The Phoenix Suns surprised many by winning 45 games and making the playoffs last season, so naturally, owner Mat Ishbia believes they can go one step further this time around by actually winning a series once they get there. When you've traded away what little draft capital you had left for Miles Bridges and with Devin Booker about to turn 30 years old, what else are you supposed to say?
Ishbia could look foolish but has always vocally backed Suns to succeed
Ishbia was on CNBC Sport ahead of the new season (and h/t to The PHNX Suns for taking the video from their live feed), saying that "I believe that we have a team that can get there, as in we're going to make the playoffs; we're going to win a first (round) playoff series, and how do we continue to build. But the most important thing is we're on this trajectory; we're an ascending young team getting better every day and we have a superstar in Devin Booker who we are going to continue to build around."
Ishbia has done everything he can since buying the franchise to put the Suns in a winning position and make the team more affordable for fans to follow both live and while watching at home, and deserves a ton of credit for that. The front office continues trying to retool around Booker to contend once more, which is why Ishbia's bold statement might not be as far away as many think.
The Suns have one of the best young Head Coaches in the league in Jordan Ott, who, in his first season, got complete buy-in from the roster. This group will again be above league average defensively, while the addition of Miles Bridges gives them another option on the offensive end to take the pressure off Booker.
There is also sneaky solid depth in place, with a veteran of the quality of Pat Spencer playing on a two-way contract. The Suns can easily go 12 deep each night and mix up their rotations depending on the opponent, and that is without starting center Mark Williams available for the foreseeable future.
If the Suns can manage to avoid both the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round of the postseason, then Ishbia is right to have confidence that they could win a series. It will be getting a top-six spot and avoiding them altogether that will be the hard part, and it is not like the Minnesota Timberwolves or Denver Nuggets will be easy outs either.
National media and oddmakers don't believe in Suns like Ishbia does
Most outlets have the Suns around the 40.5 mark for wins this season, and basically everybody is taking the under on that number. This is despite the roster getting better and deeper, including role players such as Oso Ighodaro stepping into starting roles. Jalen Green is healthy, while Dillon Brooks is again being overlooked as a floor raiser.
It's not like Ishbia was going to agree that the Suns are due to take a small step back, and the team better hope his belief in them is correct because failure to win a playoff series and face the reality of major changes next offseason does not bear thinking about.
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