After six games, the Phoenix Suns and their star Devin Booker have officially eliminated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers from the NBA playoffs. As a result, the defending champions and their loyal fanbase are now headed for the offseason. Meanwhile, Phoenix moves on to round two against the Denver Nuggets and eliminates the last member of the NBA Bubble Finals after the Milwaukee Bucks swept the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
As most will recall, when the league shifted to Orlando to finish the season last season following the pandemic, the Lakers defeated Miami in six games to win their 17th NBA Title. Additionally, despite their struggles this season, the Lakers were still discussed as contenders to win the West and another championship. On the other hand, Phoenix played like they got sick and tired of hearing that they could lose to the Lakers and delivered when it counted.
Devin Booker scored a win for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoffs and took down an NBA giant in the process
Just look at how Booker went ballistic early in the first quarter and finished the night with 47 points, and his teammates fed off the energy. In contrast, the defending champions looked lethargic, and many will point to Anthony Davis‘s re-aggravated groin injury as the reason for the defeat. Not so fast. If the Lakers won this series, the praise for them and James would be through the roof, and the Suns would have been ridiculed.
Reality has now set in. This isn’t the bubble. This isn’t last year. It’s a new year, and what have you done for us lately. Phoenix? They improved from last year, notably with the addition of Chris Paul. Los Angeles? They basked in the glory of last year’s run through the NBA playoffs, and as a result, they have gone fishing.
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Sure, Booker didn’t drop as many buckets as he did in the first half, but he made his presence felt and silenced critics in the process. Also, he took down a team with so much success in their history, led by a player whom many consider the greatest of all time. Now, he’s got a date with a surging Nuggets team that looks as good, if not better, than the roster that made the Western Conference Finals last season. Best of all, he has made several people eat their words with this series victory.
Television viewers will recall how Nick Wright and Shannon Sharpe, notable die-hard LeBron James fanatics, started their respective shows on Thursday mocking the rival Clippers for their failures against a hot Dallas Mavericks team, only to be served a dish of crow following their team’s shocking exit in the 1st round. What’s that old saying? If you can dish it, you can take it?
Additionally, this postseason has been filled with the bigger market teams underperforming as opposed to smaller market teams. Atlanta over New York, Milwaukee over Miami, and potentially Dallas finishing off the Clippers. In other words, if you are the bigger media market, you have network support, but that doesn’t translate to success on the court. Yes, the Lakers certainly made it interesting in Game 6, but they didn’t come through.
It’s time for a fresh start, and the Suns, while they nearly blew the golden opportunity in Game 6, managed to stay alive and complete the job. As for Booker, the late great Kobe Bryant is smiling down upon him for delivering in the big moment, and the city of Phoenix is certainly grateful for it. They are moving on. The defending champions are heading home, ousted from the NBA playoffs, having learned a lesson that the past doesn’t matter.