The Suns summited the league first
How long does it take to go from a fish-belly team in the past years to a championship-level team? Today's sun gives us the answer, maybe just one deal is enough.
We all know that after the end of the Nash era, the Suns have been in the ranks of the league's fish belly team. After paul, 34, joined the Suns, the team has ushered in a qualitative change. Last season, they entered the playoffs in the second place in the West in the regular season and made it all the way to the stage of the Finals. This season's Suns have intensified and now rank first in the West, and also the first place in the league.
Paul - the god of point guards
At the time when Paul, 33, signed a $160 million contract with the Rockets, it seemed that fans around the world were saying the Rockets were crazy and that the Rockets weren't worth it. Even in their first season with the Rockets, they managed to reach the Stage of the Western Conference Finals, if it wasn't for that injury, the Rockets might have been able to go further, when the Rockets were the most promising team in the league to beat the Warriors, but Paul's injury changed the final outcome, and the Rockets were turned over by the Warriors in the 3-2 lead of the Western Conference Finals.
In the second season, the Rockets signed Paul on a top-salary contract and said the signing was not worth it. In fact, everyone knows that Paul at that time, if the Rockets did not sign with the maximum salary, there would definitely be other teams throwing olive branches. Maybe Paul was distracted by injuries that season, or maybe there was a conflict between him and Harden, all in all, the Rockets' performance that season was disappointing, and after the playoffs, he and Westbrook completed the swap, and Paul joined the Thunder.
As far as the situation was concerned, Paul's career was basically like this, and it was basically frozen. It didn't occur to Paul to bring a team to rebuild to the playoffs. Paul at the Thunder proved himself again, but that wasn't what the Thunder wanted, and eventually the Thunder traded Paul to the Suns.
Why is Paul the god of point guards? After Curry really started to succeed, he led an era where a lot of point guards were more focused on scoring on the court. Paul, on the other hand, is a typical organizational defender who always makes a team better under his leadership.
After joining the Suns, this was further confirmed. The sun that got Paul seemed to find a soul, Booker no longer brushed the score, and so did Ayton, and it was in this situation that the sun revived. The Suns are still one of the favourites to win the title this season, and Paul is playing very comfortably here. This season, he can average 14.4 points, 4 rebounds, 10.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game, so far he is the league's assist king, steals ranked third in the league, and the team record is the first in the league.
Paul, who is already 36 years old, has once again proved his worth, he is leading the game in his own unique way, he is the glue of the sun, sticking the whole team together. Not long ago, Paul's teammate Johnson said that when he had Paul on the spot at a critical moment, his heart was very stable. The older the demon, the more he describes Paul.
At his peak Paul had won 4 assists and 6 steals. Paul still has the opportunity to hit the award again.
Paul and James, also 36 years old (coming soon to be 37 years old)
This season's Suns have improved steadily under Paul's leadership, but the same 36-year-old Jan has been constantly facing various challenges. From the statistical point of view, Lao Zhan can average 25.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game this season, which is still very good. You must know that he did it with Wei Shao and thick eyebrows around him. His performance has subverted people's cognition, but I don't know if you have found that Lao Zhan's dominance over the game has declined significantly, he is no longer the old Zhan who can do everything on the field before, and the threat to opponents is much smaller.
Looking at Paul and James now, I really feel that Paul has taught Old Zhan a lesson, and at this stage of his career, maybe Old Zhan should use his own unique way to deal with the game. Don't try to take it all, the 37-year-old averages 37.2 minutes per game (second in the league) in the season, and because Vogel wants to play in the five small lineups, the old Jan also has to top the center position, which is really harsh for him.
There are always fans who are picky, and I hope that in a game like the regular season, he can put 100% effort into the defensive end, just imagine which players in NBA history can maintain the current competitive state like Old Zhan in the 19th season of his career, under the condition of being about to be 37 years old, and in the situation that he has played 50760 minutes?
Sometimes I wonder if he really doesn't need to win a few championships to prove anything, as long as he is still playing, and it is enough to play on the field in good health. I don't know what everyone thinks about this?