An Anatomy on Pheonix Suns: Winning the Western Conference Finals and Road to 2021 NBA Finals
Pheonix Suns have just won NBA 2021 Western Conference Finals and will face Milwaukee Bucks at 2021 NBA Finals. This comes as a fitting crown for Chris Paul, the star Point Guard who reached NBA Finals for the first time in his 16 season career and has made Devin Booker a household name in all of America and a primary topic of discussion among NBA fans all over.
In their forty-three seasons, the Suns made the playoffs 29 times, posted nineteen seasons with fifty or more wins, appeared nine times in the Western Conference Finals, and advanced to the NBA Finals three times in 1976, 1993, and now again in 2021. Suns has reached NBA Finals only twice before in 1993 and 1976. In 1993, they were on a high, winning 62 games in regular season, but they were to face the Legendary Chicago Bulls team lead by Michael Jordan who were looking for a “three-peat” at the Finals. We all know how that ended, Bulls and MJ stating the obvious.
2020–2021 Season
Pheonix Suns was one of the NBA elites heading into the 2021 season after their impressive undefeated streak of 8 games at the end of 2019–2020 regular season inside the bubble. Despite them being the only undefeated team in the bubble, they missed out on NBA Playoffs for a decade straight due to the tiebreaker and finished 2019–2020 season at 10th position in the Western Conference.
Even then, they were not even in the top 10 hopefuls for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and championship rings before the start of the 2020/2021 regular season. Currently, they are undoubtedly the best playoffs team in NBA and has a 51–21 win/loss record in regular season finishing second in Western Conference Table. They have won 12 out of 16 games in the playoffs defeating main title nominees LA Lakers(4–2), Denver Nuggets(4–0) and LA Clippers(4–2) heading into the NBA Finals.
Team Roster
Monty Williams has been head coach of Pheonix Suns from 2019 and has earlier been head coach of New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans from 2010 until 2015.
Stats
The starting lineup includes Devin Booker as SG, Chris Paul as PG, Mikal Bridges as PF, Jae Crowder as SF and Deandre Ayton as Centre.
Booker and Paul were included in the NBA 2021 All star weekend but Booker was unable to play due to Injury. Paul was excellent in his game with Team LeBron during All Star Weekend.
Team Analysis:
The current team is built around star players Chris Paul and Devin Booker in such a way that they are given max attempts at basket. Mikal Bridges offensive role is to keep the ball moving and get the ball to the open man. Tough players like Crowder and Torrey Craig keep away the opponent defense away from the shooters and players like them were lacking in the Suns Roster earlier and can be found as one of the main reasons for not qualifying Playoffs in the last decade. Devin booker has an unique skillset which enables him to fit with stars like CP3 and Ayton quick and easy and he is also creative enough to sell an offensive foul. It is also noticed that Suns use the ‘Spain Pick and Roll’ play a lot and it has been highly effective with Booker and Ayton scoring impressive numbers as Paul creates the advantage.
Paul is the creator, uses his dribble to create advantages and scouts for space meantime. Bridges and Crowder are the maintainers, maintain the advantage created by Paul by spacing on the weakside and finding the open three or attacking a closeout to get all the way to the rim. Paul also creates advantage and gets the ball back after positioning himself to attack helping continue a beautiful possession of ball movement. When Booker and Paul was pushed into a corner and not allowed to play pull-up jumpers, crowder and Johnson stepped up and played their roles remarkably. Payne was able to step up when Paul was not available getting the ball moving and helping it reach Booker and Ayton.
Player Analysis:
Deandre Ayton: Ayton is a 7ft 1in winning center has become the vital piece the Suns are performing at this level, he makes the opponents miss and pick up rebounds towering over them and his brilliant performance at the rim offensively gives Suns the advantage of an additional scorer. He was drafted by the Suns in 2018 as round one, pick one but still may not be best player from the draft above Luka Doncic and Trae Young. But he plays his role brilliantly and is a towering presence on the paint. Ayton leads Suns in rebounds and blocks per game in both regular season(10.5 rebounds,1.2 blocks) and playoffs(11.8 rebounds, 0.9 blocks).
Mikal Bridges: Bridges is an underrated player for the Pheonix Suns who makes winning plays for the suns which enables Booker and Paul to score effortlessly. He plays his role on both ends of the floor and gives the Suns great production. Mikal played all games in regular season(72) and playoffs(16) averaging above 32 minutes per game, allowing CP3 and Booker to rest and come off the bench fresh to attack.
CP3: The star Point Guard worked his pick and roll magic to cut and dissect the opponent teams. Even though a significant amount of his points has come from long range dabbles or layups from near the ring, the mid-range remains Paul’s sweet spot and has given us some entertaining shots. CP3’s elbow jumpers have been a regular occurrence and the NBA crowd has gotten quite familiar with it. Paul along with Kevin Durant are the only two players in NBA right now who has 50% or more shooting percentage via pull-up jumper shots and this has been an important weapon in Paul’s arsenal this season. This has worked amazingly against Jokic and Nuggets who focusses more on drop coverage and guarding 3-pt line leaving the mid range open where the Suns won 4–0.
Chris Paul has been incredible the entire season averaging 16.4 pts, 4.5 rebounds 8.9 assists and 2.2 turnovers per game in the regular season and 18.1 pts, 3.9 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game in the playoffs. He has proved the $41M contract was worth every penny leading the Suns to their second ever NBA Finals. CP3 holds the record for highest free throw conversion rate with him scoring 93.4% from the free throw line in regular season and 90.6% in post season playoffs.
DBOOK: Devin Booker’s most preferred playstyles are actually quite spread out and has the ability to surprise opponents and catch them off guard. Booker’s most used playstyles are the ‘Pick and Roll’ and the mid-range jumpers both of which he is shooting at around 49% which is pretty impressive considering he has a 34% 3-pt shooting average to go with it, however he is struggling with his step-back 3-pt attempts a lot showing a significant decrease from previous year. His ability to spot players who are one pass away to score is noteworthy, however he tends to miss the long passes.
It was Devin Booker’s first NBA playoffs failing to qualify past five times with the Suns and it’s safe to say he has done good carrying the team as a leader by defending his team and scoring ’em points when CP3 was unavailable. Booker had been pivotal for Suns reaching the Finals and his stats may not be as impressive as Steph Curry, Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard but he is still the points leader of the NBA Finals Champs in both regular season(25.6ppg) and playoffs(27ppg) which should account for something. He is a complete scorer who can score from 3-pt, mid range, from the rim and is a pretty lethal slasher.
Jae Crowder: Jae brings experience, versatility and spreads himself around the field and isn’t afraid of some combustion. He was able to slow down the wings of the East namely Kwahi Leonard, LeBron James, Paul George which was pivotal for the Suns. He mainly plays defensive but has the ability to pass instantaneously and brings the much needed toughness to the team. His ability to connect with the team, boosting morale and mentoring the young guys was highly mentioned by Coach Williams. At the moment, Crowder is averaging around 10pts, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game and 40% from the field and 37% from 3-pt line.
Torrey Craig: Torrey Craig is 6ft 7in and uses every bit of it to guard big and small opponents and does not back away from playing physical basketball and is also able to switch screens and attack. He attempts to do his work early by preventing plays before they even happen and this shows his importance to the team by a possession to possession basis. Craig has found new life in the current Suns team after coming from Milwaukee Bucks an is an asset to the team. He is shooting around 46% from the field and 40% from the 3-pt line.
What’s Next…
Devin Booker is under a DRSPE(Designated Rookie Scale Player Extension) contract until 2024 and so Suns are safe in terms of a scorer for the near future. The team can only have two DRSPE contracts and therefore can offer one to either Deandre Ayton or Mikal Bridges and not both. Rookie Scale contracts can be extended during the off-season before the rookie’s fourth year in the league (the day before the regular season starts) and therefore needs to be settled as early as possible. A max extension for Ayton would start at approximately $28.9 million with the 2022–23 season (almost $168 million, if over five years). If the Suns were willing to make him supermax-eligible, his deal could climb to about $34.7 million in the first season and more in subsequent seasons. Bridges won’t be cheap either, with his next contract likely to be higher than the $20 million a year. It might become a problem for Suns if both Bridges and Ayton asks for a maximum deal. Ayton is the team’s defensive anchor and a steady, reliable scorer at the basket and may be a better pick if it comes to choose.
Chris Paul has a $44.4 million option for his last year with Suns before contract expires, which according to several rumor mills, he intends to decline with hopes of inking a new multiyear deal in the range of $100 million. Paul is currently 36 years old and not expected to play at this level for many years. Several sources suggest he can get a maximum of only a three year deal with Suns getting $41 million in the first year and around $17 million in the next two years. The New York Knicks are in search of a PG and considering Paul’s relationship with Leon Rose, now president of the Knicks, the Suns may have want to move faster for Paul before he slips away.
But keeping Paul, Booker, Ayton and Bridges is expensive and Suns may have to pay luxury tax, but they can save some money via trade with likes of Dario Saric, Jae Crowder or Jevon Carter.
Pheonix Suns has come back to Playoffs after more than a decade and they shouldn’t let finances get in the way of replicating current success at the Valley.
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