Three Keys to a Suns Victory Over the Hawks
The Phoenix Suns face-off against the Atlanta tonight at 8 PM MST in hopes to win their second consecutive game.
What will the Suns need to do in order to defeat Atlanta?
Contain Trae Young
It is obvious that the Hawks main offensive weapon is Trae Young. He is having a fantastic season averaging 27.2 points and 9.9 assists.
Young is probable to play and should be Phoenix’s primary target in stopping. While the Hawks do have other weapons on the court such as Dejounte Murray and De’Andre Hunter, Young is the vocal point of their offensive strategy so if they laser in on stopping him, Atlanta should get rattled causing them to struggle scoring the basketball.
In Young’s past five games, he has scored over 20 points in all of them so it will be critical for the Suns to try and contain that or else the game could very well get out of hand.
It is up to Monty Williams to figure out an effective defensive scheme that is focused on preventing Young from scoring.
Keep Chris Paul Going
Ever since Chris Paul returned to the Suns lineup on Jan. 22, he has been on fire propelling the Suns to multiple wins.
Over his last five games since coming back from injury, the 37-year-old point guard has been phenomenal, averaging 21.6 points, 10.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Phoenix has managed to win four out of those five matchups.
With Devin Booker still out of the lineup, Paul will again have to rack up the stat sheet if the Suns want to beat Atlanta.
Paul and Young are arguably the two best players on the court so the game may go down to who plays better between the two point guards.
Bench Support
Despite Phoenix’s starting five producing at a high level, the bench has not been doing their part.
Through the Suns’ past three games, nobody on the bench has been able to score over 15 points. Yet in their win over Toronto, combined efforts from Dario Saric and Damion Lee were enough to help the Suns edge out a victory.
Paul, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and Deandre Ayton are playing consistent basketball up to this point but the bench will have to step up regardless of their performance.
With guys like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu anchoring the Hawks' second unit, it will be crucial for the Suns bench to match their level of play.
