The Phoenix Suns’ recent hot-streak is evidence that more winning is on the way

For the past eight years, Phoenix Suns fans have been begging for a turnaround. We might have finally be witnessing it, and the start of it has begun at the perfect time.

The Phoenix Suns have won six of ten for the first time since December 16 – January 20 of last season, a mid-season bump that was nothing more than an aberration in an otherwise miserable year.

The two biggest difference between then and now is the timing and talent.

Not only are the Suns hot and playing well together, but they’re also doing it with additional talent that they have not had in many years.

Bad teams can go on brief runs surprising their opponents before realizing who they are and sinking back down to the bottom of the league.

But this Suns team is not the bad, talent-less team that it was last season, in which Devin Booker was the only player worth watching and the rest were lucky to even have a spot on an NBA roster.

Between Book, Kelly Oubre, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, and surprising to say, Tyler Johnson, this team has a core group of players who should be at the heart of next season’s (hopefully much) improved roster.

Johnson is not the point guard of the future, and even he admits that he hasn’t even really played all that much point guard in his career, often playing off the ball.

The team’s improvement since his arrival though is evidence of the desperation that this team had at point guard, and just giving Booker a little bit more time off the ball in setting up the offense, has proven to be advantageous to the entire team.

This of course means that if the front office acquires a legitimate starting NBA point guard this offseason, whether it be through the draft or the acquisition of a free agent, and the team should see an additional uptick in wins on that player’s performance alone.

Phoenix Suns

The timing of this recent streak (which is presumed to only continue as well with the lowly Chicago Bulls up next with the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Dallas Mavericks – all non-playoff teams – coming down the pike as well) could not be better.

Of course every fan of a non-playoff team this season is eyeing Zion Williamson with the number one pick, praying to the NBA Gods that their team is selected to pick first overall in the lottery, giving them the opportunity to take the player who most believe is a generational, Charles Barkley-like, talent.

Had the Phoenix Suns been half-way decent throughout the season, winning 10-15 more games throughout the year to this point, those lottery odds would of course be much lower.

2018-19 has been so bad for the Suns that they are a solid lock to now finish in the top-four, the top three having the best odds at drafting number one, with the fourth team having only a 1.5% less chance than the others – exactly where a non-playoff team wants to be.

Whether or not they are fortunate enough to select first overall twice in a row, the first team to do so since the 2013 and 2014 Cleveland Cavaliers, having those odds are all that fans can ask for in that regard, and for now, will have to be good enough (the Philadelphia 76ers picked first overall in 2016 and 2017, but traded up from three in 2017 with the Boston Celtics, and were not selected by the lottery as Cleveland was, and the 1992 and 1993 Orland Magic were before them).

That said, winning is contagious and offseasons are long, especially for those teams who miss the playoffs after a 60+ loss season.

During the long month-long 17-game losing streak (part of a 2-24 stretch), fans feared the worst about Devin Booker, that he would demand a trade out of Phoenix and the team would be left in shambles, built already on a weak foundation, that would suddenly have had a sledge hammer taken to it.

With this recent positive stretch, one so close to the end of the season, should it continue until the final buzzer of game 82, that positivity will undoubtedly be carried over, fueling players like Booker and Ayton in their offseason development, doing their part to guarantee the team takes that next step.

Supplement the current roster and good vibes with a very good player in the draft, coupled with additions through trade and free agency, and this era of good feelings doesn’t have to end, but can continue throughout the long, hot summer, and into next season.

The late season push for winning could not have come at a better time for the Phoenix Suns in an otherwise lost season. If they should keep it up, they can carry some momentum into next season, finally putting fans of the franchise in a position to have a full season of good basketball to watch.