Phoenix Suns: Is This Team Too Good To Tank?

Expectations for the Phoenix Suns entering the 2013-14 season ranged from apathy to downright depression for fans. Acceptance seemed the be the common theme: Accept that the Suns are not going to be good. Accept that this team might have the worst record in franchise history after the year’s over and that it’s going to be hard to watch. But ultimately, accept that one year of trudging through crap Andy Dufresne-style will give this franchise a real chance at a fresh chance in the star-studded 2014 NBA Draft. One problem though: There’s very little poop to be found a few weeks into the season.

The Suns have surged to a 3-2 record to start the season. The first win was for the season home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, a team with an established All-Star (LaMarcus Aldridge), a budding star point guard (Damian Lillard), a do-it-all guy (Nicolas Batum) and a much improved bench. Remember, this Blazers team is supposed to at least contend for a playoff spot this season. Beating the lowly Utah Jazz with an Eric Bledsoe buzzer beater isn’t inspiring stuff, but the Suns also beat another fringe playoff team in the New Orleans Pelicans, this time on the road.

It’s not just the wins that have been impressive, though. Phoenix’s two losses have come to the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, two teams expected to contend for the rights to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Add in the fact that the Suns were in both games late in the fourth quarter and it’s easy to see why the doomsday proclamations have turned to Hallelujah choruses…and then back to a new kind of doomsday predictions. Because with the pleasant surprise that this team is better than expected comes the unhappy realization that the goal of the 2013-14 season is to be bad. Like on an unprecedented level.

We’re still only six games into the season, so too much conjecture is the kind of overreaction any good NBA writer wants to avoid. But Eric Bledsoe is averaging 20.3 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Just in case you were curious, those are easily better numbers than what Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Tony Parker, Ty Lawson, John Wall, Kemba Walker, Jrue Holiday and more. Also known as, this young and athletic Phoenix pitbull is playing at an All-Star level.

Is Eric Bledsoe singlehandedly good enough to elevate the Suns out of tank status? Probably not. But considering how well Miles Plumlee and Gerald Green have been playing in supporting roles (plus Goran Dragic is always around despite missing a couple of games with an ankle injury), this team actually might be too good to tank. It’s easy to make a proclamation like that a few weeks into the season, but Bledsoe has been that impressive. He’s singlehandedly elevated a bottom feeder team to “decent” status. Pairing him and Dragic in the backcourt is a recipe for success and from what I’ve seen, it’ll take a lot of “knee-capping” to keep the Suns at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

This is both a blessing and a curse. It’s been fantastic watching the Suns thus far, but the question about whether or not they can sustain it for a whole season remains. The best thing for the Suns would be to say “Eric Bledsoe is sore and won’t play tonight,” but at this point, who knows what will happen. We’re only six games into the season and there are still plenty of opportunities for the Suns to tank. But no matter how they get there, Eric Bledsoe isn’t enough to contend in the Western Conference and the Suns need to remember that although this season might be tough to inhale with so many losses, they need to happen for Phoenix’s future to remain intact.

[slider_pro id=”24″]