Phoenix Suns: 5 Takeaways From Season Opener
1. Patience: It’s Still A Virtue
The Phoenix Suns had a great, optimistic summer. Fans got to watch Devin Booker make the NBA All-Rookie First Team, tear up Summer League, join USA Basketball’s Select Team and have Drake don his jersey at a concert in Phoenix.
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The Suns also snagged three promising, young rookies in the draft and brought home former fan favorites Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa to take on veteran leadership roles. Booker got the nod as the starter over Knight, Watson and Bledsoe spent the summer trying to bring this team closer together, and every summer storyline was oozing with positivity.
Wednesday night served as a reminder that they’re not called “growing pains” for no reason.
Yes, the Suns have young players to be excited about in the future. It was great to see Bledsoe (16 points, six rebounds and five assists) healthy and hounding opponents up and down the court again. Booker was thrilling in spurts, Bender was pure, unadulterated joy and Chriss nearly got WCS back for that poster dunk with one of his own.
But the Phoenix Suns probably aren’t a playoff team, and they may even struggle to reach 30 wins. That will make for a frustrating 2016-17 season for fans, but the young guys have to take their licks somehow. For the league’s fourth winningest franchise still in search of a title, this current six- (going on seven-) year drought probably feels unbearable.
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However, it’s all in the service of something greater than any one game, as Watson keeps alluding to. If anything serves as a reminder that title contenders aren’t built overnight, it’s a 19-point loss to the Sacramento Kings at home on opening night.