Tom Chambers on Phoenix Suns: ‘They’re just getting warmed up’
Jan 8, 2021, 2:42 PM
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Phoenix Suns fans may have felt a bit of deja vu starting off this season.
The 2019 team started hot with a 5-3 record before struggling down the road.
Through eight games this season, Phoenix is 6-2.
While fans hope to see the team remain in the top of the Western Conference, Suns legend and postgame broadcaster Tom Chambers says there’s definitely something different about this year’s team.
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“This is a legit team and they feel as though they’ve only scratched the surface. … They’re just getting warmed up to the task,” Chambers told Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf on Friday. “You can’t say enough about, you feel the energy, you feel that they know they’re something special and it’s just going to continue …
“It’s been over a decade for us to really get excited about something and there truly is something there with this group.”
It’s also been over a decade since the franchise made it to the playoffs. While it’s still early, hopes are high for a playoff push this year, especially after going 8-0 in the bubble.
So what is it exactly that’s changed the dynamic within the team?
Well, of course there’s the impact of adding veteran Chris Paul, who brings not only an extremely high level skill but extremely high mental focus and knowledge of the game. That experience only pushes his teammates to improve.
“There’s no loafing, there’s no ‘OK we’ll be better tomorrow. Maybe next year.’ It’s today. It’s now,” Chambers said of Paul. “This guy has been around for a long time, he doesn’t want to waste one possession, let alone a season on anything.
“They’re paying attention to detail and I haven’t seen it like this in a long time.”
It’s not just Paul bringing the success. As Chambers noted, the team is finding its chemistry and building off each other offensively and defensively.
Not only that, Phoenix is becoming a place where players want to be.
“I just didn’t expect them to be all that, but after the bubble, after this group kind of came together and then guys like Chris Paul want to come here and be a part of it and Jae Crowder want to come here and be a part of it, and you bring back veterans who know how to do things the right way,” Chambers said.
“You can’t say enough about what (general manager) James Jones and (head coach) Monty Williams have done to put this group together but man it’s good, it’s really good.”
