Earlier today on First Take, Stephen A. Smith had a lot to say in regard to the Suns’ turnaround in the series against the Nuggets including giving star player Devin Booker props by calling him the “Lightskin Mamba”.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!However, when it came to giving his reasoning for who is responsible for the Suns’ 2-2 turnaround in the series he didn’t pick Booker or star teammate Kevin Durant. He picked Chris Paul who hasn’t played since Game 2 as he’s nursing a groin injury.
Smith went on to say the reasoning for him being the reason why he’s a big reason for wins is because he hasn’t been playing and he believes the pace on the floor with him slows the game down.
"Devin Booker is the real deal… [But] he's not the biggest reason the Suns have tied this series… [Chris Paul has] not played… If he were playing, the pace would have been slower & Monty Williams would not have used his bench."
— Stephen A. Smithpic.twitter.com/oOPtWxednU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 8, 2023
Stephen A. Smith says the Suns are playing better without Chris Paul and it’s a big reason why Phoenix tied the series at 2-2
“If he were playing, the pace would have been slower.”
(Via @FirstTake ) pic.twitter.com/wrPU6V6pdu
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 8, 2023
The pace on the floor for the Suns has definitely changed since Cameron Payne entered the starting lineup. But the biggest reasoning for why Smith is choosing Paul as the most important storyline isn’t because of his game, but because it forced head coach Monty Williams to play his bench more minutes.
The bench over the last two games combined has scored 62 points. To put this in perspective, before game 3, the Suns bench as a whole was only averaging 14 PPG which at the time was less than 41 individual players in the playoffs.
With a new look Suns team off the bench, the Suns’ pace is a lot more fast and they can play on attack mode all the time.
The real test will come tomorrow night at Denver with that altitude. We’ll see if the Suns’ fast pace offense can maintain their high-level play tomorrow in a huge Game 5.
