The Phoenix Suns Have Problems
When the Phoenix Suns acquired Kevin Durant via trade in February, it created one of the most explosive Big Threes ever assembled: Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul. At least on paper.
Through his first eight games in Phoenix, Durant averaged 26 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 53.7% from the three-point line. Booker, the Suns’ leading scorer for the 2022-2023 regular season, averaged 27.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds, while Chris Paul put up 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in 59 regular-season games. Deandre Ayton also chipped in with 18 & 10 a night for the Suns.
The acquisition of Durant paid off as the Suns finished with the fourth-best record in the West after the regular season (45-37). To open the 2023 playoffs, Durant and company completed a reverse sweep of the injury-plagued Los Angeles Clippers squad. In that series, Booker erupted for a 37.2-point average, including a 47-point performance in Game Five.
While the Suns took care of business in the first round, they hit a stumbling block in the West semifinals against the conference leading Denver Nuggets. Making matters worse for Phoenix, Chris Paul’s seemingly annual playoff injury came right on schedule as he went down with a groin injury. He’s since missed the last three games of the series and with how things are currently looking, we may have seen the last of CP3 this season.
The Suns dropped the first two games of their semifinal slugfest before evening the series at home. Game Five in Denver rolled around, in which the Suns briefly held a one-point lead. The rest of the game? It was all Denver. Nikola Jokic led the way with 29 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, two blocks, and a steal for a 118-102 victory for Denver in a game that wasn’t as close as the boxscore might suggest.
Jokic Locked In
Nikola Jokic may have lost the MVP race to Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, but his performance in the 2023 playoffs has people wondering if they cast the right ballot. In the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jokic averaged 26.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, and nine assists. Those numbers have since gone up to 35 points, 13.8 rebounds, and ten assists in the Phoenix series. He had 53 points and 11 rebounds in their Game Four loss, showing that he has a keen sense for when he needs to be a scorer, distributor, or defender. Simply put, his basketball IQ is amongst the best in the game.
If the Suns want to force a Game Seven, priority number one needs to be limiting the touches of Nikola Jokic. The moment he has the basketball, he can throw an outlet pass in transition or run down the court better than most point guards in the NBA today. The only difference is the Serbian big man comes in a 6’11” package.
Unfortunately, that plan is easier said than done. Two things can be true at once. Booker can continue to have a historic playoff performance from an offensive efficiency standpoint. But it could also be all for naught if Jokic continues his all-world level of play himself. Unless Phoenix has a few more Landry Shamet supernova moments up their sleeve, then KD and Booker may simply be outgunned at this point.
The Suns’ Firepower Not Enough
In Game Five, Booker and Durant scored 28 and 26 respectively. The next guy to score in double digits was Deandre Ayton with 14 points in 32 minutes. That simply won’t cut it for Phoenix if they hope to move on to the conference finals, especially with CP3’s injury.
By contrast, six Denver players scored in double digits in Game Five. Bruce Brown had 25 points off the bench with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. each finishing with 19 a piece. Meanwhile Aaron Gordon posted an efficient 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.
It’s no secret that when Phoenix acquired KD, they were selling out all their depth to do so. They’re a top heavy team, there’s no sugarcoating it.
But even top heavy teams can’t be 2 man bands. The offense can and should continue to run through KD and Booker, but they’ll need the supporting cast to step up in Game 6, otherwise it could be lights out in Phoenix on May 11th.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Gobierno CDMX. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.