5 Things that went wrong for the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals
The Phoenix Suns suffered a crushing 105-98 defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals. After going 2-0 up, the Suns lost four straight games to the Bucks and missed a chance to give Phoenix its first-ever NBA championship.
It seems like an eternity ago when the Phoenix Suns won the first two games of the Finals by double-digits each time, prompting fans and the media to coronate them so early in the series. Needing to win just two more times in the next five games, the Suns couldn’t even beat the Bucks at least once in the succeeding four contests.
So what happened to the Suns?
Check out the 5 things that didn’t go the Phoenix Suns’ way in the 2021 NBA Finals:
#1 Chris Paul and Devin Booker didn’t always play well at the same time
Granted, Chris Paul and Devin Booker played excellently in Games 1, 2 and 5, but the duo shortchanged the Phoenix Suns when they had their worst postseason performances ever in two of the last four games of the NBA Finals.
Booker had a forgettable outing in Game 3 when he scored only 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 from 3-point territory in 29 minutes. He also made just 3-of-5 free throws (60%). The 24-year-old made up for it in the next two games when he scored at least 40 points or more.
In Game 4, it was Paul’s turn to score just 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, including 0-of-2 from three. He had seven assists but turned the ball over five times.
By Game 6, it was Booker again who struggled to make his shots, going 8-of-22 from the floor and missing all seven of his 3-point attempts for 19 points.
#2 The Phoenix Suns let their emotions get the best of them
The Milwaukee Bucks never got too high or too low after each game, staying even-keeled regardless of the result. In contrast, the Phoenix Suns were a highly emotional group, celebrating wildly after each win and spurring on the crowd to get themselves pumped up emotionally for the games.
But their emotions ran amok in this series. After being the tamer team in the Western Conference Finals, the Phoenix Suns wore their emotions on their sleeves in the NBA Finals. They complained to the referees incessantly, committed frustration fouls after not getting calls, and looked overconfident after winning the first two games.
There were times when the emotionality of the Phoenix Suns was warranted, but head coach Monty Williams failed to restrain his players when they had to be reined in when things didn’t go their way.