The Phoenix Suns are trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round playoff series, 2-0.
The next two games will be played on Phoenix’s home court. Devin Booker believes his team can still win its first-round matchup and points to the dominance of home teams around the league to begin the playoffs.
“Don’t count us out. It’s a series for a reason,” Booker said at his postgame news conference. “I don’t think any road team’s won so far. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with us, but it’s just the situation that it is.”
Phoenix is supposed to be a contending team. It has the most offensively talented trio in the NBA with Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Frank Vogel is a championship-winning head coach. Booker has every reason to remain confident in his team.
However, the Timberwolves are no joke. Being down two games doesn’t guarantee Phoenix’s season is over. However, it puts the Suns under significant pressure to win both of their home games and tie the series.
Vogel will undoubtedly want his team to show more fight on the defensive end. He has built a career on coaching defensively sound rosters. The Suns are in the bottom three for defensive rating since the start of the playoffs, allowing 117.8 points per 100 possessions, albeit on an incredibly small sample size. They ended the regular season ranked 13th in the NBA on the defensive side of the floor.
Still, one more loss, especially at home, will put the Suns on the brink of a catastrophic exit. If Phoenix is genuinely a contending team, it must prove that in its next two games. Otherwise, the Suns’ expensively constructed juggernaut will have some difficult questions to answer during the offseason.
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