"After Devon Booker was injured, the sun and pelicans' two best players in the series were both pelicans, and I don't mean disrespecting Chris Paul."
This is a quote from Draymond Green on the podcast, and presumably Paul will only give Green a classic black question mark face after listening to it.
Could it be that Green forgot so quickly what Paul played in the first finale of the Suns and Pelicans? Just because Paul didn't perform well on 5-of-16 shooting in the second game, he became a player inferior to Ingram and McCollum?
Paul responded.
On April 23, Beijing time, the third game of the series between the Sun and the Pelicans, Paul reminded the forgetful, including Green, of his horror. Throughout the game, Paul played 10-of-18 shots in 40 minutes, including 1-of-6 three-pointers, plus 7-of-8 free throws, 28 points plus 14 assists, without a single error, and he scored 10 points on the sun. In the end, the Suns completed the counterattack in the final quarter to beat the Pelicans 114-111 to take a 2-1 lead and regain home advantage.
This is Paul's declaration battle: with him there, the Pelicans don't want to finish the next gram. With him there, the sun had the courage to hold out until Booker's hamstring injury healed and returned.
In the final half of the fourth quarter, the game became the stage for Paul to perform alone. Think back to the difficult situation the Suns faced at the time: DeAndre Ayton lost his courage in the first three quarters and his lethality on the inside plummeted. The Suns' outside line is more iron than one, and no one can stand up and shoot in the middle of the position. What to do? Paul can only carry the offensive burden and take over the game with his best blocking and singles mid-range.
Blocking against Valanciunas delayed, Paul hit a steady shot in a sharp stop at the free throw line.
After the blocking, there was a delay by Valanciunas, and then there was a herbert Jones long arm interference, and Paul still threw the ball back slightly.
The Pelicans were forced to replace them with Larry Nance Jr., who had the more mobility, and Paul became domineering, waving his hand to signal all his teammates to pull away and watch him single out Nance Jr. As a result, Paul dribbled the ball in succession and then stepped back out of the shot space, hitting the mid-range shot again.
1:33 minutes before the end of the game, Paul made Jones a foul in the rear, but he still threw a throw to end the suspense of the game at the moment when his body lost his balance.
In the single quarter, Paul scored 19 points. In the whole game, 9 of Paul's 10 goals were hit by his own offensive ability. It was exactly the first replay of the series, when Paul scored 19 points and two assists on 7-of-8 shooting in the final quarter to lead the Suns to a pelicans' counterattack. Today, Paul used 19 points in a single quarter to lead the team to victory in a very unfavorable situation.
Who else is surprised by Paul's performance? This season, Paul has the second-highest shooting percentage at key moments, behind his teammate Booker, who shot 56.8 percent from key moments. It is said that DeRozan, Kevin Durant, and Ingram are big killers in the middle of the shooting, but on the middle shot, Paul really does not lose anyone, he shot 51.9% of the time this season. When it came time for Paul to take over, everyone knew he was going to hit a shot, but few people could limit it.
"He's behaving like this, and no one should be surprised because he was born for these moments," Booker praised Paul after the first game, "this guy is a real contender, a real winner, he craves to win." ”
Suns coach Monty Williams also said: "That's what he's capable of, he's a great basketball player, he's not just a great point guard. I've seen him play like this too much, he knows when he should step up and take over the game, I don't think I've ever worked with a player like Paul, he has an innate feeling about the moments. ”
The 36-year-old Paul is indeed in the twilight of his career, playing in such a good team as the Suns, Paul is more focused on the passing organization, and his physical fitness does not allow him to fully fire at once. This season, he is averaging 29.5 points per game to lead the league. However, that doesn't mean Paul can't score. After Booker's injury, many people worried about the Suns' offense, but the data shows that in the 736 minutes that were not present with Booker this season, Paul's ball usage rate increased to 23%, and his scoring efficiency not only did not decrease, but improved, and the score per 36 minutes also increased from 15 points in Booker's presence to 18.2 points.
Paul is also "helpless" for the outside world to always underestimate his scoring ability, he once said: "The opponent always 'invited' me to shoot, I have played for so many years, if I want to win it means I have to score, then come." ”
Of course, Paul's energy-saving explosion is also thanks to DeAndre Ayton and Javier McGee today who stepped up on the inside. After Booker's injury, various US media believed that Cameron Johnson would be the key when interpreting the Suns' coping strategy, because he averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game when starting this season, shooting 49% from the field and 42% from three-point range. In addition, Mikael Bridges will have more performances on the offensive end. When Paul was on a long sideline due to injury in the regular season, both men increased their blocking rights and performed well.
But unexpectedly, in the first three and a half quarters, it was Ayton and McGee who helped the Suns hold the situation. The Suns flanks and guards other than Paul collectively withered, the Suns shot only 4 of 26 three-pointers in the whole game, and in the case of the outside line, the Suns saved the production with Ayton's excellent finishing ability near the basket and McGee's basket, and the two used 28 shots to score 43 points, such an output was completely unexpected by everyone.
And Ayton and McGee were able to play such high outputs, Paul was naturally the number one contributor, and eight of his 14 assists were given to Ayton and McGee. The two centers held up production and Paul took over in the final quarter, which was the key to the Suns' third game.
After the Suns took this victory and regained home advantage, the outlook has improved a lot compared to before, and it seems that the Pelicans will not be so easy to achieve the next gram. Admittedly, the Pelicans have also found a way to attack the Suns' soft ribs, and they have been trying to create a misplaced attack on Paul throughout the game, consuming Paul's chances, and they have also continued to seize Shamet's defensive colander attack, and the effect is very remarkable. Bridges' long arms didn't interfere much with Ingram, and Ingram was out of control at mid-range.
However, the Suns with Paul are clearly the more experienced side. Paul Cain endured when he endured, and exploded when he should explode, and that kind of calmness was what the Pelicans would need to learn.
"At some point in life, we all face adversity, and all we have to do is solve the difficulties."
In the third game, Paul fulfilled his promise that Booker, who was recuperating from injury, could temporarily relax and recuperate.