The opening whistle sounded, and the tense first-round focus battle of the playoffs kicked off. Against a strong third-seeded Timberwolves in the West, the Suns have a tough challenge. After all, they barely made it to the play-offs, and at the same time, the wolves locked up the top three spots in the West early, and they had the advantage of beating their opponents.
However, the outcome of this match was soon settled. In the end, the Suns suffered a 95-120 defeat, which dealt a heavy blow to their playoff journey. What led to such a result? After careful analysis, Booker's crazy iron, the Suns' interior line being torn apart by the wolves, and Durant should not trade Ayton are undoubtedly the key to this game.
Let's start with Booker's performance. As the Suns' top scorer, he can be described as a "crazy striker" in this crucial battle. He only hit 5 of his 16 shots in the game, shooting less than 32% from the field, which can be said to have completely smashed the Suns' offense. Even if he himself realized that he didn't feel good, he still couldn't get out of this state, and his eyes were full of confusion. This undoubtedly dealt a serious blow to the team's overall offensive power, making the Suns' offense crowded and monolithic.
Let's talk about the Suns' interior line. We all know that the inside advantage has always been a shortcoming for the Suns. And in this game, this weakness is even more prominent. The dominance of the Timberwolves' interior twin towers, Towns and Gobert, completely suppressed the Suns' interior line. On the offensive end, they combined to score 33 points and had the advantage; Defensively, they established the Timberwolves' dominant position, losing 24 rebounds to opponents and 18 points in interior scoring. Nurkic, as the Suns' main center, only had 9 points and 4 rebounds, and could not effectively defend against the opponent's interior offense. This undoubtedly adds to the Suns' troubles.
Finally, let's talk about Durant's trade decision. Last summer, Durant pushed for Ayton to be traded to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Nurkic. And in this game, Nurkic's performance is far from being comparable to Ayton. Now it seems that Ayton would have been a wiser choice. After all, interior dominance has always been the Suns' Achilles' heel, and the addition of Ayton can undoubtedly solve this problem well. Nurkic's performance was much bleaker by comparison.
Overall, the loss undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the Suns' playoff journey. Booker's sluggish performance, the Suns' suppression on the inside, and Durant's mistaken trade decision were all key factors in this outcome. If in the regular season, the Suns can barely make it out of the play-offs on their own, then in the more brutal arena of the playoffs, their many shortcomings can no longer be covered up. In the face of a powerful wolf pack, the Suns quickly exposed many problems such as their single tactics, too poor benches, and too weak interior.
This loss is undoubtedly a wake-up call for the Suns. If they want to do better in the playoffs, they must strengthen their shortcomings as soon as possible and improve the overall strength of the team. Only then will they be able to raise their eyebrows and regain their depth in future matches. Of course, it takes a lot of effort from the whole team and 100 per cent dedication and execution from the players.
I believe that as long as the Suns can learn the lessons of this loss and improve in all aspects in the coming season, they will be able to prove themselves again and achieve even better results in the playoffs. After all, they have a core of outstanding players, and once the overall strength of the team improves, they will be able to become a strong team in the West again. We wait and see, and look forward to the Suns being able to achieve a counterattack in future games and return to the top!