Expectations were high for the Phoenix Suns after they acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards last season. His acquisition was considered the second-biggest offseason move in the NBA last summer after Damian Lillard's transfer to Milwaukee.
But just like the Bucks, the Suns could not live up to the hype and were eliminated in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Former Gator talked about the previous season during his recent Run Your Race podcast appearance. According to Bradley, injuries hindered the Suns from having a great season.
"I missed 30 games, and we won 49 games," Bradley said of the 2023-24 Suns' season. "Just think of that, in hindsight. I'm not saying that we're gonna win every damn game, but If I play half of them games, we the No. 1 seed in the West, or a least competing for the No. 1 seed."
Suns had a slow start with Beal injured
The 6'4" missed the start of the 2023-24 NBA season with a back injury and did not make his debut until November 8th. But after playing just three games, Beal missed the next 13 games before returning on December 13th. Two days later, Brad suffered an ankle injury and missed 5 more games.
By January, the three-time All-Star was healthier, and the Suns went 11-5 that month, including a seven-game winning streak. However, the season was already well on its way to catch up, and the best the Suns could do was 49-33 and the sixth seed in the West. They faced the No.3 Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, a series in which Anthony Edwards took his game to the next level.
"He turned it up. That young brother turned it up," Beal said of Ant-Man. "But the thing is they made shots. Like Rudy? Rudy didn't miss a free throw, and we were trying to foul him. And he's like hitting 80, 90 at the line. We like, 'Oh, it's just one of them.'"
Phoenix was swept by Minnesota
The Wolves were too much for the Arizona franchise; they shot 86% from the foul line in that series. Minnesota also made 49 three-pointers, compared to only 38 by Phoenix. Ant-Man averaged 31.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.0 steals in the series, with shooting splits of .512/.438/.839. and Beal was on the receiving end of it.
Devin Booker led the Suns in scoring with 27.5 points per game, while Kevin Durant averaged 26.8 PPG in that series. Beal put up 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, but the Timberwolves swept the Suns 4-0, ending Brad's first season in the Valley in round one.
With KD and Book coming off impressive Olympic campaigns and Beal healthy to start the year, the Suns enter the 2024-25 season with Top 10 betting odds to win the championship. Of course, they would argue that they should be ranked higher. But they have to prove first that they can stay healthy.
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