All year the Phoenix Suns have exceeded expectations, defied hateful predictions, and pretty much put a vise grip on the Western Conference’s #1 seed. This success has had many people picking them to win it all this year.
Let’s dive into the title a bit though. Championship or Bust…what does that mean? Basically, it’s a term used to describe a team that is either so talented that if they do anything other than win it all it’s a disappointment, or a team that has went all in on this year and basically traded away it’s future for a chance to win now. Which of these descriptions describes the Suns this year? In my opinion, neither.
Suns vs Suns
I don’t believe the Suns are the most talented team in the league and they didn’t trade away any picks or young prospects for veteran stars. They fall into a category of their own. They are Championship or Bust because they peaked too early. By that I mean this, the Phoenix Suns shocked the world last year and ended the year 2nd in the west, then to take it even higher they put LeBron out of the playoffs in the 1st round. Many thought that would be as far as they go until they spanked the Nuggets 4-0. The Clippers came to town and got sent home by close-out Chris landing the Suns in the NBA Finals.
This was the dream scenario of course. Everyone wants to go to the Finals, but once you lose it ramps up the pressure on the following year. The expectation for the city and the team is sky high, and the there is little to no margin for error.
Getting Better Every Year
Everyone’s goal in life should be to elevate to higher level in everything you do. Not just in sports but universally. However in Pro Sports there are so many uncontrollable variables that this becomes easier said than done. For the Suns this is an especially difficult task. Why? Simple.
Last year, Phoenix attended the NBA Finals and that’s the ultimate goal for any ball club. Though, usually a team goes through more trials in there quest to the big game. Maybe a first round exit then perhaps a conference finals appearance the next year. The Suns skipped all of that and went straight from a team who hadn’t had a playoff appearance since 2010 and only had an above .500 record twice in that time to a team who was in the NBA’s most prestigious game. This puts them in a bad spot in my opinion. Having made it to the 4th round of the playoffs and lost means that any outcome other than an O’Brien trophy ceremony is a disappointment. Losing in any round before the Finals means you did worse than the previous year which is never good. And losing in the Finals again means you did only as good as last year and will leave an even more sour taste in their mouths, because it leads you to believe it’s impossible to get over the hump.
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Championship or Bust! Championship or Bust!
