Now More Than Ever, the Suns Need Chris Paul
These sorts of moments were made for Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul.
That's why they brought him here, right?
The Suns are now heading to a Game 7 with the Dallas Mavericks, as the winner will advance to the Western Conference Finals after a back-and-forth series that saw Phoenix climb to an early 2-0 lead.
Yet after that 2-0 lead, the Suns haven't quite looked the same outside of a Game 5 performance that falsely convinced everybody in the Valley that Phoenix returned to form.
Part of that equation has been the drop in play from Paul, who simply hasn't met the standards he's set throughout his career in the last four games against Dallas.
Chris Paul: Games 1 and 2
Game 1: 19 points (7-13 shooting), three assists, five rebounds, one block, one steal and one turnover.
Game 2: 28 points (11-16 shooting), eight assists, six rebounds, one steal and three turnovers.
Chris Paul: Game 3 and Beyond
Game 3: 12 points (5-9 shooting), four assists, seven rebounds, one steal and seven turnovers.
Game 4: 5 points (2-4 shooting), seven assists, five rebounds, one steal and two turnovers.
Game 5: 7 points (3-8 shooting), ten assists, two rebounds, one steal and four turnovers.
Game 6: 13 points (4-7 shooting), four assists, two rebounds, two steals and five turnovers.
Considering Paul's recent history of strong outings in closeout games, his Game 6 performance was underwhelming to say the least.
Paul's lack of production in recent games has been odd, as no valid explanation has unearthed itself as to the sudden dip in efficiency. The 37-year-old point guard may be running out of gas after a tough few games to begin the playoffs, or perhaps Dallas has adjusted and pieced together a puzzle so difficult even one of the best point guards in history can't solve.
Regardless, Paul's inability to see the floor and successfully take care of the ball has undoubtedly buried Phoenix early in games.
Make no mistake about it, Paul is not the sole reason the Suns find themselves in a do-or-die setting. Across the board (starting with coach Monty Williams), the Suns simply need to be better in order to advance to the next round.
That might be tough with a hand injury Paul suffered towards the end of Game 6, although Paul insisted he was fine after the fact. Whether that was frustration or adrenaline blocking the injury has yet to be seen, yet that could potentially play a factor come Sunday.
The rotation behind Paul left a lot to be desired against the Mavericks on Thursday. In a combined 21 minutes, Cam Payne and Landry Shamet scored a combined 2 points on 1-9 shooting with two assists and three turnovers. Elfrid Payton and Aaron Holiday did not see the court.
As long as he's healthy, Paul is likely to see substantial minutes once again.
Game 7 presents one last opportunity for Paul to exercise his demons of recent memory. The slump he currently finds himself in is an odd reversal of roles from consistently great performances that have bestowed the "Point God" nickname on him.
“We’ll look at the film and see what we have to do better,” Paul said following Game 6. “The only saving grace in this situation is we get to go home.”
The Suns will continue to look for Devin Booker to lead the charge in scoring, while Deandre Ayton will be expected to patrol the rim and dominate the glass on both sides of the court.
Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges are in line to once again ground Phoenix's defense while providing extra help shooting behind the arc.
As for Paul, his duties will again consist of commanding the Suns on the floor, finding open players and hopefully knocking down some shots along the way. There's nobody else the Suns would rather have guiding their offense when the lights are the brightest.
Now more than ever, the Suns need Paul to dig deep and find that divine magic he's displayed so many times before.
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