Bordow: Narrow Focus Helping Phoenix Suns Reach Big Goals

Let’s use some numbers to state the obvious, that the Phoenix Suns should win the NBA championship this season.

The Suns have the league’s best record at 54-14.

They haven’t lost more than two games in a row while compiling win streaks of 18 and 11 games.

They’ve beaten every team at least once, the first time they’ve done that since the 2006-2007 season.

They’re tied for third in the league in offensive rating and tied for second in defensive rating. 

As coach Monty Williams astutely pointed out, teams that rank in the top five in offense and defense, “have a chance to win big.”

But it’s not just the big picture that paints the Suns so favorably. It’s a small moment that occurred in the second half of Phoenix’s 140-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday.

Phoenix was up by 30 when there was a defensive breakdown that led to a Lakers’ uncontested layup. It was a so-what bucket in a game in which Phoenix obliterated Los Angeles.

Yet as he walked back up court, shooting guard Devin Booker let loose with a profanity and his face wore the look of a man who found out his taxes are being audited.

new AND1 Mixtape just dropped pic.twitter.com/U5NRNB76gn

— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) March 14, 2022

That reaction said as much about the Suns as their season-long excellence. It said Booker — and his teammates — aren’t just satisfied with being great. They know the franchise’s first NBA title is within their grasp and they’re not going to settle for anything less than their absolute best in every game and on every possession.

Think about that for a second. The Suns were killing the Lakers. They’ve all but clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. In such a small, unimportant moment, the defensive lapse might have been ignored and then forgotten.

Instead, Booker was pissed.

“We want to lock into the defensive end,” Booker said after the game. “We want to hold each other accountable on that end and we’re never playing the score. We’re playing for a championship. We’ve learned that those little moments, those little slip-ups, if you let them go by without saying anything it can bite you later when it hurts the worst.”

That it was Booker who was holding his teammates accountable speaks to his maturation as a player and the impact Williams and point guard Chris Paul have had on the team.

For the first four years of his career Booker was considered little more than a prolific scorer on a bad team. In fact, in 2019 Bleacher Report went so far as to label him the worst defender among all NBA shooting guards.

That judgement may have been a bit harsh, but as someone who covered every game of the 2017-18 season, I can tell you that Booker was not as physically or emotionally locked in on defense as he was on offense.

That’s no longer the case, and for that, Paul gets another assist.

Paul is one of the NBA’s best and most demanding leaders. He doesn’t settle and he doesn’t expect his teammates to, either. He was the strong voice Booker needed to hear, and you can see his influence in the effort Booker puts in on the defensive end every game.

"He's more than a scorer. He's more than an offensive savant… The young man plays defense… He's one of the best two-way players in the game."

– Monty Williams on @DevinBook

🗣️ Hear from the team tonight! 👇

— x – Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 14, 2022

And while it might be a bit flowery for Williams to suggest Booker belongs on an All-Defense team, the fact Williams would suggest such an honor at all speaks to Booker’s newfound dedication.

“He’s more than a scorer. He’s more than an offensive savant. The young man plays defense,” Williams said. “He guards his position every night. He’s one of the best two-way players in the game.

“That sounds weird talking about Devin as a two-way player, but that’s what he is. He doesn’t back down from a matchup. He should get all-defensive mention because of what he means to our team defensively. I don’t think he gets enough credit for playing that kind of defense.”

Booker said he doesn’t want to be “that guy” who lets his team down on the defensive end.

“I take a lot of pride in it and always have,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of guys in this league, really talented guys, that score the ball and make plays for a lot of people, but the list is smaller when you talk about people who are doing it on both ends. I want that reputation, and I’m going to prove it every night.”

Not just every night, but as evidenced in the win over the Lakers, on every possession.

So, yes, you can say the Suns will win the title because they have the NBA’s best backcourt … and a force on both ends in center Deandre Ayton … and one of the league’s best wing defenders in Mikal Bridges … and a deep and versatile bench.

But don’t forget that moment Sunday night, that inconsequential moment, when Booker’s profanity revealed it’s not just talent that defines this team.

It’s their attitude. Their approach. Their professionalism.

Three traits that should pay off come June.