By Jordan Long
The Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Phoenix Suns in game 6 of the NBA Finals 105-98. This was the Bucks first NBA Championship since 1971. For the Suns, it was a missed opportunity to give point guard Chris Paul his first NBA Championship ring. The Suns will now go into the offseason looking at how to improve their team.
Phoenix looked like the better team in games 1 and 2. They outscored the Bucks 236 to 213 in those games on their home court. It was a different story in Milwaukee. Milwaukee stormed back to win games 3 and 4. Milwaukee used home court to even the series with scores of 120 to 100 and 109 to 103.
The Suns were hoping game 5 at home would help them take a 3-2 series lead. They were even ahead by 16 with 3:10 left in the 1st quarter. The score at that point was 32-16. It looked like the Suns would pull away but of course, it was only the 1st quarter. The Bucks came back to take a 64-61 lead at halftime, outscoring the Suns 48 to 29. In the second half of game 5, the Bucks defense kept applying the pressure limiting the Suns to 58 points while scoring 59 points. The Suns had a chance to win this game down 120-119 with 29.2 seconds left. Instead of taking a timeout to set up a play, Phoenix played on, only for Jrue Holiday to steal the ball from Devon Booker, ending the game. The Bucks made 3 free throws to ice the game. In game 6, the Bucks finished off the series.
The Suns now have decisions to make for their team. Chris Paul declined his option on his contract, making him a free agent. Other free agents they have are Frank Kaminsky, Torrey Craig, and Cameron Payne.
Kaminsky might be gone. He rarely played for the Suns in the postseason, averaging 6.8 minutes per game off the bench. Kaminsky wasn’t productive with 2.2 points per game. The only reason to bring Kaminsky back is he is a power forward to give the Suns size down low at 7 feet tall, but he fell out of the rotation for Head Coach Monty Williams. Williams should have played Kaminsky more. He may not have been able to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo, who personally took over the series, but his height might have slowed him down.
Craig is another bench player but the reason to keep him is his defense. He will not make points, but Craig plays tight defense on his man forcing him to take tough shots at the rim. Craig averaged 4 points per game during the playoffs. His stats won’t show up on defense because of difficult looks by the man he is guarding. There isn’t a stat for that.
Payne just gives the Suns depth at point guard behind Paul. In the postseason, he came into games for Paul when Paul needed rest. The offense was run through him and he scored 9.3 points and dished out 3.2 assists per game. It would make sense for the Suns to keep him around.
Chris Paul needs to decide what is best for him and his NBA future. Paul has to feel this was his best shot at winning a ring and who knows how many more opportunities he has left at 36 years old. The West is not going to be easy again next year with the Utah Jazz, L.A. Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and the L.A. Lakers in the mix to make deep runs. Staying in Phoenix could be his best option because they have the team mostly back. They don’t have many key free agents. Paul helped Devon Booker on offense and both of them together made it challenging for defenders because they both can shoot and nail shots all over the court, even with a defender’s hand in their faces. Plus they used the pick and roll which gave them short jumpers or layups that went in to add points to the scoreboard. Booker didn’t have to be the only option on offense.
Paul could choose to leave Phoenix and find a team that he feels has a better chance to win a title. That would be the worst case for the Suns. It will come down to money and where he feels he is a fit, but it seems like Phoenix is the place for him to stay because he showed he was the missing piece for the Suns. He could decide to walk away from the game and retire.
Once their own free agents decide what they want to do, the Suns will need to upgrade their team. The one area they should look at is centers and size. Deandre Ayton couldn’t stop Antetokounmpo from scoring or rebounding the ball. Looking at free agents at the center position, they could sign Robin Lopez or Cody Zeller among others. Lopez and Zeller are both 7 feet tall. Lopez can play defense averaging 5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his career. He can also shoot the 3 point ball at 29.3%. He could use his size to guard and to make baskets. The Suns are familiar with him since he played for them to start his career from 2008 to 2012.
Zeller averages 6 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game. When it comes to scoring he averages 8.7 points per game. He is mostly an inside shooter but can nail the 3’s as well at 22.7%. Zeller and Lopez would add height and athleticism to the team.
The Suns will do what is best to make another deep run in 2022. They expect it to be with Chris Paul. If Paul decides to go elsewhere, the Suns still have a core in Devon Booker, Jae Crowder, and Deandre Ayton to at least earn a playoff spot. Hopefully, Paul stays in Phoenix to help this team stay on top of the Western Conference and maybe take them back to the NBA Finals in 2022 but this time have a better ending, winning it.
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