Phoenix Suns’ Chris Paul # 3 celebrates a three-point basketball and tie with teammates Torrey Craig # 12, Deandre Ayton # 22, Devin Booker # 1 and Jae Crowder # 99 in the second half of the sixth game of the Western Conference Finals against the LA Clippers at Staples Center on June 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How / Getty Images)
The valley is full of Chicago transplants. Most of us grew up making fun of Milwaukee. Under no circumstances will we fear the deer.
There’s a similar feeling across Arizona as you step into the NBA Finals. The suns are too deep, too good, and too connected to be denied by a small Wisconsin market team. The Western Conference was our gauntlet and that feels more like a crowning glory. Especially against a Bucks team that could have a marginalized Giannis Antetokounmpo.
No disrespect. But the Diamondbacks drew the fabled Yankees in their only World Series appearance, shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Cardinals lost to the Steelers in their only Super Bowl appearance and faced another famous franchise at the summit. And in two previous NBA finals, the Suns competed against the mighty Boston Celtics (1976) and the indomitable Michael Jordan (1993).
The same heat doesn’t come from the Bucks, not even with Giannis. Not like our four other major professional title fights.
There is also a sense of karmic repayment associated with the 2021 postseason, reparation for all the times the suns fell victim to circumstances: Joe Johnson’s broken orbital bone, Steve Nash’s bloody nose, suspensions from Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw; and all the other immovable obstacles that stood in our way, from Jordan to the Dynastic Spurs to former NBA commissioner David Stern.
The Suns had at least 11 legitimate chances to win an NBA title in their 53 years of existence, including five years with Nash and three with Charles Barkley. You have never redeemed the ticket.
This year feels different. It feels like the 2004 Red Sox, who beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and bounced back from 0-3 with an epic backdoor sweep. The Bostonians feed on that triumph a lot more than on their subsequent World Cup game against the Cardinals, which was disappointing by comparison.
Perhaps an active Giannis will sharpen the blade. On Monday there was a growing feeling that the Bucks star was pushing for a game 1 return. I suspect it comes later in the series when the Bucks are on the verge of desperation.
The suns just have too much in their favor. Her top player, Chris Paul, has already plowed through a disabling sting, COVID-19, and damage to his firing hand. This is his first chance at the championship ring that he has missed in the first 16 years of his Hall of Fame career. He doesn’t take anything for granted. I’m sorry, he’s not losing now.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker appeared at the press conference on Monday in a throwback shirt reminiscent of the 1993 suns. Booker is an old soul, mature, stoic, and deeply respects history. He understands this team’s narrative arc and understands where he’ll be if he delivers the missing championship.
The Bucks?
They represent our collective misfortune at its worst, and it started from the beginning.
Phoenix and Milwaukee have entered the NBA as expansion partners. In their first season, the Suns won 16 games and the Bucks 27. But NBA rules once mandated that the worst teams in each division toss a coin for the first overall pick.
A three-way conversation began. Suns President Richard Bloch named “heads” on behalf of the majority of Suns fans who voted in a local newspaper poll. In retrospect, it was a brilliant move by the young franchise to make a giant decision and get rid of any guilt.
In New York, NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy tossed a 1964 John F. Kennedy half dollar into the air. He caught the coin with the same hand. They were heads. Then he turned the coin on the back of his left hand and announced that “the coin number has come up”.
According to legend, Bloch mumbled something and hung up. Colangelo jumped into his car and drove around for hours to shake off the misery.
Instead, the bad luck lasted for over five decades.
It all ends now.
Suns in five.
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Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizonas Sports Station.
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