The Phoenix Suns currently are the favourite to win the Western Conference and contest in the NBA Finals. They received the favourites tag after they sent the Lakers packing in the first round of the playoffs.
They have been superb in their first two matches against the Denver Nuggets and with Chris Paul, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton firing in all cylinders it looks like they are heading to the Conference finals.
The Suns recently won game 2 against the Nuggets by a big margin. They won 123-98 with six players dropping 10+ scores. It was a complete team effort which shows that Monty Williams’ men are not overly dependent on the likes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker in every game.
Still, Booker scored 18 points which was the highest for the Suns and also finished the game with a double double as he recorded 10 rebounds. His exceptional performance was lauded by NBA legend and Analyst Shaquille O’Neal.
Chris Paul dropped a terrific double double against the Nuggets in Game 2. He scored 17 points and came up with 15 assists as he was the driving source in attack for the Suns.
Shaq started the interview by praising CP3 as he said, “Chris Paul, he is the best at getting people involved. I’ve had that opportunity to play with great point guards, nobody does it better than Chris Paul. He has the ability to get himself going like the guards with era. But he says you know what, I’m a great player, let me get these guys involved. We’re at home, guys play a little bit better at home… look-away pass, let me get them going.”
Shaq then lauded D Book for his heroics at the postseason as he is currently averaging 27.1 ppg in the playoffs. He noted Booker’s 70 point game against the Celtics back in 2017 in a 120-130 loss and admitted that Booker has similarities with Kobe Bryant.
“Devin Booker, we know what you did, we saw you spotted Mitchell last night. Hey. let’s see if you can match it. We need you to be aggressive, we need you to get buckets. Remember last year when you hit 70 at Boston, the world knows you can get buckets. Reggie said it was Kobe Bryant like, and I agree with him. So Devin Booker needs to be aggressive,” Shaq added.
With important matches coming for the Suns, they would like Booker to be at his best and considering his current form the point guard can be the major difference in them being the Champions this season.
