Has this Phoenix Suns teams reached the point of now or never for a championship?

Has this Phoenix Suns teams reached the point of now or never for a championship?

I think that if you didn’t have fear about the Suns potentially not returning to the NBA finals after the Dallas series MH I think it increased after the Dallas series I think it increased even further after the Denver series and I think it’s at an all-time high right now

Yeah pretty much that’s I mean he’s 35 going on 36 but he’s still like before we all got so nervous lately the latest nervousness about the Suns Kevin Durant had done what he had never done before right with the stretch of 35 Point games yes but now he’s averaging like I don’t

Know 18 points a game over his last five and how is he affecting winning right now Jared yeah I well I’m just saying well that well what I’m saying do you no longer think he’s Elite oh no don’t do that no I still think definitely Elite he’s one of the 10 best

Players in basketball right now don’t do that but like it in terms of just the player that he is right now and how he’s affecting winning this situation that the suns are in right now his greatness is unable to impact it in that way which is extremely troubling and alarming for numerous

Reasons but I think I think that’s my point is that what has happened with the Suns that was in the grand scheme of things when we’re looking at like the mon era 2 but if you look at this team right now and if you and I were to make

A bet right now and would you say that de Booker and Kevin dur are going to appear in the NBA finals for the Suns you would say just at any time as a Duo together I I would feel more safe betting on no I would too how would I have answered that

When they did the trade you would bet yes correct yeah it’s gone South I think that’s totally fair I just yeah I don’t in terms of the question that’s just that’s how I feel about it I think that the way in which now I think there just needs to be a shift somewhere

And we need to see evidence of the sh shift on the floor and maybe we’ll maybe we’ll see it in these last that’s exactly where I was going yeah this is a stretch that is as difficult as it gets in the NBA the rest of the way maybe this is the

Stretch that doesn’t necessarily lead to something great this year but maybe to the Christies of the world or the Kellen Olsen of the world or the many other people of the world that have that mindset of maybe Kevin Durant is done competing championships in Phoenix at least in his

Current at his current address y I’m glad you added that MH uh but maybe this is the stretch that turns people around and it starts tonight in Denver against the the Champions who are going to be they’re going to be out for Revenge tonight maybe there are widespread

Changes this offseason from the roster to maybe even potentially the coaching staff and that change injects some optimism that for example we had Postman preval yeah but you’ve also said said um this week on the show that for a project such as the Suns a lot of times it’s

Year two when you have a super team put together like this the core of that super team gels more in year two than it would in year one that’s where it gets sticky for the Suns because when you have one of your three super team components at that advanced age although

Kevin Durant has been healthier more available than he’s been in the Last 5 Years this year with the Suns the stats don’t look that much different he’s had those games and those stretches where he looks like vintage Kevin Durant there’s there’s a lot of spinning plates here on this whole

Future there’s a lot of people that believe hey the eggs were put in the basket and the basket had holes and the eggs fell through like not only are the Suns not going to win a championship this year they have set themselves back from a franchise standpoint several

Years by the moves they’ve made there are people that believe that too in my opinion this year was supposed to be their best chance I would have said that and previously have said that like the first year the second year the third year and so on with Durant were the best

But when he got hurt uh with that freak accident pregame warm-ups and I’ve used the term freak a lot and gotten some feedback on that but you can attest as someone who sits there and watches warm-ups you never see guys get hurt in that situation it was a freak accident

Like it’s that that whole night was weird because not only did he twist the ankle in warm-ups then he got up and just kept shooting kept shooting finished his workout and you’re thinking okay everything’s fine I went up to son’s employees and showed them the

Video and I was like did you see this how many views did that get by the way I don’t know you never get a final T you were every your video was everywhere I know Sport Center put my name in the top right corner once and then never did it

Again like thanks guys never giving you a video again Jesus and then they’re just going to take it anyway cuz that’s how this world works with content love stuff but to go back and twist back to the original conversation I think that this year because of Durant getting established

Here because of the additions that they made and how they re juggled the roster around I thought that this year was going to be their best opportunity at it but now so what has happened now is that these are not excuses do not get me wrong these are not excuses it is just

What has happened last year mid-season acquisition he gets hurt he misses the majority of his time to to find cohesion find continuity they have essentially little to none of it in the postseason and just so happened to face the best team in the world and and get beat up by

Them even though that series is a lot closer than people remember if you think about the games how they were like I was sitting there gosh it was it was game it was game five like game two like they were when Chris got hurt they were still

In they had so many chances to win that game they would have been split coming to Phoenix they win both games Phoenix they’re up 3-1 yeah like that series was definitely winnable but to that point I think the Suns definitely gave them the nuggets the hardest time last year in

The postseason without a doubt without a doubt but then you look at this year and it’s like okay whatever is going on here which we discussed earlier in the week whatever is going on here that’s leading to this that is another external Factor internal Factor whatever you want to

Define it as that his ruined their ability to reach those Heights again and you don’t and this is where I go back to what you’re saying with the age he’s not 27 you don’t get like two Goofs at this your two Goofs were your two

Best chances to do it and now you need a lot to happen next year to reach those Heights you need to likely rej juggle some things like we said we’ll see again we’re having conversations now that you guys are going to have a lot on the show

You and Dan in like eight weeks four to eight weeks however long it takes for the postseason to go for them we’re getting ahead of ourselves but there’s a lot that needs to go right for them now next year and guess what a lot went right this year Grayson awesome youf

Nerkish awesome they got the ideal 3 andd guy at the trade deadline awesome yeah but there was too much going wrong already that they haven’t been able to recover from it by the way on the latest version of the NBA injury report for today Bradley Beal Yousef nerk get still

Listed as questionable for tonight for Denver Aaron Gordon questionable Jamal Murray questionable Michael Porter Jr probable nicoa yic probable Zeke Naji out sorry Wildcat fans you won’t get to see Zeke tonight it’s all right we have like 14 other NBA players at the moment we’re good is it that many it’s way more

Than that I probably under sold it it’s a lot thanks for watching Bley and Mara click to see the latest Bickley blast and hit the button in the middle to subscribe to Arizona Sports

In the final stretch of the NBA regular season, Vince Marotta and Kellan Olson consider if this Phoenix Suns team may not have what it takes to compete for a title this year and if Kevin Durant is done competing for championships.

Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports
Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

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