On May 6, Beijing time, before Paul's arrival, Phoenix was dead silent, and Booker had a skill, but in the five years since he entered the league, he has never been able to personally lead the team to the playoffs. Last year, Paul's arrival changed all that, he not only gave Booker a taste of the playoffs, but even led the team to the Finals, Paul to Booker, just like James to Irving. Although he rubbed shoulders with the coveted championship, Paul has demonstrated his value, not only to make the team achieve good results, but also to make Booker better.
Paul taught Booker what leadership is. This year, the Suns have once again refreshed the perception of them, and under the leadership of Paul and Booker, they have achieved a record of 64 wins and 18 losses, which is the first in the league and the best record in team history. Paul proved to be the catalyst this team needed, and his partnership with Booker was a match made in heaven, and the addition of CP3 made the latter more confident and taught him how to help his teammates become better.
Not only did the Suns make it to the Western Conference semifinals, but in the first two games of the series, they led the Lone Rangers 2-0, and judging from the encounters between the two sides, it can be said that Paul and Booker have stepped into the Western Conference Finals with one foot, and it seems that they are not far from the championship. And in another city in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers are struggling, trailing the Miami Heat at a 0-2 deficit, with Harden underperforming in the first two games of the series, averaging just 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game and shooting just 39.3 percent from the field.
The Suns are in stark contrast to the 76ers, who are heading toward the Western Conference Finals and the latter on their way home. Harden began to go downhill after leaving the Rockets, he had a bad time with the Nets, came to the 76ers after a sweet period, and now his form is worrying, due to poor performance, the beard has also been pushed to the cusp, almost no fans think he can return to the top. Look at Paul, after leaving the Rockets, he regained his second spring, averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in the first two games of the semifinals, shooting 62.1% from the field.
Obviously, Harden's performance is not at the same level as Paul's. So far in this year's playoffs, Paul has averaged 22.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game, shooting 58.0% from the field, and Hass averaged only 18.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 9.4 assists, shooting only 40.2% from the field. You know, Harden is only 32 years old this year, and Paul is already 36 years old. The two had a brief stint with the Rockets, but unfortunately, Paul was often injured at key moments, so the dream of the "Bulb Combination" championship was shattered.
Before leaving the Rockets, Paul had made overtures to Harden, he thought that they should be able to fulfill their dreams for another year, but Harden had enough, he was young and crazy at the time, thinking that Paul could not help him win the championship, so the pressure on the management forced Paul away, after Paul left, the combination of Harden and Westbrook directly stopped in the first round. If Harden could have given Paul a little more time at that time, maybe both of them had rings in their hands, look at Philadelphia's current record, and then look at the Suns' record, Harden is now even too late to regret it.