In a season this magical, Suns are more shock than surprise

The world of sports is fueled by surprise. Indiana won a championship in college football. Sam Darnold is in the Super Bowl. Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open final at age 38.

The Suns are in a different category. They are more shock than surprise.

The Suns were supposed to be terrible. It was non-negotiable, written in stone. They were a team without a present or a future, a franchise destroyed by a hyperactive billionaire. Their over/under on victories was as low as 30.5.

Except the Suns won their 30th game of the season on Friday with 33 games remaining. They posted back-to-back blowout victories against the Pistons and the Cavaliers without Devin Booker. None of it makes sense because so many things are going right at the same time.

It begins with Dillon Brooks. As we mourned the loss of relevance last summer, trading Kevin Durant to the Rockets at gunpoint, we didn’t see the window that had opened for Brooks. A new start on a blank canvass in Phoenix that represented his best chance at reinvention, to take his game to a different level, to lead and forge a team in his image.

From his Mike Tyson-inspired pregame staredowns, to proudly wearing the occasional cuts on his arms and his face, Brooks resembles a boxer on a basketball court. He never lets his guard down. He has inspired and pushed Oso Ighodaro, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin to new heights. His alpha energy has changed everything and everyone.

Just like Steve Nash, he is a Canadian-born player leading us from darkness. And in the end, the trade with the Rockets looks every bit as lopsided as the basketball community initially thought.

Except it’s lopsided in our favor.

It doesn’t take much for a Suns team to galvanize the Valley. But in Year 58 of their ringless pursuit of a championship, it’s hard to imagine a team more fulfilling. They embrace physicality. Their defense is top five in the NBA, smothering and relentless.

Watch them after a turnover, when the other team is in transition. Most teams will sink their shoulders and give up two points without much effort. A few teams will attempt to get back on defense. The Suns retreat on blast, with full intent to disrupt the play. You don’t see that very often in the NBA.

Like Indiana football, the quality of coaching in Phoenix is suddenly off the charts. The roster is now full of fan favorites. There is a commitment and connection to each other on both ends of the court, and most everyone seems to be enjoying a career year.

The Suns are much more than a try-hard team that exposed lazier and less serious opponents in the first two months of the season. To the contrary, they keep growing. They became a problem in the Western Conference, and now they are dangerous. And, naturally, the mind and heart races. How far can they go?

Best advice: Stay in the moment. After all these decades of heartbreak and misfortune, let’s let the game to come to us. Especially in a season this magical.

After all, Harland Sanders was 62 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. Maybe it has taken 58 years for the Suns to find their perfect recipe.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

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