Man, I was really rooting for Chris Paul to win a ring. I felt that this year was his best chance to do it, and I admired how he helped lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals last year alongside Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton. I definitely do not feel that way now.
That’s because I watched the Dallas Mavericks eviscerate Paul and the rest of the Suns in the most pathetic Game 7 I’ve ever watched in my life. The game singlehandedly turned me from feeling bad about Paul not winning a ring to thinking he deserves to be ringless.
There was absolutely no answer or sense of urgency from the Suns on their own home court in Game 7. They looked shellshocked and confused as the Mavericks racked up a 30-point lead at halftime, which went up even further in the second half before the game finished with a 123-90 scoreline.
The Suns can’t even blame injuries or anything else for the loss, because they had their key rotation players available for the game. They simply went into the stadium without a winning mentality, and were punished by Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
The best players show up when the stakes are high, and that’s what the Slovenian did as he finished the game with 35 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals along with three turnovers. He did whatever he wanted on the court and silenced the Phoenix crowd long before the game officially ended. To be honest, one play in the final minute of the second quarter encapsulated the kind of night that the Suns had.
I mean, come on. The entire Suns squad barely managed to score as many points as Doncic in the first half. I just can’t get over how badly they were outclassed.
Everyone on that Suns roster deserves equal blame, but I think the single player that will be hurt the most is CP3. The ‘Point God’ finished with a listless 10 points, one rebound, four assists, one steal in what could honestly be his final NBA game. I don’t care what he says in then next few days and weeks, this kind of ass whooping is hard to come back from. It definitely hurts his legacy, and I feel like the only reason he would come back next season is to make sure that a 33-point loss is not the final memory people have of his NBA career.
I’ve got to give props to the Mavericks, who really just took it to the Suns. They showed up to win, and that’s exactly what they did. Dallas’ top three scorers had shooting numbers that would look unrealistic even in a goddamn NBA 2K game.
- Luka Doncic: 12 of 19 field goals, 6 of 11 three-pointers.
- Jalen Brunson: 11 of 19 field goals, 2 of 4 three-pointers.
- Spencer Dinwiddie: 11 of 15 field goals, 5 of 7 three-pointers.
Here’s what the Suns’ ‘Big Three’ managed to do:
- Devin Booker: 3 of 14 field goals, 0 of 4 three-pointers.
- Chris Paul: 4 of 8 field goals, 1 of 3 three-pointers.
- DeAndre Ayton: 2 of 5 field goals.
The Suns were just completely outclassed. There’s absolutely no excuse for that performance after finishing the regular season with the league’s best record. I honestly think we might see CP3 retire, and can’t wait to see what happens to the Suns this offseason. They might implode, especially with Robert Sarver under investigation and DeAndre Ayton heading into restricted free agency.
As a parting gift, I’m just going to leave this new record from Paul here:
