Following the Toronto Raptors’ blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday, one team stands alone as the last remaining undefeated team in the NBA bubble. It’s probably not the team you expected when players started flying to Orlando.
The Phoenix Suns – yes, the Phoenix Suns – are your last team to stand, with a 4-0 record in Disney World.
As you can imagine, the team made sure he made a note of it.
We are now the only undefeated team in the bubble.
– Phoenix Suns (@Suns) August 8, 2020
Not bad for a team that was 26-39 before the season ended, and saw an active NBA player call for their biggest star to leave the team on Friday.
The Suns are … okay?
The Suns are undefeat in the bubble. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
The Suns have defeated the following teams since the NBA game began: the Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers. That, a true competitor of the Western Conference, two legitimate playoff teams and, well, the Wizards. It can hardly be said that the Suns are only undefeat in the bubble because of their record.
That Clippers win in particular was a cathartic night for one of the NBA’s youngest teams. Star Devin Booker iced the game with a fadeaway buzzer-beater over the outstretched arms of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The first eight days of official play in the bubble have made it clear that anything (short of a Wizards win) can happen. The Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers – arguably the top tier of NBA applicants – are a combined 5-6 against other teams. The Raptors looked like the bubble’s heaviest team, and were then overpowered by Boston. TJ Warren, who dumped the Suns just a year ago for cash, scored 53 points in a game.
That, of course, allowed the Suns to run on the Disney World campus and play off four straight wins.
With those four wins, the Suns have their record to 30-39 and are tied for 11th place with the New Orleans Pelicans. They are still 1.5 games back from ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers for a shot at a play-in series, and will also have to jump the San Antonio Spurs to get a shot at the postseason.
The Suns will end their season with games against the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and Mavericks. Except for these teams resting their stars to stay fresh for the playoffs, none of these games will win easily, but the time to rule everything with this team is clearly over.
