Suns' All-Star trio of Durant, Booker and Beal back for Year 2 with a new coach, supporting cast

PHOENIX (AP) — The so-called Big 3 was a big disappointment for the Phoenix Suns in Year 1.

Now the franchise hopes a little continuity for their star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — along with a revamped supporting cast — can help Year 2 be much more successful.

The Suns gathered in downtown Phoenix on Monday morning, roughly five months after getting swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves after a 49-33 record during the regular season. Booker relished the fresh start, but also said the disappointment of last season still lingered just a little.

In the four-time All-Star's mind, that's not a bad thing.

“I think going out in the fashion that we did, it's something that you just don't want to blow by it and act like it never happened,” Booker said. "It's something we have to accept and use as motivation. Experience is the best teacher.

“We have that terrible experience under our belt. Now we use it for motivation.”

The Suns were active during the offseason, adding new coach Mike Budenholzer, who replaced Frank Vogel after just one season. Budenholzer is an Arizona native and was the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 when they rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Suns in the Finals.

Phoenix has been to the Finals three times, including 1976 and 1993, but never won a championship.

“It's all talk at this stage," Budenholzer said. "I'm just like any other coach — trying to get my team ready for practice tomorrow, get ready for games and be the best we can.”

Phoenix also made some shrewd moves on the free agency market, beefing up their backcourt by adding veteran point guards Tyus Jones and Monte Morris. They also signed veteran center Mason Plumlee, who will be a backup big man behind Jusuf Nurkic.

Jones averaged 7.3 assists and just one turnover last season. He signed a $3 million, one-year deal in July that was viewed as well-below market value, but the 28-year-old wanted to join a winner and potentially raise his value for an even bigger payday next offseason.

“We got him for a steal," Booker said.

Durant and Booker had a busy summer as vital parts of the U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal in Paris. The ageless Durant — who just turned 36 years old — has a lot of mileage on his body, but has been remarkably durable over the past year.

Booker is in his prime, entering his 10th season in the NBA. He's still just 27 years old — relatively young in the NBA — but has already played nearly 650 career games between the regular season and playoffs. A few years ago, he used to tease veteran teammate Chris Paul about his extensive routines to keep his body healthy.

Now he's starting to understand.

“I'm always a sponge,” Booker said. “You see that guys have all their different ways to stay healthy and KD is one of the guys I've watched closely.”

Then there's Beal, who missed much of the first half of the season with various injuries and never quite looked comfortable in his role under Vogel. The three-time All-Star averaged 21 points last season despite those frustrations and is looking forward to a mulligan with a revamped roster.

“I feel ecstatic right now, I'm super excited, just to have a good summer,” Beal said. "I never really got off to a good start (last season). Now, I get to do that. Everybody's acclimated with each other, so we're past that phase.

“Now we can just hit the ground running.”

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Phoenix Suns guard Tyus Jones poses for a photo during an NBA basketball media day Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker poses for a photo during an NBA basketball media day Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker poses for a photo during an NBA basketball media day Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns' Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1), center Jusuf Nurkic (20), forward Kevin Durant (35), guard Bradley Beal, bottomleft, and guard Tyus Jones, bottom right, pose for a photo for team photographer Barry Gossage during an NBA basketball media day Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

ATLANTA (AP) — Four months after dropping 11 games under .500, the New York Mets earned a playoff berth a day after the regular season was supposed to end.

With an 8-7 win at Atlanta in the opener of a makeup doubleheader on Monday behind Francisco Lindor's ninth-inning homer, the Mets advanced to a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series starting Tuesday at Milwaukee or San Diego. If New York wins the second game, it would play at the Padres. If the Mets lose the nightcap, they would play at Milwaukee.

New York overcame an 0-5 start to advance to the postseason for just the 11th time in 63 seasons. The Mets then rebounded from deficits of 3-0 in the eighth inning and 7-6 in the ninth to beat the Braves in Monday's opener. And the big hit was by Lindor, who returned Friday from a back injury that had sidelined him since Sept. 15.

“In slow motion it felt like,” Lindor said when asked about the homer. “Emotion. Emotion. It felt like I got the pitch that I wanted. And you never know if the ball is going to go out or not but I feel like I got it 100%. We’re one step closer. Now we’ve got to finish it. Finish, finish, finish.”

Asked what he was thinking when he rounded the bases, Lindor said: “My back hurts. I’m tired. I know how good Atlanta is. But the one thing that I had in my mind was just thank you, Jesus and God.”

New York had lost 77 straight games when trailing by three runs in eighth inning or later since May 17, 2023.

It was a throwback to 1973, when the Mets also clinched a playoff spot on the day after the season was supposed to finish. Back then, they beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 to secure the NL East title.

This year, a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers on May 29 completed a three-game Los Angeles sweep at Citi Field by a combined 18-5. New York dropped to 22-33 in its first season under manager Carlos Mendoza and was six games out of the last wild-card berth and needing to overcome seven teams.

Lindor called a players' only meeting. As players explained it, the Mets aired some issues in the clubhouse that day and committed themselves to positivity, effective preparation and a team-first approach dedicated to helping each other and winning games.

"We just opened the floor and talked about ways we can turn it around,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said then. “Just felt like a boiling-over point.”

Since then, with Lindor leading the charge, they have the best record in the majors at 67-39. They have outscored opponents 541-430.

“It’s been an uphill fight,” Lindor said. “We put ourselves in a big hole and we kept climbing and kept climbing. We kept our shoulders above water. After the All-Star break, you know, we never believed that we were drowning.”

Baseball's biggest spenders since Steve Cohen bought the team ahead of the 2021 season, the Mets reached the playoffs in 2022 only to lose a three-game Wild Card Series to San Diego. The Mets sank to 75-87 last year, when they had a record $319.5 million payroll and were assessed a record $100.8 million luxury tax.

They began this year as the top spender again at a projected $321 million, including $70 million in payments to teams covering salaries of traded players Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and James McCann. Their projected luxury tax was $83 million.

After the win in the doubleheader opener, Cohen posted on X: “Have you ever seen a game like that? I am so proud of this team. Met fans, go out and celebrate.”

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New York Mets' Francisco Lindor prepares to swing in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor checks his swing in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor throws to first base in the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)