Paul officially announced his injury during the All-Star period and may miss the rest of the season' regular season games, which is actually a very big blow to the Suns. You must know that the suns have been able to achieve the first record in the league this season, in large part because of Paul's perfect play. So for the Suns, in the remaining 20 games of the regular season, finding a player who can replace Paul's position is the most critical!
And in the game against the Knicks, the Suns found this player! Payne made 6-of-16 shooting in this game and had 17 points, 16 assists and 1 steal. His 16 assists were also his career highs, and with a plus-minus of +10 for the whole game, he was still in very good shape!
Although in the final moments of the game, his mistakes almost cost the Suns, but at least in regular time, he was able to make up for Paul's lack of offensive organization problems with the Suns. And the most important point is that he is a substitute guard, really can't ask for too much, like Paul's extremely stable players at key moments, looking at NBA history, how many?
For the Suns, they need Payne to be able to withstand Paul's injury in less than twenty games, and once Paul returns, he can get back on the bench! With Payne's ability, as a backup point guard for the Suns, he is still very qualified, and with Paul at the key moment, there is no need for Payne to control the ball!
Hopefully, the Suns can withstand the pressure of this game without Paul and Booker, and when the team returns, they will still be the hardest team to beat this season!