After what the Phoenix Suns did in the Orlando, Fla. bubble last year, they were expected to be a playoff contender this season. When they brought Chris Paul into the fold, the talk became more about whether they could get past the first round or not.
And here they are in the NBA Finals for only the third time in their franchise’s history.
To see how quickly they have gone from a lottery to one that’s four wins away from an NBA title is impressive.
More than that, their rise this year gives hope to many teams like the Celtics with deep playoff aspirations next season.
A couple thoughts on how Boston could be next season’s Phoenix Suns.
GOOD (MENTAL) HEALTH
When folks talk about good health, that doesn’t mean your core group stays healthy for the entire season.
Good health in this context means having the mental toughness and fortitude to withstand health-related setbacks when they arrive. And part of that involves building up the confidence of your role players during the regular season so that when called upon for an expanded role, they’ll be ready.
We saw that with the Suns when Chris Paul (Health and safety protocol) missed Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference finals. His replacement, Cam Payne, averaged 20 points and nine assists in those two games – both wins. Payne was on the cusp of being out of the NBA altogether before the Suns brought him down to the bubble last season. Boston will need to find a player or develop one of the youngsters on the roster, who makes the most of his opportunities to be an impact player akin to what Payne and a number of Suns role players have done all season.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
Al Horford’s value off the court and in the locker room will be as much if not more important to Boston’s success this season. Robert Williams III has raved about what Horford meant to him during Horford’s first tour of duty in Boston. Horford’s leadership has to be more vocal than it was in the past. Because chances are high that he won’t play as much as he did earlier in Boston, but that shouldn’t prevent him from asserting himself as the team’s go-to leader.
UNEXPECTED BREAKS
A key player on the opposing team is sick. A team’s flight gets in really late and they don’t arrive until a couple of hours before tip-off. Life has a way of throwing the best-laid plans off-center, something that Boston will need to have happened if they are to get back to competing for Eastern Conference supremacy.
COACHES COMING, GOING
Whenever there’s a head coaching change, that usually means a new staff is coming in. New Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is expected to bring in longtime San Antonio assistant coach Will Hardy to Boston, and is aggressively pursuing former NBA standout Damon Stoudemire who is the current head coach at Pacific University. A league source said Udoka may look to add someone from the Brooklyn Nets staff as well. One possibility would be Adam Harrington, a Nets assistant from Massachusetts who played at NC State before transferring to Auburn where he played with former Celtics wing, Marquis Daniels. The Boston Sports Journal has confirmed that Jamie Young and Jay Larranaga will not return next season as Celtics assistants. The Boston Globe was the first to report the news. Jerome Allen has accepted an assistant coaching position with the Detroit Pistons.
TATUM SEEKS CHANGES TO ALL-NBA VOTING
Jayson Tatum has established himself as one of the NBA’s brightest stars and in doing so, has made a considerable amount of money.
But you had to expect he would be feeling some kind of way when he was not named to one of the NBA’s All-NBA teams, a slight that cost him $32.6 million.
Tatum, talking to Kicks’ “Beyond the Press” podcast, addressed the $32.6-million elephant in the room.
“I know I should have made it, with the season I had,” he said.
Statistically speaking, Tatum was right.
He averaged a career-high 26.4 points per game which ranked 10th in the league. Tatum also grabbed 7.4 rebounds while dishing out 4.3 assists – both career highs as well.
“I wasn’t necessarily upset with losing the money,” Tatum said. “I think I just felt like the way I was playing, everything I did, I thought it should have been a no-brainer.”
Tatum said he was more bothered by the process.
“What they do need to change is ... what’s the criteria? Is there a certain amount of games you need to play? Should you be in playoff contention? Are there a certain amount of points you need to average? There should be something like that in place. If you allow people to just vote and there’s nothing set in place … I think that would help out a lot.”