Smells like a champion in Arizona
Winning game two of The Finals gave the Suns an 89 percent chance of being NBA champions, according to the statistic for teams that go two-zip in the best-of-seven series, and they’re going to take the title perhaps as quickly as next week.
To say they are going to sweep is to jump too boldly on the Chris Paul train, but they do have everything to win a game in Milwaukee and return home next Saturday to close out the job and lift the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in their history.
They proved that in the first eight quarters we have seen, losing only three of them by a maximum of three points (quarters four and one, respectively) and repeating the dose of 118 total points to their opponent, which leaves no doubt how superior they have been.
The key has been their ball movement to involve all starters, who average well above double-digit scoring with the exception of Jae Crowder, and maintaining their sense of urgency on defense to limit the Bucks’ cast and make Giannis Antetokounmpo’s monstrous performance anecdotal.
Looking at it in detail, the way they take advantage in guard duels is what makes the Suns such favorites at this point, because both Paul and Devin Booker have maintained their consistency and each has been crushing in a game, surpassing the 30-point barrier and assisting in high volume, with no personnel on the other end reaching to limit them.
This Thursday, Jrue Holiday switched his primary assignment from Booker to CP3, and while he dropped his productivity from 32 to 23 points, it barely got him one less assist, ceding the other side an open door for Booker to take whatever he wanted, especially a pair of his seven three-pointers early in the fourth quarter that snuffed out any comeback attempt.
Now will come the Bucks’ answer and the natural thing is for them to win this Sunday’s game at home, but beyond whether they manage to put the series 1-2, the important thing is what kind of adjustments they make to get the Suns in real trouble that Monty Williams can’t solve throughout the series, perhaps being more aggressive against Deandre Ayton and taking him out for fouls in the face of Dario Saric’s loss and Torrey Craig’s injury.
It honestly looks very difficult for Miwaukee, simply because the Suns have proven to be a better team and because their individuals have not been up to the task of consistently hurting a defense that gives you nothing, with the exception of Giannis who on Thursday broke the mark for most points in a quarter in the Finals in 25 years.
Arizona has five more chances to win two games and their goal will be to steal one at Fiserv Forum, if they do it will be time to chill the champagne and officially celebrate the most consistent team in the NBA over the last two seasons, the one with the best record of all since the return to the game after the pandemic.
