The Phoenix Suns will need help from their role players
It’s hard to count this against the Jazz, but besides All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, nobody on the team could create their own shot, especially with point guard Mike Conley injured. The Jazz were a great 3-point shooting team during the regular season, but running a lot of iso-ball with Mitchell and relying on strictly 3-pointes are not sustainable strategies in the playoffs. Utah could not find other options besides shooting a ton of threes in this series, and it cost them in the end. Phoenix will have to balance their mid-range shots along with their shots from downtown if they want to avoid a similar fate.
Suns guard Devin Booker has not had to carry the offensive load for Phoenix in the regular season like in years past, and in the playoffs, that trend has continued. Besides occasional scoring outbursts, Booker has not had all the pressure on him to score during his first playoff venture.
This past Jazz and Clippers series saw Mitchell continue to put up fantastic scoring averages, but he still fell short. History shows that the hero ball strategy is not effective.
Evident when Leonard missed the final two games due to injuries, other Clippers answered the call, making up for his missed scoring and leading to victories. In order to advance to the Conference Finals, the Suns will also need to find some inspiration from their other players.
Getting good production from unexpected team members can turn the tide in Phoenix’s favor. In the first round, Jae Crowder answered the call and helped push Phoenix across the line, averaging 14 points in the last three games against the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing against the Denver Nuggets, Paul showed up too, averaging 25 points and 10 assists per game. Someone else will have to step up in this series, and it cannot just be Booker, that is if Phoenix wants to make it to the NBA Finals.