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The Phoenix Suns had one of the most disappointing playoff performances of all time. The top-ranked Suns were eliminated by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals in a seven-game thriller.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley recently appeared alongside ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and shared a few of his reasonings in light of the Suns' elimination from the playoffs.
Beverley launched a scathing attack at the expense of Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, even going as far as to proceed to certain talk shows and hurling disrespect at the "Point God."
Speaking to Smith, the Timberwolves guard stated:
"But my question to you is, when I pushed him, why didn't his teammates do anything? Shows toughness. Devin Booker is right there, Jae Crowder is right there. Ain't nobody pushing me, man."
Beverley was referring to the 2021 NBA Playoffs, where Paul was shoved by Beverley following the Clippers' Game 6 blowout loss to the Suns.
Beverley stated:
"Somebody push me on the team, Minnesota Timberwolves is going up. Somebody push me on the LA Clippers, it’s going up.”
The performance led to many labeling the Phoenix-based franchise soft and deserving of what they received. This is due to the fact that the Suns have a history of talking trash and acting tough in the face of prosperity.
The former LA Clippers guard labeled the Phoenix Suns as soft, following their blowout loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks at the Footprint Center.
The Phoenix Suns 2022 NBA Playoff run
The Phoenix Suns had an astounding regular season, setting franchise records en route to the top seed in the Western Conference. The Suns were scheduled to face the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the first round.
In the aftermath of a close series that saw the Suns edge out the Pelicans, Phoenix was set to face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.
To everyone's surprise, the under-manned Mavs put up quite a fight defending their home court throughout the series. They took the Suns to seven games. The Mavericks absolutely dominated the Suns in Game 7, leading by as many as 42 in the third quarter.
The future of the Suns
Although the Phoenix Suns had a premature and shocking end to their playoff campaign, their future still looks bright.
With the right moves this offseason that could see a few integral players come in, along with the retention of existing key players, the Suns can once again make a deep run in the playoffs.
However, in this instance, rather than just making the NBA Finals, they could visualize the success of the franchise.
Guess the Lakers players!
