Suns ready to start controlling their own destiny after just missing chance at playoffs由Valleyboy 发表在PlanetOrange https://bbs.hupu.com/687
Caris LeVert had Phoenix's play-in tournament fate in the palm of his hands as the final seconds ticked away.
Nearly unguardable all night, LeVert dribbled toward CJ McCollum, got a clean look on a 23-footer, but misfired to conclude Brooklyn's 134-133 loss Thursday night to Portland.
"I just tried to read the defense," said LeVert, who finished with a team-high 37 points. "I feel like they were playing for the drive. I got to watch it again. These are those shots I practice each and every day. I'll live with that shot."
The Suns lived and died with that shot.
They could only watch and hope LeVert connected to stun Portland so they could advance to the play-in tournament. That helpless feeling is something Monty Williams doesn't want Phoenix to forget or experience again.
"We want to be the kind of team that controls your own destiny," said Williams in his postgame speech to the players, which TNT aired after the Suns defeated the Mavericks earlier Thursday.
The Suns (34-39) now have to leave the Orlando Bubble despite going 8-0 in seeding play while Portland and Memphis nowbattle for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference.
"It's on us," Suns point guard Ricky Rubio said. "We put ourselves in a situation where we were behind too much, but then we put ourselves in a situation we can make it. So of course, it will be frustrating, 8-0 and don't make it, but it's on us. We can't blame nobody. We got to learn and we got to take care of business before it's too late."
Before dealing that dose of reality, an emotional Williams praised his players for their impressive bubble run and expressed his affection and appreciation for them.
"This has been therapeutic for me to be around a group like this," Williams said. "I got to tell you guys I love you."
They were the only unbeaten team after the NBA restart in Orlando, pulled off their longest winning streak since the 2009-10 season and earned the respect of the league for how they performed.
"That's huge," Suns guard Jevon Carter said. "All year, we always felt like we weren't respected. Had 82 games (originally scheduled) this year, one was nationally televised. Came to the bubble, one was nationally televised until we started winning. It was like, what do we have to do to gain the respect and I think coming here and going undefeated, I feel like we did our jobs."
As much as Phoenix did and proved, it still had to rely on another team to determine their fate. The Suns will carry those feelings into the off season just as much as the joy of winning and "shocking the world," as Williams put it in his post-game speech.
"You get in these situations, I think a lot of people will tell you, when you're that close to making the playoffs or a game out, you look back on all the times during the season it was just that little detail-oriented mess up that you had," Suns All-Star Devin Booker said.
"The game is a thin line between winning and losing. You have to stay locked in at all times and we learned that down here. Every possession matters. Everything counts. That's how Coach says it. There's steps to get to success. You can't shortcut any of it and this trip, this bubble was a product of that for us."
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the NBA shutting down the season for months after Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus in March. The Suns were 26-39 when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver pressed pause on the season.
Phoenix was 2-8 in games decided by three points or less at the time.
10/25: L at Denver, 108-107 (OT)
10/28: L Utah, 96-95
11/21: L New Orleans, 124-121
11/23: W at Minnesota, 100-98
12/14 L vs. San Antonio, 121-119 (OT, in Mexico City)
12/16 L Portland, 111-110
12/23 L Denver, 113-111
12/28 W at Sacramento, 112-110
1/20 L San Antonio, 120-118
2/28 L Detroit, 113-111
Had the Suns went, say, 6-4 in those games, they would have had a better chance to make the playoffs.
Instead, Memphis had a six-game cushion on Phoenix going into the NBA restart.
Then again, team owners could've voted for 20 teams to resume the season instead of 22. Phoenix and Washington were the last two invited based on record.
The Suns played with a heightened sense of urgency knowing they had to essentially win out to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
"The bubble definitely grew us up," Suns center Deandre Ayton said. "It felt like every game was a playoff game and we know we needed every game. The approach we had towards every game was insane. I've never seen it before. I've never been in it."
They won out, got some help, but needed just one more domino to fall for their season to continue.
It nearly did on LeVert's final shot.
"A lot of times, people think that when a game is that close, it comes down to the last minute of the game, but there's stuff, there's things and there's details throughout the entire game that can change the momentum in your favor or away from your favor," said Nets guard Tyler Johnson, who played for Phoenix before being waived Feb. 9.
"We came up just a little bit short, but it had nothing to do with the last shot. It had everything to do with maybe a couple of plays here and there in the beginning."
That's controlling your destiny.
That's what Phoenix wants to do moving forward.
The benefits of the bubble experience can't be understated, but Phoenix learned a valuable lesson that may serve them better than gaining confidence from winning and building chemistry by being around each other so much in the bubble.
Caris LeVert had Phoenix's play-in tournament fate in the palm of his hands as the final seconds ticked away.
Nearly unguardable all night, LeVert dribbled toward CJ McCollum, got a clean look on a 23-footer, but misfired to conclude Brooklyn's 134-133 loss Thursday night to Portland.
"I just tried to read the defense," said LeVert, who finished with a team-high 37 points. "I feel like they were playing for the drive. I got to watch it again. These are those shots I practice each and every day. I'll live with that shot."
The Suns lived and died with that shot.
They could only watch and hope LeVert connected to stun Portland so they could advance to the play-in tournament. That helpless feeling is something Monty Williams doesn't want Phoenix to forget or experience again.
"We want to be the kind of team that controls your own destiny," said Williams in his postgame speech to the players, which TNT aired after the Suns defeated the Mavericks earlier Thursday.
The Suns (34-39) now have to leave the Orlando Bubble despite going 8-0 in seeding play while Portland and Memphis nowbattle for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference.
"It's on us," Suns point guard Ricky Rubio said. "We put ourselves in a situation where we were behind too much, but then we put ourselves in a situation we can make it. So of course, it will be frustrating, 8-0 and don't make it, but it's on us. We can't blame nobody. We got to learn and we got to take care of business before it's too late."
Before dealing that dose of reality, an emotional Williams praised his players for their impressive bubble run and expressed his affection and appreciation for them.
"This has been therapeutic for me to be around a group like this," Williams said. "I got to tell you guys I love you."
They were the only unbeaten team after the NBA restart in Orlando, pulled off their longest winning streak since the 2009-10 season and earned the respect of the league for how they performed.
"That's huge," Suns guard Jevon Carter said. "All year, we always felt like we weren't respected. Had 82 games (originally scheduled) this year, one was nationally televised. Came to the bubble, one was nationally televised until we started winning. It was like, what do we have to do to gain the respect and I think coming here and going undefeated, I feel like we did our jobs."
As much as Phoenix did and proved, it still had to rely on another team to determine their fate. The Suns will carry those feelings into the off season just as much as the joy of winning and "shocking the world," as Williams put it in his post-game speech.
"You get in these situations, I think a lot of people will tell you, when you're that close to making the playoffs or a game out, you look back on all the times during the season it was just that little detail-oriented mess up that you had," Suns All-Star Devin Booker said.
"The game is a thin line between winning and losing. You have to stay locked in at all times and we learned that down here. Every possession matters. Everything counts. That's how Coach says it. There's steps to get to success. You can't shortcut any of it and this trip, this bubble was a product of that for us."
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the NBA shutting down the season for months after Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus in March. The Suns were 26-39 when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver pressed pause on the season.
Phoenix was 2-8 in games decided by three points or less at the time.
10/25: L at Denver, 108-107 (OT)
10/28: L Utah, 96-95
11/21: L New Orleans, 124-121
11/23: W at Minnesota, 100-98
12/14 L vs. San Antonio, 121-119 (OT, in Mexico City)
12/16 L Portland, 111-110
12/23 L Denver, 113-111
12/28 W at Sacramento, 112-110
1/20 L San Antonio, 120-118
2/28 L Detroit, 113-111
Had the Suns went, say, 6-4 in those games, they would have had a better chance to make the playoffs.
Instead, Memphis had a six-game cushion on Phoenix going into the NBA restart.
Then again, team owners could've voted for 20 teams to resume the season instead of 22. Phoenix and Washington were the last two invited based on record.
The Suns played with a heightened sense of urgency knowing they had to essentially win out to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
"The bubble definitely grew us up," Suns center Deandre Ayton said. "It felt like every game was a playoff game and we know we needed every game. The approach we had towards every game was insane. I've never seen it before. I've never been in it."
They won out, got some help, but needed just one more domino to fall for their season to continue.
It nearly did on LeVert's final shot.
"A lot of times, people think that when a game is that close, it comes down to the last minute of the game, but there's stuff, there's things and there's details throughout the entire game that can change the momentum in your favor or away from your favor," said Nets guard Tyler Johnson, who played for Phoenix before being waived Feb. 9.
"We came up just a little bit short, but it had nothing to do with the last shot. It had everything to do with maybe a couple of plays here and there in the beginning."
That's controlling your destiny.
That's what Phoenix wants to do moving forward.
The benefits of the bubble experience can't be understated, but Phoenix learned a valuable lesson that may serve them better than gaining confidence from winning and building chemistry by being around each other so much in the bubble.
推荐
评论 (2)
收藏
分享
举报
只看楼主
