Phoenix Suns a 'tough out' vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, TNT analyst says

TNT NBA analyst Jamal Crawford has kept a close eye on the Phoenix Suns this season and noticed the importance of rhythm, movement and chemistry for a team featuring Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

“When they were struggling, it looked like, not just those two, it looked like there was no flow,” Crawford said. “It looked like the offense had bogged down, a lot of standing around. Now in this last stretch, it’s looks like they’ve gotten back to the ball hopping. I’m seeing more high-fives with everybody. It shows they’re connected.”

The Suns (49-33) finished what was an inconsistent regular season winning six of their last eight games to earn the sixth seed and avoid the play-in tournament. Their first round series against the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26) starts Saturday at Target Center in Minneapolis, at 12:30 p.m. (Arizona time).

“I think Isaiah Thomas behind the scenes is a really, really big addition just from a leadership standpoint,” continued Crawford about the veteran point guard the Suns signed for the remainder of the season after a pair of 10-day deals. “The stuff he sees, the stuff he knows, his knowledge.”

The Suns completed a season sweep of the T-Wolves with 125-106 road win Sunday to end the regular season as Bradley Beal scored a game-high 36 points, going 6-of-6 from 3.

“I think Bradley Beal has really settled in that third role because there are times he’s the first guy,” Crawford continued. “Just depending on the matchup and how it’s going. I know it sounds crazy now, but I picked them before the season to be able to challenge for the Western Conference finals and now I’m back on that train.  I don’t think I ever left it, but they’ve given me reason to believe they can make a run.”

The Suns were able to handle the T-Wolves in that game with Durant scoring just 15 points. Booker posted 23 and Grayson Allen went for 20, connecting on 3-of-3 from 3.

“Even now if Durant doesn’t touch the ball six or seven possessions, or Booker doesn’t or Beal doesn’t, if it’s working for the team, it feels like it’s working for them,” Crawford continued. “That’s what I was waiting to see. They will be a tough out.”

Fellow TNT NBA analyst Greg Anthony and Crawford participated in media conference call Thursday heading into the playoffs that begin Saturday. Anthony sees the Timberwolves (56-26) being a problem for the Suns despite going 0-3 against Phoenix this season.

“When you look at their overall depth, I think they just present a lot of challenges that Phoenix may not have an answer for,” Anthony said. “I just don’t know if Phoenix can contend with them in the paint.”

Anthony admits he was “really high on Phoenix” going into the season, hasn’t abandoned them as the Suns played below expectations, but he isn’t sure they matchup up physically with the T-Wolves.

“With this Minnesota team, with what they present in terms of their level of physicality, their ability to dominate the paint and then having a guy like Anthony Edwards, who even in this series, he could be the most physically dominating player in it," Greg Anthony said.

Edwards averaged a career-high 25.9 points on 46.1% shooting and 5.1 assists this season, but the two-time All-Star wasn’t nearly as effective against the Suns. He averaged 11 fewer points in the three games versus Phoenix at 14.3 on 31% shooting.

In his last outing Sunday against Phoenix, Edwards scored just 13 points on only seven shot attempts, committed five turnovers and registered a game-low minus-21.

"I mean you watched it,” Edwards said after Sunday’s loss. “I ain’t gotta talk about it, everybody seen it, they just double teamed me all night.”

This will be Edwards’ third straight playoff appearance, but he has yet to advance past the first round.

“Now he doesn’t have the experience that Durant and Booker have and he’s still not quite as polished, but man, he is relentless,” Anthony said about the top overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Georgia.

“One thing I love about Minnesota, they really built their team around him in that they’ve put a really athletic, long defensive oriented team out there and that’s what you’re going to be to beat Phoenix and I think they’re built for that.”

The T-Wolves finished the regular season first in the NBA in defensive rating. Their 7-foot center, Rudy Gobert, is a favorite to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time, and Jaden McDaniels is a versatile, standout defender, but the Suns scored 133 points on the T-Wolves in their first meeting.

That’s the most points Minnesota allowed this season.

The Suns managed just 97 points in the second game in winning by 10. Then on Sunday, Phoenix shot 66.7% in the first quarter, hitting 8-of-11 from 3, in racing out to a 44-22 advantage.

“They had some good looks, there were certainly some breakdowns out there,” T-Wolves coach Chris Finch said after Sunday’s loss. “I think we needed to do a better job at fanning out quicker on a lot of their east-west drives. Getting out there and closing down the three-point line a little better.”

The T-Wolves improved from 42 wins last season to 56 this season. Now they’re looking to make it out of the first round for only the second time in franchise history. Minnesota advanced to conference finals in 2004 with Kevin Garnett leading the way before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Don’t discount the experience they got last year against Denver,” said Anthony as the Nuggets started their run to an NBA championship eliminating the T-Wolves in the first round, 4-1. “That plays a big role in your development.”

T-Wolves All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns had just 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting Sunday in just his second game back from a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee that sidelined him 18 games. Like Edwards, he committed five turnovers and was called for four fouls in a game the T-Wolves were very careless with the basketball.

Phoenix scored 35 points off 24 Minnesota turnovers, which is a concern Anthony recognizes. The T-Wolves ended the regular season 22^nd in turnovers (14.2) and 15^th in points allowed off turnovers (16.3).

“Does Minnesota make too many mental mistakes,” Anthony said. “Do they have too many wasted possessions in those critical games.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: TNT NBA analyst high on Phoenix Suns heading into playoffs