The Phoenix Suns are the NBA’s version of a well-stocked race leader in Mario Kart.
They have the driving skills to keep the competition at bay, and if anyone looks threatening, the Suns can always fire off a red turtle, spin them out and cruise to the finish line.
At 50-12, Phoenix has a ridiculous seven-game lead for the league’s best record with only 20 remaining.
The Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies technically have an outside shot of catching the Suns in the standings, but it would take a rash of significant injuries and a catastrophic finish for the No. 1 seed to switch hands.
Point guard Chris Paul is still expected to miss several more weeks with a finger injury, but that doesn’t really matter because the Suns are talented enough to wrap up home court advantage without him.
The bigger question: Will the Suns’ dominant regular season translate in the playoffs?
The NBA betting oddsmakers have been somewhat skeptical all season. The Brooklyn Nets were the NBA championship favorites for months, until they traded James Harden for Ben Simmons, thus making the Philadelphia 76ers much stronger and themselves slightly weaker.
The Nets are now behind the Suns, but the aforementioned Warriors are tied with the Suns at +450 odds to win the title despite being far behind in the standings, per BetMGM.
So Phoenix is among the favorites, and that is well-deserved, but there is still some hesitation about crowning them the clear-cut team to beat.
Frankly, it’s misguided.
There’s no question the NBA is a star-driven league, and it’s tantalizing to consider the potential of some of the contenders.
The Brooklyn Nets may one day roll out a lineup that includes Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. The Philadelphia 76ers have James Harden and Joel Embiid headlining a strong group.
The Golden State Warriors boast Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and a talented supporting cast.
Last year’s Los Angeles Lakers are a good example of a team that can underachieve in the regular season but become dangerous in the playoffs. Even as the No. 7 seed, they captured two of the first three games against the second-seeded Suns in the first round until an Anthony Davis groin injury torpedoed their hopes.
But that’s also the risk with teams so reliant on two or three players.
If everything goes well, the Nets could round into form at the perfect time, steamroll less-talented teams in the postseason and win the championship. But Durant could get hurt again, Irving could do something unorthodox again or Simmons could fail to mesh.
Even though Embiid and Harden are great individual players, the 76ers are trying to build chemistry on the fly. And while Golden State looks great on paper, Curry is 33 and shooting worse than he has in years, signaling a possible physical decline.
The Suns don’t have the same concerns as the other contenders. Paul’s injury history is always worrisome, but he could miss the entire first round and it still wouldn’t have a major effect, which should give him ample time to return.
Once Paul is back, the Suns will be counting on him like the Nets count on the oft-injured Durant and the 76ers count on the oft-injured Embiid. At that point, it’s luck of the draw.
The Suns have the highest floor among any contender, as an exit anywhere before the Western Conference Finals would be a shock. Between the win-loss record, a league-best plus-8.0 point-differential per game and other friendly advanced metrics, their dominance is unquestionable.
More importantly, their ceiling is just as high.
Devin Booker is a legitimate MVP candidate, Paul continues to star at age-36, Deandre Ayton is having the best season of his career and the depth is fantastic.
The defending Western Conference champions still don’t have the same name recognition as the other contenders, but the Suns are a wonderfully-constructed group with great depth, and boast the star power to hang with the Warriors, Nets and 76ers if they meet in the playoffs.
It is easy to talk yourself into a championship run for Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Golden State. But it’s just as easy to forecast an implosion.
The Suns, meanwhile, are on pace to become only the 19th team in NBA history to eclipse an .800 winning percentage in the regular season. Twelve of the previous 18 won the championship.
There have certainly been teams in recent years that dominated in the regular season, but didn’t have the high-end potential to compete once superstars upped their game in the playoffs.
That’s not the case with the Suns. Their mixture of balance and star power is ideal, and Phoenix should soon prove its regular season desert success is no mirage.
