Suns master class in decisive moments

Within hours of the trade that sent him to the Phoenix Suns in November 2020, Chris Paul had flown to Phoenix to meet Devin Booker and train at a private gym on a borrowed estate.

It was the offseason, but both men were in a hurry, eager to put down roots in something new. At 35, Paul knew he was running out of opportunities, scars from past star pairing failures marring his resume. Booker was beyond impatient, having declared he was done missing the playoffs in 2019 only to see another losing season the following year playing for his fifth head coach.

It’s only been 12 months since that meeting, but Paul and Booker seem to have accumulated years of chemistry building. That compression is most evident in ‘clutch’ situations; that delicate moment where experience is so valuable and where this pair of stars has already become a piece of clockwork.

Dominance in crunch situations is fueling the Suns’ tremendous start this season, which has culminated in a streak of 16 straight wins as they face a major test Tuesday against the 18-2 Golden State Warriors.

“Over the last year, we’ve learned a lot from each other,” Booker said. “Obviously, experience is the best teacher.”

They have an 8-1 record in those games this season. They’re doing it primarily with remarkable execution from Booker and Paul, who have handled themselves comfortably in roles as old friends.

Booker has been prodigious in crunch time, shooting for 73% from the field and 60% from three-point range. Paul is right there with him, shooting 67% while playing nearly flawlessly with a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and shooting 94% on free throws in key moments.

Looking at these situations, the confidence among the players is evident. While their close wins have come in different ways during the winning streak, the routine is that Paul knows where Booker and other teammates are comfortable and delivers the ball. And when Paul gets into a matchup where he feels there is an advantage, the other four players sense it and give him room to operate.

Suns coach Monty Williams had decided to let Booker and Paul go while instructing the other three players on the court, usually Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder, where to be to optimize the two stars. Williams and his coaching staff have studied how to create situations that allow them to survey the court.

“I just try to stay out of their way and simplify it for the other guys around them; I feel like that’s more my job than trying to choreograph everything for those guys,” Williams said. “They’ve been key players their whole lives.”

Paul has a decorated history of leading his teams to close wins. In his lone season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019-20, Paul was arguably the league’s best decisive player in the regular season, leading the Thunder to 29 wins in those games. He shot 52% in the ‘clutch’ that campaign and helped his back line teammates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shot 59%, and Dennis Schroder, who shot 51%, each have fantastic performances playing alongside him as Booker does now.

The Suns have benefited from their main core having spent a lot of time together. They had the fewest games lost due to injury last season, and their long playoff run helped. They also played a large number of close games in that span.

Last season, the Suns had a 24-12 mark in games that reached ‘clutch’ status, and then played eight more in the playoffs, with a 4-4 record during their run to the Finals. All that repetition in a short window has accelerated the team’s collective key time experience.

Booker had a pair of amazing performances in the playoffs with the chips down, scoring 47 points in a shutout game at the Los Angeles Lakers and 34 in a shutout game at the Denver Nuggets, before back-to-back 40-point efforts in the Finals.

“[Last year during] our playoff run, we learned a lot about each other and a lot about our team,” Booker said. “Finding ways to win is what we always talk about.”

Booker and Paul combined for 16 points in the final quarter in a crunch-time win over the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 6. In the ‘clutch’ against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 8, it was a Paul jumper to JaVale McGee and his timely free throws. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 15, it was two decisive jump shots by Booker and Paul’s free throws that sealed the game. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, Paul lobbed Bridges, hit his signature 16-footer and then made six free throws, all in the final two minutes.

“We have a great group, a great locker room. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Paul said. “It’s about accountability. If you’re not doing the right thing, it’s going to show. Coach calls it a pinkie showing up at a thumb convention.”

“It’s a middle finger convention,” Booker corrected.

As Williams added, “Accountability in the locker room is at a high level. Last year, someone might say something to someone and they might have taken it personally. This year, we don’t have much of that at all.”

The Suns have benefited from one of the softest schedules in the league to this point and some other breaks. For example: the Dallas Mavericks came to town for a two-game series, and star Luka Doncic missed both.

That’s because his playoff run was downplayed by some last season due to injuries to key opponents Anthony Davis, Jamal Murray and Kawhi Leonard. But Tuesday’s showdown features the first of three games between now and Christmas with the equally hot Warriors and a chance for the Suns to test their late-game momentum. The Suns have rarely shown anything but an all-business attitude during the hot streak.

“We keep our composure, never panic,” Booker said. “It’s chemistry. It’s team basketball. It’s fun to be a part of.”