Suns of Phoenix, the fulfilled prophecy and the dream of Chris Paul

The Phoenix Suns, undoubtedly the great sensation of the NBA this season, reach the Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks after confirming all the potential they treasured and with Chris Paul touching his dream of finally achieving the ring.

Hardly anyone expected that those Suns who in the 2018-2019 season were the worst team in the Western Conference (19 wins and 63 losses) could be championship contenders just two years later.

Yet rebuilding the Phoenix franchise has been as swift as it is successful, the young talent of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton has exploded at just the right time, and Chris Paul’s veteranism has guided a team that lands in the Finals as favorite against the Bucks.

The Suns have never won the NBA title and this will be their first Finals since 1993, when the team led by Charles Barkley fell to Michael Jordan’s legendary Chicago Bulls.

KINGS OF THE WEST

In this strange season of pandemic, grueling trips and multiple injuries, the Suns have proven to be a very reliable team, generous and full of offensive resources.

The Arizona team achieved the second best balance in the regular season (51-21), just one step behind the Utah Jazz (52-20).

That highly commendable second-place finish in the Western Conference, however, contained a poisoned gift for the Suns: facing defending champions LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the first round.

It is true that the Los Angeles team arrived very burdened by the physical problems of their two stars, but it would be unfair to underestimate the great display of the Suns, who eliminated the Lakers 4-2 with performances as prodigious as Booker’s 47 points in the sixth and final match.

Much more placid was his next procedure, as the Suns passed over the Denver Nuggets of MVP Nikola Jokic with a final 4-0.

The Los Angeles Clippers, probably the most rugged, inexhaustible, impetuous and unpredictable team in the NBA were measured in the Western Final.

The Suns also had to deal with Paul’s positive for coronavirus, which caused him to miss two games.

However, the Phoenix team showed great poise and know-how against the Clippers, got oil from very complicated duels such as the convoluted and very tough fifth game (80-84 for the Suns), and reached the Finals under the guidance of a magnificent Paul , which gave an exhibition of 41 points in the sixth game (103-130).

PAUL & BOOKER

The Suns have two main pillars: one is an expert in a thousand battles and the other is one of the figures with the most present and future in the league.

In the veteran part, Chris Paul stands out, who at 36 will play his first Finals.

The point guard was the star signing of the Suns this year to qualify for the maximum and Paul has responded with an exceptional performance to be the brain and the heart of this team.

At his side and only 24 years old appears Devin Booker, one of the most fit players of these playoffs.

The guard has looked like a lethal scoring machine to which, for now, no one has found an antidote, not even despite the fact that in some games he played with a mask after a blow against the Clippers.

In the inner game, center Deandre Ayton has taken an important step forward, while in the list of supporting actors with a lot of weight, the very physical Jae Crowder and the effervescent Cameron Payne have stood out.

In any case, the franchise’s enormous season cannot be explained without its coach Monty Williams, the beacon of rebuilding these fascinating and promising Suns and that this season he came in second in the vote for the best coach of the year within walking distance. from the winner, Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks.