NBA Finals outlook: Suns players preview the Milwaukee Bucks
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Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
The Phoenix Suns are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1992-93 season. And boy, are they excited.
Asked if there was any moment that hit him that he was playing for a championship, Suns starting center Deandre Ayton said he was smacked right across the face when he saw posters of the Larry O’Brien Trophy hanging inside Phoenix Suns Arena during NBA Finals Media Day on Monday.
“It gave me goosebumps,” Ayton said. “I don’t know if I was a part of it, or I’m just here to look around or I’m just here for the NBA it do not feel like I’m a player right now.”
The wait is over: Chris Paul is in the NBA Finals with the Suns
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Trade Deadline Roundtable: Which Phoenix Suns trade is best? Which is most likely?
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Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Indiana played the Suns mostly even all night, but put together an explosive run in the third quarter to take down Phoenix, 122-111.
The game began with both teams playing at quite a high level, feeling one another out as you’d expect.
Malcolm Brogdon and Devin Booker started out on one another, and both players leveraged their advantages to go at each other for nine of the first 31 total points in the game.
At the same time, Deandre Ayton tried to use his hustle and athleticism to keep pace with Domantas Sabonis, as Ayton had a flashy assist and transition dunk while Sabonis scored seven early points.
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Paul has changed the Suns in many ways. We hear all the time about the effect his leadership, poise and work ethic have had in the Suns’ locker room, but equally important is the difference in offensive style of the Suns from 2019 to 2020. The macro numbers depict a similar scheme, the melding of Monty Williams’ Spursian “point-five” offense and trust in an efficient go-to scorer like Devin Booker. But under the surface, we can see how both parties have adjusted to put a CP3 imprint on the point-five scheme.
Start with how this year’s Suns team gets its buckets. A typical Suns possession with Ricky Rubio initiating the offense would involve a quick pick-and-roll, with weak-side action designed to free up a shooter or cutter. But because defenses didn’t have to respect Rubio as a pull-up threat, they could sag off him and clog the paint, or focus more on the off-ball action. Defenses this season have to worry that Paul will look to score