The NBA regular season continued, the Suns defeated the Raptors 99-95, and the Suns guard Paul scored 15 points, 12 assists and 5 steals, and 4 points and 2 assists at key moments, contributing to the Suns' victory again.
This isn't the first time Paul has stepped up at a critical moment this season. According to the NBA's official definition of a key moment, when the point difference is within 5 points, the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter to the moment after the end of the game are the key moments. And in the key moments, Paul's current performance is very good.
So far this season, Paul has experienced 17 key games with the Suns, and the Suns' record is 14 wins and 3 losses. Paul averaged 3.3 minutes per game in key moments, averaging 3.1 points and 1.2 assists per game and shooting 53.6 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, Paul's overall plus-minus at key moments reached +55, ranking first in the league and tied for first place in the league with Kuzma. Kuzma, though, has experienced 21 crucial games, four more than Paul. At the same time, Kuzma's total appearance time in key moments reached 87 minutes, far exceeding Paul's 56 minutes, and the number of shots and other statistics was also higher.
The 36-year-old Paul played out rather easily, and by May he was a 37-year-old veteran. Unlike James, Paul has experienced many injuries in his career, as a small man with a height of only 1.83 meters, Paul wants to stand out, and if he wants to stand out from the elderly, he must bear a price far beyond what his body can bear, and for this reason, he has also been injured frequently.
But in recent seasons, he has completely escaped injuries and has made far more appearances than ever before. Moreover, his personal performance is still top-notch.
This season, he averaged 14 points, 10.1 assists and 2 steals per game, a new high in the last seven seasons, and steals to tie the new high in the last six seasons. More notably, Paul's assists are currently ranked first in the league and steals are tied for second in the league. If it weren't for the declining number of shots, Paul would have played better on the offensive end.
And, when the Suns needed themselves, Paul always played well and could lead his teammates to do well. Against Curry's Warriors, he had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Beating the Nets led by Durant and Harden, he contributed 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. A big win over the Lakers with James, Westbrook and Davis at the start of the season put him with 23 points, 14 assists and five steals.
It is also because of Paul's excellent performance that the Suns are currently ranked first in the league, pushing the Warriors team with Curry and Thompson. If you continue to play like this, Paul and the Suns can continue to compete for the championship.