The NBA East-West Semifinals are in full swing, and the result of the current eight teams is: the Heat 2-0 lead over Philadelphia, the Celtics 1-1 Bucks, the Grizzlies 1-1 Warriors, and the Suns 2-0 lead over the Lone Rangers. To tell the truth, the least suspenseful group of these four sets of duels may be this series of Suns vs. Lone Rangers. I believe that many fans will ask, why do you say that this round of series is the most suspenseful? Just take a 2-0 lead with the Suns? In fact, the main reason why I say that there is no suspense in this round of the series is not because the Suns 2- lead, but because the Suns Paul is there, this article will focus on talking to you about Paul the player.
Before talking about Paul, I will take you to see the data handed over by Paul in the two semi-final games.
G1 Paul played 29 minutes, 7 of 13 from the field, shooting 53.8% from the field, 2 of 5 from three-point range, 40% from the field, 3 of 3 from the free throws, and got a comprehensive stat of 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, leading the Suns to a 121-114 victory over the Lone Rangers.
G2 Paul played 36 minutes, 11 of 16 from the field, shooting 68.8% from the field, 1 of 2 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the free throw line, with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Suns to a 129-109 victory over the Lone Rangers.
Paul scored a total of 69 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in both games. There is no doubt that Paul's data is really not shiny enough if you look at the data alone. Even, Paul's numbers were not as bright as Booker's. However, I would like to say that Paul's role is that the data cannot be reflected, especially Paul's data cannot be reflected in the score. Now, I'll talk to you about how important Paul's role in the sun was.
I don't know, after these two games, what kind of evaluation do people have about Paul? Anyway, my evaluation of Paul is only 7 words, that is, "stability, control field, big heart". Let's start with stability. Fans who have watched the game will know that Paul generally does not take the initiative to score in the opening stages, and his desire to score is not too strong. To put it bluntly, Paul basically sorted out the team's attack first, using his overall view and passing ability to revitalize the team's attack. However, once it enters the stalemate stage of the game, once the Suns are in a scoring dilemma, Paul will stand up and take over the game, and Paul's offense during this period is very stable. Take the G2 game, for example, Paul directly defeated the Lone Ranger in the key third quarter of 6 of 6, and directly subdued Doncic.
After talking about stability, let's talk about controlling the field. I believe everyone knows very well that Paul has always been the top master of the league, especially in the playoffs, Paul's ability to control the field is top-notch. I don't know if you've ever found that as long as the Suns can lead into the fourth quarter, it will be difficult for the Lone Rangers to complete the turnover, which is especially important in the G1 game. Finally, there's the big heart, and a lot of players in the NBA are very relaxed at scoring goals when it doesn't matter, but once they get into the final game, their offensive efficiency drops very noticeably. Paul, on the other hand, became more and more stable the more critical the moment, and the more decisive the moment, the more daring he dared to shoot. To borrow a phrase from fans, "Paul was born for the key ball".
Speaking of which, I can't help but think that at the beginning of the season, the general manager of the NBA team was the best leader in the active league, and paul was elected the best leader of the team in their hearts with 43% of the vote (the other three were James 20%, Lillard 17%, and Alphabet Brother 10%). I believe that at that time, many people were very disapproving of this investigation. However, so far in the season I just want to say that the general managers are right, paul is worthy of the best team leader in the squad. At the same time, I also believe that Ben Ishoe can reach the finals again under Paul's leadership.