Beijing time on April 22, last season, Paul and Booker saw the opportunity to win the championship, unexpectedly, Saric's injury in the middle of the way made the team stretched in terms of personnel on the inside, if Saric can stay healthy at that time, it is difficult to say who can laugh at the end of the bucks and the sun. This season, the Suns have been reborn and strengthened, and after experiencing ups and downs, Booker and Paul once again have the best chance to win the championship. However, the same tragedy was repeated, this time injured by their core defender, Devon Booker.
In the second battle with the Pelicans, Booker accidentally strained his hamstring while returning to defense, and the situation was not optimistic. As we all know, Harden has been suspended for 18 consecutive games due to hamstring strains, with a rest time of up to 34 days, so Booker's injury has attracted the attention of many fans. Just today, Booker's injury was renewed again, and unsurprisingly, Booker will miss out on today's G3 with the Pelicans, which is just the beginning, according to Brian Windhorst, Booker suffered a first-degree strain on his right hamstring and may miss a 2-3 week game.
That said, Booker will miss all of the games against the Pelicans in this series, and the Pelicans are starting to see the dawn of the Black Eight. Under normal circumstances, healthy Pelicans (even if Zion returns) are difficult to pose a threat to the Suns, after all, the latter is the league's number one team, and the offensive and defensive capabilities need not be said. But because the Pelicans won two consecutive games in the play-offs, plus a 1-1 draw in the first two series games against the Suns, they were greatly confident, varan and Nance were getting more and more courageous, and they did not lose the wind in the matchup with Ayton, and the balance of victory was tilting in favor of the Pelicans.
Without Booker, the Suns' offensive responsibility will fall on Paul's shoulders, and the strength of this team should not be underestimated, but once Paul is caught, his offensive ability will be greatly reduced, after all, he is no longer the young teenager, and the final moments of G2 on both sides are the best proof. When Booker was there, he and Paul complemented each other, both of them had good offensive and defensive skills, and if one person was caught in the bag, the other could play as he pleased, which is why the Suns were able to sit firmly in the league.
Now, the Suns, who lack arms and legs, have lost their home field advantage, and if they want to pass this round smoothly, Payne and Ayton must stand up. Ayton, in particular, whose contract year is just around the corner, and if he can't step up when Booker is injured, I believe that after this season, not many teams will be willing to give him a maximum salary contract, at least the Suns certainly won't. Paul was too hard, and in the crucial moments of his career, injuries had become his curse, and fate was too unfair to the point guard god.