The Phoenix Suns have won two straight, but a victory over the New York Knicks would mean a lot to both the franchise and it’s fans.
The Phoenix Suns have lost more games this season than anyone could have fathomed. They average 57.25 losses in each of the last four seasons (and this one hasn’t even been completed yet).
Now the franchise too is swimming in controversy with ESPN and other media outlets drowning them in goat poo – and I’m not even referencing the real goat poo that former General Manager Ryan McDonough found in his office after a failed practical joke by Owner Robert Sarver (which by the way, using a goat as a means of telling McD that he needs to find a “GOAT,” is the weirdest, most uninspiring metaphor/prank ever).
Yet here we are, watching this young team look like a team for only the second time this season, in the midst of a two-game “winning streak,” and about to face off against the worst team in the NBA (by record) at home, a game that by all intents and purposes should be a victory for the Phoenix Suns.
A win, stretching the winning streak to three, would mean a lot for both the team and the fanbase.
Forget Zion Williamson for a moment. I know you want him; everyone wants him. But having the opportunity to draft him is entirely out of their control and thus should not have any immediate bearing on what happens on the court right now.
Phoenix Suns
At the moment, Phoenix is still four games up on the Chicago Bulls in the #ZeroInOnZion sweepstakes, a gap that one has to think is all but insurmountable at this stage in the season and the two teams still do have one more head-to-head matchup as well, a Bulls win would all but lock up the Suns’ place in the top-three.
For a young roster that as a whole has never in any of their careers known winning, dealing with a weight of competitive failure that fans certainly cannot fathom being the athletes who have to deal with the losses first hand, the media scrutiny (and our public resentment), winning a few games, feeling good about themselves professionally, and hopefully coming together as a true “team” as they head into the future is nothing but a good thing.
Recently local sports talk show hosts have even questioned whether or not many of the younger players actually even like each other and if the core of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Josh Jackson can even co-exist long enough to find extended success as the core of a good team.
With many fans fearing during the recent 17-game losing streak that Devin Booker might demand a trade out of Phoenix this offseason before outside help could ever be acquired, even if such a fear was entirely unsubstantiated, winning a few games down the stretch and seeing that Devin Booker smile after games will only quell those fears that much more.
Having a second winning streak this season and specifically looking like a team that has gelled and coming together as a close knit group, heading into the offseason with a little extra mojo might also help the free agency recruiting process as the franchise (and specifically Booker) reaches out to talented players in an attempt to finally have a roster that can take the next step.
Die-hard fans who will never go away need this too.
I mean: NEED this.
Fans of the Phoenix Suns who will never waiver in their support of the franchise and who will forever root for the purple and orange no matter how poorly the franchise is run, need to watch a couple of wins. They need to celebrate and revel in a win-streak, as brief as it might be.
They need see their beloved team do good and feel good about the time and financial investments that go into rooting for a professional sports franchise.
Losing constantly causes people to question their life choices in who/why they have chosen a specific team to be at the heart of their fandom, and four consecutive seasons of losing more than 50 games (and most likely a second consecutive season of 60 or more losses) would be as dis-heartening as it can be. Yet to compound that feeling with the knowledge that the Los Angeles Lakers could take their 1.0% chance at winning the lottery and pull off the number one pick in the draft (which more than New York winning the lottery is my greatest fear), a possibility that should keep all Suns fans up at night.
At least this three-game streak and hopefully some more competitive basketball over the final stretch of games – if even that stretch is only sprinkled with one or two more victories – would help to not only ease some of the current pains, but also soften the blow that maybe, just maybe the franchise isn’t as far off as it feels, if even Zion lands in LaLa Land, and not in our laps.
So here is to hoping that the Phoenix Suns can pull off a short streak and knock of the lowly New York Knicks, and help remain positive about the future by seeing a little extra winning in the present.