The Phoenix are officially the hottest team in the NBA right now, riding a 9-game winning streak. Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and the rest of the crew heard the chatter all summer. “If Anthony Davis wasn't hurt, Phoenix wouldn't have made it past the first round.” “They just swept a Jamal Murray-less Nuggets.” “The Clippers would have made the NBA Finals if Kawhi Leonard did not get injured.” “The Suns were lucky throughout the playoffs.”
The Suns are now 10-3 on the season and are at 2nd place in the Western Conference standings, 1.5 games below the top-seeded Golden State Warriors. They currently hold the longest active winning streak in the NBA and will look to extend that to the first double-digit win streak this season against a revitalized Dallas Mavericks squad on Wednesday night.
With this streak, Phoenix looks hungry and motivated to prove their naysayers wrong. But does this blistering start to the 2021-22 NBA season already prove that last year's NBA Finals run wasn't a fluke?
Looking at the Suns' schedule, one might think this run isn't too convincing due to the quality of the teams they have beaten throughout this run. In fact, per ESPN, Phoenix has had the easiest strength of schedule so far this season. The Suns defeated a couple of bottom dweller teams in the New Orleans Pelicans and the Houston Rockets (twice). They also barely got past a struggling Minnesota Timberwolves team to keep their streak alive.
Still, while they have not really beaten, or faced for that matter, any of the top-tier teams in the league (though the Nets and Warriors are on the periphery at the end of the month), they did take down some quality teams. Phoenix defeated a conference finalist from a year ago in the Atlanta Hawks. They won convincingly against two Western Conference playoff teams in the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers.
The schedule may have been a bit favorable for the Suns to start the season, which certainly contributed to their fast start. Nonetheless, they are taking care of the teams in front of them.
Chris Paul has been the primary catalyst for Phoenix's strong start this season. The Point God is having another magnificent campaign and his leadership has been on full display. CP3 is currently leading the NBA in assists at 10.2 dimes per game and steals at 2.6 takeaways per outing. Meanwhile, his backcourt partner Devin Booker hasn't quite found his peak form just yet. The 25-year old's numbers are down from a season ago, with his output and efficiency taking a a hit. Through 13 games so far, Booker is averaging just 22.9 points on 43.1 percent shooting from the field from 25.6 points on 48.4 percent shooting in 2020-21.
Booker's early-season struggles have translated to Phoenix being a middle of the pack offensive team so far. They rank just 13th in offensive rating. Still, the Suns' defense has held up, being 6th in defensive rating so far this season.
Phoenix's schedule is going to get tougher for the rest of the month. As mentioned, they get Dallas for two straight games on Wednesday and Friday. Afterwards, they take on the Denver Nuggets, the team that beat them on opening night. The Suns face the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets to end the month. Then, they start December by facing their Christmas Day opponents and the no. 1 team in the league, the Golden State Warriors, for their first meeting this season.
These next few games should give us a clearer answer to the question posed above. Nonetheless, the Suns have been taking care of their business and that's always a positive thing.
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