Paola Boivin

azcentral sports

It was Planet Orange but hardly recognizable. No towel flying in the face of the head coach, accompanied by a soundtrack of curse words. No shoving, pouting or grandstanding, just a good old-fashioned basketball game with a high-energy leader, a roster that could assemble a boy band and a crowd willing to let bygones be bygones, at least for an evening.

Aren’t season openers grand?

For the first time in a while, Talking Stick Resort Arena smelled like hope.

But just a whiff.

Listen, it wasn’t pretty. The Sacramento Kings led by as much as 26. During stretches, the Suns shot poorly and forgot how to play defense. Their most productive lineup of the night featured five reserves with an average age of 20.

But there were just enough hints of promise to suggest the trajectory is heading in the right direction.

“We can’t use ‘we’re young,’” coach Earl Watson said after the 113-94 loss. “It’s not an excuse.”

Was the promise enough to wake up the fan base? Probably not yet. That group is not asleep, it’s comatose from six years of basketball without a postseason.

The struggles of the starters were surprising, especially against a team like the Kings that has its own share of shortcomings. And Brandon Knight’s 1-for-8 effort is not what the team needs from its sixth man.

The team’s second unit kept it interesting. Dragan Bender gave the Suns a huge offensive lift. Marquese Chriss still plays like someone new to the game, but his athleticism and effort are fun to watch. Tyler Ulis was a defensive spark.

“(The young Suns) played hard, man,” Kings forward Rudy Gay said. “Tyler is a kid I watched and he played great. He’s going to be good in this league. … The kids came out and they frustrated us.”

Said Watson: “Young guys, sometimes they’re so clueless to the league they don’t get it all yet.”

It was Game 1 for the Suns, so optimism may be a bit skewed. But at times they delivered on their offseason promise of the three E’s: energy, effort and entertainment.

Make that four.

Eric Bledsoe looked quick and athletic.

The game revealed the perfect touch of nostalgia, too, with not only Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa on the floor, but the announcement after the first quarter that longtime broadcaster Al McCoy would be recognized in the Ring of Honor in March.

After six long seasons without a playoff appearance, all fans truly want now is vision and direction.

This young team – with four players under 20, including three that will log real minutes in Devin Booker, Chriss and Bender – will make mistakes. Having played together only sparingly in the preseason, the starting five will take time to jell.

But if players keep improving, that will be fine for most fans who watched an organization that for a time didn’t have an understanding of the big picture.

Fans of sportsmanship should want Watson to succeed. Not many of his type exist in the NBA: inspiring, nurturing and seems to connect fully with his players.

“But he also holds you accountable,” Booker said. “It’s something we definitely need, especially with us young guys on the team.”

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It was a big night for the coach – at 37, the second-youngest in the NBA – who was fulfilling a dream.

His day started normally.

He was up at 5:30 a.m., follow by a haircut, smoothie and a pregame coaches meeting. Next came a shootaround with the team, followed by a return home to eat lunch, play with his 1-year-old son and nap.

When he returned to the arena, he sought out the UNLV product who unexpectedly made the roster.

And what followed is typical Watson.

“I wanted to spend some time with Derrick Jones on the court, because I think he has the opportunity to be really special,” Watson said. “It’s amazing what people can accomplish if someone gives them confidence. When you get players in the NBA, I think probably any level, you have three years to make an impact on their life.”

Everything about this season feels different. Even the parting of ways with Archie Goodwin sounded as if there was continued communication throughout the process, starting with the discussion General Manager Ryan McDonough said he had at the end of the season with Goodwin, promising they would try to trade him if it became clear he wouldn’t be getting minutes.

Unable to trade him, he was waived. Immediately, Goodwin went on Twitter and said “Thanks to the Suns Organization for giving me a chance to live my dream.”

The willingness of Knight to remain comfortable as a sixth man will be telling, too. As much as humility is taught to athletes, it is hard, at such a high level, to be OK with deference.

Before the game, Kings coach Dave Joerger acknowledged that’s a pretty big sacrifice.

“Brandon Knight is a guy that you’d consider one of the best,” he said. “If he’s a backup point guard, he probably starts on a lot of teams.”

As long as the line of communication stay open, those kinds of decisions can work. It’s when players are blindsided that things fall apart.

The vibe simply felt different Wednesday night. Yes, the team struggled and is clearly a work in progress, but Bledsoe looked lightning quick, T.J. Warren’s athleticism was on full display and the players – while not quite in sync yet – were clearly on the same page.

And that’s an important distinction.

When asked before the game what fans might be surprised about with the team, Booker had a quick answer.

“Just how much fun we’re having when we’re out there,” he said. “They’re gonna see a lot of smiles from us. Win or lose we’re going to stick together. We’re one unit, one family.”

Whether that translates to victories remains to be seen. But to keep fans’ interest, they need to be entertaining to watch.

Reach Paola Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter at Twitter.com/PaolaBoivin. Listen to her streaming live on “The Brad Cesmat Show” on “The Brad Cesmat Show” on sports360az.com every Monday at 10:30 a.m.