As far as mid-season trades go, Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns might have been the biggest in the history of the NBA. It greatly shifted the balance of power in the Western Conference, with the Suns emerging as the favorites to get to the NBA Finals.
NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller agrees with that notion and during a media Zoom call, explained why the fourth-seeded Suns, who finished the season 45-37, are his pick to win the Western Conference.
“It’s hard for me to bet against them,” Miller said, via Duane Rankin from AZ Central. “The West is wide open other than Phoenix in my opinion.”
No team really managed to stamp their authority on the conference this season, like the Suns did last year when they won 64 games. It really was quite open before the Durant trade and Miller believes any team that has KD on it, should be a serious title contender.
“Any team that Kevin Durant is on should be a favorite,” Miller said. “Now you pair him with Devin Booker and probably the best floor general that we’ve seen over the last 18 to 20 years in Chris Paul.”
While he is high on the Suns, Miller acknowledged that injuries could be the reason for their downfall, as he brought up the injury history of Chris Paul and even Durant.
“A hamstring, a hand,” Miller said. “It’s always been something. Health will always be a factor in terms of the Suns. Fluke injuries. The whole Kevin Durant twisting his ankle in warmups.”
Even Devin Booker has had hamstring issues in recent times and if any of their stars gets injured, the Suns are in deep trouble. Another potential issue is that Durant has only played eight games with his new team due to that freak ankle injury he suffered during warmups against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When the trade was made, the worry was that he would only play 20-odd games with the Suns before the playoffs, and he didn’t even get to play 10. KD being arguably the most malleable superstar in NBA history does help in that regard and they have won every game that he has started, but we’ll find out just how well he has fit in when the Suns take on the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
Kevin Durant Spoke On Facing Kawhi Leonard And Russell Westbrook In The Playoffs
The Suns will have the best player on the court in almost any series they play in, but it is quite close here, with Kawhi Leonard being on the other side. Durant heaped praise on Leonard ahead of the series, stating he is tough to play against and raises the level of his teammates.
Durant will also be going up against former teammate Russell Westbrook and he expects Russ to be as competitive as he always is. It is set up to be quite an intriguing series but the Suns would fancy their chances of advancing to the Conference Semifinals.
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