National Basketball Association

NBA Roundtable: How dangerous are the Kevin Durant-led Suns?

Updated Apr. 8, 2023 5:57 p.m. ET

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Reporter

Ric Bucher

FOX Sports NBA Analyst

After this weekend, the 2023 NBA regular season is no more — the playoffs have finally arrived.

This week, our NBA reporters — Ric Bucher and Melissa Rohlin — make their final MVP selections, analyze the Suns' form heading into the postseason, and decide which player is facing the most pressure to perform in the playoffs.

1. Now that the season is coming to a close, who is your choice for MVP and why?

Rohlin: I’m going with Joel Embiid. He’s leading the league in scoring with 33.3 points a game on a career-high 54.7% shooting, and he’s one of the top defenders in the game. He was already an incredible basketball player, but he grew his game grew even more this season. He has led the 76ers to the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference with monster performance after monster performance. After being the runner-up for the award the last two seasons, I think this is finally his year to take home the most coveted individual award in sports.

Bucher: I’ve got Embiid at the top of my ballot, but that could change when I fill it out this weekend. Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo are equally deserving and strong cases can be made for all three. I voted for Embiid last year after he led them through the whole Ben Simmons fiasco and James Harden adjustment, and he’s been even more dominant this year. But I’ve never been this conflicted. Giannis has led the Bucks to the league’s best record with Khris Middleton missing more than half the season, he scores more efficiently than Embiid, and he’s made more plays for his teammates. And then there’s Jokić, the most efficient and versatile offensive player in the league, leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference’s best record. But among the three, Embiid has been the best two-way player because he scores in more ways than Giannis, and he’s a better defender than Jokić, which is why he’s at the top of my ballot. For now.

2. A year after making the Western Conference finals, if the Dallas Mavericks don’t make the playoffs — or even finish 10th — who deserves the most blame for their regression?

Rohlin: Both Mavericks GM Nico Harrison and owner Mark Cuban. The Mavericks gave up a huge amount to get Kyrie Irving and it just hasn’t panned out. Their defense is nonexistent. They lack size and length. Ever since the trade deadline, they have floundered. Irving has actually played well at times, but the Mavericks have no depth and no one who can stop guys, rendering them incredibly one-dimensional. Cuban has already said that re-signing Irving is the team’s top priority in the offseason. If they’re able to accomplish that, look for them to be extremely active in trying to build a functional supporting cast around both him and Luka Dončić.

Bucher: It’s a long list, but owner Mark Cuban is at the top of it. I’ve always admired his willingness to think out of the box and his passion, but he clearly didn’t think Jalen Brunson was worth keeping at all costs and that’s where this entire spiral starts. A lot has been made of the Mavericks being the sixth seed when they traded for Kyrie, and they’re now the 11th seed as I write this, but let’s not get it twisted: They were a sixth seed with a 28-26 record, essentially tied with the 29-27 Timberwolves and with both the Pelicans and Warriors a half-game behind them. This, after a 52-30 record and going to the Western Conference finals the year before. GM Nico Harrison, coach Jason Kidd and Dončić have all had a hand — before and since the Kyrie trade — in putting the Mavs where they are. But it starts with Mr. Shark Tank.

3. Phoenix is undefeated with Kevin Durant in the lineup. What are your impressions of this Suns team entering the playoffs now that Durant is fully available?

Rohlin: They could win the championship. The Suns reached the Finals in 2021 with Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, but fell short despite being up 2-0 in the Finals. Now, they have Durant, a two-time champion who knows how to win and plays best in big games. In both years he won a title with Golden State (2017 and 2018), he was named Finals MVP. They now have someone with a championship killer instinct, which could make all the difference down the line.

Bucher: As of right now they look like the team to beat in the Western Conference, with all due respect to the Nuggets, but let’s slow our roll on what this eight-game win streak means. They beat a Nuggets’ team twice that didn’t play any of its top players and a Philly team that was playing the second game of a back-to-back without Harden. KD might be the easiest plug-and-play superstar in the league, but the trade to get him leaves their bench woefully thin and scouts say Paul has gone from defensive maven to liability, a problem amplified with capable wing defenders Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in Brooklyn thanks to the trade. Put them in the mix to get to the WCF along with Memphis, Denver, Golden State and the Clippers. No one from the West is beating whichever team comes out of the East, though.

4. Which single player is facing the most pressure to guide their team on a deep postseason run?

Rohlin: Let’s go with LeBron James. During All-Star weekend, he called this final stretch the most important regular-season games of his career. After missing the playoffs last season, he doesn’t want to be sitting on his couch again in April, May and June. James is determined to play playoff basketball. And as someone who has led 10 teams to NBA Finals, if he’s healthy (and so is Anthony Davis), the Lakers really could go far. They’re playing their best basketball of the season and if they’re in the playoffs, this much is for sure: No one is going to want to face them.

Bucher: Has to be Jokić. The Nuggets are the No. 1 seed in the West. He has his full complement of co-stars. He’s the reigning two-time MVP and is at least in the mix to three-peat. I know he hasn’t ever campaigned for MVP, but winning the award comes with an expectation of postseason success, and he has had precious little since the Bubble. If there was ever a time for the Joker to make a statement, this is it. I don’t think he has to get Denver to the Finals or win a ring, but the bar is probably set at reaching the conference finals. Anything short of that will be viewed as a disappointment — or validation that he’s not a true MVP-type superstar.

5. What do you make of the apparent tension between Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics?

Rohlin: A deep playoff run has a way of easing tensions. I expect the Celtics to go far, and, if they do, I’m guessing any displeasure would melt faster than ice cream on a hot day. Brown was essential to the Celtics’ Finals run last season, and here’s to guessing he’ll be essential again to yet another deep postseason run. When that happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if things are copacetic over there.

Bucher: I’m getting a lot of Kyrie vibes from Brown these days. As in, he thinks of himself in higher regard than the Celtics do and wants to spread his wings a little more than they’re willing to allow. Much like Kyrie and KD, or Kyrie and LeBron, or Kyrie and Jayson Tatum, I don’t think there’s a problem between Jaylen and Tatum or other teammates. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. And Kyrie won a ring in Cleveland with LeBron and still wanted out after that, so I’m not convinced winning will resolve this situation. All that said, I have to think Jaylen would have to be the instigator and push to be moved to get Brad Stevens to do something. We’ll see if it gets to that point.

Ric Bucher is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He previously wrote for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and has written two books, "Rebound," on NBA forward Brian Grant’s battle with young onset Parkinson’s, and "Yao: A Life In Two Worlds." He also has a daily podcast, "On The Ball with Ric Bucher." Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.