00:01Let's dive into this Suns fans. Alright Suns fans, let's talk about this team right now,
00:05seriously. We all understand the last two wins for the Phoenix Suns shouldn't have had to be
00:09a message to anyone. By now you should know this team is completely legitimate and has real
00:14postseason aspirations. But just in case there were any doubts, they keep delivering statement
00:19wins against quality opponents. After taking care of business against the Detroit Pistons on
00:24Thursday. It was an absolute rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers the very next night, 126-113. All of
00:31this was done without Devin Booker, right ankle sprain, for both games against two of the East's
00:36better teams. The Suns are now 30-19. That's a win total many analysts, myself included, predicted
00:42they'd be at or around. They still have six games left until the All-Star break. Friday's performance
00:47was, honestly, ridiculous. The final score looks closer because Cleveland 29-21 salvaged
00:54it in garbage time. After Phoenix led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter, Suns
01:00head coach Jordan Ott said post-game, our defensive energy was at a high level for most of the night.
01:07To force that team into that many turnovers, we were doing something right on that end.
01:12The Suns scored 31 points off Cleveland's 23 turnovers. Ten different Suns players recorded
01:17a steal, and four had at least two. The collective effort is what's unbelievable. Seven Suns scored
01:24in double figures. While much of the season's story has been about the bench creating separation,
01:29this time, it was the starters setting the tone. Dylan Brooks was a pleasant 24 in 24 minutes,
01:36scoring 27 points on 9-14 shooting. Grayson Allen added 13 points and was a plus 25. Colin Gillespie
01:44was one of three Suns to hit at least four three-pointers, going four for six with five
01:48assists and just one turnover. Royce O'Neal also hit four threes. Four for eight. And this incredible
01:54season for Jordan Goodwin just keeps soaring. His five for eight shooting from deep finally matched his
01:59always remarkable defensive activity. The night before, Goodwin hounded MVP candidate Cade Cunningham
02:05into 26 points on 22 shots. On Friday, he played a huge role in forcing all-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell
02:13into eight turnovers, holding him to just 12 shot attempts and 16 points. Dylan Brooks praised him,
02:20saying,
02:21Goodwin has been neutralizing every single best player on every single team for the past three weeks.
02:26That should be on notice. He's been playing out of his mind on the defensive end. He's having a
02:30special season this year and that's got to be recognized. Goodwin finished with 17 points and
02:36three steals. His defensive impact over the last month especially has been so incredible. It's time
02:42to start asking, does he deserve all defensive team consideration, even on limited minutes? This
02:48wasn't just a night where the Suns' energy overwhelmed the Cavaliers. Phoenix was physically tough and chippy
02:53on defense too. It was a weird game flow though. Early on, it didn't feel like Phoenix was
02:59particularly sharp. And Cleveland was doing more offensively. The Suns had zero second chance
03:04points in the first half. But to make up for shooting 39% in the half, Phoenix generated 21
03:10points off 15 Cleveland turnovers to take a five-point lead. Then, the Suns hardly missed.
03:17They made 14 of their first 17 shots in the third quarter to extend the lead to 21, ending the period
03:24shooting 80%. Out of the break, Phoenix scored on four straight possessions while holding Cleveland
03:30scoreless. And that was it. A 109-79 lead with 10-13 left. Ball game, Phoenix hit 23 threes and
03:37totaled 31 assists, the type of offensive explosion that felt inevitable given their recent struggles
03:43on that end. Regardless of who was in or out of the lineup, this game marked Jalen Green's return
03:48from a three-game absence due to a tweak of his right hamstring. This was after he missed two
03:53and a half months earlier from a re-aggravation. Coach Ott indicated this recent issue was not the
03:59same, stating the MRI was clean. The indication was this was more of a mental hurdle for Green,
04:05and that is still a work in progress. When Green was on the bench, he worked extensively to keep his
04:10hamstring loose, doing light sprints and shuffles during timeouts. There were also looks toward the
04:15bench near the end of his shifts, suggesting his cardio is still catching up. He's clearly not
04:20at full functionality or trust in his body yet. Green struggled to create his usual separation on
04:26drives. On the rare occasions he got to the rim, it was by using full turbo. His path back wasn't
04:32helped by a bad fall in the mid-third quarter. Going up for a rebound, he lost his legs on the way
04:37down and landed hard on his back. He was down for over a minute before walking off on his own and
04:42staying in the game. Later in that same shift, Green threw a swing pass to O'Neal for a three
04:47and then hit his own step-back triple to extend the lead to 17 with 5.37 left in the third.
04:53However, he looked increasingly hobbled as that stint continued. The blowout meant we didn't see
04:57if he would have played in the fourth. Green did not speak post-game. Coach Ott said they believed
05:02the hamstring was fine and it was a hip contusion bothering him after the fall. Green finished with
05:0611 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, and a steal in 16 minutes. 7 of his 9-shot attempts
05:14were from 3-point range, for Cleveland, Darius Garland, right toe sprain, Evan Mobley, left calf
05:21strain, and Max Struess, right foot surgery, were out. Clearly not at full strength. However it must be
05:27noted that Cleveland had won 6 of its first 7 games since Garland's latest injury, and has capable talent
05:33beyond that trio. So, Suns fans, with the team balling out on both ends and guys stepping up in
05:38big roles, what's the ceiling for this squad if they can maintain this level of intensity and health
05:43after the break?
Comments