The media can’t get enough of this year’s Suns.
Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck decided to get in on the fun that is Phoenix basketball.
More specifically, Beck wanted to get at the root of why the Suns are a source of NBA optimism, particularly in a year when many teams are swinging in the opposite direction.
We think this particular tidbit shed some light on the matter:
They are wildly entertaining, reliably competitive and, as it happens, brilliantly positioned for the future.
Too true. Just for fun, let’s take each of those three points one at a time.
Entertaining: The most entertaining aspects of basketball have to be fast breaks, three-pointers and dunks in some order. Phoenix leads the league in fast break points, ranks fourth in three-pointers made per game, and boasts Miles Plumlee, who ranks 10th in number of dunks this season (54).
Competitive: The Suns are tied for third in the league in games where one team leads by four points with five minutes remaining. That five-game road trip Phoenix finished last week? Here are the margins of victory for each game: five, one, five, two, and two.
Future: The average age of the Suns’ active roster is 25.5 years old. They could have up to four first-round draft picks this summer, courtesy of savvy trades made during the offseason. Phoenix is set up with ample cap room both in the immediate and long-term future.
As Beck points out, however, the future is then. This is now. Enjoy it, just like Channing Frye is.
"We're just out here having fun...We have no expectations. It's really about us and holding each other accountable."