Phoenix Suns legend Charles Barkley has been bullish this season when it comes down to how well he believes his former team can be in the Western Conference and did not back down once again.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Just one game into the 2024-25 campaign, Barkley claimed that the Suns are better than both the Denver Nuggets and reigning Western Conference Champions Dallas Mavericks and now his praise towards Phoenix has elevated to another level.
“Kevin Durant is one of the greatest scorers we have ever seen in NBA history, he is so smooth,” Barkley said on the TV show ‘Inside the NBA’ on Tuesday. “When he comes back, he can miss a month, a week, half the season; he is going to come back and shoot that thing. He is just a professional, great scorer and it is effortless. He is already 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11. When he jumps, he is probably 7-foot-1, 7-foot-2.
“This is totally different from last year because Tyus Jones has really made things so much better for them. They finish instead of start because when you are able to finish plays instead of starting plays, the defense doesn’t get to load up on you. Last year when they were just playing 1-on-1, that was not gonna work. This is why I think this year they are the second-best team in the Western Conference in my opinion.”
"This here is the second-best team in the Western Conference" ????
Is Chuck right about the @Suns? ☀️ pic.twitter.com/XDu36HaWUM
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 27, 2024
The Suns started the season red-hot by going 8-1 in their first nine games, including beating the likes of the Mavericks twice, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat.
Durant was then sidelined for seven games with a left calf strain and Phoenix struggled, going 1-6 during that stretch. Bradley Beal missed five straight games and the Suns were 0-5 without both him and Durant.
In both of their returns, Durant and Beal both came back with a vengeance, scoring 23 points apiece en route to a 127-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Devin Booker led the team with 26 points to snap a five-game losing skid.
Phoenix was atop the Western Conference before two of their superstars sustained injuries and were unable to play. If Beal and Durant get a consistent run of games strung together with the rest of the team, it could bode well for the Suns’ chances of being a serious threat in the NBA.
Seven of the Suns’ 10 wins so far have been decided by six points or less, demonstrating that they might not be blowing other teams out of the water but are succeeding in high-pressure situations.
The Suns are currently 2-1 in the NBA Cup after the victory over the Lakers (2-1) and could win Group B of the in-season tournament. Phoenix will have to beat the San Antonio Spurs (2-1) on Dec. 3 and hope that the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1) loses to either the Lakers or Utah Jazz (0-3).
On a back-to-back, the Suns will clash against Cam Johnson and the Brooklyn Nets tonight at 7 p.m. MST inside Footprint Center.
Takeaways from Suns blowing out Lakers 127-100 in Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant’s return
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
