The two series, which were supposed to be without suspense, have now become confusing. One is the Suns and the other is the Bucks. In the first round of the playoffs, the Suns and Bucks were both favourites to win the championship, and both teams were also the teams that competed for the championship last season. The Suns have soared in strength after Paul joined, and this season has reached the playoffs with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses, ranking first in the West. The Eastern Bucks, although not as good as last season, are also the third-place team in the East.
The Suns are now Booker's main scorer, Paul plays the point guard, making the Suns' offense orderly, although the inside line Ayton has not met the team's expectations, but the defensive role on the inside can not be ignored. In the first round of the Suns against the Pelicans, it can be said that basically as long as the Suns play normally, the pelicans are unlikely to win, and the Pelicans' other core star Zion has also been reimbursed for the season due to injury early. Thought the winner was in his hands, but now in the second match, Booker suffered a first-degree strain of hamstring and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. That said, in the next game against the Pelicans, Booker will be all absent. This also makes the game more suspenseful.
Facing the Suns without Booker, the Pelicans' defensive focus will naturally be on Paul. Paul has to juggle both organization and scoring, and for today's age, although Paul often has a good performance, it is definitely a test for Paul's physical strength. If the Suns can't find a second powerful offensive point in a short period of time, it's hard to say who wins or loses against the Pelicans. Now we can only hope that the Suns will be able to get through the storm and persist until Booker returns. Whether it's Payne or Ayton, the team needs them to be able to stand up and share more of the pressure on the offensive end.
On the other side, the Bucks are now tied 1-1 with the Bulls. The Bulls are gaining momentum this season, with the addition of DeRozan, Caruso and Ball making the team full of vitality and a very balanced distribution of strengths. The Bulls are also one of the favourites to win this season. Now in the second game, Middleton suffered a knee ligament sprain and an assessment was made within two weeks to confirm a missing all games against the Bulls. Therefore, for the Bucks, the situation is also very unfavorable today. Moreover, in the last two games, the bulls' core star DeRozan has performed very well, with great momentum to become more and more courageous. Especially in the second game against the Bucks, DeRozan scored 41 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal, and his performance was very good. So now, the situation in the playoffs has become confusing, whether it is the Suns or the Bucks, what awaits them will be a fierce battle.