The Point God of the Suns
Chris Paul had 39 assists and four turnovers over his last three games. The Point God of the Suns is as dominant as ever.
About last night...
In last year's Finals run, Chris Paul got injured and contracted COVID. He looked completely worn down by the end, and his Suns felt the wrath of Giannis' historic dominance.
This season, 36-year-old Chris Paul has looked as youthful as ever, and the Suns have the best record in the league thanks to his mastery of the point guard position. Check out what the Point God has been doing lately:
You and I both know the Suns are an excellent team. Wanna know why? Because you could make an argument for CP3 or Booker being their best player on any given night. It's not a Tatum-Brown situation, where both are so similar that they can feel redundant.
Both Paul and Booker are masters of the mid-range, but Paul's dime-dropping has been on another level. With last night's performance, CP3 passed Isiah Thomas for fifth-most games with 15+ assists in NBA history.
The Suns are another six-game winning streak. They're the only team yet to reach double-digit losses, sitting at a comfortable 36-9 — and it would take Golden State, Memphis, or Utah going on a crazy streak to usurp them from the top spot.
Is it coincidence that Phoenix has became one of the best regular season teams over the past two years? No, it's not — because Chris Paul, the Point God of the Suns, gets the absolute most out of his squads.
Yesterday, we talked about Grayson Allen and his inability to lean into the villain role. It appears we didn't go at him hard enough:
Caruso continued to play in the game, which makes this even crazier. The Bulls are now without Ball and Caruso for an extended period of time, along with Patrick Williams. LaVine is still working his way back from a knee injury.
The injury to Caruso puts the Bulls at an even tougher spot, now that the Bucks are only a half-game back in the standings.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA does in fact take into account how long Caruso will be sidelined for when deciding how long Allen will be punished. The main issue lays in the fact that Allen has done this so many times before, and that Caruso told the press that Allen didn't come to help or check on him after the incident.
Alex Caruso stayed in the game with a broken wrist. And he didn't just sit in the corner, or switch onto a less formidable opponent. He tried to get after Giannis, Middleton, and any other Buck that got in his way:
The NBA needs to set a harsh precedent for Allen. The play opens the conversation as to why the league hasn't been fining or suspending player for dirty plays in the past. I know there's a segment of NBA fans who want it to go back to the late 1980s, where punches and body slams were the norm — but that's the past, and for now, the feel-good Bulls are without another key cog in their machine. And that makes me sad.
SCORES, STATS, AND NOTES
Bucks 133, Kings 127 — Allen dodged the game with "right hip soreness" and coach Mike Budenholzer told the media "Grayson has been nothing but great for us." Without Giannis, Middleton and Holiday stepped up with a combined 60 points and clutch plays down the stretch. Tyrese Haliburton racked up 24 points and 12 assists in the loss.
Cavaliers 94, Thunder 87 — Evan Mobley pulled in 17 rebounds! If you've ever played basketball in the pool, or on a short rim against children, you know exactly how Jarrett Allen feels in this very moment:
Suns 113, Pacers 103 — The Pacers, without six of their top guys, have been giving good teams hell lately. The Suns held on, but this was one closer than expected. Mikal Bridges led the way with 23, and Bismack Biyombo dropped 21 and 13 boards in Ayton's absence.