I love April basketball. It simply hits different. It is better when the Phoenix Suns are part of it (and more stressful), sure, but this stretch of the season always delivers. Every night for a fortnight, you get multiple First Round games, numerous options to choose from, and countless narratives to observe. Something is always on to entertain, analyze, and enjoy. It makes it easy to turn on, tune in, zone out.<\/p>\n
Last night, after watching Philly and Portland win, I had the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers on. It\u2019s one of those series you kind of hate watch. It\u2019s impossible for both to fail, but that\u2019s where I default. I don\u2019t want the Lakers\u2019 success. Why would I? They\u2019re a franchise built upon a foundation of luck, more so than the Spurs, and their fanbase still thinks Kobe is a top 3 player of all-time. He\u2019s not a top 3 Laker of all time. But that\u2019s a conversation for a different day (Kareem, Magic, Shaq). It\u2019s hard to talk to people who lack logic. And the Rockets? Let\u2019s just say that the Suns\u2019 fan in me wants to believe we won the KD trade, so having them lose fortifies that narrative, despite it being a non-productive and pointless one.<\/p>\n
It was a competitive game. Despite no Luka and no Austin Reaves, a 41-year-old LeBron James delivered. Along with new sidekick Luke Kennard, he handled business and pushed the series to 2-0.<\/p>\n
Kevin Durant (you have heard of the guy) did not have a clean night. The Lakers swarmed him. Marcus Smart was in his jersey from the opening tip, and KD coughed it regularly. By the fourth, the pressure only increased. He finished close to a double-double, but not the one you want. 23 points. 9 turnovers.<\/p>\n
I could not help but flash back to those moments when Kevin Durant wore a Phoenix Suns jersey. Not the playoffs \u2014 they never got there last season \u2014 but those tight regular season games where things would slow down and suddenly the ball would bounce off his foot. It happened more than you want to remember. For all the brilliance, for all the shot making, there were possessions that ended before they ever had a chance because of a turnover that felt avoidable.<\/p>\n
Seeing it once again sent my mind wandering a bit. Where Phoenix was a year ago. Where the Houston Rockets are now. Where both franchises sit, and where they might be headed. They are forever tied together now. Houston pushed in chips to win now, bringing in Durant, following a path the Suns had already walked. Phoenix did it in 2022, moving assets, reshaping the roster, and betting on a player to tilt the ceiling of the franchise. Houston followed that blueprint. They gave up less than Phoenix did, but the idea was the same: change the trajectory, chase a title, see if it all comes together.<\/p>\n
And now you look up, and there is a chance both teams are staring at the same kind of outcome, sitting in the same room, asking the same questions about what comes next.<\/p>\n
Because think about it. The Houston Rockets were the two seed in the Western Conference last season. They lost a hard-fought seven-game series to the Golden State Warriors, and you could point to youth as the reason. That pushed them to chase something more. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns did not make the playoffs. Now both teams could be staring at a similar outcome. Houston dropped from the two seed to the five after acquiring Kevin Durant. Phoenix climbed from the 11th to the seventh, then earned the eighth through the Play-In. The Suns head into Oklahoma City with a chance to even the series tonight, and if they do not, they become the only Western Conference team down 0-2 in the first round. Well, almost. Houston is right there, too.<\/p>\n
Of course, this is reactionary. The postseason always is. You lose, it feels like you will never win again. You win, it feels like you will never lose again. That is the swing. I still expect Houston to push back in their series. They may not mirror what is happening to Phoenix in Games 1 and 2, but a first round exit is very much in play. And that brings the thought back to where we are now versus where we were then.<\/p>\n