The Phoenix Suns surprised everyone by going a clean 8-0 once play resumed determining playoff seeds last season. It appears the Suns have begun to find their identity.
The Suns may have made one of the best off-season acquisitions with the addition of veteran point guard Chris Paul. Chris Paul has shown that he can slot into any team and prove effective by his ability to control a game.
The Suns have had major problems controlling the pace of the game, which means blowing huge leads and allowing teams to get too far ahead. This is where the addition of Chris Paul will prove most valuable. The Suns will now become dangerous by keeping a lot of games close and maintain their leads even on average shooting nights.
Expect both Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to make huge leaps in play this season. Devin Booker can focus on high percentage shots set up by Chris Paul which removes the point guard element to his game allowing him to move toward a true shooting guard. Ayton will thrive in the pick and roll game with Paul. He will naturally be open in the pick and roll, taking the ball out of his hands, which limits the number of turnovers that have plagued this team costing them games.
The Suns will have a strong season and will make the playoffs giving Chris Paul a shot at his NBA title. I would not choose this team to win it all, but will be a dark horse playoff contender and could advance to the second round depending on their playoff seed. I believe Devin Booker has a shot to win the Most Improved Player Award and recommend placing a wager if the line is +400 or above.
The Suns will have the ability to absolutely run up the score on teams. When playing middle of the road or bottom tier teams, lines of at least -5.0 or less will be hard to pass up. When confronted with top tier teams, lines of +6.0 or more are going to have value. Chris Paul proved this by his play with the Thunder last season by keeping games close, even against top tier teams.
I am projecting the Phoenix Suns to finish 47-35 and slot into a 3-7 seed for the playoffs.
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