KEY POINTS

  • The Phoenix Suns dominated the NBA bubble with a perfect 8-0 record  
  • Despite their efforts, the Suns fell short to qualify for the playoffs
  • The play-in tournament will feature the Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies

A valiant effort by the Phoenix Suns eventually fell short this year, as their 8-0 record inside the NBA bubble wasn’t enough to get them in the playoffs. With the Portland Trail Blazers securing a close 134-133 win, the Suns were officially eliminated in the postseason run.

Despite the Suns' red-hot run to end the interupted 2019-20 season, they finished with a 34-39 overall record, tied for ninth place in the West with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies won the tiebreaker and will face the Trailblazers (35-39) in a play-in game, leaving the Suns out in the cold.

This ensued the NBA community to express their admiration for the Suns for battling hard despite the situation. The Suns did everything right for the factors that they could control as they played every game with unmatched intensity.

Led by their All-Star Devin Booker, who averaged 31 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists a night. To add to this, the Suns also tallied a historic team effort of notching 83.4% from the free-throw line. This percentage is the highest ever done by a team in a single season.

Fans were quick to point out the heartbreak that Booker must have experienced being a sensational star and falling short of their team’s goal. In usual social media fashion, memes and silly captions were among the first to flood the newsfeed.

At the end of everything, it was all respect and high regard for Phoenix with the way they battled in the past few weeks.

It was unfortunate for Booker that their phenomenal run was cut short given Portland’s recent victory sealed the play-in series between the Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies. It was yet another incredible performance by Damian Lillard who filled the stat sheet with 42 points, 12 assists, two steals and eight makes from beyond the arc.

Despite everything, Booker was still pleased with the effort his squad gave during the final stretch of the regular season.

“Either way, I’m still proud of this team. What else can you ask for us? We came down here, our chances were slim to none and we didn’t listen to any of the noise. We came in, like I said, with the right mindset, locked in, and went for every opportunity we had,” Booker said after winning 128-102 against the Dallas Mavericks.

Devin Booker Phoenix Suns Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns drives to the basket against Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at American Airlines Center on January 28, 2020 in Dallas, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
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