In the 2018-19 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns finished 19-63 and with by far the worst record in the Western Conference. But with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges on that roster, it wasn’t as if the team was devoid of talent. Much of it was simply young.
Two years later, with those three as starters and supplemented by a trade for veteran floor general Chris Paul in the 2020 offseason, the Suns represented the West in the 2021 NBA Finals.
With the Rockets in Phoenix for Thursday’s game, Houston head coach Stephen Silas pointed to the Suns’ rise as an “blueprint” that he’d like to utilize for his own team. In pregame comments, Silas said:
This team that we’re playing against tonight, they weren’t very good not too long ago. Monty (Williams) came in and has done a great job at making these young guys get better.
This is a blueprint that we’re looking towards for our group, as far as being a young group that wasn’t necessarily as successful as they wanted to be right away, but could potentially be a really, really good down the road.
Given the young roster and with a clear rebuilding emphasis, Silas’ Rockets entered Thursday at 1-6 on the 2021-22 season. But with building blocks like Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Christian Wood and improved performances like Tuesday’s narrow road loss to the Lakers, Houston is hopeful of a Phoenix-esque turnaround down the road.
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