The season of the Suns is officially over.
In the first round of G4, the Suns lost to the Timberwolves 116-122 at home, and the big score was 0-4.
This may be the most stalemate game in this year's playoffs so far, with a maximum of 5 points at halftime and a maximum of 6 points at the halftime, and at the end of the fourth quarter, the Suns only did not respond in one or two rounds, which made the Timberwolves have the last laugh.
Unlike the previous three games, Durant and Booker in this game completely regained their touch.
Durant only had 1 minute and 42 seconds off the game, shooting 12-of-17 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line to finish with 33 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, all three of which were series highs, and his true shooting percentage was as high as 78.7%.
In addition to the efficient output on the offensive end, Durant on the defensive end also spared no effort, standing on the inside line of the whole court, not only to top Downs Gobert, but also to help defend and make up for leaks, so he sent 4 blocks, which can be said to be full of offense and defense.
Booker's three games in the series were not good, scoring only 18 points, 20 points, and 23 points respectively, and finally found himself in last year's semifinals against the Nuggets;
He only rested for 3 minutes and 5 seconds in the whole game, shooting 13 of 21, 3 of 5 three-pointers, 20 of 21 free throws, and scored 49 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
The problem is mainly with Bill, who is a war criminal.
In the whole game, Beal played only 31 minutes, shooting 4-of-13 from the field, 1-of-5 from three-point range, and no free throws, with only 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 6 turnovers.
In the fourth quarter, Beal had 5 turnovers in a single quarter, being fouled offensively, dribbling out of bounds, broken passes, and communication errors.
The biggest turning point of the game was also on Beal, when there were less than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Suns fell behind 111-113, Beal broke through the ball and was stealed by Alexander, and in the next round, Edwards dunked and the difference came to 4 points;
This is not over, the Suns next offensive round, Beal dribbled out of bounds on the offensive end, fouled Edwards on the defensive end, and sent Edwards to hit two free throws while leaving the court with six fouls, bringing the difference to a game-high 6 points.
In this series, Beal averaged only 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, shooting 44.1% from the field, 43.5% from three-point range, and 53.9% from the field.
His performance in G3 was commendable, scoring 28 points on 10-of-19 in a single game, but in this G4, Bill was completely lost, and after being sent off in the fourth quarter, Bill looked bitter on the bench and was very frustrated.
This series, to be honest, the result was really surprising.
Although the Suns are the dogs, in fact, the Suns (49 wins) have no grade gap with the Timberwolves (56 wins), and the Suns also swept the Timberwolves 3-0 in the regular season, with an average net score of 15.7 points per game, so at that time, there were not a few who were optimistic about the Suns.
As a result, in the playoffs, the Suns didn't win a single game, and the scene was quite ugly, except for G4 sticking to the whole court, the previous three games had an average loss of 18 points per game, it is no exaggeration to say that in this round of the series, Edwards alone blew up the Suns' Big Three.
The exit is a foregone conclusion, the problem is in the future, and it is dark.
As far as next season is concerned, the salary of the Suns' Big Three alone will reach 150 million, which is more than the 14 teams in the league, don't forget, Grayson Allen has been extended for 4 years and 70 million, and Nurkic has 2 years left for 37.5 million.
And because of the two major transactions, the Suns' future first-round picks are all in the hands of others, and even the second-round picks are not left, and there are no chips to continue to recruit or reinforce.
Among the Big Three, Durant and Booker still have the ability, the contract meets the value, Beal's contract is the most troublesome, with an annual salary of 50.2 million, 53.67 million, and 57.13 million (player option) in the next three years, and they also have the right to veto the transaction, and the Suns can't get rid of it even if they want to.
In addition to the impasse in team salaries and reinforcements, the Suns' bigger problem is in the locker room, and as soon as the team is out, the locker room completely explodes.
According to a new report from Shams of The Athletic, Suns players have questioned the inability of the coaching staff, led by Vogel, to build an offensive system and not maximize the output of the Big Three, and the Suns will consider a complete change of coaching staff in the offseason, or at least a change to Vogel's coaching staff.
At the same time, Shams also revealed that Durant has never been satisfied with his offensive role next to Booker and Beal this season, and he feels that he has been assigned to the bottom corner too often and has not been designed to play to his strengths with the ball.
The Suns' team-building strategy this season is very problematic, and it can be guessed from before the start of the season, and the playoffs are all exposed, specifically:
1. The Big Three are all ball-holding scoring attackers
2. There is no point guard, and there is no operation before the trade deadline
3. There is no defensive blue-collar forward or interior line
4. It is clearly an offensive team, and the coach is still good at defense
There are a lot of things the Suns need to think about this offseason: whether to change coaches, whether to continue to maintain the Big Three, who players to partner with if the Big Three are maintained, who to trade if not, what will trade Beal bring back? This summer is destined to be long for the Suns.