Late in the NBA season it appeared the Phoenix Suns may finish top-two in both offensive and defensive efficiency – a feat only accomplished twice in the 21st century.
Those two teams were the 2014-15 and 2016-17 Golden State Warriors, who both went on to win NBA Championships.
As Phoenix wrapped up the top overall seed with weeks to spare, their total efficiency took a dip in the final games as Aaron Holiday was gifted starts, and the duo of Ishmail Wainwright and Gabriel Lundberg were playing nearly a combined 50 minutes.
For the season, the Suns finished with the third-ranked defense, giving up 106.8 points per 100 possessions, and the fifth-placed offense, scoring 114.2 points per 100 possessions, giving them a net-rating of 7.5 (7.4 gap between offense and defense, rounded up to the closest decimal).
The 'per 100 possessions' qualifier is simply to provide an even playing field for teams that play at different paces – the Dallas Mavericks are the slowest team in the league, getting 95.6 possessions per game, while the run-and-gun Minnesota Timberwolves average 101.5 possessions per game.
Since, and including, the 1999-00 season, the 2021-22 Suns are the 13th team to finish top-five in both offense and defense.
The other teams are:
1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers (fifth in offense, first in defense, 9.0 net-rating) 2001-02 Sacramento Kings (third in offense, fifth in defense, 8.1 net) 2005-06 Detroit Pistons (fourth in offense, fifth in defense, 7.6 net) 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks (second in offense, fifth in defense, 7.6 net) 2007-08 Lakers (third in offense, fifth in defense, 7.3 net) 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers (fourth offense, second defense, 9.6 net) 2009-10 Orlando Magic (fourth offense, fourth defense, 7.9 net) 2010-11 Miami Heat (second offense, fifth defense, 7.8 net) 2014-15 Warriors (second offense, first defense, 9.9 net) 2016-17 Warriors (first offense, second defense, 11.4 net) 2018-19 Milwaukee Bucks (first defense, fourth offense, 8.6 net)
Of those teams – all of which won at least 57 regular season games – half made it to the NBA Finals, while the 1999-2000 Lakers, 2014-15 Warriors and 2016-17 Warriors are the three to win championships. The reigning champion 2008-09 Celtics were the only side to not make it to the Conference Finals.
The 2005-06 Pistons were two seasons removed from their 2004 title; the 2006-07 Mavericks featured many of the pieces that would win the 2011 title; the 2007-08 Lakers stuck with it and won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010; the 2010-11 Heat won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013; and the 2018-19 Bucks just needed to add Jrue Holiday to push themselves over the line in 2021.
What this means is that while this specific Suns side may not be guaranteed to win this year's championship, they have a great chance to make the NBA Finals, and it shows that as an organisation, they have hit a sweet spot that very few sides ever reach, right in the heart of a true championship window.
However, none of those teams had their championship windows opened with the arrival of a 36-year-old. While the Suns are at a stage where they do not simply live and die with the health of Chris Paul, they are very clearly not the same team when he sits.
The Suns are 53-12 in the 65 games Paul has played this season, and are still an impressive 11-6 without him, showing that he has helped turn the franchise around in a real way.
Paul's biggest contribution to the Suns has been culturally, turning a perennial losing side into a team that expects to win every time it steps on the floor, no matter who is suiting up.
He has now been a member of the best regular season teams in the history of four franchises – the New Orleans Pelicans, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets and now the Suns.
However, it would be silly to discount the improvements Phoenix were making prior to Paul's arrival, including going 8-0 in 'the bubble' ahead of the 2020 Playoffs. Much of that credit also goes to head coach Monty Williams, who has the Suns playing a system that seems to work no matter who is on the floor, especially at the center position.
After being released by the Charlotte Hornets, Bismack Biyombo was picked up on a minimum contract and produced the most efficient scoring season of his career, registering 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds per-36 minutes.
Career backup JaVale McGee has also been terrific, scoring 20.9 points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds per-36 in his 14th season in the league.
For the season, McGee leads the Phoenix center trio in player efficiency rating (PER, where league-average is always 15) with 22.5, while Deandre Ayton is at 22.0 and Biyombo at 17.3.
The success of Phoenix's backup bigs has added fuel to the fire regarding the impending contract extension of Ayton, who the Suns made the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Ayton was eligible for a big-money extension this past off-season, but the organisation opted to wait until after this season when his contract expires, where they can decide if they feel he is worth the max-contract he is expected to demand, or if they are better served cashing on his perceived value through a trade.
Phoenix are paying Paul and Devin Booker max-contract money, and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Mikal Bridges signed a four-year, $90million extension in December, which was considered a bargain for a player of his two-way impact.
The Suns have likely built something sustainable, but they are set to become one of the more expensive teams in the league, with an owner, Robert Sarver, who has never shown the willingness to go deep into the luxury tax.
While Paul's days as a superstar are likely numbered with his advanced age, Booker and Bridges are both 25 and yet to hit their prime, while Ayton – whether he is viewed as a cornerstone of the future or as a premium trade asset – is just 23.
However, chemistry can be everything and this team, as is currently constructed, has it in spades.
It is easy to see how this could be the start of an incredible decade of Suns basketball – they are mostly young, and just set a franchise-record for wins in a season with 64.
But they are outliers this year, and outliers come back to earth at some stage – often sooner than we expect.
Grizzlies All-Star Morant discusses 'ongoing process' to 'cope with stress in a positive way'
Memphis Grizzlies franchise player Ja Morant faced the media on Tuesday to discuss what he had learned from his eight-game suspension.
Morant, 23, has missed nine games since showing off a gun while intoxicated on an Instagram live video in the early hours of the morning in a Colorado nightclub.
A league investigation found him guilty of bringing the league into disrepute and "holding a firearm in an intoxicated state", but did not find any evidence that the gun belonged to him, or that he took it on the team plane or any NBA facilities.
After serving an eight-game suspension from the NBA, Morant missed his ninth in a row on Monday as he worked his way back into playing shape, and he is expected to return on Wednesday at home against the Houston Rockets.
Speaking to the media about his time away from the team, where he spent 11 days at a Florida counselling facility, Morant stated he has no problem with alcohol and has been focusing on positive ways to deal with stress.
"Obviously, I took that time to better myself, get in a better space mentally," he said. "It's an ongoing process, a continued process for me.
"I've been there for two weeks, but that doesn't mean I'm completely better. So that's an ongoing process for me that I've still been continuing since I've come out.
"Obviously, I've made mistakes in the past that caused a lot of negative attention – not only to me, but my family as well, my team, the organisation – and I'm completely sorry for that.
"So my job now is, like I said, to be more responsible, more smart, and don't cause any of that no more.
"I don't have an alcohol problem, never had an alcohol problem. I went [to Florida] for counselling to learn how to manage stress, cope with stress in a positive way instead of ways I've tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes."
When asked if he planned to dial back his nightlife activities, Morant said "clubbing and all is not on my mind at all right now".
"Right now for me, it's just keeping the main thing, the main thing, and continuing to go through my process of becoming a better me," he said. "I feel like if I do that, not only will it help me, but it'll help everybody around me as well."
While he received a raucous ovation from the home fans in Memphis when he returned to the bench on Monday, Morant admitted he is "uncomfortable" with how crowds may react to him.
"It's a lot, man," he said. "A lot of people don't know what's going on – not in my shoes right now with everything that's been going on as of late. Obviously, I take responsibility for decisions I've made that pretty much hurt me to the core.
"Like I said, it not only affected me, but it affected everyone around me… and caused me not to be out there on the floor. Which, one thing I love to do the most is play basketball.
"So it's a lot, but like I said before, it's an ongoing process with everything I've been doing the past two weeks, and I'm going to continue to do that to get through everything I need to be healthy."
Knicks great Willis Reed dies aged 80
Legendary New York Knicks Hall of Famer Willis Reed, who was part of one of the most memorable moments in NBA history, died on Tuesday at the age of 80.
Reed played his entire 10-year NBA career with the New York Knicks, winning championships in 1970 and 1973 while being named MVP in both of those Finals.
He is most famous for surprisingly playing in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers after sitting out Game 6 due to a thigh injury.
After not joining his team-mates on the court during pregame warm-ups, Reed emerged from the tunnel at Madison Square Garden and received a rousing ovation from the fans.
Reed started the game and hit his first two shots, and while those were the only points he scored, the captain of the Knicks inspired his team to a 113-99 win that secured the franchise's first title.
"Willis Reed was the ultimate team player and consummate leader," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
"My earliest and fondest memories of NBA basketball are of watching Willis, who embodied the winning spirit that defined the New York Knicks' championship teams in the early 1970s.
"He played the game with remarkable passion and determination, and his inspiring comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals remains one of the most iconic moments in all of sports."
Reed was the NBA regular-season MVP in 1969-70, earned seven All-Star selections and was named to the 50th and 75th NBA anniversary teams.
The first pick of the second round (eighth overall) in the 1964 NBA Draft and 1964-65 NBA Rookie of the Year, Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds over 650 regular-season games before retiring after the 1973-74 season.
Reed became head coach of the Knicks in the 1977-78 campaign and led them to the playoffs before only lasting 14 games the next season. He coached Creighton University from 1981-85 and took over the New Jersey Nets in March 1988 before coaching them in 1988-89.
That marked Reed's final season as a coach before moving to the Nets' front office.
Prior to the NBA, Reed helped Grambling State win the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship in 1961 and averaged 26.6 points and 21.3 rebounds during his senior season.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and was a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Breakout March Madness coaching star lands Iona role, replacing Pitino
Iona did not take long to replace departed Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, turning to the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament.
Tobin Anderson has been rewarded for leading 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson into the second round with one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.
FDU defeated Purdue, who had won the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament, in what Anderson described as "one of the most unbelievable stories of all".
Anderson had garnered attention even before that first-round game, telling the Knights after a play-in win: "The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let's go shock the world."
He and FDU delivered on that, although their run ended in the second round against Florida Atlantic, losing 78-70.
And that was the end of the road for Anderson at Fairleigh Dickinson as his appointment at Iona was confirmed on Tuesday.
The Gaels moved swiftly to name a new coach after Pitino left for St. John's this week.
"We are very excited to introduce Tobin Anderson as Iona University's men's basketball head coach," said Iona director of athletics Matthew Glovaski.
"We have long known him to be a fantastic coach and an even better person. Now, with his team's impressive run in the NCAA tournament, everyone paying attention to March Madness also knows this.
"We're delighted that he will be at the helm of our men's basketball programme."
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