After an unexpected finals last season, the Suns have been completely reborn this season and are currently firmly in the league's number one position.
At the same time, the Suns did not stop reinforcing, and completed two very inconspicuous transactions on the day of the trade deadline.
Although these two deals may seem very small, the promotion of the Suns is real, just like the overall style of the Suns, which has always been a big money.
The first deal was for the Suns to send Jaylen Smith + a second-round pick to get Craig from the Pacers.
Smith, who is the No. 10 pick of 2020, has been a rim rotation player at the Suns without any actual improvement to the team.
In contrast, Craig is a very good wing reinforcement option, averaging 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season, and last season Craig also played in 32 games for the Suns, averaging 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1 assist per game.
The second deal was for the Suns to get Aaron Holliday directly from the Wizards using the injury exception (Saric) + partial cash.
To complete the deal, the team has cut Abdul Neder and Justin Jackson, according to Suns reporter Gerald Bourguet.
Aaron Holliday has averaged 6.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season, and his addition will undoubtedly significantly reduce Paul's pressure in the second half of the regular season.
As a result, the Suns' two deals look very small and don't involve any stars, but they are real for the team's reinforcements in the second half.
The return of Craig, a defensive veteran, just fills the gap in the flanks of the current squad.
Holliday, who can defend multiple positions, can not only relieve the pressure on Paul, but also relieve the pressure on the Suns' flanks.
After completing two reinforcements in succession, the Suns sat at home to face a tough battle against the defending champion Bucks.
Before the game began, the defending champion Bucks were in full swing, in the middle of a four-game winning streak, while the Suns won a small two-game winning streak after the previous wave of consecutive wins.
As soon as the game began, the Suns, who were sitting at home, gave the Bucks a slap to Marvel and established an early lead, although the Bucks have since caught up with the score, but the situation has been firmly in the hands of the Suns, and at the end of the half, the Suns have an eight-point lead.
The Suns continued to improve their offensive and defensive intensity, and the Bucks began to fail to keep up with the rhythm, and the point difference was quickly pulled apart to double digits, and then pulled away to 20 points.
During this period, the defending champion Bucks, led by Alphabet Brother, Holliday and Middleton, tried many times to catch up with the point difference, but faced the iron barrel Suns, the Bucks could only drink away from home.
The Suns, sitting at home, won 131-107 to defend the championship by 24 points, ending the opponent's four-game winning streak, while the team won three consecutive games, firmly occupying the first place in the league, leaving the Warriors behind them with 4.5 wins.
Looking at the suns' performance throughout the game, they can be described as a perfect integration of stars and teams, and the three stars perform their duties, Ayton 27 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block, Paul 17 points, 19 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, and Booker 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
In addition, Bridges had 18 points, 2 assists and 2 steals, Cameron Johnson had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, McGee had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and Crowder had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.
According to O'Neal's previous disclosure, the Lakers are satisfied with the current ranking, preferring to touch the Suns in the first round rather than the Warriors, but from the current situation, the Suns are obviously a more tricky choice, and the Lakers' small calculation is wrong.