The Phoenix Suns are annoying. They swarm the passing lanes, they poke at the ball, they get their hands in places you wouldn’t expect, and they live in the grey area between hustle and havoc. You see it in the foul counts. You feel it in the rhythm of the game. And yet, they’re annoying in all the right ways.
Sunday night in downtown Phoenix, the Suns faced a Spurs team that rolled in undefeated at 5-0. From the opening tip, Phoenix had that look. The one that says they care, that they’re locked
in, that cohesion isn’t a theory but something that actually breathes on a basketball court. We’ve been preaching patience for weeks, waiting for the chemistry to click, and for one night it did.
You could see it in the ball movement, the trust, the rotations that snapped into place. Offense and defense speaking the same language. They played loose, they played for each other, and they carried out a plan to slow down one of the most unique players this league has ever seen.
Yeah, they shot the hell out of the ball. 19-of-33 from deep. That’s not sustainable, but it was beautiful while it lasted. The thing that mattered more was the way they looked while doing it. The cohesion, the disruption, the chaos under control. That’s what turned the night into something worth remembering.
Now comes the question every team faces once the dust settles. Can they keep it? Can they drag this version of themselves into the next game, the next week, the next grind of the season? Because for now, this annoying, disruptive, oddly poetic version of the Phoenix Suns looks like something worth believing in.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Booker’s creeping back in after dominating the vote following his 36-point performance on Friday against the Jazz.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 7 against the Spurs. Here are your nominees.
Devin Booker
28 points (10-of-15, 2-of-2 3PT, 6-of-6 FT), 2 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, +26 +/-
Ryan Dunn
17 points (6-of-8, 3-of-4 3PT, 2-of-2 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, +32 +/-
Grayson Allen
17 points (6-of-13, 5-of-9 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, +17 +/-
Royce O’Neale
11 points (4-of-6, 3-of-5 3PT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, +21 +/-
Collin Gillespie
15 points (5-of-10, 3-of-7 3PT, 2-of-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, +(-1) +/-
Mark Williams
7 points (3-of-5 FG, 1-of-4 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, +24 +/-
Votin’ time!
