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#2 The Phoenix Suns had the shortest offseason and Chris Paul is getting older
The Phoenix Suns fans have to face the reality that Chris Paul isn't getting any younger. By the time the 2022 playoffs come around, he will be 37 years old.
Sure, Paul has maintained his body better than most point guards his age and has a few more years left in him. He transformed the Phoenix Suns franchise with his playmaking and took them to a top two seed in the West last season. However, one cannot ignore the fact that age is still a factor in the postseason.
The Suns have just two reliable All-Stars and one of them is battling with Father Time off the court along with opponents on it. Paul is also infamous for getting injured during the playoffs every year.
The 2020 NBA playoffs were not even a year ago and we have already wrapped up an entire season and postseason in less than 365 days. This short turnaround led to a plethora of star players getting injured last season and we need to keep that in mind when we talk about the Suns, who have the shortest offseason in the league (along with the Bucks).
#3 Other teams may not be handicapped by injuries again
If we break down the Phoenix Suns' NBA playoff run last season, it is quite evident that they were the luckiest team in the league.
They were down 2-1 to the LeBron James-led LA Lakers in the first round but Anthony Davis hurt himself and the Suns won the next three games to go through. They then faced a Jamal Murray-less Denver Nuggets in the second round. Murray was the X-factor for the Nuggets in the 2020 NBA playoffs as he dropped 40 and 50-point games like a man possessed. But he was hurt and the Suns swept reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
If that wasn't enough, the Suns then faced an LA Clippers team without their best player, Kawhi Leonard. That series still went to six games but the Suns eventually came out victorious.
The Phoenix Suns wouldn't have beaten any of those teams if the scales were even. They lucked out by facing injured squads in the Western Conference playoffs and the first time they faced a relatively healthy team, the Milwaukee Bucks, they lost.
Next season isn't going to be anything like that. Sure, many teams will still face injuries, but the Suns' easy path to the NBA Finals is unlikely to repeat itself.
