Stop me if you’ve heard this before — a Chris Paul-led team, following a successful regular season, is going to have a promising postseason run altered by an injury.
A HAMSTRING injury, more precisely.
You’ve seen this movie before. First, Chris Paul’s own hammy failed him as a Clipper back in 2015, and then once again as a Rocket in 2018. But the cruel twist, this time around, is that it’s his teammate, Devin Booker, who pulled up lame with a grade 1 hamstring strain that will reportedly keep him out of action and on the sidelines for the next two to three weeks.
Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker likely to miss Games 3 and 4 vs. New Orleans Pelicans with mild hamstr… – via @ESPN App https://t.co/UlSJzlmR6j
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 20, 2022
So, what now? How does a 64-win team with the NBA’s best regular-season record move forward without its best player? The answer — the whole must be greater than its remaining parts.
You look on paper and see that 26.8 points and 4.8 assists per game are suddenly now gone. And then you scroll farther and see what remains is five players averaging more than 10.0 points per game, including one of the game’s greatest floor generals in Chris Paul.
Regular-Season Stats (2021-22):
Deandre Ayton (C) — 17.2 PTS 10.2 REB
Chris Paul (PG) — 14.7 PTS 10.8 AST
Mikal Bridges (SF) — 14.2 PTS 4.2 REB
Cam Johnson (SF) — 12.5 PTS 2.5 3PM
Cam Payne (PG) — 10.8 PTS 4.9 AST
Such depth enabled the Suns to still be successful during the regular season, where they were a top-10 defense and a top-4 offense despite Devin Booker missing 14 games and Chris Paul missing 17.
But the playoffs are a different animal. There are no Portland Trail Blazers and OKC Thunder type of teams that you can roll out of bed and beat by 30-plus points. This is the NBA playoffs, where the better team usually comes out on top in a best-of-seven series. And there can be a legitimate debate on which roster (injuries taken into account) is currently better.
Best record this season:
1.000 — Suns when leading after 3Q
.895 — Suns vs below .500 teams
.842 — Suns in the clutch
.816 — Suns
.737 — Suns vs .500 teams
.733 — Suns without CP3
.727 — Suns without BookerThe only team that can beat them is Grizzlies without Ja (.905). pic.twitter.com/kDAR3jiZem
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 31, 2022
You can do your player rankings for the matchup and ultimately conclude which team is better situated to outlast the other. And while I believe the Suns can be good enough as a unit (even without Booker), Chris Paul has to control the game and be the top-3 all-time NBA point guard that the league has ever seen, which is a tall task for the soon-to-be 36-year-old.
Paul had a phenomenal showing in Game 1 (30 points, 10 assists, three steals and one fourth-quarter takeover). But he did that playing off of Booker and by picking his spots, as he did throughout the regular season. He won’t have that luxury for the time being. Will he be able to overcome and get the Suns to Round 2 while Booker gets healthy?
Phoenix has no choice but to find out.
CP3 went FULL POINT GOD in Q4 dropping 19 points to secure the Game 1 victory for the @Suns! #RallyTheValley@CP3: 30 PTS, 7 REB, 10 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK, 4 3PM
GAME 2: PELICANS/SUNS – 10:00pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/rsM5JEFK2G
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2022
Game Lines (Game 3)
All odds via Tipico Sportsbook
Spread: Phoenix Suns -1.5 (-115)
Moneyline: Phoenix Suns (-130), New Orleans Pelicans (+105)
Point Total: Over 225.5 (-110), Under 225.5 (-110)
Futures
NBA Championship Winner: Phoenix Suns (+330), New Orleans Pelicans (+10000)
Western Conference Winner: Phoenix Suns (+190), New Orleans Pelicans (+3000)
