Key to Victory: How Suns Can Upset Wolves

The Suns are playing the best in the West - here's how they can upset Minnesota.

Apr 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots over Cleveland / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns are looking to ride the wave of consecutive victories against the New Orleans Pelicans and Cleveland Cavaliers tonight as they face the Western Conference's No. 1 seed in the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wolves have eclipsed all expectations this season in succession of an eighth-place finish and first-round exit last year - they have become the squad that many expected following the acquisition of Rudy Gobert in July 2022.

The Suns defeated Minnesota 133-115 the last time the two teams faced off on Nov. 15 - which was ironically the last time the Kevin Durant/Devin Booker duo both reached the 30-point mark in a game played together prior to the victory over Cleveland on Wednesday.

The Suns should absolutely lean into the things that lead to such a successful outcome the last time the two teams faced - high-pressure POA defense, efficient three-point shooting, and banking on the Durant/Booker duo to have stout performances.

The Suns' aggressive POA (point of attack) defense clearly threw Wolves star G Anthony Edwards off - to the tune of 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting. The Suns need to attempt to replicate this level of strong communication, frequent switching, and stellar closeouts to throw the Wolves' offense out of rhythm. The absence of Karl-Anthony Towns makes this more of a potential reality.

The Booker/Durant duo and three-point volume go hand-in-hand.

The Suns shot 17-for-31 from three-point range in the last matchup, which was spearheaded by the dynamic duo pitching in 31 points apiece.

The presence of Gobert will make it exponentially more difficult to finish at he rim, so Booker and Durant will need to be meticulous in getting to their favorite spots.

Everything else will take care of itself - including ample space being created for shooters Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and Eric Gordon.

The Suns have a very clear blueprint to win - will they take advantage of the matchup quirks?