Suns Ranked as No. 2 Team in Western Conference
When it comes to winning the NBA Finals, expectations around the Phoenix Suns couldn't be more clear: Win the whole damn thing, or the season is a disappointment.
Fans in the Valley watched their team get close in 2021 where the Suns managed to build a 2-0 lead in the Finals before ultimately falling apart against the Milwaukee Bucks. Two early postseason exits in the years following have led to massive changes, and now Phoenix holds more star power than ever.
To first reach the Finals, the Suns will have to navigate a tough Western Conference that includes the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who beat Phoenix on their path to glory last year.
The Suns hope to reverse their fortune next time around, though it's clear Denver is the obvious fork in the road for their title hopes.
In NBA.com's power rankings for the West, the Suns were No. 2 behind the Nuggets. Author John Schuhmann offered the following analysis of Phoenix:
"There’s little doubt that, even though they don’t have a point guard, the Suns’ offense will be ridiculously good. Durant will be 35 on opening night but remains one of the two best offensive players on the planet. Beal has missed 72 games over the last two seasons but is still just 30 years old. And Booker is still just 26 (until Oct. 30). All three of those guys are coming off the most efficient (Durant) or second-most efficient seasons of their careers.
"Frank Vogel’s last team had the league’s No. 1 defense the season after it won a championship, which says a lot about his ability to coach that end of the floor. Durant was a terrific defender when he played last season and Josh Okogie is still here to be a bulldog off the bench. But that may not be enough for this to be a better-than-average defense unless Beal and Eric Gordon shed some of the bad habits they’re bringing from non-competitive teams.
"The ceiling is high, but every team needs to play hard, play together and play defense to reach its ceiling. And those latter two elements will be the things to watch in Phoenix."
The Suns finished ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers to round out the top five.
