in the top five players of the league.
Chris Paul is averaging 14.9 points, 10.7 assists, and 4.5 rebounds. Booker norms 25.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. These aren’t eye-popping numbers compared to the top MVP candidates like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, or Giannis Antetokounmpo. But it’s still crazy that neither are even in the top five of most MVP rankings after leading the undoubted best team in the league.
Yesterday, they faced one of the more uplifting stories of the season in the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves had been great in their previous games as their All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns is around a week removed from dropping 60 on the San Antonio Spurs.
The Suns just crushed them.
BOOKER. BRINGS. THE. BOOM. pic.twitter.com/QWOAYO3wIL
— y - Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 24, 2022
Maybe it’s because we’ve just gotten used to not talking about the Suns for the last decade. This team is a juggernaut stomping on the best teams in the league and they’re doing it playing a pretty fun brand of basketball. Watch them now so you’re prepared for their inevitable playoff takeover.
Soon-to-be two-time MVP
Speaking of inevitable, Nikola Jokic will win this season’s MVP award. People will try all sorts of mental gymnastics to argue for a different player, but Jokic will bring it home again.
The Joker is clobbering teams for 26.2 points a game on 57.1 field goal percentage with 13.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists. It’s been said so many times, but the Nuggets are only successful this season because of Jokic.
Imagine not having two of your top three players. Every game, you’re relying on Monte Morris, Aaron Gordon, or Will Barton to produce way above their means. Somehow, your team’s at 43-30 and sixth in the West. All because a 7-foot Serbian horse enthusiast won’t let your team fail.
Still no answer for this guy🃏 pic.twitter.com/hT8tDoLodM
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 23, 2022
Watching Nikola Jokic is like watching retired professional basketball players outsmart younger opponents in pickup games – only Jokic isn’t retired and he’s playing like Reynel Hugnatan in the best basketball league in the world. It’s downright whacky how off-kilter his approach to the game is that top-flight athletes don’t know how to react to him.
While he isn’t leading all the advanced metrics anymore, Jokic is still proving to be one of the most efficient and impactful players in league history. He should be even better in the playoffs. Don't miss watching a part of history.
