In the first round of G3 in the Western Conference playoffs, Paul scored 19 points in the final quarter by shooting from the middle! In the absence of Booker, the Suns relied on Ayton's combination with Chris Paul to win over the Pelicans on the road. As a result, the first round of the playoffs between the Suns and the Pelicans, the score became 2-1.
Paul and Ayton's performances are superb, but without the Suns' overall performance, it would be difficult to beat the young Pelicans on the road.
Talking about the Suns' lineup this season, the Suns' lineup combination now looks very reasonable, with Paul and Booker's backcourt double core on the outside, 3D small forward Bridges and stout defensive big forward Crowder on the front line, and Gao Ta Ayton on the inside.
On the bench, Johnson, who has the potential to become the best sixth man of the season, plus the veteran McGee, doubles payne and Shamet, such a lineup and the age composition of the players should be the most reasonable in the entire West. Although the Suns' stardom is slightly inferior to that of the Warriors, in fact, the 5 positions in the Suns' starting lineup have extremely reasonable players sitting.
Looking at the Suns' starting lineup alone, it seems to be very similar to the Houston Rockets at their peak. The "peak period" mentioned here refers to the 2017-2018 season, which is the first year of the Rockets' Harden and Paul cooperation, when the two did not have contradictions, and the cooperation was very pleasant. Although the Rockets experienced a lot of injuries that year, in addition to Paul and Harden, many high-quality role players arrived, which also brought the Rockets to the championship level.
If the Rockets hadn't injured Paul in the Western Conference Finals G5, the team that won the championship that year would most likely not be the Warriors, but the Rockets. Look at the Rockets lineup at that time, is it a bit similar to the current Suns? At that time, the Rockets' backcourt double core was Paul and Harden, and now the Suns have Paul and Booker, Paul is still that Paul, although Booker's ability is not as good as Harden at the peak of the time, but Booker is a more pure scorer.
Looking at the front, at that time, the Rockets' Ariza and PJ Tucker were paired in the forward position, the Rockets had the 3D wing Ariza, and now the Suns have the 3D wing Bridges. As for the big forward position, the Rockets Tucker and the Suns' Crowder are the kind of tough forwards who are not tall, but extremely strong, and the style of the ball is equally tough. As for the interior, the Rockets have Capela, the basket guard, and the Suns have a more comprehensive and offensive Ayton, which is slightly dominant, but Capela and Ayton are both in the type of inner pillar in their respective teams.
Even on the bench, the Rockets had the best sixth man Gordon at the time, and the Suns now have Johnson. At that time, the Rockets' bench center was a veteran Uchai who often played a bright performance, and the current Suns also have a veteran McGee who just contributed 15 points in G3. The only difference between the current Suns and that year's Rockets is that Harden was the rocket's ball-holding core at that time, and Paul had to play without the ball around Harden from time to time.
But now that Paul is at the heart of the Suns' possession, Booker or Johnson, who started with Booker, is all right as long as he shoots and scores. Today, the tactical position of Paul of the Suns, compared with the Paul of the Rockets, can be described as "unabated", which may be the biggest difference between the Rockets of that year and the current Suns, the tactical end.
Then the Rockets at that time were close to winning the championship, and now the whole league does not have the super team of the Warriors, the strength is not inferior to the peak Rockets' Suns, if they can maintain their healthy state, it is not an exaggeration to say that this season is the best window period for the Suns to win the championship.