Will Clutch Time Play Haunt Suns Down the Stretch?
The Phoenix Suns have fielded some superb teams as of late.
For the most part, fans in the Valley have little to complain about. How quickly do we forget about the pre-Devin Booker years.
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz detailed each contender's most troubling flaw and landed on clutch time performances when looking at the Suns:
"Part of the Phoenix Suns' league-best 64-18 record last season was their amazing play in the clutch.
"Phoenix was 33-9 in close games with a net rating of plus-33.4, more than double that of the next-closest team (Milwaukee Bucks, plus-15.9).
"This season has been a different story, however, as that late-game magic appears to be gone. The Suns are just 5-7 in clutch games with a net rating of plus-6.6, which ranks 13th.
"Chris Paul, one of the team's closers along with Devin Booker, has missed time with a heel injury and is averaging a career-low 11.1 points on 38.8 percent shooting. He'll turn 38 on May 6, when the Suns may already be on vacation if their shaky close-game play continues.
"It was once this team's biggest strength, but Phoenix should now be concerned whenever things get tight in the fourth quarter."
To Swartz's point, the Suns are 2-6 in games that ended in one possession thus far. That accounts for half of Phoenix's losses.
Yet Phoenix has displayed the ability to push through late adversity, storming back from multiple 20+ point leads against the Mavericks and Pelicans. Aside from Booker, guys such as Damion Lee and Mikal Bridges have stepped up down the stretch of fourth quarters and helped the Suns emerge victorious.
Yet the Suns have blown 2-0 leads in both instances they've bowed out of the playoffs in recent years, which includes the 2021 NBA Finals and last season's second-round battle vs. Dallas.
As of now, Phoenix is just one game back from the No. 1 seed in the West with key starters missing various amounts of time. Their starting five has yet to play significant minutes together, so there's hope the team can only grow stronger ahead of the postseason.
Yet the Suns haven't quite put their hands on the Larry O'Brien trophy, and until they do so, Phoenix will have questions on their ability to close out games that go down to the wire.
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