For the veryfirst time in a while, the blazing-hot Suns dealtwith genuine hardship.
After losing Devin Booker to a hamstring injury in a hard Game 2 loss to the Pelicans, it appeared Phoenix was about to be put on the ropes. Perhaps the NBA’s top pure two-guard, Booker was their finest gamer — their MVP.
With the first-round series moving to New Orleans, how might the Suns potentially hope to win versus a scrappy Pelicans team (+2.5 favorites) without their most crucial gamer? They couldn’t. Another dream year for the Suns was messedup by horrible luck at the worst possible time.
But wait a minute. Chris Paul still plays for the Suns.
In a back-and-forth thriller, Phoenix — sans Booker — endured the Pelicans’ finest shot on Friday in a 114-112 win to take back the series lead.
And they did it thanks to Chris Paul putting on a point guard program.
14 helps, 0 turnovers for Chris Paul tonight. Almost had as numerous helps as the Pelicans (17).
Oh, and 19 points in the 4th quarter.
— Justin Phan (@jphanned) April 23, 2022
Let me reiterate this for focus: One (1) Phoenix gamer had nearly as numerous helps as the Pelicans integrate