4-0 and eliminated in the first round after being only sixth in the West. That is the ridiculous balance of the Phoenix Suns, who began the season as contenders for the ring and who ended up suffering a humiliating sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves (116-122 this Sunday).
The superteam formed by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal will go down in NBA history as another project with names in capital letters on paper but no performance on the court.
Booker tried by all means to avoid collapse with 49 points and 6 assists this Sunday and Kevin Durant also did his part with 33 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, but Beal closed a very poor campaign with only 9 points and ended up eliminated for faults.
At no point from October to April have Frank Vogel's men given the impression of being a solid, reliable and consistent candidate in a fiercely competitive West that was too big for them.
On the contrary, those from Arizona have been a ship adrift due to the obvious shortcomings of the squad (both in talent and physicality), the poor chemistry of their star trio and the injuries that have also punished them.
The Suns not only fell in this playoff in the first round but also suffered their first sweep since 1999 (3-0 against the Portland Trail Blazers).
The crisis in Phoenix threatens to be enormous with a very complicated financial situation: Kevin Durant will earn 51.2 million next year and has a contract until 2025/2026, Beal will receive 50.2 million with a contract until 2026/2027 and Booker will pocket 49, 7 million with an agreement with the Suns until 2027/2028.
Phoenix played it 'all or nothing' to win quickly but the situation turned out to be fatal and now they have to review the disastrous losses, such as the fact that they do not have any first-round picks in the draft from 2025 to 2030. .
Faced with the disintegration of the Suns, the Timberwolves (third in the West) gave one more warning to the NBA that this year they are very serious with a very physical, integrated and dangerous block that crushed Phoenix from start to finish. This is the first time the Minneapolis-based franchise has achieved a sweep in its history.
In addition, this was the first playoff victory for Minnesota in 20 years, that is, since that 2003-2004 season in which the team led by Kevin Garnett knelt in the Western final against Kobe's Los Angeles Lakers Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
Now the Wolves' lighthouse is Anthony Edwards, sensational one more night with 40 points (31 of them in the second half), 9 rebounds and 6 assists this Sunday including 7 of 13 in triples. Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns also stood out with 28 points and 10 rebounds.
The only negative note for the Wolves was the blow to the knee that their coach, Chris Finch, suffered on the sideline, in a fortuitous action with Mike Conley, which led to the coach having to leave the match limping in the final minutes of the quarter period.
In the next round, the Timberwolves will face the winner of the series between the Nuggets and the Lakers, who dominates Denver 3-1.
