Although Chris Paul is likely to miss the rest of the regular season due to injury, Devon Booker also triggered a health-safety agreement. But the Phoenix Suns, which lack two big players, still show strong momentum. After defeating the New York Knicks at home with Cameron Johnson's whistle-pressing three-pointer, the Phoenix Suns have led the league's second-place Golden State Warriors, as many as 8 wins, in the regular season with less than 1/4 left, it can be said that the Phoenix Suns have basically locked the top position in the league.
In the past two seasons, the Phoenix Suns' ascent has been very rapid, and some people say that the arrival of Chris Paul has transformed the team, and I personally feel that this statement is somewhat one-sided. It's not that Paul wasn't strong, he did see the role of the sun. But in fact, as early as the closing stage of the 19-20 season, the Suns won 8 consecutive wins after the resumption, becoming the only team in the league that did not taste defeat in the park, but because of too much debt in the first half, the Suns still regretted not qualifying for the playoffs with a slight gap. But since then, the Suns have shown great strength, and it is only Paul's arrival that has taken the team to the next level.
So we found that although Paul was in a truce, the Suns' record did not show too obvious a decline, because the depth of the team's lineup was really good, even if the core performance was average or even absent, the Suns were still able to keep the lower limit. Take the game against the Knicks, in addition to the hit Cameron Johnson, Who continued to start on the top of Paul, Payne, who continued to start, was also in a hot state, he got a double-double stat of 17 points and 16 assists, and the personal offense and organizational tandem did not fall. As a former lotto show, Payne has been around in the early days of his career, but after coming to the Suns, he was entrusted with heavy responsibilities, and last season he became a surprise player many times, and last summer the Sun management issued a three-year, $19 million contract for Payne, and the two sides successfully completed the renewal. This season, Payne is still a reliable substitute behind Paul, whether leading the second team or occasionally starting from the top, the performance is remarkable.
The biggest advantage of the Suns is that they have attached great importance to the growth of young players in recent years, and they are indeed very good at cultivating rookies. Among the teams that currently have the top record, the Sun should be the most prominent in this regard. Former Champions DeAndre Ayton may not have performed as well as the same Luka Doncic and Trae Young, and the current market conditions make it possible for him to get a maximum salary contract, but Ayton is obviously one of the most balanced players in the new generation of centers. So far this season, Ayton has averaged 16.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 blocks per game, don't look at his suspension, McGee and Biyombo have done well in basketball and defense, but the threat and role on the court are still obviously different from Ayton. The contract extension negotiation is an offseason thing, but Ayton is really an indispensable presence for the Suns.
Like Ayton, Bridges was a rookie in the Class of 2018 when the Suns switched him from the 76ers. For Bridges, the Suns management has always been optimistic about him, and before the start of the season, the Suns and Bridges renewed a four-year, $90 million contract in advance. Against the Knicks, Bridges played steadily with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, which was his regular performance. Although the ceiling is not as high as Booker or even Ayton, Bridges is arguably the league's top 3D player, and his outside shooting and defensive ability are quite outstanding in the Suns.
As for Cameron Johnson, who hit the killer ball, it was a famous battle. Cameron Johnson from the University of North Carolina, due to the accuracy of the outside projection, coupled with the fact that he is an older rookie, has been nicknamed by many fans as Huang Zhong of North Carolina. And Cameron Johnson on the court does have the projection ability to walk through Yang, and in the game against the Knicks, Cameron Johnson almost single-handedly helped the Suns complete the reversal. In fact, even if it is not a killer, Cameron Johnson is also the best performer of the Suns team, shooting 11 goals in 16 shots, including 9 three-pointers, and slashing a career-high 38 points. As the No. 11 pick in 2019, Cameron Johnson has been growing steadily since entering the league, although he plays more as a substitute, but this season Cameron Johnson averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, and the shooting and three-point shooting rate all exceeded 45%, which was simply hot.
It is precisely because these players who are in the ascendancy have also made effective contributions, so that even if Chris Paul and Devin Booker are absent, the Suns still show strong combat effectiveness. Now people may have to start to admit that the success of the Suns in the past two years is not accidental, the so-called accumulation of thin hair, after a long period of sinking, the Management of the Suns is painfully determined to make changes, a large number of new blood coupled with the rapid growth of young players, making the Revival of the Suns seem logical.