Entering the 2021 NBA season, nobody was sure how good this Suns team was going to be. With Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and a talented supporting cast, it was a guarantee that they would be fighting for playoff contention.
But now, after taking a 3-0 lead over the Nuggets in the second round, they stand on the edge of a Western Conference Finals berth.
On Twitter, fans, analysts, and former players responded to the exciting rise of Phoenix.
The Phoenix Suns are 1 win away from the Western Conference Finals. 🔥🔥🔥#RallyTheValley
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/HowardBeck/status/1403571633487552516
Suns all about busting ass and Book rolling out his old schools this team fun as hell
— ✨🦫America Is Musty🦫✨ (@DragonflyJonez) June 12, 2021
That agenda free basketball hit different! What the @Suns are doing right now on both ends of the floor is just a beautiful thing to watch…matter of fact I made my sons stay up to watch this team so that they can pick up GREAT basketball habits. Carry the hell on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) June 12, 2021
Perhaps the best reaction of all, though, was from Blazers star Damian Lillard, who posted a four-letter tweet in light of Phoenix going up 3-0.
Smfh
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) June 12, 2021
No doubt, Lillard is feeling frustrated. The Blazers got beat in 6 games by the same Nuggets team that is about to get swept by the young and mostly inexperienced Suns.
He must be feeling like his squad would have had a real chance to win that series, if only they had made it past the Nuggets.
Considering the state of their roster, it’s hard not to call Portland’s season a failure. They could have and should have gone much deeper in this run.
Nevertheless, they are making major changes this summer, and we can expect a new-look team for the start of next season. Hopefully, that ending will fare better than this one.
