Sun’s postseason at risk – how to survive Game 4 against LakeShow!
Sun’s postseason at risk – how to survive Game 4 against LakeShow! With the Suns potentially facing elimination, they need to win Game 4. That is a must and something that needs to happen, why? Because if not then your defending champs, the Lakers, will take a 3-1 lead; and we all know where that ends up, right?
Even now there is some speculation and hesitation on whether or not the Suns could hold on, as in recent memory, the Lakers have done this before where they dropped Game 1 to opponents then came back and won the next four. Pretty impressive this round may be no different.
Recently, I have been on the podcast and saying what most of us are wondering and frustrated about: “What is wrong with the Suns and Devin Booker?” Plus, I had given my take on the Sun’s chances of survival plus if they have a chance without a healthy CP3.
While I believe it is over from the standpoint that the Lakers have done this before, they are up a game and they are playing in L.A. Imagine that going up 3-1 and not allowing Phoenix to have home-court? Wouldn’t that be something? That is a real possibility; however, even with my critical thinking of the Suns, I do believe they have somewhat of a chance left to tie the series.
What if the Suns do tie up the series?
Real quick, to answer this question, that would be amazing for the Suns as that would give them new hope and me being less critical. Less harsh maybe a better word for it, in essence. This would spring new life into PHX and show that we still have life, plus it would make an entertaining series for the fans. A small part of me still believes that the Suns can do it, that is the fan in me. However, again with the, however, we have many problems and my statistic side comes out and tries to analyze everything to see what calculations/probability they actually have of succeeding shots and winning a game.
Legit. While I have been harsh on them in recent episodes, I have praised them. But on this exclusive article, for content-members only, we will be looking at everything the Suns need to do to have a high chance of winning this game and showing their dominance once more.
Number one: What in the world is happening with Chris Paul?
If you have not heard the news by now you would know that Chris Paul suffered a shoulder injury; while people debate that it was a stinger, a contusion, or a labrum issue. What is listed currently is a right shoulder injury of those three possibilities; but the fact is this, he is not going to be fully healthy for the remainder of this round and even if they made it to the second – highly improbable.
Paul has not been the same since hurting his shoulder, how? Chris Paul is not hitting threes (nor is he even trying), giving up the ball on bad turnovers, shooting the ball inconsistently and with one arm, and not having the speed or toughness due to injury. While you may be thinking he should be alright with that injury, however, it is the complete opposite. Stiffness builds up during the game, his facial expressions look like pain every time he drives/moves with that banged up shoulder, and all that wear and tear in 20+ minutes he plays in is not helping.
Post Game 1, we have only seen Paul hitting a few shots, low assists, low rebounds, many turnovers, and less than 20 points in those two games combined. With that being said, you know something isn’t right with him.
So, what do you do now?
Well, many experts have been saying rest Chris Paul for a game and let Cam Payne take his spot. As I here more and more of that to surface and whatnot, I am actually buying into that as I have made a case for that publicly and privately. Why would it be a good idea? Here is the thing you can’t have a player go 28 minutes a game when he is injured and proving to be inefficient and worthless on the court (not his fault), all that is doing is killing their momentum, waisting their shot opportunities, and not allowing the other players to get a chance to help the team.
Now, if you were to rest Chris Paul I would have done it in Game 2 or even Game 3. Why? It is due to the fact that if you would have done it Game 2 that would have been fine because even if they lost the game at least your player got some rest on that injury; or even Game 3, Game 3 would have been good too as you would have given him rest and then could have evaluated from there. Because Game 2 and 3 were Phoenix’s worst game with/without on the court.
So, now why Cameron Payne? Cam Payne would be awesome because he is consistently putting up 15 points a night when needed and given the chance to. It is that simple, while he has made flaws and can’t have good court vision or passing skills. He does prove to be a good shooter at times and one valuable to keep your team on track. Like in Game 2 when he was the only one hitting shots and Devin Booker wasn’t feeling it. That is terrific and that can, and will, help.
If the Suns really believe they still have a shot – here is what they have to do:
Take the risk of sitting CP3, as he hasn’t done anything when on the court, and give Payne the starting position with increased minutes. Test him out, because if he can give you a spark and be a good point guard then you have something while Paul is recovering. At least give yourself a manageable chance of succeeding because by playing CP3 it is just killing his shoulder, worsening the chances of the Suns being good, and having more undesirable consequences happen due to this poor choice.
This is my stance on this whole situation, one that may be popular or unpopular. However, this may be the wisest and one that could give them the nudge at point guard.
Number two: Give De’Andre Ayton the BASKETBALL (it ain’t hard)!
The Phoenix Suns aren’t playing selfish basketball, one-guy basketball, or anything like that. No, not of the slightest. But they are missing something that will give them an incredible boost on offense, especially when CP3 and DBook aren’t doing so well.
Each game in this series we have seen De’Andre Ayton make ease towards the basket, slam it home and open the doors of pain onto the Lakers. At one point, I believe in Game 2, he was perfect of 7/7 from the first half. That is crazy to think that he was dominating so much over Drummond, Davis, and LeBron. Remember, this is the same guy that in Game 1 he went off for 21 points on 10/11 shooting… ON ANDRE DRUMMOND ALONE.
This guy single-handily does damage like no other big-man before. During the regular season we have seen Monty Williams using him correctly and using him correctly in schemes and play-calls; also, they have turned this first-round pick from a bust to someone they could actually use. That is all thanks to Williams and the team around him; now, that is significant.
Ayton – this is what it looks like!
To put this into perspective, let us look at this series: In each game we got 21, 22, then 22 points followed along with 10+ rebounds per game. That is very consistent and imagine those numbers if they kept passing it to him because he is not afraid to go after the rebound or loose ball. He is huge in size and his height is perfect for his skillset and capabilities. Truly incredible and if the Suns want to win this game, do what they did in Game 1 of this NBA Series. Which was? Pass him the ball and let him go up strong with it, trust me, it will work 9/10 of the time.
Defense he is good on, so now it is just the offensive work that needs to improve. That mainly comes from not being passed the ball, but passing him the ball more would be so significant as players getting warmed up could rely on the big-man to get the job done. That is what he has done in this regular season and now trying to get started again in the playoffs.
This is where Chris Paul came in handy, why? Because he was able to see that, react on that, and succeed on that. With. Out. Fail. Almost every single time did Ayton get to the basket open or slightly defended and got the ball. These shooting guards, power forwards, forwards, everyone need to start acting on that and seeing that like Chris Paul did.
The importance of Ayton through Chris Paul
Use what he taught you and what Monty Williams taught you. More Ayton equals more success when no one else is going; Drummond can’t stop him, LeBron is too lazy to do it, and Davis has tried. Ayton will battle, will grind, and will power through their coverages/man-to-man. He just will and he proves that consistently when given the opportunity.
Number three: Devin Booker needs to pick himself up and play efficient!
Just by the headline alone you know where we are going with this; this is not a take, a prediction, a bias outlook on things, a player we take our frustration out on. No, no, no, and no. None of the above because post Game 1, when they had Chris Paul, he has been very inconsistent and very lackluster as a player currently — on both offense and defense — it just been showing. Case in point, last game he went off for 6-of-19. What a poor showing for what is to be the franchise player, the player that would rise from the ashes and deliver us a championship.
Not exaggerating, this is real-life of expectations and what Booker thought he was going to be. He has been performing that way for five years now until these past two games showed up. When you finally lose your stable point guard and you have nowhere else to turn to, you now start to feel some problems creeping in.
He has been one of the best players in the league for several years, always entertaining us, always putting the team on his back, and always showing that he is committed and ready to work. Take last year’s NBA Bubble, they went 8-0 and shocked the entire sports world. Not an easy task, but Booker was there leading the charge and nailing everyone in his path.
We need the old him BACK!
We need that rockstar of a player, we need that old Devin Booker back. Booker needs to imagine that he is playing with Ricky Rubio as point guard not Chris Paul; Rubio is a bum, he can only do a limited of things where Paul is everything and has proven that throughout his career. But imagine for a minute that Booker wants to take over and he goes back to his original form. He needs to get past this curse of Chris Paul and play like there is no one else good on his team besides him and Ayton.
This is just a fluke but somehow he is letting that seep into this team’s mindset and his, this is self-destruction here and he needs to refocus. If not, then he will be sacrificing what this team has worked for the past ten years and what he has been striving for the past five years. This is a player that came out of Kentucky, off the bench, off something that didn’t look promising. He is also a mid-first-round pick that turned into something magical, special. He is electrifying, he is a sharpshooter, and a heck of a basketball player. This is the player we need and that he wants to be again.
That’s the Booker we want back and that the team needs and I bet you anything he will return to that old form of glory, because when the chips are down and everything is on the line you bet your life he is going to cash-in hard. Harder than LeBron, harder than Davis, harder than anything I have ever witnessed. What we have all witnessed.
Number four: Convert more shots and lessen the turnovers!
This is repeatedly being talked about but again this can not be said than a thousand more times; turnovers have been a huge effect in their game these past few games, due to inefficiency in transitions on the court, missed opportunities, fast-breaks gone wrong, and simply having weak passes. Everyone on that team has committed more than three each game and it shows that it has deadly outcomes, undesirable to say the least. Obviously.
Also, hitting more shots will come. However, it has not been easy due to the fact that they have been in a slump. But I predict that they will convert more shots. All they truly have to do is come out of the gates strong, have little to no mistakes, and control the pace. The Lakers are setting their own pace and hence making the Suns play by their rules and how they want to direct things.
If the Suns should control the pace of the game then the outcome will be different, they will be victorious, and you could hold Anthony Davis and LeBron James to less than 40 points and 28 rebounds.
While that is easier-said-than-done, I could see how this all plays out and we will know tomorrow by 3 PM AZ time.
Number Five (The Final Point): STOP ANTHONY DAVIS!
LeBron James has done nothing this series, sure he hit a few good/clutch shots but the real man and player here is Anthony Davis. LeBron is nothing in this series and the Suns have locked him down pretty good, for Anthony Davis not so much. Look, the Phoenix Suns need to put two guys on Davis. Maybe one center and power forward, two guys that have weight, height, and similar skillsets to Anthony Davis. Ayton and Crowder or Ayton and Payne would be a great one.
I believe you have to go with two on A.D. and two on Bron, why? Because they can both beat you with just one guy, and I explained this on the podcast of how LeBron can easily get past someone in multiple scenarios of just having one guy. Same with Davis because he can hit those catch-and-shoot shots, driving shots, or even those set-shots. Very dangerous.
That is why we need to use 2-3, 3-2, or even man-to-man coverages. While that may be good in theory to have those set and ready to go, you have to make sure to change up your plays. Make sure to mix them up as the Lakers do things differently and assess differently; they want to make sure they can confront your weaknesses and use them to their advantage. The Phoenix Suns need to be the ones to be different, decisive and controlling. If so then we can win Game 4.
Conclusion:
With all that being said, there you have it as that covers everything the Suns need to improve and work on. It won’t be easy as this is the Lakers with two superstars and a good bench, however, the fan in me is believing that the valley’s basketball team can home the dub. Plus, after talking everything out and assessing where we are at and how the team can improve. I’m very optimistic, not fully at 100%, at where we could be out. There are some areas I am concerned about and some I am not.
However, if they do use all of the tips (or some of them) and recommendations they will be set. There is a legit feeling that they can succeed and we will be covering it right here, right now! If you want more of Phoenix Sun’s articles, social media posts, you can find it all on CourtSideHeat. Plus, we will be covering the game post-game or during the game live on Sunday afternoon.
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