The Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns in four games, causing them to lose in the opening round of the NBA playoffs once more. The Suns have fallen short of expectations in the postseason for the third straight year. Granted, all teams that are unsuccessful in winning a championship eventually lose, but Phoenix has failed miserably in each of their previous three playoff exits.
However, this season’s Suns never really got off the ground, in contrast to the previous two, when Phoenix showed itself to be a more formidable regular season opponent. Undoubtedly, injuries were a factor, as Bradley Beal missed 29 games as a result of different illnesses.
Nevertheless, the Suns only appeared to be in control of a few games at a time, even when they were completely healthy. Even though Phoenix’s three stars—Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal—were producing strong results, the team was only able to place sixth in the Western Conference.
According to The Athletic, Durant wasn’t quite satisfied with how he was being used on offense this season. Part of that might have been due to his adjusting to a new coach and going through an adjustment period.
“Sources with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic that Durant never felt at ease playing with Booker and Beal in Phoenix’s offense this year. According to those sources, Durant was having ongoing problems with the system. He believed that he was being forced into the corner much too frequently and that the pick-and-roll-heavy strategy did not provide him with the right plays to capitalize on his skills.
With 68 corner 3-pointers attempted this season, Durant made the most of his career. That might not seem like much to people whose job it is to sit in the corner and make 3-pointers, but given that K.D. averaged roughly 23.2 corner 3s in his career before this year, that’s a big improvement. Even if Durant was hitting them at a 46% clip, which was in the 93rd percentile, it wasn’t the best use of his generational potential.
Although Durant wasn’t pleased with frequently being forced to play in the corner, The Athletic also notes that people close to the Suns organization believed K.D. had more opportunities to discuss his concerns with the coaching staff.
It’s obvious that there was some miscommunication occurring, regardless of the cause. What happens after that is yet to be seen. The Suns had already changed their head coach, hiring Vogel in place of Monty Williams after the conclusion of the previous campaign. As for Vogel’s “full support” from Suns owner Mat Ishbia, he stated before Game 4’s defeat, but according to The Athletic, Phoenix intends to look at hiring a new coach or switching around the assistant coaches who work under Vogel.
It’s obvious that nobody in the Valley of the Sun is satisfied with how this season has gone, regardless of what occurs in Phoenix. The Timberwolves revealed this team’s lack of depth in spite of all the quality at the top of the roster.
Unfortunately, finding excellent players won’t be easy because the Suns are already far into the luxury tax for the upcoming season due to the money locked up with Booker, Beal, Durant, and Grayson Allen, who recently inked an extension. If things don’t improve, players like Booker and Durant might ask to leave the Suns, therefore it will be crucial for them to demonstrate during the offseason that they can assemble a strong contender.