After Paul joined the Suns last season, they not only achieved a second-place record of 51 wins and 21 losses in the Western Conference in the regular season, but also defeated the Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers in the playoffs to unexpectedly reach the Finals.
It's just that because the Suns were reversed by the Bucks in a 2-0 game in the Finals, even if they got the second record in the West + reached the Finals, they could not convince the outside fans and media, and it was always considered that the reason why they could reach the Finals was nothing more than luck.
Because in the eyes of most people - if the thick eyebrows are not injured, the Lakers, who led 2-1 at the time, may have "pulled the Suns off the horse" in the first round; in the same way, if Murray and Leonard are not absent in the second round, the West, the Suns cannot easily advance to the Finals, and even have a great chance of being eliminated by the Clippers...
21-22 season: Playing the league's first record, I have to admit that the Suns do have the strength to compete for the championship
After the end of the 20-21 season, the outside world does not recognize the achievements of the Suns, especially in the case of the suns winning 1 and losing 3 at the beginning of the new season, losing to the Nuggets, Blazers, and kings - the outside world believes that the strength of the Suns last season was seriously overestimated.
But as the Sun gradually regained its form and ushered in a wave of 18 consecutive wins, the outside world had to look at them with surprise. Especially after the recent Fall of the Warriors, the Suns stabilized the league's first record, and the Nets and Lakers did not play dominance, who else would think that the Suns did not have the strength to compete for the championship?
27 points, 9 boards, 14 assists and 7 turnovers - Paul led the Suns to victory over the Jazz to continue to stabilize the league's first record
In the recent jazz vs suns game, although Paul played well in the first two quarters, he was able to get 8 points, 4 boards and 9 assists, but he rarely made 5 mistakes. If Booker hadn't made 8-of-13 shots in the first quarter and efficiently scored 17 points to maintain the scoreline, the Suns might have been pulled apart by the end of the half.
But even though Booker was brave in the first three quarters, he shot 14 of 29 and shot 33 points, 6 boards and 3 assists. But his fiery state did not continue in the final quarter, and finally the final quarter was 6 of 0, and he could only get 0 points and 1 board of data performance.
At this time, Paul, who was "obscure" at the offensive end of the first three quarters + high mistakes, broke through when Booker scored abnormally - a sharp stop of three points, a goal; a breakthrough to the basket, but also to score; a false shot, or can score; it can be said that in the last quarter Paul almost showed his arsenal on the offensive end.
Finally, when the Suns were in trouble in the final quarter, Paul led the Suns to a 115-109 victory over the Jazz with 5-of-7 shooting in the quarter with 15 points, 3 boards and 3 assists. After winning the Jazz, Paul not only helped the Suns to increase the number of consecutive wins to seven, but also further helped the team to open up the gap with the Warriors and continue to consolidate the league's first position.
Well, quasi-triple-double +7 mistakes! When Paul played the Westbrook stats, why did the Suns win unbeaten?
A single game of 27 points, 9 boards and 14 assisted the triple-double data + 7 mistakes, this data is not much different from Wei Shaoping's usual data. But when Westbrook gets the quasi-triple-double data + high mistakes, the Lakers always lose more and win less; so why can the Suns win when Paul also gets the Westbrook data?
1. As a top point guard, the quality of Westbrook's organization and assists is far inferior to Paul's. Although Wei Shao won the season assist king many times at his peak and doubled the number of assists in a single season many times, Wei Shao assisted for the sake of assists, and he simply could not read the opponent's defense like Paul, so that he could easily score assists from his teammates.
Instead, it is more like a carrying tool, the basic routine is to first carry the ball through the half, and then choose a strong hand or pass according to their own ability - either the teammate hits the shot and assists +1; or the teammate passes the ball, and the assist does not increase or decrease.
Paul, on the other hand, can read the opponent's defensive formation and predict the opponent's next defensive strategy, always passing the ball to the most suitable point to score in time. So whether it's Ayton, or McGee, Billy Berger, and others, they can all benefit from Paul's blessing.
This is also the reason why Paul, whether he goes to the Thunder or the Suns, is obviously averaging points per game, but he can help the team play the playoffs - because of his style of play, he can always maximize the offensive strength of his teammates.
2. Underestimated scoring ability, Paul is far more efficient than Westbrook. Although Paul has never scored 30+ in his career, he has never won the leading scorer honor. But his scoring ability is actually not much weaker than other superstars. Especially since the new season, Wei Shao has made unreasonable shooting choices many times, which eventually led to the Lakers' rout at key moments.
Paul, on the other hand, has always been able to maintain his sanity in his shooting choices, and although he averages only 14.2 points per game, his overall shooting percentage has reached 48.7%. He was even often able to use a precise mid-range shot at the key moments of the game to help the Sun harvest the game.
So so far, although Paul only averages 14.2 points per game, compared to Wei Shao's 18.6 points, there is still a certain gap, but when it comes to the influence of the offensive end, Wei Shao is now far inferior to Paul.
3, compared to the Lakers' flawed defense, the Suns have the league's top defensive efficiency. In the new season, in order to introduce Wei Shao, the Lakers formed a super big three combination and had to carry out a "big change" of the existing lineup. And due to the limited salary space, for young and energetic instant players, the Lakers simply can not afford a contract.
In the end, it was only impossible to bring in players such as Antony, Ariza, and Ellington, although they still had a certain offensive ability; but due to the increase in age and the decline in physical fitness, their defensive ability was already inferior to the beginning. The Lakers in the new season are also because of this defect, which has led them to always turn the tide at key moments.
In contrast, the reason why the Suns can achieve the league's first record in the new season is not because of how fierce their offensive firepower is, but because they play the league's top defensive efficiency. Otherwise, with their current offensive firepower, they will not reach the level of the league's first.
In summary, when Paul played the "quasi-triple-double + 7 turnovers" Westbrook data, the reason why the Suns were able to win was actually because Paul's assists were more valuable, the offense was more efficient, and the Suns themselves had defensive intensity, so the Suns were able to finally defeat the Jazz. On the contrary, if Paul and Wei Shao attack "pull the crotch", the quality of assists declines, and the Suns' defensive intensity is seriously insufficient; when Paul plays a Wei Shao-style "quasi-triple-double + high mistake" performance, the Suns will also be unable to escape defeat...