Back-to-back second away games, still playing in Denver on a plateau, the Suns were once cornered by the Nuggets' crazy acceleration. But in the end, thanks to jokic's successful defense, Devon Booker's killing performance, Mikael Bridges' efficient offense, and Chris Paul's return from injury with 17 points and 13 assists, the Suns beat the Nuggets 140-130 on the road.
It was the Suns' 60th win of the season, after which the Suns locked in the league and will enjoy home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. It was the first time since 2005 that the Suns had won the league top spot. It was also the third time in the Suns' history that they had won the league, and another time in the 1992–93 season, when they were led by Charles Barkley. With eight games left, the Suns have great hopes of breaking their all-time record of 62 wins in a single season.
There are always people who say that the Sun's success last year was due to luck. But this season' Suns have proven with their dominant performances that even if their success last year did have an element of luck, they can now beat all other teams by hard power.
The Sun Smashes "Luck Says" with His Own Hands
In last season's Finals, the Suns lost four consecutive games in a good situation of 2-0 leadership and were overturned by the Bucks, missing the championship. The Suns spent an offseason digesting this painful memory, but at the first team meeting of the new season, the new assistant coach Jarrett Jack decided to open the scar and inspire the whole team.
"A lot of people out there say, you don't deserve to be in the Finals at all," Jack said.
The Suns defeated the Lakers, Nuggets and Clippers in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and the opponents had core players injured. A lot of people think that the Suns are really good, but they also have a lot of luck in reaching the finals.
For example, Lakers star Anthony Davis, he said in an interview not long ago that if it were not for his injury, the Lakers would have instinctively kicked the Suns out of the first round. To this argument, Booker laughed contemptuously, and Yun Tanfeng lightly used the phrase "competitive sports have no ifs" as a response.
In the eyes of the sun, living in the past is a sign of weakness. Since the outside world says that solar energy enters the finals by luck, then as the object of doubt, all the sun has to do is to prove itself.
Last season, the Suns' overall regular season performance was inferior to that of many popular teams, and their 100-game goal difference was behind the Jazz and Clippers, and they had almost no advantage over the Bucks, 76ers and other teams. At that time, the Suns were 7th in the offensive league and 6th in the defensive league, and neither offense nor defense had reached the top level, and there were still big holes in the interior.
But this season is different, after experiencing a lot of injuries, the Suns still played the most dominant performance in the league. The Suns are no.2 in the league in offensive efficiency, tied for no. 2nd in the league with the Warriors in defensive efficiency, and 8.4 points per 100 possessions are unique, and they are the best team in the league to do both offense and defense, and there is no one. In the game that hit the key moment, the Suns won 30-6, the first in the league.
"We went through a lot of learning last season and we understand the importance of details, which is the key to our success this season," Booker interpreted.
The Suns' success this season relies on the accumulation of experience in the training process last season, as Booker said, and on the other hand, on internal excavation and external reinforcements. In terms of external reinforcements, the Suns have completed reinforcements despite limited space, and the arrival of Yongbo, Aaron Holliday, Javier McKee and others has increased the strength of the Suns and filled the loopholes.
"When I look around and look at this team, I feel like this team is getting stronger, we're constantly bringing in new players, which makes me realize that this is a stronger team than last season," Bridges said emboldenedly.
Coach Monty Williams was instrumental in internal digging, using multiple cards in his hand to play some new tactics, especially during Paul's absence due to a broken thumb. Paul was injured, coinciding with the injury of substitute point guard Cameron Payne, and in order to keep the team system running, Williams added the role of the wing players holding the ball to block the demolition.
Statistics show that before Paul was injured, Bridges averaged only 1.5 blocks per game, and after Paul was injured, he improved this statistic to 3.7 times. Cameron Johnson's blocking count was only 1.4 before Paul was injured, and then improved to five. This adjustment was especially effective in the hard battle of the Suns against the Bucks.
Last season, the Suns did so well that Williams didn't get the best manager. The battle for the best manager this year is fierce, and Williams is a big hit. American journalist Amik said: "No matter how you look at it, Williams should win this award. The Suns have the best record, are the most dominant team, and they have survived without Paul and Booker. No matter who plays, Williams can make the Suns play such a good performance. ”
Does Booker deserve an MVP vote?
Five years ago today, Booker faced the Celtics to slash a career-high 70 points. Today, Booker played in this hard game and played 16 of 25 shots in 39 minutes, including 2 of 5 three-pointers, 15 of 17 free throws and 49 points, 10 assists and 3 steals. 49 points per game is Booker's new season high, after his previous high was 48 when playing against the Spurs.
In the Suns' all-time scoring list, Booker surpassed Stoudemire Jr. to rise to No. 6 in team history, and it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Walter Davis to become the team's all-time scoring champion.
This season, Booker's performances are almost impeccable. Although Booker missed a few games due to hamstring injuries and triggering health and safety agreements, he still averaged 26 points per game plus 5.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks, shooting 45.9% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range. In these data, Booker's scoring and three-point shooting rate are the second highest career records, and its rebounds, average three-point shots per game, steals, and blocks are either career highs or tied for the highest.
However, such a Booker did not become a popular candidate for the MVP scramble. You can certainly say that Booker may not even be the Suns' most influential player, paul is. You could also say that Booker's high-order stats are not flashy enough, and the gap is large compared to Jokic, Embiid, and Antetokounmpo. But at the same time, Booker also has multiple reasons to compete for MVP.
For example, Booker is the chief scorer of the league's strongest team, he is the second most shooting league after DeRozan in the league in terms of shooting this season, he shoots 57% from key moments and 41% from three-point range, and the Suns are 22-5 in the game when he plays until the key moments. In Paul's absences, Booker led the team to 8 wins and 3 losses, and he averaged 28 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, shooting 52%, 40% and 90% of the three shooting rates, respectively.
Whether Booker deserves the MVP vote depends only on how the judges' voting criteria are tilted. The famous "Smiling Assassin" Isaiah Thomas previously supported Booker, saying that Booker, as the chief scorer of the top team, should enter the MVP discussion, which should become a standard, and Booker responded self-deprecatingly: "Thank you for your solidarity, but the voting standard will change according to the name of the player." ”
Booker's meaning is very clear, in recent years, the standard double standard of MVP voting is serious, some seasons look at the record, some seasons look at the explosion of data, and last season's attendance has become the key. Public opinion will praise the Suns' selflessness when they talk about their success, but when it comes to judging, they ignore the Suns players because their data is relatively balanced.
Although Irving, Williams and others all supported Booker's competition for MVP after the game today, from the current situation, Booker's competition for MVP is basically hopeless, and he may not even be able to enter the top three. But at the very least, Booker has great hopes of making it to the All-Team for the first time this year.
Many people may not have noticed that Booker has not yet entered the best team in his career, and last season the Suns were so successful that Booker did not even score in three teams. But this year, Lillard, Bradley Beale and Kyrie Irving have all withdrawn from the battle for the best team, and Booker should have a place anyway, at least in the second team.
epilogue
From a traditional point of view, the Suns do not have the league's top five superstars, and it is difficult to make a big difference in the playoffs. But the sun is changing conventional wisdom with performance, and The Athletic's famous Walden summed it up very well: "The sun has depth and height." The backcourt is technical, the flanks are outstanding, the system is disciplined, the defence is focused, experienced, and Williams is at the helm, is that not enough? What's more, they're far stronger than last season and the other teams have to be careful. ”