While most NBA fans are pondering where James Harden may end up playing now that he said the relationship with Houston is unfixable, the Phoenix Suns have turned into an under the radar Western Conference contender. As of January 12, Phoenix is 7-4, a game and a half behind the Los Angeles Lakers on the NBA Western Conference Standings.
The Suns have become such a force that luminary U.S. sports organizations like ESPN have ranked Phoenix, an underdog to start the season, in their Top 10. On ESPN’s latest round ball power rankings, Phoenix clocks in at fifth. The Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, and 76ers are the four teams ahead of the defensive power that is the Suns.
How did Phoenix rise so quickly? Can the Suns continue their ascension heading into the heart of the 2020-2021 NBA Season?
Phoenix dominated in the bubble
In hindsight, no one, not even the most hardened hoops handicapper or oddsmaker, should have taken the 66-to-1 odds on the Suns to win this season’s championship seriously. Eight signs emerged from the Disney World bubble in Orlando late summer that showed Phoenix was on the right track.
The Suns went undefeated in the bubble. Phoenix won all eight of their games. Every contest, save for the first against the Washington Wizards, was against a playoff team. The Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers, the Indiana Pacers, the Dallas Mavericks twice, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Los Angeles Clippers.
They also beat the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 119-117. In Orlando, Phoenix showed they were on the right track.
Booker and Ayton developed a two-person game in Mickey’s house
At Disney World, guard Devin Booker and center DeAndre Ayton developed a two-person game that has carried over to this season. Booker led the team in scoring in seven of the eight games.
The Suns’ best player dropped 35 in four of the eight wins. Ayton led the Suns with 23 in the impressive 114-99 win versus the Pacers. DeAndre also grabbed 9 rebounds or more in four of the eight games.
The Suns’ star guard and center have carried over their Orlando form to this season. Devin Booker averages 23 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 boards per. He’s shooting 34.8% from three and a ridiculous 48.6% from the field.
DeAndre Ayton averages 12.5 points, 11.3 boards, and 1.8 blocks each game. He’s shooting a dominant 56.6% from the field. Although ESPN lists him at 6’ 11”, he looks 7 feet. But that’s not the most imposing thing about the 250 pounds player.
DeAndre’s wingspan is seven feet and five inches. He’d average two to three blocks per game if teams tested him more in the paint.
Adding CP3 during the offseason was the key to the Suns’ turnaround
The past few seasons, Phoenix has languished near the bottom of the standings. On the basketball court, 2020 was the first time Suns fans saw glimpses of a possible turnaround.
Phoenix general manager James Jones, a former player, realized the Suns required a leader both on and off the court. Jones made the critical decision to pursue Chris Paul, or as basketball fans know him as, CP3.
Most basketball historians regard the former Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard as one of the best players in the league’s history. His lifetime averages of 18.4 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 boards, and 2.2 steals per game are Top 10 of all-time PG stats.
Not only that, but Chris Paul is also the National Basketball Players Association president. If not for Paul, the Disney World bubble may never have happened. Paul worked with league commissioner Adam Silver to develop the restart plan.
If not for Chris Paul, players may have never signed onto the idea of playing in Orlando. Paul is the reason the NBA resumed their season last year after the sports shutdown.
CP3 has turned the Suns into a defensive power
Paul’s game has always revolved around defense. He prides himself on being one of the best defensive guards in the NBA.
It’s no wonder why the Suns rank in the Top 10 in three-of-five defensive categories. Opponents average 106.7 points per, ranking seventh. The Suns allow opposing players to shoot 36.3% from three, ranking tenth.
The Suns rank fourth in free throw percentage allowed, a measure of how strategic teams are at fouling opponents. Phoenix seldom puts a top free-throw shooter on the line. Opponents average 72.1% from the line against the Suns.
Odds on Phoenix to win the NBA Title have dropped
Because Chris Paul makes everyone around him better, Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Ayton, and the rest of the Suns have flourished. Hoops sports bettors have noticed.
After the first two weeks, the odds on Phoenix to win rings went from 66-to-1 to 40-to-1. Heading into the first full month of the regular season, regulated and PPH sports bookies that offer free betting software have set an odds range of 25-to-1 to 30-to-1.
As any bookie will tell you, an odds drop of more than 50% is a trend. The trend says Phoenix continues its ascension as one of the best teams in the National Basketball Association. Unless Chris Paul decides to retire, there’s no reason to go against the trend.