NBA playoffs 2022 - Inside the Phoenix Suns' chaotic, beautiful and galvanizing pregame routine

FIFTEEN MINUTES REMAIN before tipoff inside Phoenix's Footprint Center, and Deandre Ayton is on all fours outside the locker room, barking like a dog.

«I'm the big dog,» Ayton specifies. «Without the leash.»

But before Ayton can complete his center-to-canine transformation, a chaotic yet beautifully orchestrated few minutes ensue inside the Suns' tunnel.

Mikal Bridges pretends he's slipping on Iron Man's armor — complete with an imaginary Arc Reactor shoved into his chest and palm repulsors that levitate him from one side of the tunnel to the other — where he's caught by a sea of Suns players before he smashes into the concrete wall.

Former Baylor tight end turned NBA power forward Ish Wainright cradles an invisible football and rushes a few yards forward before Ayton, still upright at this point, stops him in his tracks with textbook tackle form.

Fifteen players simultaneously execute 14 unique handshakes — curated for every teammate — in a dazzling display of synchronized muscle memory so impressive that the Euro steps and step-back 3s that follow on the court seem almost simple.

«It loosens it up a little bit,» backup big man JaVale McGee says. «Everybody doesn't have to be 100 percent serious when they go into the game, but focused. Focused and serious are two different things.»

As pressure mounts on top-seeded Phoenix to close out the series heading into Thursday's Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal against the Dallas Mavericks (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), the playful pregame routine has become a welcome release.

And a message to the rest of the league.

«We're the circus, and we pack up and move every day,» backup point guard Cameron Payne says, «because it's the greatest show on Earth.»

AS WILD AS the scene might