As part of the weekly Flashscore section, we look back at the highlights of the last seven days in the NBA. The Phoenix Suns are finally finding some momentum in a less flashy team, while the departure of Trae Young to Washington surprised more than one.
Team of the Week: Phoenix Suns
In 2021, the Suns lost in the NBA final against the Bucks, after a magnificent season. The franchise seemed set to establish itself permanently at the top, but everything went wrong when the Mavericks came to inflict a historic humiliation on the Cactus in Game 7 of the conference semi-finals the following season.
In a few months, Phoenix, carried by its intrepid owner Matt Ishbiabrought back Kevin Durant et Bradley Bealat the cost of a great sacrifice of draft capital. In two years, it was one of the most remarkable shipwrecks of its kind, but the situation is changing. The two went off on a tangent, Devin Booker has become the boss again, and proves it, for example by defeating OKC in money time.
But he is not alone, and if the squad does not look like much, it is assembled correctly and seems perfectly complementary. A Dillon Brooks which continues to be praised for its impact, a Grayson Allen precious, Mark Williams, Ryan Dunn or Collin Gillespie who continue to raise their level, and still lack Jalen Green. Result: three victories in a row, a sixth place in the west, excellent momentum: here is a surprise outsider for the rest of the season.
Bad students of the week: the Houston Rockets
It should have been a good week in Texas, since Kevin Durant dessue Wilt Chamberlain to become the 7th best scorer in NBA history. But now, the Rockets have just suffered two defeats against the Trail Blazers, and one against the Kings which is frankly messy.
Certainly, Alperen Sengün is on the sidelines. But collectively, the team is struggling, often having to rely on individual exploits to keep going. Problem, in the west, the competition is still stiff, and Houston has just fallen out of the top 6 for the first time this season. Temporary bad spell or deeper problem? To be continued…
Clearly, the Pelicans have already turned the page on the season, and will fight for a very good place in the draft. But they have already chosen to declare several players non-transferable to return to action next season. Unsurprisingly, in this list we find Trey Murphy IIIwho simply broke his career record against the Lakers.
42 points for the Pels winger, followed by 35 points against the Wizards, which allowed New Orleans to interrupt a series of nine defeats. We see the talent of TMIII, who was courted before the trade deadline, but while Zion Williamson remains the theoretical leader of her team, we wonder what she could give with everyone on their feet, and Murphy as a lieutenant, or even better…
Action of the week: 2 buzzer beaters for the price of one
The night from Wednesday to Thursday was lively, rich, but above all, it pleased fans of highlights: two buzzer beaters a few minutes apart! The first signed Immanuel Quickleywho sent a lightning-fast catch’n’shoot three-pointer to take down the Hornets.
The second for Paolo Bancheroon another three points which we thought for a moment was invalid, but the Italian-American did not bite the line and took the opportunity to defeat the Nets.
Story of the Week: Goodbye Trae Young
It was whispered louder and louder: Trae Young wanted to leave Atlanta Hawks. With the franchise seeming to be doing perfectly without him, the all-star point guard quickly made his favorite destinations known. Among them, the Washington Wizards, who finally officially welcomed Ice Trae in the week.
We have seen love stories that ended much worse. Since his draft in 2018, Trae Young has been the face of the Hawks, culminating in a magnificent playoff run in 2021, all the way to the conference finals. But we must not brush the rest under the carpet: a reputation for coach killerwhich cost the place on the bench of Lloyd Piercethen Nate McMillan.
Or his defense, often criticized, rightly so. His value, incredibly when he is regularly around 25 points and 10 assists, has dropped drastically, which explains a very disappointing counterpart. But no matter: the franchise and the player got what they wanted. When we compare to the trade of Luka Dončićit’s probably priceless…
