With a record-breaking win tally, first overall seed, world class coaching staff, and even some flashy jerseys to look at instead, it made little sense for Phoenix Suns fans to concentrate on any negatives from their team’s 2021-22 regular season campaign.
As the team kept reeling in victories left and right, it kept the spotlight away from its disappointing pieces. You likely missed them amidst all the positivity this year, but contrary to popular belief, some Phoenix players did go through a few rough patches.
Of course, anytime a team wins a game, nobody cares if one player shot 2-11 from the field or turned it over five times—and the Suns won a lot this year. That allowed their underperforming players to hide their less impressive seasons behind Phoenix’s near perfect one.
This is not to say that these guys played like scrubs or washouts by any means, but instead just have some extra room to improve.
And as we all know, the playoffs represent an entirely different animal. Such players can make up for their regular shortcomings in a flash with one or two big games while under this larger postseason spotlight.
Last year, we saw this come into fruition with Cameron Payne, Deandre Ayton, and at times even Torrey Craig—who all took their games to new levels on the playoff stage. Again, these guys by no means dropped the ball during the regular season beforehand, but undoubtedly flipped a switch in the playoffs.
This year, the Suns will look for a few others to do the same. With that aforementioned room to improve and the skills to do so, keep an eye out for these three guys to heat up over the next few weeks.